Anyone here ever lived in Atlanta and Chicago? (pros, beach, building)

[Need4Camaro]

I think in design and urban fabrics, Chicago is a better city..
..but in actually living and dealing with Chicago day to day, Atlanta is overall a better place to live.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by hotdogsun

Atlanta has higher housing costs than Chicago now, which is crazy.

True, you get more house for your money here in the Chicago metro.

Originally Posted by JMatl

But with just a fraction of the taxes, which probably makes housing here still more affordable.

Also True, 6 one way, a half dozen the other. Income tax is a little less here at 4.95%, but sales tax is a little higher. And pf course property taxes are much higher here. Used to be able to write them off before the SALT cap was put in place.

Originally Posted by walker1962

I'm surprised more in Chicago don't say the Wisconsin lakes like Geneva or near Madison. Nothing great to the south. Also, I would think heading to Michigan, Traverse City, Mackinac Island and the Dunes areas would be inviting.

Yes, there's a lot of cool places along Lake Michigan on the Michigan side. Wisconsin has some nice destinations too, lots of natural lakes.

This is an old thread. Chicago is currently a mess like most big cities today. I try to stay from away from the city limits these days.

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by hotdogsun

Atlanta has higher housing costs than Chicago now, which is crazy.

Data showing this? Short term housing prices in sunbelt cities have skyrocketing during the pandemic it's not sustainable for sure.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by hotdogsun

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...ta_GA/overview


Atlanta 400k


https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...go_IL/overview


Chicago 330k


It's even funnier cause apartments/condos in downtown Atlanta are reaching downtown Chicago prices which is a joke. Atlanta has skyrocketing prices with bad pay, this is unsustainable.

Atlanta has more economic expansion than Chicago by way of continued corporate expansions and relocations, including being named the site of a future Microsoft East Coast headquarters campus that could bring up to 20,000 high-paying tech jobs to an area along the highly-touted BeltLine multi-use recreational inner loop just west of Downtown.

Microsoft expansion (City-Data Atlanta Forum, 12 February 2021)

UPDATE: Microsoft plans to expand in Atlanta, turn city into major hub - West Coast tech giant could add thousands of jobs in the coming years (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Atlanta has also blossomed and exploded into a major international hub (top-5 internationally and top-2 domestically) of television and film production in recent years.

Georgia Ranked No. 1 in Film Production by Business Facilities Magazine (State of Georgia)

It is the continued robust economic expansion in the area (much of which has been coming by way of higher-paying jobs, including in fields like tech, TV/Film production, law, etc.) that very likely has been fueling the rise in housing costs in what historically has been a lower-cost city/metro in Atlanta.

[Smocaine]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Atlanta has more economic expansion than Chicago by way of continued corporate expansions and relocations, including being named the site of a future Microsoft East Coast headquarters campus that could bring up to 20,000 high-paying tech jobs to an area along the highly-touted BeltLine multi-use recreational inner loop just west of Downtown.

Microsoft expansion (City-Data Atlanta Forum, 12 February 2021)

UPDATE: Microsoft plans to expand in Atlanta, turn city into major hub - West Coast tech giant could add thousands of jobs in the coming years (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Atlanta has also blossomed and exploded into a major international hub (top-5 internationally and top-2 domestically) of television and film production in recent years.

Georgia Ranked No. 1 in Film Production by Business Facilities Magazine (State of Georgia)

It is the continued robust economic expansion in the area (much of which has been coming by way of higher-paying jobs, including in fields like tech, TV/Film production, law, etc.) that very likely has been fueling the rise in housing costs in what historically has been a lower-cost city/metro in Atlanta.

I agree with the other guy in that it is distinctly a problem that Atlanta is becoming on par, CoL-wise, with legit A-class cities and leaving similar Sun Belt cities in the dust, and I've made similar comparisons before. The entire draw of Atlanta was that it was cheap and functional compared to the previous gen of Big American Cities. Take away the low CoL and I have no idea what Atlanta is left with as a selling point. "The urban core is small, lame, and expensive, but at least the suburbs are boring, incredibly inconvenient, and expensive!"


