NYC family of 6: Move to or Chicago or SF? Anyone lived in both? (sale, homes)

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Imagine seeing Rollers in London and Bentleys too. So I guess that they don't export all of them after all. To think that they keep some of those Double R's in Great Britain. Imagine that.

[PA Born]

I recommend SF. Much better economy and quality of life than Chicago (IMO).

Yes, SF is much more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by PA Born

I recommend SF. Much better economy and quality of life than Chicago (IMO).

Yes, SF is much more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Yes, weather wise the winters in SF are far less extreme than Chicago. Scenic views of the bay and surrounding hillsides and far more common in the pricey areas but somehow I don't think the OP is in the kind of price range that they'll be shopping for a Victorian on some post card type street.

The question of how the average higher income corporate relocation family with four kids fares in SF region vs broad Chicago region is at least somewhat dependent on comparing a nearly equal salary / level of responsibility and by that measure I would argue the scale tilts heavily toward the Chicago region. Whether you are talking a seven figure home in Roscoe Village or Lincoln Square or Hinsdale or the North Shore I think it is fair to say a similar home in an equally desirably part of the SF region is likely to be orders of magnitude more costly -- the differnce between something around $1.25M and something that might very well be 3 or 4x that sum is awfully hard to justify with four kids...

[Water 4 the Pool]

Originally Posted by PA Born

I recommend SF. Much better economy and quality of life than Chicago (IMO).

Yes, SF is much more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

There's a reason why real estate is so expensive in SF--there is a high demand because people want to live there, and there's a limited quantity of space available. Sort of like Manhattan.

We're making the pro/con list now as I set up third/final interviews in both places.

The weather is a mild factor--I love the change of seasons but I dread the dreariness of Chicago in late January through late March and the related listlessness that consumes me. There's no good skiing escape within a two/three hour drive to brighten the doldrums of winter.

Obviously, the extended family and financial aspects weigh heavily in favor of Chicago. Those are my real decision-makers when moving a good-sized family like mine. If we had only one child or if we were age 30, the choice would probably be different.

The non-quantifiable excitement/family adventure factor is high for SF and low for Chicago. I feel sort of like after in living New York, where's the next place that can pique our interest? But excitement/adventure doesn't pay the bills or set us up to be able to help our FOUR kids with college.

I earn a good salary/bonus (top 3% for my NYC zip code), but one of the reasons we want to leave Manhattan is that we just can't afford to buy a $1.8 million 3 bedroom condo and have money for anything else in our lives. That's just reality. We can handle about a $6k to $7k mortgage--and I expect some good public schools for the associated property taxes. That won't get us what we want here and probably not in SF either. But in Chicagoland, I think we could get a great space for that payment and likely good public schools as well.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Water 4 the Pool

I earn a good salary/bonus (top 3% for my NYC zip code), but one of the reasons we want to leave Manhattan is that we just can't afford to buy a $1.8 million 3 bedroom condo and have money for anything else in our lives. That's just reality. We can handle about a $6k to $7k mortgage--and I expect some good public schools for the associated property taxes. That won't get us what we want here and probably not in SF either. But in Chicagoland, I think we could get a great space for that payment and likely good public schools as well.

$1.8 million in Chicago? Man, you have it made. Trust me. If you want to live downtown you can get a really good 3 bedroom place for WAY less than $1.8 million. You could probably get a 3 bedroom condo in River North for under $600,000 or $700,000. If you wanted a house, you could easily buy a 5 bedroom house in the middle of Lincoln Park or Lakeview for that price.

3 bedroom, 1660 sq feet for $570,000 in River North/Gold Coast:
600 N Dearborn St Apt 1904 Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #08269925 - Realtor.com®

Or if you wanted more upscale...3 bed 3 bath in a highrise with 2100 sq feet for $1.3 million
2 W Delaware Pl Unit 2702 Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #08172678 - Realtor.com®


Hell, you could buy a 5 bedroom house over 4000 sq foot in the middle of Lincoln Park for that price.:
2653 N Burling St Chicago IL - New Home for Sale - MLS #08226484 - Realtor.com®

Or maybe you want a 3 bed, 3 bath 1800 sq foot house for under $500k:
1038 N Wolcott Ave # 3 Chicago IL - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - MLS #08233728 - Realtor.com®


You can afford a TON with $1.8 million and you in no way have to spend even close to that for a nice 3 bed/3 bath. If you wanted to live in a mansion in the suburbs, you could easily do that too and get even more bang for your buck.


P.S. There are skiing places within 2-3 hours of Chicago. They aren't on the level of Vail or Aspen, but they are still OK nonetheless if you want that.

[sfcambridge]

Sounds like you have made the appropriate decision. Chicagoland it is. Very appropriate. SF is similar to Manhattan right now.... live there with a family if you are very very rich to afford the real estate and private schools.... or make many compromises. It certainly can be done, but not very easily with 4 kids.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Sounds like you have made the appropriate decision. Chicagoland it is. Very appropriate. SF is similar to Manhattan right now....

The funny thing is that if you take all the north and NW side neighborhoods and add up their area, it's about the size of San Francisco, but it's denser than San Francisco on average when you add in the population (even with neighborhoods like North Park, Edison Park, and Jefferson Park). The funny thing here is that there is much room for the north side here to grow too. Kind of weird, but true.

About the rich school thing, you could say the same thing about Chicago. I mean San Francisco is much more expensive on average, but let's get real here. If you wanted to spend $1.8 million in Chicago on a house/condo, it would not be hard to do. There are plenty of places on the market for around that much, and more. Chicago might be cheaper COL but that doesn't mean it's impossible to spend $10 million on a condo/house. Chicago is still the city with the 3rd most millionaires in the US, and not far behind Los Angeles. many corporate offices/HQs full of executives, big time real estate developers/agents, 5 pro sports teams, federal level politicians (i.e. the President), and two world class universities (even if one is in Evanston, but that's right next to Chicago). Plenty of people with tons of money here that can easily spend it and do via real estate all the time.

[Water 4 the Pool]

Originally Posted by marothisu

$1.8 million in Chicago? Man, you have it made. Trust me. If you want to live downtown you can get a really good 3 bedroom place for WAY less than $1.8 million. You could probably get a 3 bedroom condo in River North for under $600,000 or $700,000. If you wanted a house, you could easily buy a 5 bedroom house in the middle of Lincoln Park or Lakeview for that price.

FYI, I'm not spending $1.8mm on a house anywhere--our budget max is half of that (for which I still expect some good value). If I was in that price neighborhood, I would probably move my crew to SF and then just arrange charter flights for our Midwest relatives to come see us.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Water 4 the Pool

FYI, I'm not spending $1.8mm on a house anywhere--our budget max is half of that (for which I still expect some good value). If I was in that price neighborhood, I would probably move my crew to SF and then just arrange charter flights for our Midwest relatives to come see us.

I misread it. Anyway, even if you want to spend half of that, read the rest of my message. I posted two 3 bedroom condos/houses there for half of your max budget and there's thousands more you can choose from.

[chet everett]

In the $700K range there are some excellent options in very livable parts of the Chicago region that would afford the OP and their family far more pleasant commute options / far more living space (indoors and out) than anything in an remotely similar price range could be hoped for in SF...

4052 N KENMORE Ave, Chicago, IL 60613 | MLS# 08111279 | Redfin

or

4836 S Woodland Ave, WESTERN SPRINGS, IL 60558 | MLS# 08260215 | Redfin

vs

1338 47th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122 | MLS# 404298 | Redfin