Chicago Newcomer (Virginia, Richmond: best cities, sales, apartments)

[Va83]

I’m looking to live in a larger city but honestly don’t know where I want to go. I will definitely visit myself before making my move as I have a few years left before I move. Could you tell me everything you can about your city in great detail? Everyone has heard about the violence in Chicago. I’m guessing that’s contained to a certain part of town. That’s all cities they have their bad parts of town. So I’m looking for the positives of Chicago. I saw a thread that here on CD that voted Chicago one of the friendliest big cities in the USA.
Some things I’d like to know about are the weather. I’m in Richmond Virginia. It gets cold here but I don’t know how often if ever we reach negative temperatures. If there are any southerners here any advice on how to adjust would be helpful.
Another thing is transportation. Do you have to have a car or is your public transportation reliable?
One more thing. I’m a massage therapist and esthetician. Is it possible to get by with only me on that salary? I don’t know exactly what the salary is well because it fluctuates greatly depending on location and other factors.
Anything else you’d like to add is appreciated.

[chicagodude1984]

Not a "Southerner", But I lived for several years in Oklahoma City(Family reasons) so in gonna chime in on this...........



Diversity:
I'm sure you know Chicago is a very diverse and liberal city. Are you willing to accept this change ?? Chicago also has a VERY diverse religious community. Are you open to religious diversity ??

I ask this cause when I lived in OK I was SLAMMED with Christian religion in my face and dealt with racism on several occasions. Never heard much on VA, But heard its VERY common in most southern/red states
One of the main reasons I'll NEVER live in the "South" again or want to visit :/


Crime:
The stigma that Chicago is a SUPER dangerous city and you'll be raped and killed just walking around the city is more ignorant BS fed by the media and small town people living in sheltered bubble. Most of those issues are confined to certain bad areas that most people with common sense wouldn't venture into, As in ANY city/town you always have to watch your surroundings when out in about !!
Case in point, Few months ago I visited a friend in LA and we had dinner in Beverly hills and saw a guy robbing a CVS pharmacy !!! Fancy areas my SQUAT when it comes to crime


Transit:
Some on here may disagree, But IMO CTA/METRA/PACE are one the best transit systems in the USA.
Only issue that makes most people buy a car is not wanting to wait for a bus/train in middle of winter when it's -5 below outside.

Weather:
Summers can get hot/humid at times, But what gets most people are the winters. AS most of us >TRUE< midwesterner's, we're use it to it and doesn't really bug us. Me personally, I love the cold and prefer it vs HOT/Humid weather lol


Employment:

Best to research this carefully before relocating to a $$$ large city. If you're single, with NO kids and live a modest lifestyle, then I would figure $35K+ is a decent salary to get by on.


Sports:

Better pick your teams or you'll be a social outcast lol

[Va83]

Originally Posted by chicagodude1984

Not a "Southerner", But I lived for several years in Oklahoma City(Family reasons) so in gonna chime in on this...........



Diversity:
I'm sure you know Chicago is a very diverse and liberal city. Are you willing to accept this change ?? Chicago also has a VERY diverse religious community. Are you open to religious diversity ??

I ask this cause when I lived in OK I was SLAMMED with Christian religion in my face and dealt with racism on several occasions. Never heard much on VA, But heard its VERY common in most southern/red states
One of the main reasons I'll NEVER live in the "South" again or want to visit :/


Crime:
The stigma that Chicago is a SUPER dangerous city and you'll be raped and killed just walking around the city is more ignorant BS fed by the media and small town people living in sheltered bubble. Most of those issues are confined to certain bad areas that most people with common sense wouldn't venture into, As in ANY city/town you always have to watch your surroundings when out in about !!
Case in point, Few months ago I visited a friend in LA and we had dinner in Beverly hills and saw a guy robbing a CVS pharmacy !!! Fancy areas my SQUAT when it comes to crime


Transit:
Some on here may disagree, But IMO CTA/METRA/PACE are one the best transit systems in the USA.
Only issue that makes most people buy a car is not wanting to wait for a bus/train in middle of winter when it's -5 below outside.

Weather:
Summers can get hot/humid at times, But what gets most people are the winters. AS most of us >TRUE< midwesterner's, we're use it to it and doesn't really bug us. Me personally, I love the cold and prefer it vs HOT/Humid weather lol


Employment:

Best to research this carefully before relocating to a $$$ large city. If you're single, with NO kids and live a modest lifestyle, then I would figure $35K+ is a decent salary to get by on.


