What do I need to earn? (Chicago: sales, apartment, to rent)

[Bosco79]

Hello again everyone,

So, my husband and I are planning on moving to Chicago soon. I will be negotiating my salary this week for a job at a University, as I posted below. My husband is an attorney, but he is trying to switch fields, so we're uncertain of how much money he will be able to make in a new field with little direct transferable experience. (i.e. going from Trust Law into Corporate Law.)

My question is this:
How much money do you need to live somewhat comfortably in Chicago? I realize it may depend on the neighborhood. We're considering South Loop University Village, or possibly Lakeview.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Lookout Kid]

We've been getting a lot of these questions lately, and it's really hard to answer something so vague. It really depends on your own personal definition of "comfortable". It sounds like you want to live in the city, so you must understand that there is a large premium associated with this choice--primarily in the form of housing costs and automobile ownership costs (if you choose to own a car, which isn't necessary in the neighborhoods you've listed).

Where are you coming from? Will you rent or own? What do you expect in terms of apartment size, etc.? Do you have a car and will you need parking for it?

Other than housing and parking, the rest of what it takes for you to be "comfortable" is completely subjective, and is impossible for us to answer. Things like groceries do cost a bit more in Chicago, but it's not a huge difference. Taxes could be higher or lower depending on where you are coming from--though our sales tax is almost assuredly higher. But things like your entertainment budget, clothing allowance, retirement savings, and other expenditures are completely up the air. I would suggest upping your entertainment budget considerably if you want to live in Chicago proper. What's the point of living in the city if you can't enjoy it a bit, right? In fact, I'd put something like your entertainment budget as a higher priority than car ownership, since owning a car in the neighborhoods you've listed can be a really expensive pain in the back side.

[Bosco79]

Yes, I know it is a vague question. I appreciate your response despite that We are coming from Dubuque, Iowa, and would prefer to own. We would be very happy with a 2 BR 1 BA apartment/condo/whatever, although we do have a 65 pound dog to consider as well. We will share one car, but don't expect to drive it very often, so I guess yes, we will need parking (unless there's some other option? is there car storage or something like that in Chicago?). I didn't figure groceries would be THAT much more expensive, and I think taxes are comparable. You make a good point - I think our entertainment budget will probably be the most important because the main reason we are moving from Iowa to Chicago is to live a little while we're still young enough to enjoy it, and before we have kids.

[long101]

The only thing i could really see increasing by a decent amount would be your rent. So I would say factor in that you will pay about `$1500 a month on rent, which is probaly on the high side. I would also then add 10% to entertainment, gas, food, and pretty much everything for living in the heart of the city. better safe then sorry.

[ajolotl]

Originally Posted by Bosco79

Yes, I know it is a vague question. I appreciate your response despite that We are coming from Dubuque, Iowa, and would prefer to own. We would be very happy with a 2 BR 1 BA apartment/condo/whatever, although we do have a 65 pound dog to consider as well. We will share one car, but don't expect to drive it very often, so I guess yes, we will need parking (unless there's some other option? is there car storage or something like that in Chicago?). I didn't figure groceries would be THAT much more expensive, and I think taxes are comparable. You make a good point - I think our entertainment budget will probably be the most important because the main reason we are moving from Iowa to Chicago is to live a little while we're still young enough to enjoy it, and before we have kids.

I'll go out on a limb -- for adults in their 30's say no less than 100K for a couple and maybe 50K additionally for each child. Assuming you don't have extravagant material needs, rent a small apartment, etc. you should be able to enjoy the city at that income. I know one can live for much less but at that point I would recommend staying in Iowa, or moving to a distant cheap suburb, as so much of what is great about the city is the restaurants, theater, opera, etc.

[oakparkdude]

In a somewhat desirable neighborhood catering to young urban professionals, a 2 bedroom condo will cost at least 300k, and more likely closer to 400k. Obviously you can pay a lot more. Rent for something comparable will probalby be 1500-2000/month. Figure at least 100/month for parking unless you find the rare place where its included. If you buy a deeded parking spot in a desirable neighborhood it'll run from 15-30k.

