Moving to Chicago from London (Hinsdale, Lincoln: rental car, 2013, apartment)

[sdb1985]

Hi all,

I will be moving to Chicago in (visa processing dependant) Jan 2013. My wife is a Chicago native, so I will probably be relying on her a lot, but Id also like some general advice on standard of living.

In london we rented a 1bed apartment in a decent location for around $3400 (equivalent) once all bills had been paid.

Were looking to spend less then this until I get a job. My wife has suggested she can afford $2500 a month. Once Im working we should have a combined income of around $170K (maybe +/- 10K)

So...I want to be near to work (Im in banking in london so assume the finance district/downtown are where I'll be hoping to find a job)

What sort of lifestyle will this give. We are both under 30, no kids, no need for car etc. I personally would like to be able to walk to work or at least have a very short commute.

Any tips on neighbourhoods? Would like a condo style building with lots of amenities (gyms etc)

thanks

[chicagobear]

I would look at the River North area which is just north of downtown (basically the Chicago River north to Chicago Avenue). There are lots of modern high rises in this area and public transportation is excellent.

[chet everett]

The financial district of Chicago is centered around the "south Loop" whose center is approximately the intersection of LaSalle St and Adams -- lasalle st and adams chicago il - Google Maps

That said nearly no younger finance professionals would choose to live particularly close to work. The Chicago weather is such that when winter strikes the prospect of needing to change snow covered shoes and outer layers is rather daunting. Further the neighborhoods nearest the financial district just are not as nice either visually or in terms of amenities as those a bit further north. A nice 10 minute ride on the El (CTA rapid transit) will get you to Lincoln Park where your budget ought to get you a lovely apartment in either a modern high rise or a smaller more charming building. Lincoln Park is filled with expensive shops and dining options which are designed to appeal to folks with high incomes.

If you do have kids and remain employed in a high paying field you ought to have time to navigate the byzantive process of school selection or do as many in your shoes eventually choose to move to a desirable suburb that is a short Metra rail commute away -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Station

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sdb1985

Hi all,

I will be moving to Chicago in (visa processing dependant) Jan 2013. My wife is a Chicago native, so I will probably be relying on her a lot, but Id also like some general advice on standard of living.

In london we rented a 1bed apartment in a decent location for around $3400 (equivalent) once all bills had been paid.

Were looking to spend less then this until I get a job. My wife has suggested she can afford $2500 a month. Once Im working we should have a combined income of around $170K (maybe +/- 10K)

So...I want to be near to work (Im in banking in london so assume the finance district/downtown are where I'll be hoping to find a job)

What sort of lifestyle will this give. We are both under 30, no kids, no need for car etc. I personally would like to be able to walk to work or at least have a very short commute.

Any tips on neighbourhoods? Would like a condo style building with lots of amenities (gyms etc)

thanks

Ridiculous how much London and some other cities cost. $3400 here for a one bedroom would be absolute top of the line place here. Actually, I don't think most places run that much. One of the most expensive I know is around $3000 a month. You can get a VERY nice one bedroom for $2000 here, and even less (even starting at $1600) if you look downtown. I would look at River North. If you don't need absolutely top of the line, you could go even down to $1300 or $1400 for River North for a one bedroom. There is Gold Coast too which is just north of River North and the same sort of thing, although on average the buildings are older and the "crowd" is a little older too, but still very nice. I would consider both of these downtown, and there's also Streeterville, which is on average newer and more expensive than both, but there's less going on there (even though it's a short walk to the action). I live in the area and have never owned a car since I moved here. There's not much need for one as there's many things around, or you can take public transit to what you need. If not, then there's tons of cabs around in the city, or even services like iGo and ZipCar, or a rental car if you really needed a car for a day or two.


Chet is partially correct about the financial district, but there's financial firms in quite a number of areas around the Loop. If you lived in River North or Gold Coast for example, you could just take the Red Line train down a few stops and if you were in the south portion of the Loop, you'd have less than a 10 minute ride easily, probably close to 6 or 7.

Do you want more of a high rise or low rise style of living? WHat was mentioned above is more high rise and mid rise living with the 24 hour door staff, gym, etc.

[sdb1985]

Yeah london is crazy for rent - our place wasnt even particularly nice, and whilst the area was decent it certainly isnt the most prime london neighbourhood.

Just a calrification, we are probably going to look at 2 beds - I assume thats still do-able on our current budget? Personally Id like high or mide rise instead of low, its not a deal breaker, but I dont think we'll look at much else.

Thanks for all the info so far, most of those neighbourhoods sound familar from what the wife and I have been talking about, I'll definitely take a look at some websites for rentals myself.

[jonnynonos]

You have to understand that the Chicago cost of living is hilariously low compared to London.

$2400 will get you anything.

You will probably enjoy living here because it is a great city and in all respects your money will go much, much, much farther here.

The flip-side is it will very much feel like a small town to you.

There is a completely different feel.

But it's very nice.

Just depends on what you like.

Neighborhood is really up for grabs but it might not be a bad idea to just do a short-term lease somewhere downtown and then explore from there.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by sdb1985

Yeah london is crazy for rent - our place wasnt even particularly nice, and whilst the area was decent it certainly isnt the most prime london neighbourhood.

Just a calrification, we are probably going to look at 2 beds - I assume thats still do-able on our current budget? Personally Id like high or mide rise instead of low, its not a deal breaker, but I dont think we'll look at much else.

Thanks for all the info so far, most of those neighbourhoods sound familar from what the wife and I have been talking about, I'll definitely take a look at some websites for rentals myself.

You can get a very nice two bedroom high rise apartment for $2500/month. This will be a <10 year new construction building, elevator, doorman, in-unit laundry, possibly with a pool and exercise room. Parking will cost extra ($2-300), but in the prime high rise neighborhood (River North) you will be only a few blocks from groceries and will have more restaurants, bars, and shopping within a few blocks radius than you can ever possibly need.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

You can get a very nice two bedroom high rise apartment for $2500/month. This will be a <10 year new construction building, elevator, doorman, in-unit laundry, possibly with a pool and exercise room. Parking will cost extra ($2-300), but in the prime high rise neighborhood (River North) you will be only a few blocks from groceries and will have more restaurants, bars, and shopping within a few blocks radius than you can ever possibly need.

For a two bedroom and $2500, I wouldn't go that far. There are some for sure that are < 10 years old and in-unit laundry for that price, but most will be upwards of $3000 for the two bedrooms if you want that. There will be definitely places in River North and Gold Coast for $2500/month and two beds with a gym and/or pool, doorman, etc, but most will actually be older than 10 years old and probably not have in-unit laundry, although some might.

[sdb1985]

Well I am very much looking forward to finding out if I enjoy it!

It certainly does seem cheaper than London - thats really a big plus for me having to leave here, money going that bit farther will be nice!

....and although granted it did feel smaller than London, im originally form a smaller city in the UK, which bears no comparison to chicago size-wise and frankly I only ever really see about a 3sq miles of london anyway, so I dont think I'll miss it too much !

[Vlajos]

Chicago's COL is probably nearly half of London's. That's always been my biggest problem with visiting London. It is so damn expensive.