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Old 08-03-2019, 05:48 AM
 
1,080 posts, read 837,235 times
Reputation: 1401

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Di3s3l_Pow3r View Post
the average household income for Chicago metro is around $83k I believe, so go figure with almost double the income you should be fine for a nice condo/house and porsche
To be fair, the average Chicago household doesn't live downtown, and $135k is not almost double $83k.

As others have said, it really depends on lifestyle. If he's wanting a spacious "upscale" place, a nice car, going out often, traveling often, and putting away a good amount for savings/retirement, it might not be as easy as it seems-- rent and purchase prices downtown have gotten steep. It would certainly be easier to do all of that if he didn't live downtown. That being said, if he's willing to watch his budget and/or do without one or more of those things, he'll be fine.
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Old 08-03-2019, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
8,851 posts, read 5,871,086 times
Reputation: 11467
Quote:
Originally Posted by dtcbnd03 View Post
You can live downtown in any city in America with that income...c'mon...
Not really. Again, depending on the building and other factors, there are many places downtown he wouldn’t be able to afford on his salary.
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Old 08-03-2019, 11:28 AM
 
629 posts, read 543,458 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasBound19 View Post
do condos downtown have parking?

most do, but it will cost you extra, obviously
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Old 08-03-2019, 12:57 PM
 
1,067 posts, read 916,122 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by personone View Post
Not really. Again, depending on the building and other factors, there are many places downtown he wouldn’t be able to afford on his salary.
Yes really. Spending $4k/month ($48k/year) would land you a sick 1 bed / 1 bath in one of the coolest building in downtown Chicago. Even then you'd be left with about $33k/year in disposable income which is plenty for a single person.

If you can't live on $135k a year + bonus downtown then call me and I'll come down and slap some sense into you for free. Live below your means...
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Old 08-03-2019, 01:09 PM
 
Location: Chicago, Tri-Taylor
5,014 posts, read 9,459,618 times
Reputation: 3994
I'm going to go with no, just to be contrarian!

You know, there is such a thing as a calculator and a spreadsheet?
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Old 08-03-2019, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
4,069 posts, read 7,316,982 times
Reputation: 3062
Quote:
Originally Posted by dtcbnd03 View Post
You can live downtown in any city in America with that income...c'mon...
I'd venture that in Manhattan or San Francisco, one would have to budget really carefully on a $135K income... and not be too picky about one's dwelling...
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Old 08-03-2019, 05:56 PM
 
296 posts, read 439,214 times
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Why would this not be a sufficient salary in Chicago downtown ? I would have expected overwhelming "Yes". This is about $7.8k after tax. You can pay 3k a month in rent (and mind you, $3k is what is average rent for a decent place in NY/SF) which should get a pretty decent place in downtown, and still be left over with more than what an average person would make in salary. So why wouldn't it be sufficient ?
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Old 08-03-2019, 07:28 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
8,851 posts, read 5,871,086 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dtcbnd03 View Post
Yes really. Spending $4k/month ($48k/year) would land you a sick 1 bed / 1 bath in one of the coolest building in downtown Chicago. Even then you'd be left with about $33k/year in disposable income which is plenty for a single person.

If you can't live on $135k a year + bonus downtown then call me and I'll come down and slap some sense into you for free. Live below your means...
Maybe, but $135K is not a super high salary. He couldn't live everywhere downtown on that salary. I make more than that, and after taxes, benefits, 401K/retirement, regular savings, car payment (which I unfortunately had to end up getting for convenience b/c I have to travel to the NW burbs at least a couple times/week for work), and other monthly expenses, I couldn't live everywhere.

Sure, I could live in a lot of places, but you're math is way too simplistic to think that someone with that salary could comfortably drop $4K/month on housing (assuming he is putting money away for retirement, savings, and has normal benefits deductions).

Assuming this is a true post, then he will have a good number of options. I'm just pointing out that there will be some places he won't be able to afford on that salary downtown. As you correctly indicated, if he lives within his means, there will definitely be enough options.
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Old 08-03-2019, 10:39 PM
 
3,452 posts, read 4,618,418 times
Reputation: 4985
$135k is great money for Chicago as a single with no debt. You can live just about anywhere you want in the city. Pick a nice 1BR and make sure it has all of the amenities. Preferable in a cool neighborhood like River North or Gold Coast.

Enjoy yourself man. You are in for a treat. Chicago is awesome.
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Old 08-03-2019, 11:46 PM
 
Location: Chicago
944 posts, read 1,210,505 times
Reputation: 1153
Quote:
Originally Posted by personone View Post
Maybe, but $135K is not a super high salary. He couldn't live everywhere downtown on that salary. I make more than that, and after taxes, benefits, 401K/retirement, regular savings, car payment (which I unfortunately had to end up getting for convenience b/c I have to travel to the NW burbs at least a couple times/week for work), and other monthly expenses, I couldn't live everywhere.

Sure, I could live in a lot of places, but you're math is way too simplistic to think that someone with that salary could comfortably drop $4K/month on housing (assuming he is putting money away for retirement, savings, and has normal benefits deductions).

Assuming this is a true post, then he will have a good number of options. I'm just pointing out that there will be some places he won't be able to afford on that salary downtown. As you correctly indicated, if he lives within his means, there will definitely be enough options.
I mean this is true but nobody in human history has ever truly decided that they have enough money except for the true creme de la creme of billionaires. There is always a bigger yacht or whatever, you can always be convinced to drop $700 million in order to buy a soccer team in Germany or whatever because your neighbor did.

As is often the case, the question here is "can I afford [x] thing on a salary that is much higher than what most people make?" and the answer is prima facie yes... but we still have to hear from well off folks about how actualllllllllly it is very hard to live on more money than the average American makes in 7 years because a new Mini Cooper is quite pricey and you couldn't possibly drive a less expensive car.
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