Chicago VS. NYC, Professional life (Lincoln, Washington: to rent, condo, unemployment)

[chitown85]

You can make good money in Chicago, considering cost of living is also a ton lower than NYC. Like I said, Chicago is much more of a regular city. You can go to the ballpark Saturday afternoon and the bar after, people won't be obsessing over work except to tell a funny story.

You will meet "normal" people here.

[prelude91]

Originally Posted by chitown85

You can make good money in Chicago, considering cost of living is also a ton lower than NYC. Like I said, Chicago is much more of a regular city. You can go to the ballpark Saturday afternoon and the bar after, people won't be obsessing over work except to tell a funny story.

You will meet "normal" people here.

Your assessment may be somewhat true for the lower 2/3rds of Manhattan, but Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem, Bronx are full of "regular" people.

[iliketrains]

Originally Posted by prelude91

Your assessment may be somewhat true for the lower 2/3rds of Manhattan, but Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem, Bronx are full of "regular" people.

I live in Brooklyn and I love living here. Where else can I walk South and be in a fully Spanish speaking neighborhood and go North to be in a neighborhood filled with hacdidic Jews? I love Brooklyn, it's on a totally different level than Manhattan.


Unfortunately I have to suit up 5 days a week and work with people who pay $3000 a month for a tiny studio to be next door to work. I really liked Chicago's vibe, I ate lunch as some sandwich shop in the loop and sat next to a bunch of dudes in suits that cost more than my wardrobe. They were obviously high earners and by some references to work they made, they worked in finance. Most of their conversations were about their children and the Cubs. When I was leaving, I was kind of daydreaming and totally stepped on the guy's briefcase and knocked it over. The guy laughed it off and told me he wished I totally destroyed it. Idk, I never really had an experience like this in NYC.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by chitown85

Mostly transplants. I meant Sox park.

Actually mostly tourists/fans from out of state and suburbanites. I believe I read a figure a few weeks ago that stated 75% of people in the stands at Wrigley do not live in Chicago.

Sox games are not immune from business talk though. It does happen less there than Wrigley from my observation, but it is not immune.

[iliketrains]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

Actually mostly tourists/fans from out of state and suburbanites. I believe I read a figure a few weeks ago that stated 75% of people in the stands at Wrigley do not live in Chicago.

Sox games are not immune from business talk though. It does happen less there than Wrigley from my observation, but it is not immune.

I'm a Met's guy so I'll be doing my best to avoid the ballparks .

I'm concerned about the professional environment in Chicago, I'll be hopefully working in the loop or close to it.

[chitown85]

Yea that's the best place to find jobs. However, try to avoid the #1 pitfall, which is failing to branch out of your comfort zone. The comfort zone is the transplant zone in the Loop and north side neighborhoods. Chicagoans are very nice people, we don't bite. We like people to talk to us. Get to know the entire city and suburban areas. It helps a lot with networking and finding more opportunities, especially with sales, even with companies HQ'd in the Loop.

[iliketrains]

Originally Posted by chitown85

Yea that's the best place to find jobs. However, try to avoid the #1 pitfall, which is failing to branch out of your comfort zone. The comfort zone is the transplant zone in the Loop and north side neighborhoods. Chicagoans are very nice people, we don't bite. We like people to talk to us. Get to know the entire city and suburban areas. It helps a lot with networking and finding more opportunities, especially with sales, even with companies HQ'd in the Loop.

I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and I do a lot of art and play music...I'm also in my mid 20's and have a pretty progressive mindset. I'm looking to live in Wicker Park or Logan Square, these areas were my favorite.

As for places to work, I will be taking mass transit and want my commute to be no more than an hour door to door.

I've heard employers in Chicago respect those from NYC and vice versa. Like when I moved to NYC people kind of looked at me like I have two heads being from Oregon, a lot of people actually asked me where in the country Oregon was.

I also hear Chicago has a pretty diverse job market. I have a degree in Communications and work at a Marketing firm that works with fashion companies, I want to get the heck out of this type of marketing, or the field all together. Being only in my mid 20's I want to try a few different things before I go for an advanced degree.

[ladysovereign]

Originally Posted by iliketrains

I was advised by someone that grew up in Chicago and worked in NYC, that Chicago's work style is a bit different.
Could someone advise me on this?

I couldn't disagree more. Having met several NYC transplants to Chicago and not noticing anything different about their work ethic, I don't know why that person gave you that advice.

Also are we talking Blue Collar or White Collar (or Pink Collar) profession? Not that it matters from what I've observed though.

Originally Posted by iliketrains

I'm a marketing associate, this is my second job in NYC. People are obsessed with their jobs, even the entry level admin people. I'll come into work on a Monday and people will ask me why I didn't respond to an e-mail sent Saturday night, it's insane. It seems my co-workers have something against me for previously living in Oregon. If we have to stay until 10pm doing work because half of my co-workers screw around most of the day, if I even frown, everyone will make sure to say something like “This is NYC, get used to it”.

Well, I don't know if this helps, but my Best Guy Friend came here from NYC after working there at a job in Manhattan for a year post College (He lived in Brooklyn all his life). His co-workers in Manhattan were older and burdened him with the work they didn't want and found a way to somehow cheat him out of a few commissions. He left for Chicago at the first opportunity that came up and has never gone back.

Sometimes co-workers and Bosses will take advantage of you if they think they can and in this economy that can happen a lot more if they think someone "needs" their job.

[iliketrains]

Originally Posted by ladysovereign

I couldn't disagree more. Having met several NYC transplants to Chicago and not noticing anything different about their work ethic, I don't know why that person gave you that advice.

Also are we talking Blue Collar or White Collar (or Pink Collar) profession? Not that it matters from what I've observed though.

Aside from my friend, a few people on this forum told me there is a difference.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by iliketrains

Aside from my friend, a few people on this forum told me there is a difference.

Ladysovereign may have had different experiences, and she is entitled to her opinion.

As an example of what makes me angry - customer/supplier from NYC calls me up to check on hand inventory of specific product. She tells me that "she had better hear from me within 5 minutes" and that "she'll be checking her blackberry".

Calm the heck down. It takes me 2 minutes to walk to our hi-rise in our 87,000 sq ft warehouse. They're always all about setting unrealistic goals, yelling when they don't get their way, etc..

Either this company happens to hire every snot out there, or this is common in NYC culture. I'll take the latter.

And at lunch time, my coworkers and I talk about baseball, our kids, etc. Sometimes we BBQ, and nary a word of work comes up. Same thing with the company Christmas party.

There is life beyond work! Amazing!