Tell me bout Chi (Chicago, Evanston: houses, buy, living in)

[nana053]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

Well, of course there are places where 500 a month is expensive, but they are not comparable to Chicago. I am saying how come it's so affordable comparing to all the comparable cities such as NYC, DC, Boston, LA, etc. Obviously there are dirt cheap places throughout the US, but there's noth to do there, and that's why they are dirt cheap. Chi is a world class city tho and still very affordable for it's weight class.

^those n'hoods look nice fosho
west town not gon work tho cuz he said hipstas love it lol
i dont love hipstas

The northeast is expensive because it is overgrown. Land is at much more of a premium because it is already built up.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by nana053

The northeast is expensive because it is overgrown. Land is at much more of a premium because it is already built up.

Yep - that's certainly part of it. Also - the coastal cities tend to have more socialistic policies, i.e. rent control and intense restrictions on development. That pushes down the available housing stock and thereby artificially increases demand. I read something about how in SF there are many would-be landlords who simply do not rent out their vacant properties because they don't want to be locked into a set rent for X number of years due to the rent control policies of the city. I personally know several people in SF who pay half of what their neighbors pay for a very similar place because they have been there longer. Chicago, while liberal, is still a far cry from some of the coastal cities in many regards. I think the state of Illinois actually outlawed rent control. That at least is part of the reason why it is not as expensive. The rental market in Chicago is still pretty tight from what I understand, but unlike several coastal cities Chicago can address that problem by tearing down old buildings and putting up more high rises.

[OleSchoolFool]

I hear yall.
Is traffic pretty bad? Is it common to drive to work?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

I hear yall.
Is traffic pretty bad? Is it common to drive to work?

Traffic can be bad, yes...at times. My dad grew up in LA, and the first time he drove here on the freeway he basically equated it to Los Angeles. It's basically the same flow. It can either be fast driving or stop and go for awhile. The non freeway is the same thing kind of, although maybe not as bad as stop and go. It can easily take over an hour to go 30 miles in bad traffic.

Driving to work depends on where you are working. A ton of people don't drive to work. If you live near public transit and work near it, that's your best bet. There's hundreds of thousands of people who work in the Loop alone, and the majority of them commute via public transit. Chicago has the 2nd largest public transit system in the US after New York City. Parking is expensive downtown, and most people don't want to hassle with that. There's a commuter rail that goes to the burbs too (called Metra).

For example, the train system (although this is out of date by maybe a year. There's a few more train stations that have been added that aren't on this map):

http://www.rususa.com/city/images/train_chicago.gif

Metra:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xgLyP-rB8F...-Metra-Map.gif

[OleSchoolFool]

How's the job market and economy?

[cubssoxfan]

By the way, it's Chicago not chi. Chi is a type of tea

[nana053]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

By the way, it's Chicago not chi. Chi is a type of tea

LOL. No, that's Chai tea...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

How's the job market and economy?

What type of industry? Depends on the industry. There's tons of industries supported here, but of course there's some a lot stronger than others right not for sure. The unemployment rate isn't LOW, but that's another story. Tons of people here have good jobs, and there are many people not in that situation either.

[chicagolawyer]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

Well, of course there are places where 500 a month is expensive, but they are not comparable to Chicago. I am saying how come it's so affordable comparing to all the comparable cities such as NYC, DC, Boston, LA, etc. Obviously there are dirt cheap places throughout the US, but there's noth to do there, and that's why they are dirt cheap. Chi is a world class city tho and still very affordable for it's weight class.

Price is a function of supply and demand. Demand in Chicago is lower. Population in DC and LA (until this decade) has been growing much faster than in Chicago, and New York and Boston have been growing a little faster. More people moving in means more demand for housing.

Chicago also has dramatically fewer restrictions on supply. In NYC, more than half of the housing stock is still subject to rent controls. NYC has very active historical preservation regulations that prevent the tearing down of a lot of old housing stock. NYC is not like Chicago where you see many high-rise residential condos under construction at any given time. SF is even worse--most of the city is zoned for single family homes and there are still strong rent controls. DC has a law that says nothing can be taller than the Capitol, which is why there are no skyscrapers at all in the city.

Chicago is very liberal with its construction policies. Its not hard to get permission to tear down an old building and put up a new high-density residential skyscraper, or at least a high-density mid-rise development. That helps increase the supply of housing.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by marothisu

What type of industry? Depends on the industry. There's tons of industries supported here, but of course there's some a lot stronger than others right not for sure. The unemployment rate isn't LOW, but that's another story. Tons of people here have good jobs, and there are many people not in that situation either.

I'll prolly end up in some kinda govt job, criminal justice/security related but not a cop

Originally Posted by chicagolawyer

Price is a function of supply and demand. Demand in Chicago is lower. Population in DC and LA (until this decade) has been growing much faster than in Chicago, and New York and Boston have been growing a little faster. More people moving in means more demand for housing.

Chicago also has dramatically fewer restrictions on supply. In NYC, more than half of the housing stock is still subject to rent controls. NYC has very active historical preservation regulations that prevent the tearing down of a lot of old housing stock. NYC is not like Chicago where you see many high-rise residential condos under construction at any given time. SF is even worse--most of the city is zoned for single family homes and there are still strong rent controls. DC has a law that says nothing can be taller than the Capitol, which is why there are no skyscrapers at all in the city.

Chicago is very liberal with its construction policies. Its not hard to get permission to tear down an old building and put up a new high-density residential skyscraper, or at least a high-density mid-rise development. That helps increase the supply of housing.

Why hasn't the population of Chicago been growing as fast?

Also, I'm pretty familiar with the pros by now, any more major cons, besides weather and isolated location?