Other than housing, the other significant variable is childcare/schooling. If you don't have kids, obivously this is not an issue (yet).

There are savings to be had. Ditch the car and buy transit passes. You'll save on gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. It could be several thousand dollars a year of savings. If you walk or bike you will get exercise which will pay dividends on the long run.

[BrandonSi]

To give you an idea, my wife and I spend about $6,000/mo living here. That includes our mortgage, food, entertainment, everything. So that's $72k after taxes. You could probably reduce that by renting, although obviously you're not building equity. I would agree ajolotl, close to $100k is enough w/o children.

[aragx6]

Comfortable is such a strange word because, as others ponted out, it means something so different.

If you're looking to rent, don't have kids and want a decent, clean vintage apartment in a fun neighborhood, eating out a couple of times a week and having a saolid entertainment budget and no car, I think you can be just fine on 50k total. Figure spending $1200-1500/month on rent.

My SO and I live here under 40k, but I wouldn't recomend it. We eat out maybe 3-4 times a month, go out with friends when we can, and save nothing. But we live in a cute apartment with everything we need and we love our neighborhood.

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

In a somewhat desirable neighborhood catering to young urban professionals, a 2 bedroom condo will cost at least 300k, and more likely closer to 400k. Obviously you can pay a lot more. Rent for something comparable will probalby be 1500-2000/month. Figure at least 100/month for parking unless you find the rare place where its included. If you buy a deeded parking spot in a desirable neighborhood it'll run from 15-30k.

Other than housing, the other significant variable is childcare/schooling. If you don't have kids, obivously this is not an issue (yet).

There are savings to be had. Ditch the car and buy transit passes. You'll save on gas, maintenance, insurance, and depreciation. It could be several thousand dollars a year of savings. If you walk or bike you will get exercise which will pay dividends on the long run.

I bought a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, including deeded garage parking for 240K. There are MANY places less than what this poster mentioned, depending on what part of the city you are in (I'm on the Edgewater/Rogers Park border and actually love it....about 10 minute walk to the red line).

Originally Posted by BrandonSi

To give you an idea, my wife and I spend about $6,000/mo living here. That includes our mortgage, food, entertainment, everything. So that's $72k after taxes. You could probably reduce that by renting, although obviously you're not building equity. I would agree ajolotl, close to $100k is enough w/o children.

My fiance and I have a combined income of about 75K right now (he's starting his own law firm, so it's a little low right now) and we live comfortably with paying off our loans and having the mortage.

Originally Posted by aragx6

Comfortable is such a strange word because, as others ponted out, it means something so different.

If you're looking to rent, don't have kids and want a decent, clean vintage apartment in a fun neighborhood, eating out a couple of times a week and having a saolid entertainment budget and no car, I think you can be just fine on 50k total. Figure spending $1200-1500/month on rent.

My SO and I live here under 40k, but I wouldn't recomend it. We eat out maybe 3-4 times a month, go out with friends when we can, and save nothing. But we live in a cute apartment with everything we need and we love our neighborhood.

I agree with this. You can get by on 50K (we did it for a few months, but also weren't able to really eat out much, etc), you just have to plan ahead.

Also, you mentioned that your husband wants to get into corporate law. The legal market in Chicago is very tight, unless your husband has big firm experience. I would highly suggest looking for a job now.

[Bosco79]

Thank you ALL for your responses. I know "comfortable" is relative, but it is still very helpful to hear a variety of viewpoints. I think we'll be able to make around $100 K combined, but it is comforting to hear that we can get by on less (we really don't have extravagant tastes - just want to live in an exciting place and enjoy the occasional dinner out, cultural event, concert, etc. "Exciting" is also a relative term, but being that we're from Iowa, we have pretty conservative expectations on that front as well ) I will definitely try to make do without a car as well, and am hoping to buy rather than rent... I guess we'll see what happens.

Have a great day everyone, and thanks again for your help.