Chicago cost of living/job availability? (Albany: apartments, rental, job market)

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

General question - ideally, what types of jobs which utilize the skills acquired in college, you be looking for?

Even after you get that dream barista job - where does an anthropologist go from there. Asking not to be rude, just curious.

As a fellow English major, I was looking to teach at first. But anthropology? That's a tough sell.

As much fun as I had in college and as many critical thinking skills I picked up along the way, I'd change my major if I could go back in time.

[knitgirl]

You're going to have to have the 1st months rent plus the security deposit (which could be more than a month's rent) in order to move into a place. That's a good chunk of your savings right there.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

You're going to have to have the 1st months rent plus the security deposit (which could be more than a month's rent) in order to move into a place. That's a good chunk of your savings right there.

Yep.

$2,500 for a single person willing to rent a room from a struggling divorced guy in an ungentrified part of the city in 1995 should be plenty. I say that because it was true for me.

$2,500 for a couple who mention one of the ten most expensive neighborhoods as where they want to live and are probably not really interested in sharing an apartment with strangers in 2011 is really, really risky without a job lined up. Hell, it'd be shaky (doable, but shaky) beven with a job lined up, to be frank.

[EastBoundandDownChick]

$2,500 isn't really even enough for a single person, let alone a couple. That was the first thought that I had. I think the smartest thing they could do is save more before moving. Enough to last 9 months. And I wouldn't suggest getting an apartment right away. It would be a better move financially to rent from someone (i.e. a basement apartment in someones home, spacious room, etc.) and stay in one of the less expensive neighborhoods. I would suggest all of this even IF you had jobs lined up. Why not just take a few months to work hard and save some more? There are worse things in life. That way when you finally do move you won't be so stressed out and you'll be able to enjoy the city that much more!

[Caldus]

I was living in St. Louis and working a decent-paying job before moving here. I refused to move without a new decent job lined up. It took me close to 6 months before I got an offer and thus my ticket out of St. Louis. It's much more difficult to find a job in your field if you don't have a job or working as a waiter/bartender. I think it's a very risky move you're about to make and I recommend you either save up a lot more money or secure a job first before moving. I would go with the latter route but it's your choice of course. If you want to live in Lakeview, expect to be paying pretty high rent. Your $2,500 isn't going to last more than a month or two.

[CoolSocks]

Both of those degrees are most utilized by going to grad school and getting your doctorate, or at least master's degree. I haven't really heard of anyone doing anything with a bachelor's degree in English or anthro. A degree in English is considered a liberal arts degree and isn't highly sought after. You could try getting a writing job. As for anthropology, I have no clue what kind of anthropology-related job he would get with a bachelor's.

I know you wrote that both of you were fine getting minimum wage-type jobs, but if you both had a job paying say $7.50 or $8 an hour, you would have a hard time paying your bills every month and you are earning degrees for a reason.

[wooster12]

Originally Posted by CoolSocks

Both of those degrees are most utilized by going to grad school and getting your doctorate, or at least master's degree. I haven't really heard of anyone doing anything with a bachelor's degree in English or anthro. A degree in English is considered a liberal arts degree and isn't highly sought after. You could try getting a writing job. As for anthropology, I have no clue what kind of anthropology-related job he would get with a bachelor's.

I know you wrote that both of you were fine getting minimum wage-type jobs, but if you both had a job paying say $7.50 or $8 an hour, you would have a hard time paying your bills every month and you are earning degrees for a reason.

Grad school is definitely something that we're both planning on, but neither of us are really up for another 2+ years at the University of Iowa. We're both interested in some of the schools in the Chicago area, but will probably wait 1-2 years.
Obviously, working above minimum wage would be desirable. However, I know that it might be a little unreasonable to expect this right out of college, so this would just be temporary until a better job opportunity opens up. We've figured that if the two of us work full time at minimum wage, we'd be making at least enough to cover $700-900 in rent (probably a studio apartment). So, not an ideal situation, but something that we could deal with.

[EastBoundandDownChick]

Originally Posted by wooster12

Grad school is definitely something that we're both planning on, but neither of us are really up for another 2+ years at the University of Iowa. We're both interested in some of the schools in the Chicago area, but will probably wait 1-2 years.
Obviously, working above minimum wage would be desirable. However, I know that it might be a little unreasonable to expect this right out of college, so this would just be temporary until a better job opportunity opens up. We've figured that if the two of us work full time at minimum wage, we'd be making at least enough to cover $700-900 in rent (probably a studio apartment). So, not an ideal situation, but something that we could deal with.

Honestly, you sound like you are acting on pure impulse and making a very poorly planned decision. First of all, you will NOT be able to afford a $700-900 per month apartment on two minimum wage salaries. One person's wage would be barely enough to cover all of the utility expenses and rent at that rate. You'd be left scrambling trying to have enough left over just for food, transit, medical bills, etc. You would go into debt very quickly, if you haven't already because your expenses would outweigh your monthly combined income. And how you would ever be able to save money for grad school is completely beyond me. You need to save more money before you contemplate this move and you need to lower your standards about livability (i.e. look to more affordable neighborhoods and living arrangements). Also, you should look at temp agencies for work. They pay well above minimum wage. Serving and bartending positions also pay well above minimum wage at the right places. But you need experience. I would avoid Starbucks gigs and only use them as an absolute last resort. But that's just me. The only exception would be if they were willing to train you for a management position. Hopefully your romantic idealism simmers down into a hearty stew of realism before life beats the crap out of you two. You don't want to drown in debt, it sucks really bad and is not much fun. Take a year, put a good 10-15K in the bank and see if your relationship can endure that. If it can't, it's not going to survive in Chicago anyway. And to be stuck alone in Chicago on a minimum wage job... talk about a real mess of a situation you don't want to be in. View this time as a test in your relationship as you build savings in individual accounts. Anything worthwhile in life involves sacrafice. If you can endure another year it will make the move that much sweeter and you'll be able to truly enjoy it as opposed to being a stressed out Nervous Nelly. Seriously, also... if I had to live with someone in a studio apartment I would end up wanting to suffocate them with a pillow. Think about reality. Where will you go when you need privacy? The dumpster?

[themag62]

Your remark that you plan to live in Lakeview kind of indicates you are not very savvy about economizing in Chicago. Lakeview is expensive. You can have the Chicago experience without joining the other 20 something lemmings and moving to Lakeview. Research other neighborhoods-Albany Park, Rogers Park, Edgewater, Ukranian Village, Wicker Park

[sydbarrett]

Originally Posted by wooster12

We are estimating that, together, we will have around $2,500 in savings for the move-- do you think that this would be enough to live off of while trying to find jobs?

If you get a cheap studio with all utilities included you might make it 3 months with $2500, that is if you do not have to pay a security deposit on your apartment.