What cities match Chicago's cost of living without..
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is my answer. I spent a bunch of months midweek at the Wanamaker a block from Rittenhouse. Big 1980 high rise condo with doorman, parking garage, pool on the roof. A 1900 sf 3/3 was listed for $730k and just went under contract. There’s a 700 sf 1/1 on the 10th floor listed for $350k. It’s a pretty stiff condo fee at $504 and there is some risk of assessments for major repairs in a 1980 tower but that’s dirt cheap. I was in a 2/2 on a higher floor with the big view. Those are in the $500k to $600k range.
I was coming in by Amtrak and flew in a couple of times. It’s a 10 minute walk to 30th Street Station. The rail to the airport goes there, too. The couple I was renting from worked midweek in Manhattan for one of the big consulting firms. I never saw them. They didn’t own a car. Walk. Uber. Mass transit. The subway layout in Philly isn’t great but a car wouldn’t be essential.
Everyone who comments on transit in Philadelphia laments our spinal two-line subway system (a third heads to South Jersey). A New York transplant I know is pushing hard to get a long-planned (on the books for 110 years, and nearly-built once) extension into the Northeast built (follow @BlvdSubway on Twitter).
And to its credit, SEPTA is rethinking the way it runs the regional rail network; one of the possible scenarios would turn its inner parts into an adjunct of the rapid transit system, complete with fare coordination and 15-minute headways all day. This would go a long way towards addressing those complaints; I know I'd prefer taking a train into Center City from Queen Lane station to taking the H, XH or 53 buses to Erie station on the Broad Street Line.
If new construction/a luxury building is NOT a dealbreaker for you, then I'd go all-in on NYC if I were you.
I have no need for a new construction building, luxury would be nice, but all I'm really after is a place with clean finishes, quiet, and a good kitchen. I couldn't do a place with exposed brick wall or the ghetto looking bathrooms/kitchens.
Is pretty much exactly what I want, I could pay that price but I really don't need it to be in a highrise building with a view. If I could find that setup in a walkup building for $2k I'd probably be ok with it.
Illinois' state income tax is really not that bad; ~75% of states have higher top marginal rates. The sales tax and property tax rates are where Illinois gets its high tax burden from. Bear in mind that most states with income taxes have graduated/progressive taxes, so the headline rate isn't as important. On a $100K salary, the marginal income tax rate for Illinois is 4.95% and after exemptions you pay $4,830 in tax; the rate in New Jersey is higher (6.37%) but because it's graduated you're only paying $4,180 in income tax.
I guess you could live in the middle of downtown in a mid-sized city. Keep in mind that even though the downtown area might be walkable, the bigger difference is that you can't just hop on the 'L' and go walk around another neighborhood to see an entirely different set of things. So there are certainly corners of, say, Kansas City or Grand Rapids or Providence or Orlando or Atlanta with a 90+ Walk Score, but doing things on weekends will often require driving.
An outlying area of a big city might also work. For NYC, $2500 can get you into a big new luxury tower in Jersey City NJ, vs. $3000 in Brooklyn. In Arlington VA it's maybe $2200. Both Jersey City and Arlington are big enough that you won't always be going into the city; yes, you can find cheaper (e.g., Silver Spring MD, below $2000 for new luxury towers) but then you might as well move to Evanston.
Yea this is pretty much what I came up with. NYC/Boston are my top two right now but the problem is high taxes in NYC and high rent in Boston. Also yes, I'm fully remote making $150k.
Given that downtown Boston is expensive, do you find nicer apartments for cheaper further away?
I'm in Dallas now and while I could stay here and afford a car, it's just a boring place, even though my sibling/parents are here. Thought about Houston which is more of the same with the added hurricane risk, and Austin is too expensive and needs a car as well, and just isn't appealing.
East Coast probably has the most options.
I was very happy when I lived in Chicago but it was just too insular and the crime pushed me away from it, won't be going back.
Depends on how you define downtown. People in Boston don't even agree on what is downtown, to be honest.
The answer is, you can find a nicer living situation for 2.5k. It just won't be in the most desirable locations, assuming you want some modern touches and amenities. I think $3k seems to be the minimum for most amenity rich studios.
Happy to make suggestions of buildings/areas across Boston/Brookline/Cambridge/Somerville. Approximate age, and typical weekend agenda would be helpful.
Pittsburgh seems to be a more ideal option. Its col is reasonable, it's fairly walkable, decent transit, and the crime rate is fairly average. The Midwest and the interior northeast have a lot of walkable and affordable cites but you may have to compromise with the transit and safety concerns.
Comparable rents for newer luxury buildings in Boston run ~$3000. You can't really save much by going further out: Boston's walkable density continues for a few miles out but then drops off completely: whereas CTA's north Red Line reaches 9 miles north from downtown through walkable, low-rise apartment neighborhoods, MBTA's north Red Line ends about 5 miles out as the crow flies, and it's single-family beyond there.
Like Chicago, there are commuter rail towns beyond, but few of those are large enough to offer a truly walkable lifestyle. The housing stock is generally older than Chicago's, and Massachusetts' income tax is about equal to Illinois' at your salary.
Comparable rents for newer luxury buildings in Boston run ~$3000. You can't really save much by going further out: Boston's walkable density continues for a few miles out but then drops off completely: whereas CTA's north Red Line reaches 9 miles north from downtown through walkable, low-rise apartment neighborhoods, MBTA's north Red Line ends about 5 miles out as the crow flies, and it's single-family beyond there
Very true. And the only way I’d recommend living outside of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville is if OP has a family, which in reading between the lines, I do not believe is the case.
But again, hard to recommend areas or neighborhoods in or around Boston without understand what the OP wants beyond walkability.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
