New York City or...Chicago? (Rose: affordable apartment, violent crime, home)
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The biggest difference is cost of housing. Chicago is much cheaper than New York. If you make a lot of money, or work in an elite field, I’d pick New York. If you have a regular job and want to live in an affordable apartment, I’d pick Chicago.
What if the job is a Interior Designer? Is that the major difference, what about the feel of the city?
Imagine if Birmingham were three times its size and then compare it to London. Chicago has a similar “second city” relationship to New York.
In a British context, if you want to be at the cutting edge of the design market and have clients from around the world with access to the publications and tastemakers that really have influence, you go to London. You could have a very successful career in a Birmingham, but it will never have the same cache.
New York and London are global cities—that unfortunately also come with global price tags. Is it worth it? For some it is. It really depends on the career you want to have.
NYC is much more international than Chitown, giving it a different feel.
NYC housing, as has been mentioned, is much pricier
NYC is physically more dense in most neighborhoods.
NYC has far more rich people than Chicago, and that changes the feel of the place and the opportunities available.
Most important IMO. New York has far more "edge" than Chicago. That isn't physical danger or crime, but the feeling-- somewhat subjective I grant you-- that things good or bad can happen in a flash, that something unusual, unknown, or unique can be awaiting just around the corner. I've never got that feeling in Chicago, at least not to nearly the same degree. New York has a competiveness and intensity Chicago just cant match. Some people thrive on all this, some will be chewed up and spit out by it.
Whether that's good for you and your intended field is for you to decide.
Architecture and Interior Design fields Chicago holds no second candle to New York. They're on par with one another.
I'd certainly rather start a career in Chicago making good wages in a cheap housing city, than make barely living wage in NYC.
If you ever get to the point in which you're making huge bucks, NYC is to be considered. I wouldn't live there for anything less than 100K.
Transportation is situation dependent. You'd be crazy in Chicago not to live near where you work or play. In NYC that may not be an option.
Universities are better in the Northeast. Though I'm not sure if you're a student or career minded right now- so I am not sure how relevant it is.
NYC is safer than Chicago as a whole. If you live and work in a nice area that shouldn't be an issue.
Maybe both ??? Try NYc for a few years then gonto chicago.
I visited chitown and it seemed very segregrated. Like black and whites and mexicans. nYC is much more diverse and not as isolated as some chicago areas might feel.
And after all NYC is the greatest city in the world.
You'd probably feel more at home as an Interior Designer in NYC. You'd find more clients and connections. From living in Chicago the past couple of years, there seems to be less aesthetic emphases compared to LA or NYC. People just don't seem to care about fashion or design as much in Chicago. As for your other other concerns:
Chicago has Loyola University, DePaul University, Northwestern, UIC, and U of Chicago. There's also a bevy of small, local colleges. I don't know if any of these schools are known for Interior Design. However, if you're looking to go into Business or Law...
Chicago is more affordable hands down. The only thing cheap in NYC are pizza slices.
Chicago's transit system is decent but does not compare to NYC's MTA at all. The subway access in Manhattan is ridiculous compared to the train access in Chicago, which is heavily supplemented by buses. But if you take trains and buses into account, Chicago's got it covered pretty well.
Don't know anything about job availability in the Interior Design industry.
NYC as a whole is considered safer than Chicago, but most decent neighborhoods in Chicago are safe, give or take the occasional mugging or sexual assault. Chicago is known for crime because the bad areas are REALLY bad. Most of the violent crime happens in very specific areas you would never set a foot in.
I've only been to NYC once but I prefer it to Chicago. So much, I'm hoping to move there in a couple of years after I'm done with my teaching certification. NYC is more worldly, less segregated, more exciting. Not to rain on Chi-town, it definitely has its pluses (you should definitely visit the Loop/downtown, it is amazing), but it feels more traditional and predictable compared to NYC.
New York for sure. Better opportunities, job market, economy, urban landscape. Chicago is better than most other US cities, but definitely better than NYC.
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