City vs suburbs living (Chicago, Des Plaines: car rental, rental, house)

[Stechkin]

thanks for the replies
i have a car and prefer to drive and kinda like a quieter setting, but still close enough to go to a city frequently so seems like suburbs would work best for me
any financial differences? are taxes similar?

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Stechkin

thanks for the replies
i have a car and prefer to drive and kinda like a quieter setting, but still close enough to go to a city frequently so seems like suburbs would work best for me
any financial differences? are taxes similar?

Well, you can still own a car in the city and it's a hell of a lot easier than NYC and there are VERY quiet areas of the city. VERY quiet. This isn't India we're talking about where people are just everywhere. Yes, there are some areas of the city that are busy, but those are usually main streets. The hilarious thing I show people who visit here is I take them to a busy street, then we go in a residential one not far away a block in and we can't hear anything at street level. No joke. Unless you're up high, you won't be hearing anything, and not every area is busy. There are areas of town I could take you to blind folded and you'd believe you were in an older suburb, not the city.

...however, the city is definitely more progressive and you are less reliant on the car, which IMO is a very good thing (I'm not talking about green energy stuff, blah blah...I'm talking about your health). Before I lived here, I thought it was absolute hog wash to not own a car and blah blah but now I know it's the opposite. If I have a grocery store a half block away, why would I want to drive to it? Everyone is different though and I can understand why you wouldn't want some businesses within 3 blocks of your place I guess.

Anyway, financial differences? Yes, the suburbs are usually cheaper for COL, though again you have to own a car in most suburbs so it eventually balances itself out. The taxes, I can't speak of 100% but I know that in some areas the property taxes are higher because the school districts pay a lot of money for their public school teachers. So you may get a SFH for cheaper (really not necessarily..) but still pay a lot in property tax depending on which suburb. The sales/use taxes in the burbs are also a little lower than the city of Chicago itself. I'd say for a family with children under 18, it's possibly cheaper in the burbs.

[Stechkin]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Well, you can still own a car in the city and it's a hell of a lot easier than NYC and there are VERY quiet areas of the city. VERY quiet. This isn't India we're talking about where people are just everywhere. Yes, there are some areas of the city that are busy, but those are usually main streets. The hilarious thing I show people who visit here is I take them to a busy street, then we go in a residential one not far away a block in and we can't hear anything at street level. No joke. Unless you're up high, you won't be hearing anything, and not every area is busy. There are areas of town I could take you to blind folded and you'd believe you were in an older suburb, not the city.

...however, the city is definitely more progressive and you are less reliant on the car, which IMO is a very good thing (I'm not talking about green energy stuff, blah blah...I'm talking about your health). Before I lived here, I thought it was absolute hog wash to not own a car and blah blah but now I know it's the opposite. If I have a grocery store a half block away, why would I want to drive to it? Everyone is different though and I can understand why you wouldn't want some businesses within 3 blocks of your place I guess.

Anyway, financial differences? Yes, the suburbs are usually cheaper for COL, though again you have to own a car in most suburbs so it eventually balances itself out. The taxes, I can't speak of 100% but I know that in some areas the property taxes are higher because the school districts pay a lot of money for their public school teachers. So you may get a SFH for cheaper (really not necessarily..) but still pay a lot in property tax depending on which suburb. The sales/use taxes in the burbs are also a little lower than the city of Chicago itself. I'd say for a family with children under 18, it's possibly cheaper in the burbs.

i just like to have a car and like to drive places so i would have it no matter where i live, i also like new housing so suburbs might have more of that

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Stechkin

i just like to have a car and like to drive places so i would have it no matter where i live, i also like new housing so suburbs might have more of that

I understand. There are actually many people who own cars in Chicago. Do they take them out every single day? No, but they own them and do take them out. Otherwise there would be no cars on the road. Even though I live downtown, my high rise has a private garage, and most spaces are taken. So again, it's not like NYC where it's actually more of a hassle to own a car. Here it's more of a "Okay, I have a lot in my neighborhood 5 minutes away I could walk to BUT I could also take my car and go 10 miles to ____."

As far as new housing goes, I think that's a myth. Chicago has tons of new housing and I would agree that the suburbs have more on average, but if you think that Chicago is just a bunch of old housing then you are pretty wrong. There are many, many millionaires in the city and many of them like to build their own places. I think you'd be surprised at some of the places that exist in town. There are also many older places that are completely remodeled inside with new/state of the art appliances.

The price per square footage in most suburbs, however, is cheaper than in the city though. If you just want a nice modern home or a modern condo, or apartment..that's pretty easy in the city. Of course again, it all depends on how much you want to pay.

