Can $90k buy you a comfortable life in Chicago? (student loans, house)

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

I want to hear from the person making $20k working downtown.

I'd live in the suburbs if it wasn't a 2 hour commute. I would think there's a reason people get paid more to work downtown. The hassle factor goes way up. You either get paid to put up with it or you get paid to live closer.

How much money do you think all the people working retail or food industry make?

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by chirack

[SIZE=3]It sounds like you have never been downtown Chicago before. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Lots of people work downtown for $20k a year. In fact perhaps the majority of people working downtown may make around that much. Think security guards, waiters, sectaries and the like. A single person making 90K a year could live anywhere in Chicago with ease. Now if you were married or had kids then that would affect things (i.e. hard to find enough space downtown for a family of three on that budget).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] Getting to downtown Chicago is very easy. There is lots of public transit via the CTA and Metra. However to live in downtown is very expensive (perhaps the most expensive or nearly most expensive neighborhood in the city). Downtown Chicago is also very car unfriendly. There is lots of traffic during most of the day and no free parking available. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Basically almost all el lines of the CTA go downtown (the yellow line being the exception and the purple line runs to downtown only at rush hour). In addition just about all Metra lines run downtown.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]In terms of driving or riding public transit you can get downtown in well under 2 hours from the burbs esp. the near burbs. For the far burbs public transit is a good option as metra often has parking lots in the stations in the burbs.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]In terms of your car well, I if I worked downtown I would not drive downtown. However depending on where you live the car can be a very expensive hassle or necessity. If you live in certain areas of the north side like Lincoln Park then the car can be a hassle. There is very little parking available in Lincoln Park. It is so bad that some people find it easier to ditch the car. The lack of parking is so chronic that locals joke about Lincoln Park as Lincoln no park. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] If you lived say in Irving Park or Edison Park then parking is less a problem. If you live in the burbs then I would not suggest ditching the car. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

Honey could you please format this?

[chirack]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

I want to hear from the person making $20k working downtown.

I'd live in the suburbs if it wasn't a 2 hour commute. I would think there's a reason people get paid more to work downtown. The hassle factor goes way up. You either get paid to put up with it or you get paid to live closer.

It sounds like you have never been downtown Chicago before.
Lots of people work downtown for $20k a year. In fact perhaps the majority of people working downtown may make around that much. Think security guards, waiters, sectaries and the like. A single person making 90K a year could live anywhere in Chicago with ease. Now if you were married or had kids then that would affect things (i.e. hard to find enough space downtown for a family of three on that budget).

Getting to downtown Chicago is very easy. There is lots of public transit via the CTA and Metra. However to live in downtown is very expensive (perhaps the most expensive or nearly most expensive neighborhood in the city). Downtown Chicago is also very car unfriendly. There is lots of traffic during most of the day and no free parking available.

Basically almost all el lines of the CTA go downtown (the yellow line being the exception and the purple line runs to downtown only at rush hour). In addition just about all Metra lines run downtown.
In terms of driving or riding public transit you can get downtown in well under 2 hours from the burbs esp. the near burbs. For the far burbs public transit is a good option as metra often has parking lots in the stations in the burbs.

In terms of your car well, I if I worked downtown I would not drive downtown. However depending on where you live the car can be a very expensive hassle or necessity. If you live in certain areas of the north side like Lincoln Park then the car can be a hassle. There is very little parking available in Lincoln Park. It is so bad that some people find it easier to ditch the car. The lack of parking is so chronic that locals joke about Lincoln Park as Lincoln no park.

If you lived say in Irving Park or Edison Park then parking is less a problem. If you live in the burbs then I would not suggest ditching the car.

[ChicagoGeek]

You could take the low end of that scale (90k) and live perfectly comfortably, esp. if single. Most of your new co-workers probably do

Thing is, its easy to waste money on random junk in the city - cleaners, gyms, garages, daily frappumochalattes, etc... avoid just some of that stuff and you'll do great!

[zz4guy]

Well, it sounds doable then thankyou. The thing that confuses me is that most professional jobs like software engineering pay way more in Chicago than any other area.

Sounds like Chicago might be a place to go make some good bucks for a few years!

[softdev]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

Well, it sounds doable then thankyou. The thing that confuses me is that most professional jobs like software engineering pay way more in Chicago than any other area.

Sounds like Chicago might be a place to go make some good bucks for a few years!

A note of caution. A lot of the higher paying development jobs in the Loop are in financial services industry. It can be particularly difficult to get your foot in the door with these companies as they usually want someone with prior algo experience. It's very unlike any other vertical I know where domain knowledge is secondary to being a great coder. But when you pay 25% more than everyone else, you can afford to be a bit picky.

If you're starting out and coming from a good school - go for it. The money is definitely worth the long hours. Spend a few years in the business and you'll cleanup in Manhattan.

[zz4guy]

Originally Posted by softdev

A note of caution. A lot of the higher paying development jobs in the Loop are in financial services industry. It can be particularly difficult to get your foot in the door with these companies as they usually want someone with prior algo experience. It's very unlike any other vertical I know where domain knowledge is secondary to being a great coder. But when you pay 25% more than everyone else, you can afford to be a bit picky.

If you're starting out and coming from a good school - go for it. The money is definitely worth the long hours. Spend a few years in the business and you'll cleanup in Manhattan.

I dont have any financial services knowledge. It interests me though. I have about 7 years of software engineering experience. Mostly C, C++, Python, and other OO experience. Where would you go to get your foot in the door? What kind of work weeks are we talking? For 80 hours a week I might as well stay here and get paid the same rate.

[crbcrbrgv]

I would have to say if you cannot live off of 90k in Chicago as a single person, you probably have a coke habit.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

I would have to say if you cannot live off of 90k in Chicago as a single person, you probably have a coke habit.

Either that or you are lazy/inept and cannot shop or cook for yourself. Might want to add in can't get laid and have to spend over $200 on a date EVERYTIME to at minimum get some head. Even worse you are so weak in the women department you have to pay hookers.

[ChicagoGeek]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

What kind of work weeks are we talking? For 80 hours a week I might as well stay here and get paid the same rate.

Its not 80-hour weeks. Well, I take it back - occasionally there are. But usually ~ 50 hour weeks. Not bad, really.