Relocate to chicago (real estate market, job, good schools)

[lac6684]

I was wondering if relocating to Chicago from Miami is a good idea as far as starting a new life and family?

Need advice

[dragoro]

Well everyone has their own oppinion. I've lived all over florida (ft laud, gainsville, tallahassee, holliwood, winter park) and in colorado, arizona, michigan, and maryland. Chicago is by far my favorite, I'm here to stay.

[jimbo13]

i moved here from FL seven years ago and don't think i could ever move back. spend one summer here and you'll be hooked.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

It's a great place to live. I know plenty of people who have met their husbands and wives and started having babies right here. Most of the time folks I know move out to the burbs or elsewhere by the time schools become an issue, but that doesn't mean there aren't some good schools here, too.

[Drover]

That's an awfully broad question and one that cannot be meaningfully answered without telling us what, in your opinion, constitutes a good place to start a new life and family. What is it about Miami that you don't think it's the right place to put down roots? What would you like to be different about wherever you end up?

I don't want to get to armchair-psychologist on you here, but I have a sense from the way you phrase your post (wanting to "start a new life") that you may be trying to get away from something that has less to do with where you are than who you are in terms of your current frame of mind. In short, make sure that you're not bringing with you to Chicago (or wherever) whatever it is that you're not satisfied about in Miami.

[lac6684]

ok well not a "new life", so i'll be more specifc. My fiancee and I want to move out and we are thinking of either Seattle or Chicago, not that we have any problems here in Miami, but we both share the thought that it is not a good place to evolve, we're both in our mid 20's and would like to start our professional careers outside of Miami. I believe Miami is a good place for those who have a lot of money or the criminal minded, and theres a lot of other problems with it, on top of the fact that I have been here all my life and have grown tired of it.

So having that out, I was looking to get information about moving to Chicago, such as the job market and situation, cost of living, porperty, life style and any other thing people ca give their opinions on since like I mentioned we are deciding between different cities.

[aragx6]

I have heard the job market is not great in much of Florida, I don't know if this is the case in Miami, but I do know others who have left the state because they couldn't find gainful, well-paying employment. I have not found this problem with Chicago, in fact it seems like there are plenty of jobs out there and the economy seems generally stronger (Our real estate market has also not seen the downturn others have, so i am sure that plays a role)

Cost of living is pretty relative, but coming from Miami I think you'd be quite happy with Chicago's costs.

It's cold here, which of course I'm sure you know, but coming from Miami it's certainly something to consider. It would be a major adjustment. Seattle certainly would too, especially because Seattle can be rather gloomy, quite the opposite of Miami.

[lac6684]

Dark, gloomy does not really bother me, i lived in England for a bit som im used to that weather and i like it.

[aragx6]

England's weather is much more like Seattle than Chicago. We've had over 50 inches of snow this year (several inches last night) Do you think you could handle that?

I grew up in another moderately snowy place in the Midwest so moving to Chicago wasn't as difficult a transition. If I were unused to snow, this winter probably would have been much harder for me.