moving advice Houston or Chicago? (apartment, home, living in)

[latindude_83]

Originally Posted by Truth713

Big city feel is realtive to you really, while I think chicago is more awe in spiring, in terms of looks I find Houston more workable in terms of everyday living, no matter where you go the effects of "I,m in a major city will wear off , once you are working day day in and out.
Trust no matter which one you pick you will always be wondering how your life would have turned out if you with the other

so true...

[latindude_83]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

I am a native Chicagoan. I absolutely love Chicago and would gladly live there for around 7 months a year, but could not possibly put up with the winters ever again.

Anyway, my comments are as follows:

1) Chicago is significantly more expensive than Houston in every aspect

2) As a State, Illinois is struggling and implemented a massive tax increase last year. People are leaving Illinois in droves, it now ranks as one of the 5 worst places to retire (not relevant to you at this stage apart from what that implies in terms of cost and taxes)

3) If you have never experienced winter then you'd be in for a major shock if Chicago got a cold one (like everywhere else, some winters are mild some are horrible). Nothing like days where temps are 0-18 degrees with wind chills below 0. Even if you grow up with that, like I did, you can't ever get used to it.

4) On the other hand, nothing beats Spring in Chicago. As the weather warms and everybody is out by the lakefront, it is awesome

5) From an aesthetic standpoint, Chicago is much more attractive than Houston

6) Houston has a lot to offer in terms of sports, restaurants, museums, other cultural activities, etc. Chicago offers more, however.

7) The Houston economy is much stronger - hence a declining population in Chicago and a growing population in Houston. I suspect that your odds of finding a job are greater here. Certainly, your money will go further until you get a job.

8) People are more friendly in Houston. That said, Chicago people are reasonably friendly as well (especially when compared with New York)

9) If you like urban living, Chicago wins hands down. If living in the city, odds are everything you need is within reasonable walking distance of where you are. Much better public transport as well. No real reason to drive. Houston is survivable without a car, but not particularly convenient.

As far as cities and everything that goes with a city, Chicago wins hands down. From a cost and quality of living standpoint (in terms of quality of home) as well as economic standpoint, Houston wins.

Nice summary MIBS98, 1, 2 & 3 are my main concerns over Chicago as taxes, weather, and COL impact quality of life for anyone trying to start fresh. I do like the idea of not having a car in Chicago, but honestly HOU is looking much better in the long term. If I move to Chicago would be for few years and I would most likely end up moving south again.

[latindude_83]

[quote=David Dollar;24392358]Yeah, if you are from a Colombian city (like the greatest place on earth Medellin!),

lol, why you say that? b/c of its women, attractions, people?

[David Dollar]

[quote=latindude_83;24404635]

Originally Posted by David Dollar

Yeah, if you are from a Colombian city (like the greatest place on earth Medellin!),

lol, why you say that? b/c of its women, attractions, people?

Because it is the best place on earth. The food, the weather, cool people, heavy metal is religion in Medellin. Freedom of expression. Freedom in general. Not the girls though. I like girls from Cali.

[David Dollar]

Originally Posted by latindude_83

Nice summary MIBS98, 1, 2 & 3 are my main concerns over Chicago as taxes, weather, and COL impact quality of life for anyone trying to start fresh. I do like the idea of not having a car in Chicago, but honestly HOU is looking much better in the long term. If I move to Chicago would be for few years and I would most likely end up moving south again.

Dude. If you have never experienced true cold, or don't like the cold, you should not go to Chicago. It is cold that hurts. The two things that worry me is not getting to do a lot of outdoor activities during the winter and the problem with driving/parking.

Houston is hot, but you can do stuff outside all year. If you want a Colombian community, you will come closer to getting that in Houston. For my girlfriend and I, it is not that important.

[vegankris]

I agree with DD. Chicago cold HURTS! Imagine waking up to an actual temperature of -15 degrees and it never gets above 0 degrees that day! Now, when you add in the wind chill.... it is just ridiculous. It's easier to live in Houston although as many have said, Chicago is a more beautiful city and more of an urban experience.

[aroych2]

Waiting for the "L" on those days (and months) when it feels like 10 below is not fun. We lived there for 7 years and cant imagine how we would have survived without a car. Chicago is more drivable than NYC, and having a car improves your options of finding reasonable housing in a good neighborhood.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by David Dollar

Dude. If you have never experienced true cold, or don't like the cold, you should not go to Chicago. It is cold that hurts. The two things that worry me is not getting to do a lot of outdoor activities during the winter and the problem with driving/parking.

Houston is hot, but you can do stuff outside all year. If you want a Colombian community, you will come closer to getting that in Houston. For my girlfriend and I, it is not that important.

You can do stuff outdoors all year in Chicago - it's just different stuff. I find the driving in Houston worse because that is the only way to get places. At least in Chicago, you can park and ride the metra or the "el." In many places you can walk to the train stops. I lived in Evanston - 3 blocks from the *el* and walked there to go to work when I didn't want to drive.

As for the out doors here - it is too damn hot in the summer to do much outside, in my opinion. Walk 2 blocks and you are sweating bullets in the summer. Allergies are also a problem here as they never stop.

Now, that said, if you don't like the cold, don't move to Chicago. It is seriously not as bad as people make out though. Some years are worse than others. That is both in terms of temperatures and in terms of snow. And, in Chicago, if you live on the east side, you can walk to the beach and lake in the summer (and even in the spring and fall though there are no life guards out, you can still walk along the lakefront). Here the beaches are an hour away.

I can't speak to a Columbian Community in either place, both Houston and Chicago are relatively diverse though.

[MIBS98]

Originally Posted by aroych2

Waiting for the "L" on those days (and months) when it feels like 10 below is not fun. We lived there for 7 years and cant imagine how we would have survived without a car. Chicago is more drivable than NYC, and having a car improves your options of finding reasonable housing in a good neighborhood.

We grew up in the city (Lincoln Park) with no garage so we had to park on the street. It still makes me shiver to remember going out to my car at 7am during high school, scraping off the ice, getting the door open (half the time the door would be frozen shut) and then getting the car warmed up. Those frigid mornings were pretty miserable. Even worse when there was a snowfall and you had to shovel the car out. Yuck.

[vegankris]

Originally Posted by MIBS98

We grew up in the city (Lincoln Park) with no garage so we had to park on the street. It still makes me shiver to remember going out to my car at 7am during high school, scraping off the ice, getting the door open (half the time the door would be frozen shut) and then getting the car warmed up. Those frigid mornings were pretty miserable. Even worse when there was a snowfall and you had to shovel the car out. Yuck.

We were the same way! No garage. I remember the door being frozen shut... lol. It was awful, but I think even if we did have a garage it wouldn't be that much better. The cold is just miserable.

I know it will be hotter soon (yes, I know, even though it has been in the 90's here it will be much hotter) but so far, the heat and humidity haven't bothered me and I'm outside for several hours everyday in the middle of the day. I will say, the intensity of the sun here is much different than illinois. I use spf 50 everyday and I'm getting tanner than I've ever been in my life. I just bought some long sleeve shirts that are light weight and spf 50, so I'm hoping that helps.

I really think it is easier to live in Houston than Chicago, but that's just a personal opinion.