It's something that is going to hit a more natural equilibrium soon. High-CoL Atlanta is damn near an oxymoron. Atlanta where you can get a nice studio for $1,100 is Atlanta doing its job. Atlanta where a nice studio is $1,900 becomes comedic.

[ziozio]

If Atlanta has studio apartments for 1800 dollars a month that means there’s obviously a large professional class in the city that’s able to afford it; which is a good thing! Chicago, being the third largest city in the country, should not have a COL equal to Atlanta. That says more about the decline of Chicago than about Atlanta having an absurdly high COL. Let’s not be too hard on Atlanta. It has a moderate climate and relatively low taxes. The foliage and extensive fauna is so different from other large cities. As someone that’s travelled a lot, that’s what makes it different and appealing to a lot of people. It’s a large city that doesn’t really feel like one. I think that makes it unappealing to some people as well.

[Justabystander]

I live in Chicago ( now the west suburbs, but at first Lincoln Park) and love it. I am also related to two family members who live in NE Atlanta and Decatur. There is no comparison between the two, I will take Chicago any day of the week. The OPs comment on getaways is ridiculous; the Michigan shoreline, Indiana dunes and Wisconsin are close by. The city is world class, with 9.5 million people in the metro area. Museums, great schools, beaches, great suburbs that are some of the wealthiest and nicest in the U.S., public transportation, and affordable housing make it a great city overall.

Chicago was also the top corporate relocation and expansion city for the past 8 years.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301236907.html

Disproving the post above which claims:

"Atlanta has more economic expansion than Chicago by way of continued corporate expansions and relocations, including being named the site of a future Microsoft East Coast headquarters campus that could bring up to 20,000 high-paying tech jobs to an area along the highly-touted BeltLine multi-use recreational inner loop just west of Downtown."

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by Smocaine

I agree with the other guy in that it is distinctly a problem that Atlanta is becoming on par, CoL-wise, with legit A-class cities and leaving similar Sun Belt cities in the dust, and I've made similar comparisons before. The entire draw of Atlanta was that it was cheap and functional compared to the previous gen of Big American Cities. Take away the low CoL and I have no idea what Atlanta is left with as a selling point. "The urban core is small, lame, and expensive, but at least the suburbs are boring, incredibly inconvenient, and expensive!"


It's something that is going to hit a more natural equilibrium soon. High-CoL Atlanta is damn near an oxymoron. Atlanta where you can get a nice studio for $1,100 is Atlanta doing its job. Atlanta where a nice studio is $1,900 becomes comedic.

The mild climate and nature (city in a forest). Atlanta could have the same COL as LA or San Diego and I'd still choose Atlanta.

[Kluch]

Former Chicago resident here. Chicago, though it's a great city for many reasons, has lots of financial issues (the entire state of Illinois has financial issues). If you move to Chicago be prepared for annual tax hikes. That's a primary reason property values aren't growing substantially. The yearly tax burden prevents real estate from appreciating as quickly as it is in other cities. The COL IS reasonable when compared to places like NYC, but the tax burden is still very high in Illinois. There's a reason people call it the Illinois Exodus and why Illinois lost the most people (despite those moving there) in 2021. The city has it's benefits, just be aware of the downsides. Most people I knew who lived there stayed for family. Otherwise they eventually ended up leaving for better/cheaper quality of life. I can only speak for my wife and I but our time there was initially enjoyable. However after a few years we quickly saw the downsides and felt like our family vitality was being impeded by poor decisions from the Illinois government. We got out fall of 2020.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

The mild climate and nature (city in a forest). Atlanta could have the same COL as LA or San Diego and I'd still choose Atlanta.

Yes. Moreover, Atlanta is very livable for a major, super-large, international city.