Northern Virginia VS Chicago Suburbs (Housing, Living, Moving) (Alexandria, Leesburg: Valentine's day, 2015)

[Tornado86]

Originally Posted by gomason

I would stay in the Chicago area honestly. This isn't an easy place to afford to live for the middle class unfortunately.

I'm not sure what exactly you do in the transportation industry, but the DC Metro is unionized and pays like $50k+. Still, that's not really survivable around here. If you found a house around for $170k around here, it would have to be at least a 2 hour drive away.

i agree with you, this Area is not for Middle class, i have been living in this Area for the last 4 years and i recognize that majority of people are making + $100k year. real estate market is almost %50 cheaper in some of Chicago Suburbs which is not bad at all.

Thanks,

[Tornado86]

Originally Posted by FCNova

Are there really 3 bedroom townhouses in the Chicago suburbs for 170k? If so seems like a no brainer if you have no attachments to this area

yes there is TH around this price, i did some research about the recent sold TH's and found couple sold around this price range.

[Tornado86]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I'm not sure if you are going to find that ONE person on the NoVA forum that knows both of these areas that well, but, hey, you never know.

As you can see by your own analysis--you can $70K here but you can't find housing for $160K. In certain areas of Chicago, you can find a townhouse in your price range but the salary is pretty low at $30-$40K. That's pretty typical in most areas. Low housing generally equals low salaries. If there were an area that paid well but had cheap housing, it would be overrun in seconds.

What you need to focus on is not the "here and now." What is your earning potential if you stay here or if you live in Chicago. Do you overall have better job opportunities here for the future. If it's a dead end here, then I'd tell you to just go to Chicago so you can at least get a house.

Well, i dont think i will be able to get a better salary in this Area in my field for the next 4-5 years may be there will be a chance to go to $ 90k and by the time my two kids will be in school and the expenses will be more. but in Chicago i may get a better salary with in the next 2 years something around $ 50k.
I believe its a dead end here in NOVA and Chicago may be the next move.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by NC211

I know this question very well and can help. I moved here in 2011 after three years in Chicago, next door to Wheaton in Glen Ellyn. My first bit of advice - stay here. Don't let the "price tag" fool you into thinking it's cheaper living up there than here, especially in the areas you're mentioning. What that price tag isn't telling you, is the tax burden to own a home there, which is FAR worse than here. Let me give you a real-world example:


Our home in Glen Ellyn (DuPage County): Tax assessed value of $143,820. Size - 1,772 SF. Annual real estate tax bill? $12,174 (2015). That's slightly over $1,000 per month just for your taxes. Actual market value of that home - $500,000 +/-. 20 miles west of downtown Chicago.


Our home here in Washington, DC (Loudoun County): Tax assessed value of $801,770. Size - 6,900 SF. Annual real estate tax bill? $9,100. Actual market value of the home - $875k +/-. 20 miles west of Tyson's Corner.


That's 25% less in RE taxes for nearly 3x's the home between the two. And, before the peanut gallery starts barking about other taxes here and there differences, known this - $300 for car registration stickers per car (on top of taxes), $25 stickers per week if you want to bag your lawn clippings and have it hauled away (or anything else that didn't fit in the trash can), tolls, etc... In my own personal experience, the cost of living is lot less here in than there.


My income here in DC is more than twice what it was in Chicago. Now, I understand I'm comparing 2011 to 2015 in this regard, and with that comes more experience. But when looking at what that adjustment would look like per year, it's the equivalent of a 25% raise every year.


You like to work on cars? Want a garage? I'm the same way. But, and this is a huge point - IT'S FRIGGIN' COLD IN CHICAGO!!! I don't mean it's biting cold for a week or two here and there. I mean it's biting cold for several months on end there. You'll want a heated garage (which they don't really make there).


If you do decide to go to Chicago - Naperville is really the spot to look for. It's going to be more like Loudoun county to you than the others. Carol Stream has more than it's fair share of rough pockets, so be careful. Wheaton is next door to Glen Ellyn. It is very much the "the Haves and Have Nots" there.


May - August, I'll admit, it's nice. But September - April, it's just miserable. From November - February, it's dark as midnight by 4:30pm. Yes, there is something appealing about Chicago to a lot of folks. I have found that if you are from Chicago - you end up back in Chicago no matter where you go in this world. But, if you are not from Chicago, it's a tough adjustment for a lot of folks. If your wife plans on staying at home with the kids, you'll need to be prepared for significant "cabin fever".


True story - blizzard January 2011, Glen Ellyn. I had two in diapers, stay at home wife. Took me 10 hours with a sizable snow blower to dig us out. The garage was detached and in the back of the house. Driveway was a single-car wide driveway. I walked into the house around 8pm after finishing up to find my wife standing there, one infant crying, one toddler running around like the move Lord of the Flies. My wife stared me dead in the eye and said "I love you, but I'm not here next winter." I told her "That's ok sweetie, because I came inside to tell you to start packing the boxes, because I'm never doing this crap again either. Some how, some way, we're out of here before this all starts up again".


