Why is IL losing people? (Chicago, Jacksonville: home, find a job, universities)

[Grlzrl]

The difference is, people used to be a slave to Illinois and now with remote work, they no longer are. We are the case in point. We planned to stay until our kids graduated from college...about 10 more years. When my husband was given the option to go remote, we moved to Florida as fast as we could. Never regretted it once. People WANT to move. But many can't because of jobs or family ties.

[Cool Arrow]

Originally Posted by Grlzrl

Tides aren't getting higher and higher. Ian was a very unusual storm because the eye wall normally collapses on itself over and over but that didn't happen due to some unusual circumstances. It was a 1 in 100 year storm.

I'd bet $300 that Florida will get another major hurricane this year. Dozens of home insurance companies have left Florida and refuse to issue policies to Florida residents. You couldn't pay me to live in Florida. If I won a 4,000 square foot home in Florida I still wouldn't live there, I'd rent it out instead.

[Cool Arrow]

Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5

The taxes and crime are what really prevents people from investing in Illinois. We do have a pension debt crisis that still looms over our heads as IL taxpayers. Still, money and crime issues can come and go. What you can't change is geography.

Illinois is cold in the winter and that deters others from moving here or encourages others to leave. However, we don't have many issues with natural disasters and we are located next to one of the best sources of fresh water.

What really blows my mind is people who choose to invest long term in places like Phoenix who really aren't certain about their future source of fresh water or Florida along the beach where the tides keep getting higher and higher and hurricanes become more and more devastating.

Arizona is having a water crisis like yesterday. Colorado is going to cut them off.

https://www.12news.com/article/news/...0-744a420010a7

[skeddy]

Crime, shaky state finances, oppressive taxes, progressive politics. That's what people think of Illinois. There's someplace for everyone.

[Grlzrl]

Originally Posted by Cool Arrow

I'd bet $300 that Florida will get another major hurricane this year. Dozens of home insurance companies have left Florida and refuse to issue policies to Florida residents. You couldn't pay me to live in Florida. If I won a 4,000 square foot home in Florida I still wouldn't live there, I'd rent it out instead.

I would take that bet but I feel it would likely be against TOS. And no one is going to pay you to live in Florida.

[Jimmyp25]

Originally Posted by dustin183

I was looking at the numbers. Similar midwest states are gaining population while IL is losing population. Eg, OH, IN, WI, MN, Iowa are all gaining. I was just curious about this phenomenon.

It can't be due to weather since the other midwest states have essentially the same weather. Maybe it's due to jobs? Is there something particularly miserable about IL as compared to the other midwest states?

Illinois is a broke backwards corrupt state. It ranks last place on tons of issues. Theres over 50 billion in pension debt, sky rocketing violence, and expensive taxes.

You can really see how many smart people are left in the state after the last mayoral election for chicago. The man they elected is literally a communist. Just head to his page.


I left in 2014. It was one of the best decisions for my family and I . I felt like I was given hope again.

[Kmanshouse]

IL is still in bad shape, but its credit rating has improved and so has its finances. Surprisingly, JB Pritzker has actually done a good job in this case. But the hole was so enormous that crawling 20% of the way out of it still means you have a long climb up.

Homeless issue isn't as bad in Chicago for two reasons. 1) cold winters, 2) it's cheaper than the west coast

A separate topic, but when income disparity gets more and more divergent, you are going to have more homeless. It's is seriously way harder for people to afford places to live. Especially with the ridiculous West Coast prices.

Other than Chicagoland, it's hard to fathom what is attractive about IL, though. Why live in a medium sized town in central IL when you can move to an equivalent place in Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. and have it be more affordable?

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

IL is still in bad shape, but its credit rating has improved and so has its finances. Surprisingly, JB Pritzker has actually done a good job in this case. But the hole was so enormous that crawling 20% of the way out of it still means you have a long climb up.

Homeless issue isn't as bad in Chicago for two reasons. 1) cold winters, 2) it's cheaper than the west coast

A separate topic, but when income disparity gets more and more divergent, you are going to have more homeless. It's is seriously way harder for people to afford places to live. Especially with the ridiculous West Coast prices.

Other than Chicagoland, it's hard to fathom what is attractive about IL, though. Why live in a medium sized town in central IL when you can move to an equivalent place in Iowa, Wisconsin, etc. and have it be more affordable?

The caveat for most of Illinois outside of Chicagoland is that the housing prices are very low relative to the median household incomes, even though taxes are higher. The median house price in Bloomington Normal metro area is around $200K.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

The caveat for most of Illinois outside of Chicagoland is that the housing prices are very low relative to the median household incomes, even though taxes are higher. The median house price in Bloomington Normal metro area is around $200K.

Very true. Plus, if you have a high-paying and secure job at a place like State Farm, UIUC, some of numerous healthcare institutions, or even the state government, there's no guarantee you'll just "get" one of those equivalent jobs elsewhere. I'm sure the situation for farmers isn't as simple as "well I'll sell my land and move to Missouri and be a farmer there because it's cheaper." There are so many more nuances that are factored into moving than just "well the taxes are lower." Plus, even though it doesn't fit the narrative, IL is just an economic juggernaut compared to its neighbors. At now over $1T in GDP, its GDP per capita (for what it's worth) is one of the highest in the U.S.; only MN comes close, and all of the neighboring states of IL are significantly lower.

[Kmanshouse]

Found GDP figures.

CA = 3.60T
TX = 2.36T
NY = 2.05T
FL = 1.39T
IL = 1.03T
PA = 0.92T
OH = 0.82T

And so on. Pretty much down the population lines, though IL out-performs PA per capita.

IL GDP increased by 9.3% year over year from 2021 to 2022. US average was 9.2%