For those of you who've fled Illinois, where did you go? (2014, rent)

[mwj119]

Just moved to the Boston area. We love Chicago, but Massachusetts continues to thrive while Illinois is dying at a rapid rate. We were concerned with the lack of technology companies, the financial climate, the high taxes, the violent crime, and political status.

All in all, the cost of living is higher in Massachusetts, but unemployment is lower, there is a steady influx of jobs, tech is hot as heck, crime is lower, the weather is (slightly) more moderate, etc. etc. Plus, the coastal towns and the old colonial suburbs are beautiful!

Illinois just feels like a very risky situation. Overall, people can blame cost of living, but if you have a stable job market with high earnings and a stable housing market, the consumption power shifts and the RIO becomes worth it.

[spicy_guy]

Stable housing Market? and property taxes to death?

[equine75]

A year ago I was ready to flee the state and set out researching about 5 or 6 other states that I like, suit our politics and religion, philosophies etc. What I have found is that when you dig deep you find that other states have taxes and fees that Illinois does not have, so in the end it may not be as cost effective to move as people think. There are MANY areas in Illinois where the cost of living is much cheaper than around the large cities. I mean if you get out 50+ miles from any of the larger cities and their suburbs, real estate, sales tax, property tax and grocery costs go down dramatically. I guess what I would like is for someone to convince me that one state is better than the other because I cannot find evidence of it myself. It's tit for tat- you get out from under one thing in Illinois only to dive into other negative scenarios in another state. We would never move to a metropolitan area in ANY state btw.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by equine75

A year ago I was ready to flee the state and set out researching about 5 or 6 other states that I like, suit our politics and religion, philosophies etc. What I have found is that when you dig deep you find that other states have taxes and fees that Illinois does not have, so in the end it may not be as cost effective to move as people think. There are MANY areas in Illinois where the cost of living is much cheaper than around the large cities. I mean if you get out 50+ miles from any of the larger cities and their suburbs, real estate, sales tax, property tax and grocery costs go down dramatically. I guess what I would like is for someone to convince me that one state is better than the other because I cannot find evidence of it myself. It's tit for tat- you get out from under one thing in Illinois only to dive into other negative scenarios in another state. We would never move to a metropolitan area in ANY state btw.

You can find rural areas of Wisconsin that are as low cost as rural areas of Illinois, but with far better scenery, lakes, and outdoor recreation.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by 815307

I lived in Tucson for about a year and I loved it, but since it was for such a short time I don't know whether the honeymoon period ever ended. I'd say you have to live somewhere for about 3-4 years to really know if you like it. On the other hand if you don't like where you are you typically know right away.

Tucson had so many restaurants, and it seemed like they had every chain under the sun. They had innout, culvers, whataburger, wienerschnitzel, everything. That was in addition to a ton of local food. It's also such a unique city. Phoenix, which I also like, has a much more cookie cutter feel to it. Tucson sort of feels like a little slice of Mexico in the US, with all the perks of being in the latter (and a few drawbacks of the former). The landscape and layout of the city, and Arizona, is unbelievable. If I had the opportunity to live there again, I would.

One thing I really didn't like though were the border patrol checkpoints. I didn't know something like that existed until I was living down there. It's beyond bizarre to have to have your car scanned, sniffed out by drug dogs, and then be questioned about your citizenship when just driving though the desert. All of the border patrol officers I interacted with were polite, but it's still unsettling.

I recall when I was looking up things on Arizona, I randomly discovered that the Border Patrol sadly has those checkpoints up anywhere within 100 miles of the US/Mexico border. Those must be super annoying, for the full time residents to have to always drive through. And also, I've read stories about people who use pot(even if only they have a medicinal pot card from a certain state) get busted, going through those Border Patrol checkpoints. Kinda makes me sad, to read about those stories.

Originally Posted by equine75

What I have found is that when you dig deep you find that other states have taxes and fees that Illinois does not have, so in the end it may not be as cost effective to move as people think. There are MANY areas in Illinois where the cost of living is much cheaper than around the large cities. I mean if you get out 50+ miles from any of the larger cities and their suburbs, real estate, sales tax, property tax and grocery costs go down dramatically. I guess what I would like is for someone to convince me that one state is better than the other because I cannot find evidence of it myself. It's tit for tat- you get out from under one thing in Illinois only to dive into other negative scenarios in another state.

Totally agreed on that, what one state may not tax heavily, another state might. I.e. how some states do apply their full sales tax on all grocery purchases, while in Illinois the grocery tax is only something like 2%(give or take).

Originally Posted by mwj119

Illinois just feels like a very risky situation. Overall, people can blame cost of living, but if you have a stable job market with high earnings and a stable housing market, the consumption power shifts and the RIO becomes worth it.

Yep, it's sad when the lack of a state budget is causing some people to hold back from home purchases, condo purchases, etc. I can only imagine how much better the real estate market would be, if people felt more confident to want to make home purchases here, and a state budget were in place.

[Shooting Stars]

Originally Posted by numberfive

Let's say a homeowner here in the Chicagoland area has a $350k mortgage and property taxes of ~$11k. Their PITI payment is going to be approximately $2700/mo.

Now if we want to match that payment in a lower cost area like Nashville, you'd have to up the mortgage amount to $490k.

That's right: property taxes alone are stripping $140,000 of buying power from this family. It's like lighting $140,000 on fire, since you'll never see it anyway.

I have two relatives who were willingly transferred to Illinois from Florida. They are the rare birds who love snow, they love visiting Chicago, and they have invested a lot into improving the suburban house they bought. They were even given cost-of-living salary increases to offset the higher cost of living in Illinois.

However, they have put in a request to transfer to Tennessee because of Illinois TAXES . . . specifically PROPERTY TAXES. They didn't buy an expensive house, but every time they look at how much they pay in property taxes, they get a righteous jolt of anger.

[lepoisson]

My budget for a home is $200-250K (which already won't get me a lot in Chicago or in the suburbs). In that range, property taxes will be $4000-5000/year, or $333-415/mo

Meanwhile, if I bought a home in Raleigh, NC in that same range, property taxes would be only $2,100/mo.

It's really a shame because I like living in Chicago. But financially speaking, it would be unwise of me to buy here.

[wase4711]

we just bought a 300k/2100 SF gorgeous home in the northern suburbs of phoenix, and taxes are 1500 PER YEAR...
in unincorporated willow brook, our 2400 SF house has a tax bill of almost $7000!!

Illinois is absurdly overpriced when it comes to RE taxes..

[skeddy]

there will be a mass exodus from Illinois in the coming year, smart people are moving out now.

[numberfive]

Originally Posted by SonySegaTendo617

Totally agreed on that, what one state may not tax heavily, another state might. I.e. how some states do apply their full sales tax on all grocery purchases, while in Illinois the grocery tax is only something like 2%(give or take).

It's a common misconception for people to think "you save taxes in one area but spend more in another area, so it breaks even".

To measure it, you'd have to look at the overall tax burden by state. Then the picture starts to get clearer. It's not just property tax, or grocery tax, or any individual tax. It's all of them added up and compared from State A to State B.

That way you can rank them to see which is objectively the most costly. For example, let's put IL vs TN:

Wallethub
Illinois 9th most expensive
TN 48th most expensive

Tax Foundation
Illinois 5th most expensive
TN 47th most expensive

You could do the same comparison with any state. Then the next misconception is usually "yeah, but the pay is lower so you lose out anyway". Also not true. Typical income is already factored into those rankings linked above.