Do you consider a $93k salary a good salary in Chicago?

[Marv95]

Unless your student loan is law school-level bad or worse, that's a great salary for a frugal single even in those areas. I wish I could sniff that amount.

Chicago isn't NYC where there's a local and commuter tax off your paycheck.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by beaniemac

I'm sorry, this thread sounds more like a humble brag than someone actually looking for information. a quick google search will tell you exactly how far this salary will go in chicago.

I didn’t get that vibe. Chicago is one of those cities where it is very easy to spend a lot of money if you aren’t careful. There’s a lot of people who make a lot more than $93k there and plenty of businesses that cater to expensive lifestyles. If I lived there, my Achilles’ heel would be food. I would probably drop a ridiculous amount of money on eating out since it’s such an amazing food city.

At the end of the day, $93k goes pretty far in Chicago. You can get a nice place and have a nice lifestyle on that income. But there are a lot of expensive temptations you would need to resist.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

...
If I lived there, my Achilles’ heel would be food. I would probably drop a ridiculous amount of money on eating out since it’s such an amazing food city.
...

I don't even want to think about how much of my Orbitz stock option money went to fine dining. Tens and tens of thousands of dollars, and I wasn't buying $1,000 bottles of wine, I was just enjoying very fine food with very fine service. I don't regret it, but will readily admit that a financial advisor would cringe pretty hard. I'm no longer a regular at multiple Michelin-starred restaurants, but I still enjoy the occasional splurge. It's relatively easy to let dining expenses get away from you in a town like this.