Artist, real estate agent and Single mom moving to chicago from memphis (Oak Park: transplants, 2015)

[artbyaweirdo]

ok so im 25.5 with a 5 yr old. i must add that im also 7 months pregnant and due in october. im an artist/painter with a long educational and work force track record in healthcare. Before the kids i planned on going to medical school and though i will have to go with something else in thr healthcare world for now, im well aware of the caliber of universities and hospitals in chicago for when im ready to pursue being a physcian.


i also have my real estate license though i havent started a career in memphis just yet. im hoping to transfer my license to wherever i move to....however i might add that im not looking to make real estate my first career choice. i just like to have back up.

ive lived in milwaukee, litle rock, nashville and virginia beach. i came back home to memphis to finish school but that hasnt happened. its super hard to be progressive around here.

im hoping to move to chicago or maybe another large city in feb/march of next year (2015)..... with my savings and tax refund i should have around 12k to start off with. i plan to go to one of the city colleges of chicago to pursure physcian assistant studies or dental hygeine.

im getting rid of my car and purging our things. i REALLY want to live somewhere where we can walk to local stores, delis and things of that nature. i also need to live within walking distance to an elementary school for my 5 yr old.. are there any in the downtown area? i will most likely take the new baby to the daycare at the college ill be going to.

any ideas will be greatly appreciated!

[marothisu]

I don't think you're going to be affording anything in the downtown area with the money you have and your situation. I can't speak to the kid thing, but what exactly do you think your monthly budget will be for rent? Would you be looking for a 2 bedroom, or a 3?

There are many other neighborhoods in Chicago - downtown is in no way the only good area of town and things are cheaper elsewhere. Then of course there's some suburbs - some are walkable in small areas though only a few of them in the area you could mistake for the city of Chicago.

[artbyaweirdo]

Thanks for replying. Im hoping to find a decent space for around 1200-1500/month. i can live with a 1 bedroom for the first 6months to a year if i must. the kids' father is a police officer here in memphis but is looking to transfer. he was the only reason i was staying here in town...i really love chicago but him being a police officer in chicago wories him so we will likely co parent and i have no doubt that he'll be financially supportive.

i would like to live somewhere in walking distance to stores since i have 2 kids but dont want to keep our car.

what other areas should i look in? i wouldnt mind a college town as im a student myself. i prefer a diverse and urban place.

[Ace Rothstein]

I'd think twice about getting rid of your car with having kids. Taking kids on the bus for a doctor's appointment when they are sick wouldn't be fun. I wouldn't take public transportation with a newborn either.

Chicago is a safer city than Memphis as well. He should transfer immediately if he has the opportunity.

[mjtinmemphis]

I moved from Memphis to Chicago and started out in Oak Park. They have a phenomenal school district. I was paying 1k per month for a one bedroom. It was a great location for an introduction to Chicago. Although I don't have children It's a very kid friendly suburb with excellent walk score. Lots of options for your 5 year old. Many restaurants and shops that would be good for convenience. You also have excellent transportation to downtown with the Metra, blue and the green line trains. Easy community for transplants from the south to adjust to. Very progressive population especially coming from Memphis.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I moved from Memphis to Chicago and started out in Oak Park. They have a phenomenal school district. I was paying 1k per month for a one bedroom. It was a great location for an introduction to Chicago. Although I don't have children It's a very kid friendly suburb with excellent walk score. Lots of options for your 5 year old. Many restaurants and shops that would be good for convenience. You also have excellent transportation to downtown with the Metra, blue and the green line trains. Easy community for transplants from the south to adjust to. Very progressive population especially coming from Memphis.

Rents in most desirable suburbs, including Oak Park, have spiked up considersbly over the past year. Additionally I hear reports that daycare costs are also rising.

On the positive side, most accounts that I hear about the quality of the community college that serves Oak Park, Triton, is that it is superior to the community colleges that serve Chicago for preparing folks for employment as some kind of health care job.

Longer term, it is probably more realistic to aim for a slot at Midwestern University in Downers Grove which has programs for Dentistry and Osteopathic Physician. It is rather difficult to get there w/o a personal vehicle. Similar transit issues exist for getting to the medical school in North Chicago; it may not be realistic to focus only on the top tier medical school which have an exceptional pool of candidates from the upper ranks of students globably...

Coincidentally, the efforts of Illinois' physicians to lobby state licensing officials makes it very uncommon to find "Physician Assistants" employed in Illinois. One is likely to find it faster / more economically advantageous to earn a RN certification and then add Nurse Practioner certification with added education. Other states (often in less populous areas...) seem to be less hostile to the PA designation. I would also note that the relative acceptance of "progressive lifestyles" in some of these areas is also excellent. College towns like Iowa City, Boulder CO, the various Pacific Northwest states and even more rural parts of northern California may all be better choices than Illinois.

