Would I Like Chicago? (Washington, Atlanta: real estate, condo, credit)

[Opin_Yunated]

I've been there at least a half dozen times in the past year for work travel. I think I could see myself there. It is my #1 city for relocation.

About me:
26 years old, black male, single, no kids, white collar profession. I currently live on the East Coast but I'm from Western New York. I'm non-religious, very left-leaning politically, and enjoy fitness and the bar scene. My income range is $50K-$75K per year. I have some job leads, but would never attempt a relocation without a job lined up first so I'd work on that.

Would I like Chicago? I hear there are a lot of young professionals.. Just wanted to get the local's opinion. Are there a lot of black professionals also? In Western New York, there were a lot of black people but due to housing segregation the income disparities between races are huge. The East Coast has more parity.

I'd also like to get into real estate in the next 5-10 years or so, which is impossible on the East Coast at my age. Zillow searches have Chicago winning in that regard. Thoughts?

[M_Life]

[SIZE=3][/SIZE]Chicago is a great place for thelifestyle you have in mind. The bar scene is pretty huge given the weathersituation, and most people our age are also into fitness. People live forspending the summers outdoors on the lake/ beach, patios, rooftops, etc.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
And yes, there’s a ton of youngprofessionals in Chicago. I’m willing to bet less diverse than the East Coasthowever. Btw I’m your age, also black male, finance professional. Depending onwho you choose to associate with socially, you might find there’s not a ton ofyoung/single working blackprofessionals, but for the most part race is irrelevant when you carry yourselfprofessionally. I’ve found people to be pretty nice in general once you engagethem in conversation.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
The one thing I will say is that in myexperience, the majority of people I meet are from Chicago and have wellestablished social circles (including me). To an outsider it may be difficultto break into, but there’s so much to do in the city that it probably wouldn’tbe too difficult to meet people. There’s a million intramural leagues – beach vball,softball, bball, etc. among other great ways to meet people.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Opin_Yunated

I've been there at least a half dozen times in the past year for work travel. I think I could see myself there. It is my #1 city for relocation.

About me:
26 years old, black male, single, no kids, white collar profession. I currently live on the East Coast but I'm from Western New York. I'm non-religious, very left-leaning politically, and enjoy fitness and the bar scene. My income range is $50K-$75K per year. I have some job leads, but would never attempt a relocation without a job lined up first so I'd work on that.

Would I like Chicago? I hear there are a lot of young professionals.. Just wanted to get the local's opinion. Are there a lot of black professionals also? In a relative sense there are many more white / East Indian / Asian professionals in a typical professional office setting than professionals that would be identified as of AA race In Western New York, there were a lot of black people but due to housing segregation the income disparities between races are huge. The economic segregation of Chicago is well known. Although some progress has been made since times past when large public housing projects had the greatest numbers of AA individuals / families near the Loop it would not be accurate to characterize Chicago as anywhere racial parity. The East Coast has more parity.

I'd also like to get into real estate in the next 5-10 years or so, which is impossible on the East Coast at my age. Zillow searches have Chicago winning in that regard. Really need more info about specific goals -- owing a condo that would be comfortable for a single or couple is probably doable on a salary in the $50k-$75k range. Single families homes that might be affordable on that income are likely not going to be a particularly desirable part of the city Thoughts?

It is wise to have career based employment lined before moving but prior to really focusing on Chicago you need to be more specific about what sorts of work you do, what sorts of goals you have and what trade-offs you are willing to accept.

I have worked in dozens of offices in the Loop and office parks in the suburbs. Mostly in firms in the broader financial services sector / IT centric roles.
It is typical for AA professionals to be dramatically under-represented even compared to other areas that I have traveled on business -- the Atlanta and Washington DC areas in particular probably average 2 or 3 times the AA professionals. That said, the attitudes of just about everyone I have worked with in professional settings in the Chicago region have been very open toward having colleagues of any race.

If you have not spent time visiting Chicago I would encourage to do so. Go to some sporting events. Hang out at the museums. Have drinks and dinner at our wide range of restaurants and nightspots.

If you find the social mix to your liking then by all means, plan for a move.

Of course there are pockets of unenlightened social norms -- co-workers that are AA have shared stories of uncomfortable encounters with law enforcement that are not keyed into to reality of people of color working / living in more affluent areas. Traffic stops and even questions when leaving office building late at night are part of the hassle that they should not have to deal with.

The more working class parts of the region have been hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs and the disillusionment that comes with it sometimes spills over into overt racism. The region has seen many once fully employed blue collar workers suffer terribly and folks "stuck behind" wrongly associate the political mistakes that forced away good paying factory jobs with the lower income people that have moved into the once bustling areas. I suspect this same pattern is part of the experience in Western NY...

