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Old 12-20-2011, 09:26 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,957,533 times
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Not just dry cleaning by itself, but the costs of maintaining two homes means that lots of costs that you take for granted having one home essentially double -- stay overnight on a work night and your work wardrobe is now spread over two locations, meaning that when the suit in the city needs dry cleaning it does cost more than in the 'burbs and you tend to stock up on underwear and such at the closest store which is probably a North Michigan Ave place. Multiple sets of cookware, dinner plates, and all the other "minor" household times starts to add up fast...
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Old 12-20-2011, 09:52 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
Not just dry cleaning by itself, but the costs of maintaining two homes means that lots of costs that you take for granted having one home essentially double -- stay overnight on a work night and your work wardrobe is now spread over two locations, meaning that when the suit in the city needs dry cleaning it does cost more than in the 'burbs and you tend to stock up on underwear and such at the closest store which is probably a North Michigan Ave place. Multiple sets of cookware, dinner plates, and all the other "minor" household times starts to add up fast...
Ok, that makes more sense. Two homes usually cost more than one.
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Old 12-20-2011, 10:09 AM
 
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Default The "ongoing expenses" are what eats away at you...

I mentioned "dry cleaning" becuase that is what my friend mentioned as the straw that broke their backs -- literally he and his wife totalled up that they spend $140 in one month on dry cleaning from their city apartment. They are not "fancy" people but a couple of wool business suits worn out to dinner after a full day of work, a dress or two that has seen the same wear and maybe a coat and the costs add up. If you stuff those things in the trunk of the car and then get 'em dry cleaned back in the 'burbs that mean parking fees from the garage. Schlepping dirty laundry back to the burbs hardly makes sense with a briefcase and such already weighing you down...

Now maybe a couple of downstate party animals are going to wear swim trunks and eat off of paper plates all year, but even the trips to 7-11 for beer are going to cost a whole lot more than down state...

If you are used to a "travel & entertainment budget" that includes wining and dining the "ladies", tickets from scalpers and other "bargains" maybe the little costs are already factored in, but I would hate to think that somebody goes through a ton of trouble shopping for an apartment up here and then realizes about a month in that between all the expenses the only thing they can afford is OTA TV...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
Ok, that makes more sense. Two homes usually cost more than one.

Last edited by chet everett; 12-20-2011 at 10:27 AM..
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Old 12-20-2011, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Johns Island
2,499 posts, read 4,398,653 times
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Default I'm Surprised...

I'm surprised at the amount of resistance people have to these guys wanting to purchase a pied-a-terre.
Instead of answering their question (best neighborhood, with rent around $900/mo), almost every post has been trying to talk them out of it.

Two adult males, both working, want to have some fun in the city for a couple of years. Why do we assume they haven't thought this through? Perhaps they don't want to stay in hotels each weekend, because hotels imply a certain lack of privacy and control over your environment.

Buying a boat is rarely a smart economic purchase. Same with a pied-a-terre. These guys know they aren't going to make a profit. Let's take them at their word.
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Old 12-20-2011, 02:36 PM
 
14,802 posts, read 17,562,567 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JacksonPanther View Post
I'm surprised at the amount of resistance people have to these guys wanting to purchase a pied-a-terre.
Instead of answering their question (best neighborhood, with rent around $900/mo), almost every post has been trying to talk them out of it.

Two adult males, both working, want to have some fun in the city for a couple of years. Why do we assume they haven't thought this through? Perhaps they don't want to stay in hotels each weekend, because hotels imply a certain lack of privacy and control over your environment.

Buying a boat is rarely a smart economic purchase. Same with a pied-a-terre. These guys know they aren't going to make a profit. Let's take them at their word.
I agree, but there's always lots of negativity here.
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:09 PM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,841,506 times
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I'm sympathetic, and I don't think that dry cleaning is an issue, either..

I would be more concerned about limiting expenses, and perhaps security, especially since the "tenants" won't be around all the time..

If money is not an obstacle ( for the time being), then perhaps they could look into a cheap one-bedroom, using a couch as a bed for the other tenant. it doesn't have to be anything elaborate or fancy, just something manageable. Can you find a decent 1BR for 800-900 within the city limits? I would hope so, based upon my reading of the Chicago threads...
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:16 PM
 
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I'd say you can't go wrong with Edgewater, especially if you guys just split a one-bedroom.
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Johns Island
2,499 posts, read 4,398,653 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt View Post
I'm sympathetic, and I don't think that dry cleaning is an issue, either..
Yeah, that sounded ridiculous to me also. Rural dry cleaning isn't going to be significantly (50%) cheaper than city dry cleaning. The problem is they were going out more, so had more "fancy" clothes to clean - the price of city vs rural cleaning wasn't the issue.

Any chance they can find something in South Loop or Printers Row area? So they can at least walk around downtown and the park during the days...
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:56 PM
 
14,802 posts, read 17,562,567 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JacksonPanther View Post
Yeah, that sounded ridiculous to me also. Rural dry cleaning isn't going to be significantly (50%) cheaper than city dry cleaning. The problem is they were going out more, so had more "fancy" clothes to clean - the price of city vs rural cleaning wasn't the issue.

Any chance they can find something in South Loop or Printers Row area? So they can at least walk around downtown and the park during the days...
of course it did....
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Old 12-20-2011, 05:19 PM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,957,533 times
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I assumed the OP was going off the assumption that real estate prices were so depressed that perhaps it might make sense to get a "vacation spot" in Chicago. I think that assumption is faulty.

While "walking around" is free and I cannot argue against the much wider variety of spots to see in Chicago than any down state community the overall "value proposition" or either renting or owning a second home in even the most casual of Chicago's near-to-the-lake neighborhoods gets pretty thin pretty fast.

Having to dress up / eat / meet people that are accustomed to a rather more expensive lifestyle quickly makes renting or owning a "city apartment" a proposition filled with expenses.

While I agree that the aphorism of a boat being a "hole in the water into which one pours money" is mostly true, I also know from first had experience that renting someone else's "hole in the water" can be a fun way to hang out and avoid some of the worst financial risks associated with a boat.
Since a boat harbored in Chicago woud also give one access to the mostly generous boating community simple things like grilling out and enjoy a few beers might make for a good reason to drive up from downstate w/o having ancillary costs eat up ones whole entertainment budget...
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