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I think the notion of “mostly other Midwesterners move to Chicago” might have been somewhat true in decades past but we must also keep in mind highly urban cities only became “trendy” places to live only recently, really in the past 15 years I’d say. Chicago is in a fairly exclusive class of cities in terms of its urban lifestyle offerings and that appeals to a national market. So I think the mentality described previously is a legacy mentality. Sure - it absolutely does attract a lot of Midwesterners for a number of obvious reasons but it’s attracting more coastal and southern folks in recent years as well. I know more than a few born-and-raised Californians and Texans who have moved to the Windy City, for example.
I've met a few, but only a few, New England transplants in Chicago. More of the coastal transplants I've met have been from California, NY/NJ, the Mid-Atlantic states, and Florida.
I know people from Massachusetts and Connecticut (is it considered New England?) here. The other New England states have tiny populations.
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No place has ever felt more like home to me. It is simultaneously a very American city, a very real city (not an endless automobile-based sprawling hell like most newer American cities), and a very global city. Now I'm more-or-less a global nomad who can have my home base anywhere, and I continue to choose Chicago. The only downside to me in recent years is that it is becoming expensive, but that's true of all the cities I like (and certainly even more true in many places), so I can't really single out Chicago for that blame.
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That's my experience, too. Chicago, almost instantly, and definitely by the time the shock of a small-town country boy got used to the big city, has felt like home more than anywhere else I've lived, even including where I grew up. And it is getting more expensive, rapidly now. Which, since I managed to buy a home, is not all bad for me since I'm in one of the only neighborhoods that didn't suffer too much of a decline during the financial panic. But yeah, things are getting more and more expensive, including taxes which, for a long time, really were much lower than New York or San Francisco, but which have gone a long way toward catching up. Still less overall, but the gap has narrowed and will continue to narrow over the coming years.
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Originally Posted by Vlajos
Lots of weird posts about Chicago is only for the "native" born. Help me explain why in my office of 50, there are folks from Philly, Boston, China, Cambodia, Atlanta, Miami, France, NY, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Louisiana, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Lithuania and Kansas, etc.
Yeah, I just joined a new company whose office I haven't fully met yet, but the company I left, at one point only about 1/3 of the people were from Chicago. And only about half were even from the U.S. There were people from Germany, Russia, Serbia, Belorussia, India, China, South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, Mexico, and a handful of non-midwestern states.
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Originally Posted by MassVt
I'm curious if there's much of a New England contingent in the Chicago area. It's nor surprise that Chicago is Big-10 grad country, but I'm wondering about transplants from either coast, and what their experiences are. I've thought of living there, and I've visited a lot, but it might be a somewhat futuristic plan at this point..
I grew up in Gaston, Oregon, a town of (at the time) 560 people, 25 miles west-southwest of Portland, in the heart of Oregon wine country. What I realized within a few months of arriving in Chicago is that big cities - I think this applies to most big cities, actually - are like hundreds of small villages stacked on top of one another. People chose certain neighborhoods for specific reasons, which means it's not unusual to run into familiar faces throughout the city because you and your neighbors probably live similar lives, and do similar things. That said, because these virtual small towns are stack on top of each other, you also see and meet people in other circles that are very different from your own, allowing you to expand your world experience, learn from other people, and witness other cultures.
Part of why I fell in love with Chicago is that, in my experience, more people are open to talking and incorporating you into their circles than has been my experience in some other places. Although I think a lot of it does depend on knowing how to interact with people. I've always been sort of quieter person who mostly keeps to himself, but it really was Chicago that taught me how to get out and meet people, how to start conversations with almost anyone, how to approach people in ways they'll respond to and without seemingly like a creep or a jerk. I go in cycles of sociability, a few years of being pretty social, a few years of being more solitary, but through it all Chicago has remained a welcoming, comfortable while still challenging (in a good way) place to be.
I lived in the Minneapolis suburbs for 2 1/2 years and while it's not at all a terrible place, I found it to be much, much harder to break into social groups there than in Chicago. The only people I managed to make friends with were other transplants. In Chicago, it's been a pretty solid mix of locals and transplants.
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Originally Posted by Bluefox
I think the notion of “mostly other Midwesterners move to Chicago” might have been somewhat true in decades past but we must also keep in mind highly urban cities only became “trendy” places to live only recently, really in the past 15 years I’d say. Chicago is in a fairly exclusive class of cities in terms of its urban lifestyle offerings and that appeals to a national market. So I think the mentality described previously is a legacy mentality. Sure - it absolutely does attract a lot of Midwesterners for a number of obvious reasons but it’s attracting more coastal and southern folks in recent years as well. I know more than a few born-and-raised Californians and Texans who have moved to the Windy City, for example.
I think Chicago has had cycles of being a target of immigration - both domestic and international - over the nearly 200 years it's been around. But I think the most recent spurt of it re-establishing its global presence through in-migration of people from outside the region started in the 1990s.