Finally, from a practical standpoint, with a baby due in just a few months, it may make more sense to make plans to relocate when the newborn is about 6 month or so old. As I recall the first few months with a newborn are an exhausting time for mom, with lots of sleep deprivation. Hardly seems like an ideal time to be get used to a new city, especially one that has many issues with safety in lower priced neighborhoods...

[natsherr]

With everything going on here in Memphis with the cuts to police and fire benefits, your significant other should transfer....

I also live here in Memphis and will be relocating to Chicago because my husbands job is transferring him there, so I will be keeping a close eye on this thread. Although our situations are a little different, I was really curious if anyone had any comparisions between the two... Obviously, Memphis is a much smaller city and the winters are a little warmer here.

For those who have made the move, were you happy? Was it a good move?

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by natsherr

With everything going on here in Memphis with the cuts to police and fire benefits, your significant other should transfer....

I also live here in Memphis and will be relocating to Chicago because my husbands job is transferring him there, so I will be keeping a close eye on this thread. Although our situations are a little different, I was really curious if anyone had any comparisions between the two... Obviously, Memphis is a much smaller city and the winters are a little warmer here.

For those who have made the move, were you happy? Was it a good move?

I have family in Memphis and it is sad what is happening to that city.

I made the move in 2008 and stayed until 3 months ago. There's really no comparison at all between the cities. I don't really know where to start the comparison. I had a serious hate for Memphis while living there and could never adjust to the people and their religious hypocrisy and the way they do conservative politics on the state level. The where you go to church thing was beyond annoying.

Memphis is a African American and White city. Chicago is multi racial. The dynamics and all around culture of the the two will be different.

Chicago is a Catholic town where as Memphis is Evangelical with major influence from Southern Baptist and the cogic denomination. Religion is hardly ever brought up in Chicago like it was in Memphis.

Chicago is more of a tough guy from the neighborhood blue collar town. Memphis is more of a southern low key slow pace town with a lot of rural influence.

I found it easier to do business in Chicago and a lot easier to make friends. I was in Memphis for 5 years and didn't have any friends where as Chicago I started making friends right away. With in 6 months I had movie buddies and met plenty of foodies to enjoy the city with.

I have to bring up race because both cities are racially motivated. As an Black male, I noticed the Blacks in Chicago are no where near as hateful towards other races as they are in Memphis. Because of the demographics there is a lot more interaction between Blacks and Whites in Memphis. Block by block segregation index shows 25% of the blocks in Memphis has at least a 20% mixture of blacks and whites living on the same block where as Chicago is only 6% judging by the same criteria.

The winters are going to be just as intense as the summers are in Memphis. It's all a matter of preference.

Memphis is just as southern as Chicago is Midwestern. Chicago does have more of an international appeal.

Memphis will throw a friendly hello to a stranger. Chicago generally don't talk to strangers but when you get to know them they will talk your head off.

If you're in the city you will more than likely be invited to join friends at the local restaurant or bar where as Memphians will entertain in their homes.

You will notice a HUGE difference in the work ethic. Memphis is a lot slower and in a way too relaxed for my taste. Chicago is a hustling city. You have to develop that type of energy or else you will be eaten alive.

If you are a family oriented person you may want to check out the suburbs. They can be more economical than the city.

Over all Chicago is just like Memphis. You have to try to make it work. I couldn't make Memphis work for me and i made Chicago work almost instantly. So you know that I prefer Chicago.

[artbyaweirdo]

I looked into oak park and I'm quite impressed....almost reminds me of midtown Memphis...maybe I'm wrong. And I looked into Triton college as well.

My family thinks I'm completely insane to move to Chicago especially after the July 4th shootings.... Am I?????? They suggested I look into Dallas or Atlanta but like mentioned before...its just soooo slow in the south. I came back home after living in Milwaukee for 2yrs and was baffled as to how slow and lazy everything is and feels. I've been dying to get back "up north". I enjoy the hustle mentality tremendously.

How far away is oak park from any type of "artsy" like area. I wouldn't say I'm the hippie type but I enjoy art shows and would like to meet other painters...

[Carson9]

You will most likely never be near any of the areas where all the 4th shootings were. I don't even know where they were - somewhere south or west I assume. I don't even pay attention to all the "shooting news". It's like white noise at this point to me.

On a side note, you won't be able to simply transfer your TN real estate license. You'll most likely have to take the Illinois real estate broker course and pass the appropriate state test(s) to practice in Chicago. Just an FYI.