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Glad to see that Chicago is in the top 10 destinations but what is the out migration rate? Is it larger than the in flow of new residents? Not a city map but city population patterns tend to follow county population patterns.
I don’t think anyone disagrees with the trends from 2020-2021. A ton of people left the Chicago area due to the pandemic restrictions and ability to telework. Now that’s ending for a lot of people and people started moving back in late last year. One of my coworkers moved into the city because the rental prices in the suburbs were much higher than they were for a comparable unit in the city.
I think Sunbelt cities are way over rated. Especially Southern cities. Chicago is a great value and offers a lot. Many cities try to create what comes natural for Chicago and fail miserably.
I think Sunbelt cities are way over rated. Especially Southern cities. Chicago is a great value and offers a lot. Many cities try to create what comes natural for Chicago and fail miserably.
100% agree. There are no neighborhoods like Lakeview or Wicker Park in Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, or Charlotte. The urbanity is god awful down south. The few neighborhoods in these cities that are a tad bit urban are extremely overpriced.
100% agree. There are no neighborhoods like Lakeview or Wicker Park in Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, or Charlotte. The urbanity is god awful down south. The few neighborhoods in these cities that are a tad bit urban are extremely overpriced.
I was in Uptown Dallas last year and couldn't believe how contrived and pretentious the area felt. It was like a bunch of middle class folks trying to flaunt wealth they didn't have while taking pictures and looking cool in the city. It just doesn't work for me. I love the down to earth vibe of the Midwest.
Been forever since I've posted here. Moved away from Chicago to NYC in late 2016 with a career offer I couldn't refuse. Just moved back to Chicago in late 2021 with a wife (lol). Prices were already ridiculous there and we were paying $3600/mo for our nice 1 bedroom apartment, which is now over $5000/mo there. Amazing views of Manhattan but still so expensive just for 700 sq ft. The 1 bedroom condos next to us were going for $1.3M+ and that wasn't even in Manhattan. So when we started planning to have a kid, my wife convinced me to move back to Chicago with her (she's never lived here til now) purely because of prices. Stars aligned for work and it happened.
Within 6 months of being back here we purchased a really nice 4 bedroom condo on the north side for literally 1/4 the price per sq foot of the similar in parts of Brooklyn and even better if compared to Manhattan. We moved to Chicago with our NYC salaries so it works out pretty well. The lower income tax here helps pay for a lot of the property tax for our 4 bedroom place. Basically adjusting for income tax differences, our 4 bedroom condo here including property tax, insurance, and utilities is maybe $400/mo more than what we paid for our last 1 bedroom place in NYC. Totally worth it in our eyes.
Since being back, I've noticed a TON of out of state, out of the midwest mainly plates in the north side neighborhoods - big time from CA, NY, NJ, FL, TX, CO, VA, and MO. Have seen adequate amount of MA ones too and even ID, UT, OK, AL, GA, SC, and AK. Even moreso at times than the WI, IA, IN, and MI plates (lesser extent MN). Last time I lived here that wasn't necessarily the case as it was mainly plates from the neighboring states with a few NY or CA sprinkled in sometimes. Also noticed a bunch of moving trucks but honestly, noticed more Penske trucks around here than UHaul. These are all just 1 point of data overall. Since my move was a corporate move, companies like Penske or UHaul weren't involved. I've even seen some pretty local out of state movers - one we saw down the street the other week was from a Manhattan-only mover and clearly someone moving here from NYC. Have met a few other people at my work who moved from NYC, London, and Philadelphia to Chicago in the last year.
It's been interesting too in some north side areas - I've been actually surprised to see that some parts of Lincoln Park and Lakeview, mainly in the east part, seem a little more diverse than last time I lived in the city. Wasn't expecting this but it's a nice surprise. Some of the people hanging out in these parts also seem a little trendier on the outside, which is also something I never would have expected out of those areas. They also seem a little more vibrant on the street than last I lived here - same as areas like Wicker Park. Back when I moved away from here the north side train lines would be almost all white without fail - a little more diverse seeming this time. Still segregated but a little less feeling this time. Just anecdotes and my observations, but good surprises all around for me on that front.
Compared to a lot of other places, the prices in Chicago seem a lot more stable even if in many areas they've gone up. It seems like a number of fast growing sun belt places like Austin, Phoenix, or cities in Florida like Orlando, Tampa, and Miami are getting out of control price-wise. I was shocked to see some of the prices in places like Scottsdale, AZ now. I forsee this potentially being good for Chicago and based on what I've seen, it seems like people are moving at least to some areas here. But we'll see what the future holds..
Last edited by marothisu; 06-19-2022 at 04:13 PM..
Been forever since I've posted here. Moved away from Chicago to NYC in late 2016 with a career offer I couldn't refuse. Just moved back to Chicago in late 2021 with a wife (lol). Prices were already ridiculous there and we were paying $3600/mo for our nice 1 bedroom apartment, which is now over $5000/mo there. Amazing views of Manhattan but still so expensive just for 700 sq ft. The 1 bedroom condos next to us were going for $1.3M+ and that wasn't even in Manhattan. So when we started planning to have a kid, my wife convinced me to move back to Chicago with her (she's never lived here til now) purely because of prices. Stars aligned for work and it happened.
