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You can find some older properties in that range, but development is starting to creep northward on the peninsula which will threaten lower rental prices.
Interesting. Well the important thing to remember is to factor in the cost of transportation too. So pretend it's $700/month in Charleston versus $1000 per month in Chicago.
On the surface, it appears that you'd be saving $3600/year if you lived in Charleston. However, factoring in transportation - IF you do not own your car and your monthly payments are $300 per month, plus another $50 in insurance, and $100 in gas, your combined rent + transportation in Charleston is now $1150 per month. If in Chicago you can get away without a car (very very possible), then you might be looking at $100/month in public transit or $1100/month for both rent and transportation. All things considered then, Charleston is actually $50/month more expensive than Chicago in that situation and not $300/month cheaper.
Illinois income tax was just lowered to 3.75% too and I believe someone in South Carolina who is making a decent salary will be taxed at least 5% if not more (is this correct?). I'm seeing some calculations that the average salaries across the board (obviously it differs between industry) might be similar between the two metro areas.
Last edited by marothisu; 06-22-2015 at 02:09 PM..
This is honestly somewhat of a bizarre comparison. The type of person who would prefer Chicago would never prefer Charleston and vice versa. However, I think I would enjoy living in both cities.
For me these ten things matter (at least in my interpretations):
Cost of Living: Charleston
Job Market: Chicago
Sports: Chicago
Nature: Chicago (I prefer the Chicago's type of nature/metroparks, even though terrain stinks, Lakefront Trail is the bomb.)
History: Even, but Charleston has more historic charm for sure.
High Culture: Chicago
Livability: Charleston by a hair (even though Chicago more amenities, not sure I'd like living in region over 5 Million, though not sure I'd want to live somewhere as small as Charleston either)
Location: Chicago by a hair, though I could go both ways on this. Charleston 4 hours from the Mountains, Chicago has somewhat good access to neighboring cities, Cleveland (my hometown) and is a few hours from the Driftless and Lakes portion of the Upper Midwest.
Weather: Chicago (Yeah. Chicago. I said it. I prefer being cold and layering/going for invigorating run in winter than the blistering summer months where outdoors exercise just isn't fun.
Food: Chicago probably has more within the metro, but Charleston has more per capita, so Charleston since I can leave my house and go walk to everywhere to eat.
FWIW, I'm 23, and enjoy going out for a drink from time to time, but don't enjoy the "club scene". There may be more YUPs in Chicago, but at the same time, if I could find a consistent social network of 5-8 people (which I'm guessing I could in Charleston), that'd be a nonfactor.
Food: Chicago probably has more within the metro, but Charleston has more per capita, so Charleston since I can leave my house and go walk to everywhere to eat.
Do you think this doesn't exist in Chicago in huge quantities or something? I could list areas combined in population that are probably 10X the size of the entire city of Charleston that have this. There's tons of areas where it's restaurant right after restaurant right next to each other. What's your point? Chicago is one of the top 5 most walkable cities in the entire country.
By the way, 6% of the Charleston population lives in neighborhoods with a walk score of 90+. In Chicago that's almost 17%
Interesting. Well the important thing to remember is to factor in the cost of transportation too. So pretend it's $700/month in Charleston versus $1000 per month in Chicago.
On the surface, it appears that you'd be saving $3600/year if you lived in Charleston. However, factoring in transportation - IF you do not own your car and your monthly payments are $300 per month, plus another $50 in insurance, and $100 in gas, your combined rent + transportation in Charleston is now $1150 per month. If in Chicago you can get away without a car (very very possible), then you might be looking at $100/month in public transit or $1100/month for both rent and transportation. All things considered then, Charleston is actually $50/month more expensive than Chicago in that situation and not $300/month cheaper.
Illinois income tax was just lowered to 3.75% too and I believe someone in South Carolina who is making a decent salary will be taxed at least 5% if not more (is this correct?). I'm seeing some calculations that the average salaries across the board (obviously it differs between industry) might be similar between the two metro areas.
