Is it a popular misconception for ppl to think of Chicago as an affordable city just because it's in the midwest? (money, problems)

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by savalas

Welcome back.

Thanks

[Drover]

Originally Posted by savalas

Welcome back.

Adios. (Again.)

[Chicago60614]

I do agree we have one of the highest sales taxes (there are others higher, and others that are equal), but honestly being near the top doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other cities sitting just below our rate of 9.75%.

If you went out to Target and spent $100 on crap, you'd have to fork over $9.75 in sales taxes. Here's how much you'd save by doing that in other cities:

Los Angeles - $0.00
San Francisco - $0.25
New York City - $0.88
Phoenix - $0.45
Houston - $1.50
Dallas - $1.50
Las Vegas - $1.65
Seattle - $0.25
Atlanta - $1.75
Indianapolis - $1.75
Minneapolis - $1.98

Yes, you do save money, but even in those crazy LOST COST CITIES like Houston and Dallas, you're only saving $1.50 on $100.00 of items. It's not really enough to change your spending habits.

We'll have to see what happens, but the County Board President did sign an order in March to cement in writing the 0.25% reduction in the rate as of 1/1/2012, and a 0.25% reduction as of 1/1/2013. That's a pretty bold step, as they'll have to readdress and vote on the issue again if they want to do away with those reductions. That would bring us to 9.25%, which is lower than or within about 1% of other large cities (most of which have actually jacked up their rates during the past 2 years).

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I do agree we have one of the highest sales taxes (there are others higher, and others that are equal), but honestly being near the top doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other cities sitting just below our rate of 9.75%.

If you went out to Target and spent $100 on crap, you'd have to fork over $9.75 in sales taxes. Here's how much you'd save by doing that in other cities:

Los Angeles - $0.00
San Francisco - $0.25
New York City - $0.88
Phoenix - $0.45
Houston - $1.50
Dallas - $1.50
Las Vegas - $1.65
Seattle - $0.25
Atlanta - $1.75
Indianapolis - $1.75
Minneapolis - $1.98

Yes, you do save money, but even in those crazy LOST COST CITIES like Houston and Dallas, you're only saving $1.50 on $100.00 of items. It's not really enough to change your spending habits.

We'll have to see what happens, but the County Board President did sign an order in March to cement in writing the 0.25% reduction in the rate as of 1/1/2012, and a 0.25% reduction as of 1/1/2013. That's a pretty bold step, as they'll have to readdress and vote on the issue again if they want to do away with those reductions. That would bring us to 9.25%, which is lower than or within about 1% of other large cities (most of which have actually jacked up their rates during the past 2 years).

Good point, and then factor in income taxes CA, MN, GA and NY (all of which I am almost certain are higher than our new rate in IL and you are much better off here.

[MoItaly]

Originally Posted by smallvillejane

I have friends moving from california to chicago and they complain that Chicago is not as "affordable" as they originally thought. For instance, homes in some of the nice north side neighborhoods (lincoln park, old town, lakeview, river north, streeterville, gold coast etc come to mind) can easily cost $300-400 per sf, and go up to over a $1000 per sf in some of the premier buildings (Trump Tower, Ritz Residences, etc come to mind). Price of renting a 2-3 bedroom home can easily cost $2000-$3000 if not more.

Adding insult to injury is the sale tax which is among the highest in the country; gas price, among the highest in the country; income tax, which just had a 50% increase last year. According to a recent study (10 Most Expensive Cities | Made Manual), Chicago is the 4th most expensive city to live in the US, ahead of such crunchy names as San Francisco, Boston, DC, etc.

Is it a popular misconception for ppl to think of Chicago as an affordable city just because it's in the midwest?

It kinda goes back to a post I made about many people not knowing about Chicago as a city.

In CA real estate is very expensive; a move to Chicago in many would seem a move to a "cheap" place.
It's a mental mistake. Because it is "cheap", people moving from expensive areas (CA-NY city, even So Fla) might shoot for the top areas in Chicago and expect to pay a dirty cheap price.

Chicago is very reasonable when it comes to real estate prices, but if you want a house in Wicker Park or a loft near Lincoln Park you pay for it.

I think that many don't realize that Chicago is a big metropolitan and cosmopolitan city: people wouldn't blink if asked for half a mil in Boston or NY, but they are like "what?" when asked for the same money in Chicago. You go live in a nice area of a big city or in a cozy downtown loft you are going to pay an extra price for the pleasure and convenience of being in the middle of all the happening.

[Dense Urban Walkable Core]

The Loop is very affordable.

[stephei2000]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

Probably, but most of American does not care about urban amenities. Yeah, some urbanist might say "wow, Chicago is a real deal compared to Boston," but the majority of people don't care about this and will just see Chicago as a more expensive place than where they live.

I agree with this one

[gotigers123]

Originally Posted by smallvillejane

I have friends moving from california to chicago and they complain that Chicago is not as "affordable" as they originally thought. For instance, homes in some of the nice north side neighborhoods (lincoln park, old town, lakeview, river north, streeterville, gold coast etc come to mind) can easily cost $300-400 per sf, and go up to over a $1000 per sf in some of the premier buildings (Trump Tower, Ritz Residences, etc come to mind). Price of renting a 2-3 bedroom home can easily cost $2000-$3000 if not more.

Adding insult to injury is the sale tax which is among the highest in the country; gas price, among the highest in the country; income tax, which just had a 50% increase last year. According to a recent study (10 Most Expensive Cities | Made Manual), Chicago is the 4th most expensive city to live in the US, ahead of such crunchy names as San Francisco, Boston, DC, etc.

Is it a popular misconception for ppl to think of Chicago as an affordable city just because it's in the midwest?

LOL at that list. Even more idiotic than a list from Forbes - now that is impressive!

SF, Boston, and DC are FAR more expensive than Chicago. It's really not even close.

[OhAcid]

It's a popular misconception for people to think they can afford living somewhere just because they want to.

[Emily Thorn]

Ask any banker who routinely looks at peoples' bank accounts and they'll tell you that people always find a way to spend all their money no matter how much or how little they make. People will unconsciously manage their money so they get by on exactly what their income is, whether they make 10K or 100K. And both think they don't have enough because they think they have to spend it all. At the end of the year, their savings are $0. Of course not everyone falls into this category, but it verifies the old saying that your expenses scale to your income.