Advice on moving to Chicago (architecture student) (Rockford, Springfield: living in, vs)

[nana053]

Problem with Toronto - can you actually work there? I know that Canada doesn't let people work unless they can show that no Canadian can do the job.

Determine your eligibility – Work in Canada

You might be exempt from this as a professional. I am not sure

Working in Canada | Embassy of the United States Ottawa, Canada

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sf_arkitect

Hey Guys! So I'm really looking forward to my trip to Chicago later this month. Can't wait.

The other city in the Great Lakes region that I have been curious about and have entertained the idea of moving to is Toronto. I have brought up the question of living in TO vs living in CHI in the Canada forum and I have also looked at the city vs city threads for TO and CHI. But I feel like those threads quickly turn into arguments over menial things and I also can notice a lot of city boosterism, especially for Toronto's side.

So I'm hoping that I can get some perspectives and tidbits of advice from Chicagoans point of view about which city (CHI or TO) is a better location given my circumstances as a recent grad in a design profession and which of the two would provide more opportunities for the car free living situation I'm hoping for.

Third point I'd then like to ask is which of these two has more opportunities for (eventual) home ownership within the city proper?

Thanks Chicagoans!!

That's what City Data does - everything turns into BS pretty much. Both cities can be good for car free for sure IMO. Toronto is a nice city and the two cities are alike in some ways. Toronto might have more nicer parts than Chicago though Chicago has many as well.

Architecture wise, it depends on what you think you can get. SOM and Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill are some of the most well known architecture firms in the world. Not everyone gets in there obviously, but you get the point.

I'm not really sure how easy it is to get a job in architecture in one city versus the other.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by sf_arkitect

Hey Guys! So I'm really looking forward to my trip to Chicago later this month. Can't wait.

The other city in the Great Lakes region that I have been curious about and have entertained the idea of moving to is Toronto. I have brought up the question of living in TO vs living in CHI in the Canada forum and I have also looked at the city vs city threads for TO and CHI. But I feel like those threads quickly turn into arguments over menial things and I also can notice a lot of city boosterism, especially for Toronto's side.

So I'm hoping that I can get some perspectives and tidbits of advice from Chicagoans point of view about which city (CHI or TO) is a better location given my circumstances as a recent grad in a design profession and which of the two would provide more opportunities for the car free living situation I'm hoping for.

Third point I'd then like to ask is which of these two has more opportunities for (eventual) home ownership within the city proper?

Thanks Chicagoans!!

Career: Chicago likely had more opps and higher wages.

Home expense: TO is definitely more expensive. Also no mortgage interest deduction.

Car free existence: TO has better uniform density as their burbs have smaller lots. In the core, Chicago has better transit infrastructure.

Based specifically in your questions (and the work permit issue), it's chicago hands down. Both are reasinably similar and in certain respects, I like TO more on some things: better diversity, less income disparity, less crime. In the areas you'd likely be living in either, both are reasonably safe. Two things I don't like as much about TO: their lakefront is really lacking. It doesn't open up to the city as much (more if a "working lakefront"). The cold. It's worse than Chicago in these respects these are my opinions based on info shared with me from a current TO, former Chicago resident who is neither a Canadian or US national FWIW.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Chicago76

The cold. It's worse than Chicago in these respects these are my opinions based on info shared with me from a current TO, former Chicago resident who is neither a Canadian or US national FWIW.

Yeah - it's a little colder. I have a friend in Chicago who's from Canada and used to live in Toronto who says that Chicago's winters are warmer. I'd believe that since Chicago's winters aren't even the coldest in the lower 48 or close to it.

[Chicago76]

The other things I'd add TO v CHI:

Canadian urban planning>>>>US urban planning, so there may be better infill design opps in TO. The new building design aesthetics are about equal IMO. The other issue with TO is currency risk. If you want to make a life in Canada, them TO is great. If you're thinking about depending 10-15 years there and coming back, that could be tricky depending upon currency fluctuations and where you want to live in the US. If the CD is high vs USD when you decide to return, then you're in luck. If it's low, then you've got savings and home equity in the wrong currency and your buying power really takes a hit and you might not be able to afford to come back to city X.

That's a moving risk in the US too to some extent. No currency issues but home equity issues. Someone choosing between the Bay Area and Chicago 25 years ago would have different mobility today. The person who did manage to buy in the Bat Area then has loads of equity. The person in Chicago saw equity growth too, but not enough to keep pace with moving back to SF. It wouldn't be a major hardship for someone making a lot if money, but architects don't generally make that kind of cash.

[tjasse]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Yeah - it's a little colder. I have a friend in Chicago who's from Canada and used to live in Toronto who says that Chicago's winters are warmer. I'd believe that since Chicago's winters aren't even the coldest in the lower 48 or close to it.

Chicago basically is the city with the coldest winter in the USA. It's in 3rd place after Minneapolis and Milwaukee, but do those two really count as cities?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by tjasse

Chicago basically is the city with the coldest winter in the USA. It's in 3rd place after Minneapolis and Milwaukee, but do those two really count as cities?

Milwaukee has 600,000 people with 2 million people in the metro area while Minneapolis has 400,000 with 3.3 million people in the metro area - yes they count as smallish to medium sized cities. Detroit, with over 700,000 people in the city and 3.7 million in the metro area, has bad winters too that are equally as cold with more snow on average too. Greater Cleveland, with 3.5 million in its whole area, has very slightly better winter temperatures with about double the snow. The winters of Boston (4.5-5 million in the area) are not that far behind Chicago either except with a little more snow than Chicago on average.

[tjasse]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Milwaukee has 600,000 people with 2 million people in the metro area while Minneapolis has 400,000 with 3.3 million people in the metro area - yes they count as smallish to medium sized cities. Detroit, with over 700,000 people in the city and 3.7 million in the metro area, has bad winters too that are equally as cold with more snow on average too. Greater Cleveland, with 3.5 million in its whole area, has very slightly better winter temperatures with about double the snow. The winters of Boston (4.5-5 million in the area) are not that far behind Chicago either except with a little more snow than Chicago on average.

Well let's be real, Minneapolis might have that many people but it isn't a city like Chicago or Toronto. Tucson, AZ has 600k people and 1mil in the MSA and nobody would ever mistake it for a real city. In any case, there is no getting around that Chicago is cold.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by tjasse

Well let's be real, Minneapolis might have that many people but it isn't a city like Chicago or Toronto. Tucson, AZ has 600k people and 1mil in the MSA and nobody would ever mistake it for a real city. In any case, there is no getting around that Chicago is cold.

I agree it's not, but it's still a city. 400,000 people is definitely smaller than Chicago but it's by no means a town by any stretch of the imagination.

Chicago is the coldest big city in the US, but my point was that there are colder areas of the country whether it's in a city or not.

[jdiddy]

How does a debate on cold weather enter into a discussion on Chicago vs Toronto?