Top 10 Reasons NOT to move to Chicago? (Anna, Alpha: rent, taxes)

[blooms]

I have been silently reading all the posts! There is some good information here so thanks for everyone who has replied. I suppose there is just too much of a difference in opinion, some people like certain things that other people hate about the city. I just thought I would see if there was some kind of consensus about the major turn offs of Chicago.

[ImaloneJill]

My question to you then, is this:
Are you from a big city now? I would imagine that there are turn offs and turn ons common to all big cities-crime, parking problems, accessibility, shopping, entertainment, traffic problems. If you have visited Chicago, you probably know that all these things, good and bad are badder and better in a city the size of Chicago.
Do you still intend to move here?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by ImaloneJill

My question to you then, is this:
Are you from a big city now? I would imagine that there are turn offs and turn ons common to all big cities-crime, parking problems, accessibility, shopping, entertainment, traffic problems. If you have visited Chicago, you probably know that all these things, good and bad are badder and better in a city the size of Chicago.
Do you still intend to move here?

I think this is a good way to think about things. Nearly all large cities in the U.S. have issues with crime, bad schools, traffic, parking, cost-of-living, etc. Chicago is more expensive than some cities and less expensive than others. The same can be said about traffic, crime, and just about everything else.

As far as a "consensus" is concerned, there are in fact a few things about Chicago that are uniquely bad compared to other large cities. After living here for several years, I'd say most people I know in my day-to-day life complain about the following:

1. Weather. Chicago weather is not as bad as Minneapolis or Buffalo weather, but it takes its toll as the winter drags into March. Even seasoned midwesterners get annoyed with the winter weather here. But most of us just accept it and move on with our lives. It's no secret to newcomers.

2. City Government. The best way to deal with the maddening beauracracy at City Hall is to limit your exposure to it. But it sucks to do everything from getting a parking permit to a building permit. And the revenue collectors wreak havoc on those poor souls who park their cars on the streets.

3. The CTA. It's sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario with respect to transportation. You avoid the hassles of car ownership and traffic if you go car-less, but then you are reliant on a transit system with too many quirks, unhelpful staff, and funding shortages. You just sort of have to accept the fact that you'll be late for work a few times a year due to CTA mishaps. But Chicago remains one of the few cities in the U.S. to offer a feasible automobile-free existence, and the system is more extensive than all systems outside of the northeast corridor.

5. Taxes, Fees, and Fines. We in Illinois and Chicago are not among the most taxed people in the United States (our overall tax burden places us in the middle of the pack nationally), but the taxes we do have are particularly annoying and seemingly unfair. The sales tax is ridiculously high, and there are enough sin taxes and user fees to infuriate anyone.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I think this is a good way to think about things. Nearly all large cities in the U.S. have issues with crime, bad schools, traffic, parking, cost-of-living, etc. Chicago is more expensive than some cities and less expensive than others. The same can be said about traffic, crime, and just about everything else.

As far as a "consensus" is concerned, there are in fact a few things about Chicago that are uniquely bad compared to other large cities. After living here for several years, I'd say most people I know in my day-to-day life complain about the following:

1. Weather. Chicago weather is not as bad as Minneapolis or Buffalo weather, but it takes its toll as the winter drags into March. Even seasoned midwesterners get annoyed with the winter weather here. But most of us just accept it and move on with our lives. It's no secret to newcomers.

2. City Government. The best way to deal with the maddening beauracracy at City Hall is to limit your exposure to it. But it sucks to do everything from getting a parking permit to a building permit. And the revenue collectors wreak havoc on those poor souls who park their cars on the streets.

3. The CTA. It's sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario with respect to transportation. You avoid the hassles of car ownership and traffic if you go car-less, but then you are reliant on a transit system with too many quirks, unhelpful staff, and funding shortages. You just sort of have to accept the fact that you'll be late for work a few times a year due to CTA mishaps. But Chicago remains one of the few cities in the U.S. to offer a feasible automobile-free existence, and the system is more extensive than all systems outside of the northeast corridor.

5. Taxes, Fees, and Fines. We in Illinois and Chicago are not among the most taxed people in the United States (our overall tax burden places us in the middle of the pack nationally), but the taxes we do have are particularly annoying and seemingly unfair. The sales tax is ridiculously high, and there are enough sin taxes and user fees to infuriate anyone.

Very good summary; in fact, the OP ( if still interested) could just ignore any previous posts, and just refer to this one for advice.

[blooms]

Yes, Thank you, Lookout Kid! Very helpful! and to ImaloneJill, I do still intend to move to Chicago, but it is nice to know what to expect now. I currently live in Minneapolis, so the Chicago weather might actually be an improvement. I intend on selling my car before moving there. I lived in Minneapolis for a couple years without a car and managed just fine and Minneapolis has a much much worse public transportation system than Chicago does (by worse I mean less accessible). I think adjusting to the taxes will take a toll on me considering there is no tax on clothing in Minnesota and sales tax in general is much lower.

[Drover]

The upside though is that the income tax in Illinois is only 3%. That's it -- no graduated tax rates, no municipal income taxes on top of the state tax... just 3%. I think it's easier to assume we have an unusually high tax burden here because we see the high sales tax rate every time we buy something, whereas the withholdings from our paychecks are so uniform and predictable that we hardly notice any more. If the tax burden were shifted so that more of it was collected as paycheck withholdings but otherwise the net burden was exactly the same, it wouldn't seem so outrageous.

[Attrill]

Originally Posted by Drover

The upside though is that the income tax in Illinois is only 3%. That's it -- no graduated tax rates, no municipal income taxes on top of the state tax... just 3%. I think it's easier to assume we have an unusually high tax burden here because we see the high sales tax rate every time we buy something, whereas the withholdings from our paychecks are so uniform and predictable that we hardly notice any more.

This is a really important thing to look at when talking about the high sales tax. If you're making $50,000/yr in Minnesota you're paying an income tax of over 7%. Even if you spend every cent you make on taxable items in Cook County you're still keeping more of your money because of the lower income tax.

[blooms]

Saw this on MSN today. Thought it might be fitting to this thread considering the two reasons they give for Chicago being "miserable" have frequented the thread as well.

America's top 10 miserable cities - MSN Real Estate

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by blooms

Saw this on MSN today. Thought it might be fitting to this thread considering the two reasons they give for Chicago being "miserable" have frequented the thread as well.

America's top 10 miserable cities - MSN Real Estate

Ugh. That list again. The criteria they use make no sense whatsoever.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by blooms

Saw this on MSN today. Thought it might be fitting to this thread considering the two reasons they give for Chicago being "miserable" have frequented the thread as well.

America's top 10 miserable cities - MSN Real Estate

We've already shredded that asinine list to bits here and here.