Well someone could get away with a lower cost of living in NYC than Charleston, depending on the circumstances. But on average, metro Charleston is cheaper. According to Bankrate's COL calculator, a person making $50K in Charleston would need a 13.04% salary increase to maintain the same standard of living in Chicago. Cost of Living Calculator | Comparison Tool
Well someone could get away with a lower cost of living in NYC than Charleston, depending on the circumstances. But on average, metro Charleston is cheaper. According to Bankrate's COL calculator, a person making $50K in Charleston would need a 13.04% salary increase to maintain the same standard of living in Chicago. Cost of Living Calculator | Comparison Tool
Possibly. The problem is though that they don't account for intangibles. They don't account for the transportation needs - for example they may factor gas prices into that calculation without realizing that someone may not need to drive in one city versus another. They also don't factor in vicinity to cheap groceries/food. Hell, even in Manhattan you can find cheap stuff to eat. Yesterday for lunch I had some African food with my girlfriend - 2 big plates of food that left us very full plus 2 drinks was less than $20 total (less than $10/person).
This is honestly somewhat of a bizarre comparison. The type of person who would prefer Chicago would never prefer Charleston and vice versa. However, I think I would enjoy living in both cities.
For me these ten things matter (at least in my interpretations):
Cost of Living: Charleston
Job Market: Chicago
Sports: Chicago
Nature: Chicago (I prefer the Chicago's type of nature/metroparks, even though terrain stinks, Lakefront Trail is the bomb.)
History: Even, but Charleston has more historic charm for sure.
High Culture: Chicago
Livability: Charleston by a hair (even though Chicago more amenities, not sure I'd like living in region over 5 Million, though not sure I'd want to live somewhere as small as Charleston either)
Location: Chicago by a hair, though I could go both ways on this. Charleston 4 hours from the Mountains, Chicago has somewhat good access to neighboring cities, Cleveland (my hometown) and is a few hours from the Driftless and Lakes portion of the Upper Midwest.
Weather: Chicago (Yeah. Chicago. I said it. I prefer being cold and layering/going for invigorating run in winter than the blistering summer months where outdoors exercise just isn't fun.
Food: Chicago probably has more within the metro, but Charleston has more per capita, so Charleston since I can leave my house and go walk to everywhere to eat.
FWIW, I'm 23, and enjoy going out for a drink from time to time, but don't enjoy the "club scene". There may be more YUPs in Chicago, but at the same time, if I could find a consistent social network of 5-8 people (which I'm guessing I could in Charleston), that'd be a nonfactor.
This is spot on. These 2 cities are such polar opposites that somebody's personal preferences and lifestyle should easily dictate which city would be the best fit.
Possibly. The problem is though that they don't account for intangibles. They don't account for the transportation needs - for example they may factor gas prices into that calculation without realizing that someone may not need to drive in one city versus another. They also don't factor in vicinity to cheap groceries/food. Hell, even in Manhattan you can find cheap stuff to eat. Yesterday for lunch I had some African food with my girlfriend - 2 big plates of food that left us very full plus 2 drinks was less than $20 total (less than $10/person).
True about intangibles, but with transportation, it helps that SC has cheap gas and Charleston isn't that big, so on average someone wouldn't have to do as much driving there as they would in Chicago.
Nightlife
Transportation
Jobs
Cost of living
Weather
What do you think?
Transportation: Chicago.
Jobs: Chicago.
Cost of living: Charleston.
Weather: Its a preference. Do you like 4 solid seasons? Then choose Chicago. Do you like the 7th circle of Hell (read: massive humidity and horrible temps)? Choose Charleston.
True about intangibles, but with transportation, it helps that SC has cheap gas and Charleston isn't that big, so on average someone wouldn't have to do as much driving there as they would in Chicago.
Yes, but even for driving it depends on your daily life. I have friends in Chicago who are originally from Michigan and literally the only reason they still have a car is to drive to see their families once a month or once every other month. Their gas usage per month is almost nothing. Even if you did use it everyday, it completely depends on where you're going. What if your daily commute is just 2 miles but 5 miles each way in Charleston? Even with lower gas prices, you could end up paying more in Charleston.
There's a ton of intangibles and the COL can be very circumstantial.
Unless you have Gullah roots or some other specific ties to the community, unquestionably Chi. I've heard the Chuck is very enjoyable for middle-aged white people though.
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