We rented that house (moved there in 2009), thankfully. The owners moved to LA and couldn't sell it, so they rented it. I just checked, they still own it, and will be owning it for a long time. The value today is still no where near the value in 2007 when they bought it.


We rolled out in mid-October 2011 for our new home in Loudoun County. Kids were in NC with grandparents. Movers loaded us up the day before. The two of us and the cat on an air mattress, couldn't sleep. Got up at 4am and decided to get the heck out of there. We drove out of Illinois into Indiana just as the season's first round of sleet was coming down. Tears of pure joy were rolling down our faces. We've been more than happy ever since.

I'm a big fan of Chicago and some of the Chicago suburbs, but that's a great tale, NC211.

[Middlin]

Why the huge difference in the assessment vs market value?

[frostopsy]

Originally Posted by NC211

I know this question very well and can help. I moved here in 2011 after three years in Chicago, next door to Wheaton in Glen Ellyn. My first bit of advice - stay here. Don't let the "price tag" fool you into thinking it's cheaper living up there than here, especially in the areas you're mentioning. What that price tag isn't telling you, is the tax burden to own a home there, which is FAR worse than here. Let me give you a real-world example:


Our home in Glen Ellyn (DuPage County): Tax assessed value of $143,820. Size - 1,772 SF. Annual real estate tax bill? $12,174 (2015). That's slightly over $1,000 per month just for your taxes. Actual market value of that home - $500,000 +/-. 20 miles west of downtown Chicago.


Our home here in Washington, DC (Loudoun County): Tax assessed value of $801,770. Size - 6,900 SF. Annual real estate tax bill? $9,100. Actual market value of the home - $875k +/-. 20 miles west of Tyson's Corner.

Don't let people fool you that Virginia is a low-tax southern state. Those days are long gone. You my save on your property tax, but they make it up elsewhere.

Illinois:
Property taxes: 2.25%
Personal property tax: 0%
Income tax: 3.75

Virginia:
Property taxes: 0.80%
Personal property taxes: 4.19%
Income taxes: $750+5.75%

Not mention VA has a lot of hidden taxes like city stickers for vehicles (Alexandria for example), and the amount of reckless driving tickets the police hand out might just as well be called a tax.

NC11, blizzards are not unique to Chicago. In the past 6 years here in DC there has been two mammoth record breaking blizzards of its own. Plus they didn't recover from it as fast as they should of. I kid you not, when the city of Leesburg shut down the local government, the plow drivers went home too. At least you know those Chicago guys are going to be working for that overtime check. Let's not forget a couple of days before the blizzard. It snowed like half an inch and traffic was gridlocked into the night. People abandoned their cars. You aren't going to have stuff like that happen in Chicago when you get 1/2 an inch of snow.

My opinion, having lived in both the Chicago burbs (and the city) and the VA burbs (old town Alexandria) I would say Chicago is the way to go. Yah the weather sucks, but I also think the militant hot and humid summers in DC are unbearable, so to each their own. Areas like Naperville, Lisle, Wheaton, Downers Grove are excellent. I would certainly look in areas of Dupage county for a good comparison to places like Fairfax. No matter how much you end up paying extra in property and sales tax, you still win because it has a lower cost of living.

Housing is hit or miss any where you go. I lived in a rather expensive house in Ballston that was made after WWII. What a piece of crap that place was. I live in a building now that is 40 years old. Also a piece of crap, and still expensive. Then you have the iconic Stepford look of Loundon county. I got lost finding someone's house because everything was identical. When I went inside, it reminded me of the cheap houses they have been building in places like Romeoville and Plainfield IL. Was not impressed with new construction in the Ashburn/Sterling area. If you look hard enough, you can find some great examples of homes in both areas. More likely than not, you will pay significantly more in NOVA.

Hope that helps!

[frostopsy]

NC211, two more things

Yes there is heated garages in Chicago, they do exist!

Yes, you are 100% if are from Chicago, you are always fromChicago, and you will end up back there someday.

After 6 1/2 years in NOVA I'll be moving back to Chicago (I'm actually getting a raise too). Of the people I work with from Illinois, majority of them have moved back, are in the process of moving back, or are planning/hoping to move back in the next couple of years. So you are right on the money with that one.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by frostopsy

NC11, blizzards are not unique to Chicago. In the past 6 years here in DC there has been two mammoth record breaking blizzards of its own. Plus they didn't recover from it as fast as they should of.

No kidding. We have definitely have had more monster blizzards over the last 10 years than Chicago has. And it's not even close.

It is way colder there though, of course.

[FCNova]

Originally Posted by frostopsy

Yah the weather sucks, but I also think the militant hot and humid summers in DC are unbearable, so to each their own.

Yep, to each their own. I'll put up with humidity during the summer to not deal with bitter cold for 3 straight months. I really appreciate how mild the winters here are, despite the fact we do get hit with large amounts of snow from time to time. Hell I think this year we had 75 degree days in December and February. I'll take it!

[leighland]

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I love my hometown with all my heart but I can't do those dark cloudy windy snowy depressing 9 1/2 month winters anymore If you absolutely love snuggling up in winter-go for it!