[personone]

Originally Posted by M_Life

[SIZE=3][/SIZE]Chicago is a great place for thelifestyle you have in mind. The bar scene is pretty huge given the weathersituation, and most people our age are also into fitness. People live forspending the summers outdoors on the lake/ beach, patios, rooftops, etc.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
And yes, there’s a ton of youngprofessionals in Chicago. I’m willing to bet less diverse than the East Coasthowever. Btw I’m your age, also black male, finance professional. Depending onwho you choose to associate with socially, you might find there’s not a ton ofyoung/single working blackprofessionals, but for the most part race is irrelevant when you carry yourselfprofessionally. I’ve found people to be pretty nice in general once you engagethem in conversation.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
The one thing I will say is that in myexperience, the majority of people I meet are from Chicago and have wellestablished social circles (including me). To an outsider it may be difficultto break into, but there’s so much to do in the city that it probably wouldn’tbe too difficult to meet people. There’s a million intramural leagues – beach vball,softball, bball, etc. among other great ways to meet people.
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]

There was some quasi-analysis/study floating around recently that had Chicago as the 3rd most diverse city because unlike other cities that have one large, dominant ethnic group, Chicago is approximately 1/3 White, 1/3 Black, and 1/3 Hispanic with Asians at about 6%. Chicago has the 7th largest Asian population in terms of raw numbers. It got more credit for diversity for whites, since several are from various ethnic groups (Polish, Italian, Ukranian, Greek, etc.). So Chicago is very diverse, and probably as diverse, if not more so than most east coast cities (obviously excluding NYC).

Chicago has a really cool social scene. I disagree that it's hard to break into the social scene in Chicago When I first moved here, between work, people I knew in the city before, church, sports/activities, etc. it was easy making new friends. I found Chicago to be a very social/friendly city. It's not very cliquish like some cities. If you have a good personality, you will easily make friends here.

There are plenty of young professionals, and I see plenty of African American young professionals when I'm on the L, at happy hours, a good friend of mine is a successful AA professional and I have hung out with some of his friends too; all cool, young professionals.

If you don't mind Winter, Chicago is a great place. Make sure you have already secured a position (don't move here without a job). Chicago is considered "more affordable" than a lot of east coast cities, but it's not cheap to live here. If you are working a professional job, you can live pretty comfortably.

[Vlajos]

Probably, but you should visit and find out.

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If you have not spent time visiting Chicago I would encourage to do so.

He HAS! He said he's been here at least half a dozen times in the last year for work. I think at this point he's going to get the best advice from other young AA professionals. Not middle-aged white people. (I'm including myself in that.)

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

He HAS! He said he's been here at least half a dozen times in the last year for work. I think at this point he's going to get the best advice from other young AA professionals. Not middle-aged white people. (I'm including myself in that.)

My hunch is that the OP probably has not seen all that many folks that would readily fit his background. That does not surprise me. When I do "non-tourist" type things in Washington DC or Atlanta I see a lot more younger professional AA men and women than I do in workplaces in Chicago and the suburbs. They need to weigh that factor in that decision...

I think NYC is probably just a little bit better than Chicago and places like Boston might be a bit worse. I have only been to Philadelphia a few times on work related travel but my impression was that is could be even further from parity.

Mind you these are in "workplace settings" -- that means not the tourist spots but what the OP needs to investigate. Midday lunch spots, the afterwork hang outs that folks head to after their commute, and the sort of early morning neighorhood scene.

[Ace Rothstein]

There are a lot of young, black professionals but they seem pretty spread around town.

[NOLA101]

I think probably, yes, it could be a good option, but you will have the same issues of income disparity and racial segregation. It isn't going to be different than what you're currently experiencing. The stereotypically "nice" areas of Chicago have little to no diversity, and especially don't have African Americans (professional or otherwise).

[marothisu]

You might like it at least based on what you say (though hard to get a true feel for your personality based off a few words of course). There are black young professionals around town but the city is still fairly segregated both racially and class wise. On the salary you think you'd get, you could live in most areas of the city. You might want to look into the South Loop area, especially if you get a salary near the upper end of your quoted figure.

Originally Posted by NOLA101

I think probably, yes, it could be a good option, but you will have the same issues of income disparity and racial segregation. It isn't going to be different than what you're currently experiencing. The stereotypically "nice" areas of Chicago have little to no diversity, and especially don't have African Americans (professional or otherwise).

This is true when you're talking about racial diversity. Diversity due to personality is a little bit harder to pin down in reality.