I know people from Massachusetts and Connecticut (is it considered New England?) here. The other New England states have tiny populations.
Hi. I'm from Massachusetts, and lived in Chicago for almost 5 years. I lived with a group of guys in Old Town, all of which were from the greater Boston area. We wanted somewhere different, vibrant, a lower cost of living, with the amenities we'd grown accustomed to but on a larger scale.
I can say that Chicago is a great city. Phenomenal, even. It provided us with everything we were looking for in a new town. The people were top flight. The food is second to only New York. Nightlife was fantastic. But, fast forward five years, and are any of us still there? No. I'll get back to that point later.
The problems in Chicago are deep rooted and splitting at the seams. Watching the public sector unravel is like watching two trucks collide on the flattest highway in Nebraska. You can see it from a mile away, and man is it going to get ugly. I won't even get into those issues as they didn't affect me, and have become public knowledge. But, had I stayed, I certainly wouldn't have felt real comfortable buying a property in a city that was on the verge of bankruptcy.
It's not just the public sector. Unfortunately, the private sector is stagnant, compiling a different issue on top of the rest. In cities like Boston, San Francisco, Austin, Raleigh- Technology has become the backbone, with huge growth in other verticals like biopharma. The ability to culminate business inside of the city walls is obviously organic as much as anything. But what has Chicago done to attract tech talent? It's not often you hear the words Northwestern, UofI, or University of Chicago when you talk about tech. You hear them associated with law, engineering, finance, all of which have a foothold in Chicago. I find it to be related, and to be certain, a cause an effect within the cities fabric.
Now, back to us. Being that we moved from the Boston area, all of us started our careers in tech or consulting back east. A few of us actually relocated to Chicago with a Boston based firm. What happened when we wanted to look for a new job in Chicago? Or for more pay? It wasn't a competitive tech climate, one that we had grown accustomed too. There was very little opportunity, and per capita, even less.
To come full circle, the millennial generation and the generation on the cusp of home ownership are in search of broad brushed opportunity outside of finance and law. The landscape has changed, and it feels to me like Chicago hasn't changed in parallel. So it's not just blue collar, working class individuals that are leaving to pursue great opportunity. It's also the guys from Boston who wanted to climb the ranks in tech.
Good points, and I've heard similar statements from others in tech. There are certain salary and growth limitations that just don't exist in the east and west coasts, plus Seattle, Austin, etc. Obviously groups like 1871 are trying to change that narrative, but it is disappointing our universities aren't in the same tech ballpark as the Berkleys, the Research Triangle, etc.
Good points, and I've heard similar statements from others in tech. There are certain salary and growth limitations that just don't exist in the east and west coasts, plus Seattle, Austin, etc. Obviously groups like 1871 are trying to change that narrative, but it is disappointing our universities aren't in the same tech ballpark as the Berkleys, the Research Triangle, etc.
UIUC is in their ballpark, but that's just one University, and it's 2 hours away. I think UIC will gain in that regard in the coming years. IIT has strong tech rep in fintech, but that doesn't always translate to other tech plays. UC is getting better, too, as is Northwestern and DePaul, but they all have a lot of ground to make up.
Chicago is one of the most popular destinations in the US for people to move to both domestically and internationally. NY metro and LA/Cali may top it, but other than those regions Chicago is very high on the list. There are a good amount of people that are moving out, which is why the city has had stagnant/slightly decreasing population, but many of those people moving out of city proper are moving within Chicagoland.
Actually many more people are moving South to Texas, the Carolinas, Tennessee, way more than are moving to Chicago. My folks recently moved back to Chicago from the Carolinas and got free mileage on the truck which is normally at least 99 cents a mile because they were so happy to have someone bringing a truck back up north as opposed to down south.
This is stastically true as well as anecdodely I have several neighbors moving to Nashville, and various areas in Florida
Actually many more people are moving South to Texas, the Carolinas, Tennessee, way more than are moving to Chicago. My folks recently moved back to Chicago from the Carolinas and got free mileage on the truck which is normally at least 99 cents a mile because they were so happy to have someone bringing a truck back up north as opposed to down south.
This is stastically true as well as anecdodely I have several neighbors moving to Nashville, and various areas in Florida
A lot of older people move to those areas for a variety of reasons. I’m from Florida (recently moved here) and met up with several other Floridians who moved here within the past few years as well. For younger professionals, there are a lot more opportunities to make higher income here in the Chicago area than there are in Florida, where the wages are low and the housing prices are not really all that cheap. Realistically, climate change is also much more a factor if you are in your 20s-40s than it is if you are in your 50s-60s. I had a condo near the beach, but it wasn’t really going to be a long-term option with all the storms and rising sea levels when the “high” ground in the area was a mere 10-12’ above sea level.
Actually many more people are moving South to Texas, the Carolinas, Tennessee
Retirees or others looking for lower COL and warmer weather.
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