Here's an example of something not too old that is a single family home. The price per square footage is pretty good and the area is pretty quiet but there are some things around there if you go a few blocks. Not loud at all though:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...78-34857?row=3

If it's a condo you are after:
* http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...5_M73305-63161
* http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...19-80389?row=2
* http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...39-36167?row=7
* http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...2-67215?row=16
etc

If you are after a big yard with a big victorian home, then yes suburbs are definitely for you.

[nikitakolata]

In my experience property taxes in the suburbs are a little higher than the city for the same price point house. I just sold a house in the $550,000 range in the city and the taxes were about $10,000 a year. My parents just sold a house in Kane County for $650,000 and their property taxes were about $17,000. Of course, the taxes vary greatly from one town to the next. Car insurance is less expensive if you live in the suburbs though and so are things like city stickers for your car, if you need them at all. Gas is cheaper too.

Just an FYI, but posting this in the Chicago form is going to get you mostly responses from people living in the city and that prefer the city. If you were to post this same thread in the suburbs forum you'd probably get more responses that are pro-suburbs since the people who post to that forum tend to live in the suburbs. So, I guess my point is to keep that in mind when you read the responses from either forum.

[Stechkin]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

In my experience property taxes in the suburbs are a little higher than the city for the same price point house. I just sold a house in the $550,000 range in the city and the taxes were about $10,000 a year. My parents just sold a house in Kane County for $650,000 and their property taxes were about $17,000. Of course, the taxes vary greatly from one town to the next. Car insurance is less expensive if you live in the suburbs though and so are things like city stickers for your car, if you need them at all. Gas is cheaper too.

Just an FYI, but posting this in the Chicago form is going to get you mostly responses from people living in the city and that prefer the city. If you were to post this same thread in the suburbs forum you'd probably get more responses that are pro-suburbs since the people who post to that forum tend to live in the suburbs. So, I guess my point is to keep that in mind when you read the responses from either forum.

true

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

Just an FYI, but posting this in the Chicago form is going to get you mostly responses from people living in the city and that prefer the city. If you were to post this same thread in the suburbs forum you'd probably get more responses that are pro-suburbs since the people who post to that forum tend to live in the suburbs. So, I guess my point is to keep that in mind when you read the responses from either forum.

This is a very good point, although I think some posters are definitely more realistic. I do think though that in the US cities at least, it's kind of a myth that everywhere is noisy and what not. There are some areas that are definitely more suburban feeling than urban, and quiet.

I think the OP would do well in either, but yeah probably not in an area like Lincoln Park if in the city. Somewhere further out (see some of the condos from above). Suburbs are the easy choice, but I like to give people pertinent information about the city who may not be familiar with it

The suburbs are important though, and while it's not for me, without the burbs, the city would be weaker for sure.

[ChicagoMeO]

Advantages of suburbs - No parking meters like the city; no red light cameras too (or less than Chicago because I think someone said their suburb had them); driving is a lot easier traffic-wise, unless you live in a particular area i.e. near downtown Oak Park, or by Motorola in Schaumburg when people are coming from or going to work at Motorola;
the Metra is a lot cleaner and more spacious seats than CTA; if you live near a strip mall you probably have all the stores you generally need - you might have a Jewel/Osco, Michaels Crafts, Best Buy, some restaurants, and a bank for example; suburbs give you a better apartment for the money including size and price and they often have a pool; some suburban environments are really pretty - Lisle for example has lots of trees vs some areas of chicago which just have ugly buildings and those in bad shape to stare at.

Cons of suburbs - the commute sucks if you cant get used to sitting in a train for an hour EVERY damn day, too boring, and passengers can get annoying; some people who live in the far suburban areas like Lake County, Illinois, have too long of a commute but they cant move coz they bought a home and now they cant easily sell it; some people dont like if a suburb is too "boring" i.e. its a "bedroom community" like Glendale Heights or Carol Stream but then some people like the break from the too-business of the city.

Thats a few for now. at least those things are true for me. Opinions vary.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Stechkin

thanks for the replies
i have a car and prefer to drive and kinda like a quieter setting, but still close enough to go to a city frequently so seems like suburbs would work best for me
any financial differences? are taxes similar?

What's great about a city like Chicago is that you can own a car living in the city if you really want to, and it might be useful for longer trips, but you have the option of not needing to use it for every single little errand or outing.

Keep in mind, however, that in the more densely-populated areas close to the lake, street parking is pretty tight and off-street parking can be pretty expensive. For example, in my Lakeview highrise, garage parking averages about $200 a month and is in addition to the cost of apartment rent.

[koctail]

Suburbs are boring, like living in a small town. After sunsets you won't see a soul..