Sports:

Better pick your teams or you'll be a social outcast lol

Thanks for replying.
I welcome diversity of all kinds. The building I currently live in has several different backgrounds. Btw Virginia is a blue state and has been for several elections.
I figured that about the crime and transportation.
I guess I’ll be layering up for a few years lol.
35k?!? Really!?! Which neighborhoods would that put me in? I’m looking to buy a 1 bedroom condo. How much might that run me in one of the good neighborhoods?
I love baseball games! I anticipate if I live here being in attendance regularly.

[RamenAddict]

Hi OP, I am from Florida, but my family is originally from NW Indiana.

Some people hate the weather, some don’t mind it. I have lived somewhere outside the US before with no central heat and the only thing I really can’t stand about the winters is having this baseboard heat, so I am moving to place without it. Otherwise, you can buy clothing that works. People here complain about the summers being “hot and humid” but it just makes me laugh and laugh. Where’s the wall of steam? There is none. It has been HOT, but not hot and humid since I moved here a year ago. The summer was pretty nice overall. Before moving here, I lived in north Florida for about 7 years, so it often got into the high 90s or over 100. I would say there are about three horrible months- January-March. The rest are not too bad.

I don’t really feel that this city is dangerous, but the last place I lived in Florida had some issues with crime as well and unlike here where the crime is really concentrated, in my last Florida city the shootings could be at the art walk or a downtown event. As a female, I would not feel comfortable doing anything doing in the evening, but here I feel pretty safe. Would I go around at 2am? Probably not, but in the evening or earlier morning it’s not a problem. There are areas that my GPS will basically go out of its way to route me around though... You will find out pretty quickly which neighborhoods those are.

The transit system is awesome compared to most places in the South that are car oriented. Depending on where you live, you might not need a car. A former coworker’s friend moved up a few years before me and she got rid of her car entirely and relies on public transit. She absolutely loves it. If you live outside the center of town and are willing to live in a more vintage place, the prices are still quite reasonable for the amenities you’ll have here.

There are so many cultural options here for you to enjoy. I do not care for sports, so I may be a social outcast, but big deal. There are other options than sports and plenty of people here really don’t watch sports all the time. There is the architecture foundation (you can join and they have free walking tours around the city after you join), the opera, plenty of concerts, etc. There is something for everyone in terms of activities to do. The focus a lot of people seem to have is on sports, but if that is not your thing, then you can absolutely find options, even in the suburbs. In the suburb I am in now, the village had some absolutely ridiculous class offerings for theater if I was interested in taking those classes. Obviously if you are in the city, you will have even more options!

There is also a lot of great food. There are restaurants of all sorts. I can’t say I recommend the seafood generally, but the other options are varied and exciting. You can find something for everyone and it’s not just pizza and hot dogs.

One of the best things about Chicago is that while the taxes are high, the overall COL for a city of this size is really low considering the good public transport. I have a family member in the SF Bay Area and it’s probably 4x as expensive to buy there and 2-3x as expensive to rent. I have a friend in LA who has a pretty inexpensive place with great public transport, but he managed to luck into it 7 years ago and I don’t think the landlord wants to raise his rent much. For the most part, the commutes people have there are outrageous. He still can’t afford to buy, even though his salary would get him a pretty good condo here. His boyfriend commutes two hours one way. No one here needs to commute that long with the Metra, even if they live in a relatively far flung suburb.

It’s a decent choice, but that said, I still think it might be hard if your income is lower due to the high tax burden. Sales tax is ridiculous. It is not that expensive to move a car (only about $200, which is cheaper than a lot of Southern states), but they make you get city stickers every year on top of your license plate renewal, so you can probably expect to spend more for yearly upkeep of your registration.

[Va83]

Is Hyde Park, zip code 60615 a good neighborhood?

[TBideon]

It's an exceptional neighborhood for the most part.

[dnrodriguez]

Florida transplant here as of September 2017. For what it is worth I've found this winter to be relatively tolerable. Although it seems to be lingering longer than normal, I can only think of a couple days where snow was a major impediment. Overall, I've found Chicago to live up to the expectation across the board as one of the best cities in the US and public transportation in particular is fantastic. However, I think if you're living modestly $55k would be a more reasonable mark to get by.

[Va83]

Excuse my ignorance but what are your gas bill like? I don’t know much about furnaces because 99% of homes in Richmond have central heat and air. I know one person with a furnace. He said he pays about $400 to heat his home. That’s insane to me!

[Vlajos]

^ How big is that home for $400? In the worst winter month, my bill is that high. We live in a single family that is 3,000+ SF. Most apartments will pay nothing near that amount.

Also, what do you mean by furnace? A home with central heat has a furnace too.

[Va83]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

^ How big is that home for $400? In the worst winter month, my bill is that high. We live in a single family that is 3,000+ SF. Most apartments will pay nothing near that amount.

Also, what do you mean by furnace? A home with central heat has a furnace too.

I apologize. I meant radiator.