Within 6 months of being back here we purchased a really nice 4 bedroom condo on the north side for literally 1/4 the price per sq foot of the similar in parts of Brooklyn and even better if compared to Manhattan. We moved to Chicago with our NYC salaries so it works out pretty well. The lower income tax here helps pay for a lot of the property tax for our 4 bedroom place. Basically adjusting for income tax differences, our 4 bedroom condo here including property tax, insurance, and utilities is maybe $400/mo more than what we paid for our last 1 bedroom place in NYC. Totally worth it in our eyes.
Since being back, I've noticed a TON of out of state, out of the midwest mainly plates in the north side neighborhoods - big time from CA, NY, NJ, FL, TX, CO, VA, and MO. Have seen adequate amount of MA ones too and even ID, UT, OK, AL, GA, SC, and AK. Even moreso at times than the WI, IA, IN, and MI plates (lesser extent MN). Last time I lived here that wasn't necessarily the case as it was mainly plates from the neighboring states with a few NY or CA sprinkled in sometimes. Also noticed a bunch of moving trucks but honestly, noticed more Penske trucks around here than UHaul. These are all just 1 point of data overall. Since my move was a corporate move, companies like Penske or UHaul weren't involved. I've even seen some pretty local out of state movers - one we saw down the street the other week was from a Manhattan-only mover and clearly someone moving here from NYC. Have met a few other people at my work who moved from NYC, London, and Philadelphia to Chicago in the last year.
It's been interesting too in some north side areas - I've been actually surprised to see that some parts of Lincoln Park and Lakeview, mainly in the east part, seem a little more diverse than last time I lived in the city. Wasn't expecting this but it's a nice surprise. Some of the people hanging out in these parts also seem a little trendier on the outside, which is also something I never would have expected out of those areas. They also seem a little more vibrant on the street than last I lived here - same as areas like Wicker Park. Back when I moved away from here the north side train lines would be almost all white without fail - a little more diverse seeming this time. Still segregated but a little less feeling this time. Just anecdotes and my observations, but good surprises all around for me on that front.
Compared to a lot of other places, the prices in Chicago seem a lot more stable even if in many areas they've gone up. It seems like a number of fast growing sun belt places like Austin, Phoenix, or cities in Florida like Orlando, Tampa, and Miami are getting out of control price-wise. I was shocked to see some of the prices in places like Scottsdale, AZ now. I forsee this potentially being good for Chicago and based on what I've seen, it seems like people are moving at least to some areas here. But we'll see what the future holds..
Some good news just in, from a reputable source; being Lennar homes:
"He listed 18 markets that continue to perform well. “These include our six Florida markets, New Jersey, Maryland, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County, and the Inland Empire,” Beckwitt said. “All of these markets are benefiting from extremely low inventory, and many are benefiting from strong local economy and solid growth and in migration.”
It is not surprising given the amount of amenities you can have in the 3rd largest city, and it’s relatively cheap. That will only take the city so far though. It’s Achilles heel is the crime issue. If crime weren’t an issue, people would be moving here in droves. If crime continue ps to proceed it’s reputation, the city won’t continue to grow.
It is not surprising given the amount of amenities you can have in the 3rd largest city, and it’s relatively cheap. That will only take the city so far though. It’s Achilles heel is the crime issue. If crime weren’t an issue, people would be moving here in droves. If crime continue ps to proceed it’s reputation, the city won’t continue to grow.
Definitely a perception issue because the data is a lot more nuanced than what a lot of media outlets lead many of us to believe. But especially nowadays, perception is everything and that's a major part of the issue. I do believe there are many who are smarter than to believe everything media (small, medium, and large) tells them automatically.
I mean I lived here before, and I'm not going to lie that reading the news and media did make me concerned. But I know how the media paints here, including various local media. I started working in The Loop in October when it 80% ghost town and walking thru areas for lunch, it didn't feel more dangerous. Right now it's way busier downtown onna daily basis. Night and day compared to October. I know theres been some more incidents downtown but i have to say right now from a safety perspective it doesnt feel much different than like 2015.
Just an FYI but obviously Chicago is the current punching bag, but the rhetoric here is pretty similar to a lot of other cities. Especially ones in the north or west. If you live in other places or visit for extended periods of time, you'll notice it. One of our friends recently moved from NYC to SF, and we came back to NYC a few weeks before she moved. Me and her got in a discussion at dinner about crime. She was under the assumption that the crime rate in NYC was out of control because of how the media portrays it, and how everyone locally talks about it in comment sections online. It's really not though and it didn't feel much different in 2021 when we moved than it did in say 2018. Only difference is there was more violent crime bleed over to areas not used to it anymore just like in Chicago. Most of it wasn't on a regular basis though. Maybe once or twice a month.
We also had a neighbor who was the head of the consulate of a small European country in NYC. When we told her we were moving to Chicago she said "I'd never live there, too much crime." I educated her but the ironic part is that we had a shooting in front of our building in NYC a few months earlier, and a few months before that another shooting down the block where someone got murdered. We also had a few armed robberies in a residential parking garage and some more shootings about a half mile east. This is in an area with 1 bedroom condos that go for $1.3M and where a lot of diplomats and heads of consulates live. It was weird to hear her say this and then have to remind her of the Incidents in our own backyard.
NYC doesn't have scanner bro culture like Chicago but the comments section online for local NYC news since the pandemic started was a breeding ground for racist and fear mongering not unlike in Chicago.
I think a lot of this is politcal and controlling narratives to try and change who rules over which places. We know about everything now thru our apps, which makes us believe things are more rampant than reality.
Last edited by marothisu; 06-22-2022 at 06:19 PM..
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