how expensive is chicago? (Rockford, Madison: real estate, apartment, for rent)

[jxn3000]

white gay professional male considering a move to chicago. would most likely want to live in lakeview. would be moving from the deep south, and want somewhere that is more culturally diverse with more social opportunities. my main concern is the cost of living in chicago. although i make okay money (around 95K,) i am not guaranteed to make that in chicago...and not really sure that if i did, it would be enough there. all the condos i have researched online are in the 300k range, and that is without parking. how do you folks do it????? should i be looking for another city?

[oakparkdude]

Although Chicago is probably more expensive than the city you are coming from, you should be fine here. There are young professional singles who live here on 30K a year or less. Sure there are condos in the 300k range. There are also condos in the 3M range, and condos in the 100K range. If you make 95K or 65K you'll likely be making more than most of the people you'll socialize with. Your best bet is to rent for a year or two anyway, saving up for the downpayment while checking out the various neighborhoods and waiting out the housing decline.

[jxn3000]

thanks sukwoo. i have a home here that i will be selling, so i shouldnt have a problem with a downpayment, but i do agree renting first makes sense to familiarize myself with the area. any areas you can recommend for me to research? i was thinking lakeview, but am open to others as well.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by jxn3000

thanks sukwoo. i have a home here that i will be selling, so i shouldnt have a problem with a downpayment, but i do agree renting first makes sense to familiarize myself with the area. any areas you can recommend for me to research? i was thinking lakeview, but am open to others as well.

Well, Lakeview has been the traditional gay neighborhood of Chicago, although this is less true now than in the past, as many gays have been priced out of the neighborhood. I've heard Andersonville has become popular with gays, but I'm definitely no expert. I'm sure others will chime in.

There are so many different Chicago neighborhoods to choose from. It really depends on many different factors:

1. Where will you be working? Loop? Suburbs?
2. How much density do you want? Manhattan-like high-rises? Midrise walk-ups? SFH?
3. Lifestyle you want to live? Close to all the restaurants and bars or a bit more tranquil?
4. How much do you want to spend on housing?
5. Degree of tolerance for crime?

[Avengerfire]

95k or even 40k is plenty to get by here...

[KevK]

Chicago is very expensive. Not as bad as NYC or LA but high. Not only real estate but taxes, utility bills and everything. That is the major reason we don't live there anymore. In major metros like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, St Louis you can buy 2 or 3 times the house for the same money and your bills will be about 25% or more less than what Chicago pays. For example, we went from a 2 bedroom apartment in Chicago to a 4 bedroom home in Atlanta and we pay less for a mortgage here than we paid for rent there and more than twice the space plus a garage we do not have to pay to park in. And the most shocking thing is that we pay LESS for electric power for a whole house than the average Chicago resident pays Commonwealth Edison (or whatever they call it now) for an apartment or condo! And while the pay in Chicago might be higher, it still will not make up for what you pay to live there. You cannot really live good there on less than about $80,000.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by KevK

Chicago is very expensive. Not as bad as NYC or LA but high. Not only real estate but taxes, utility bills and everything. That is the major reason we don't live there anymore. In major metros like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, St Louis you can buy 2 or 3 times the house for the same money and your bills will be about 25% or more less than what Chicago pays. For example, we went from a 2 bedroom apartment in Chicago to a 4 bedroom home in Atlanta and we pay less for a mortgage here than we paid for rent there and more than twice the space plus a garage we do not have to pay to park in. And the most shocking thing is that we pay LESS for electric power for a whole house than the average Chicago resident pays Commonwealth Edison (or whatever they call it now) for an apartment or condo! And while the pay in Chicago might be higher, it still will not make up for what you pay to live there. You cannot really live good there on less than about $80,000.

This isn't true at all. I was earning less than $40,000 a year and I was living downtown when I first graduated from university. I never struggled to afford it. It was plenty, I had disposable income that mattered, and my bills/rent were never a major point of fear.

Let me ask you this, jnx3000: what exactly is your profession? What do you do? That's a more important point of contention than your earning power there compared to here. If you don't have a college education and you're earning that much, by all means do not move here. If you do, however, you should consider the move as it will be a vast change

EDIT
I'm sorry, you said professional. If you're a professional, you should be fine. Chicago may appear prohibitively expensive because of where you're coming from, but if you value that "big city lifestyle" you'll be fine

[Milliano]

Originally Posted by KevK

You cannot really live good there on less than about $80,000.

Wow... I wonder how much $$$ people said it took to "live good" back in the 1920s!

[Lookout Kid]

Housing will be more expensive. You just have to re-adjust your expectations. HOw much space does a single man need anyway? Could you live with a one-bedroom place? If so, you'll be fine in Lakeview. But if you want a two-bedroom place for under $300,000, you might consider moving just north of Lakeview into "Buena Park", which is really the safer southern part of Uptown. I live there now just two blocks north of the Lakeview border, and my buidling is filled with many gay men and couples (probably about one-third of the inhabitants). It's a ten to fifteen minute walk to "boystown", and the real estate is much cheaper than three blocks south. Also, Buena Park is very safe, as long as you stay a bit south of Montrose. North of Montrose things definitely get a bit hairier for a few blocks, but it's by no means as dangerous as the ghettos on the South and West sides.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by coldwine

This isn't true at all. I was earning less than $40,000 a year and I was living downtown when I first graduated from university. I never struggled to afford it. It was plenty, I had disposable income that mattered, and my bills/rent were never a major point of fear.

Let me ask you this, jnx3000: what exactly is your profession? What do you do? That's a more important point of contention than your earning power there compared to here. If you don't have a college education and you're earning that much, by all means do not move here. If you do, however, you should consider the move as it will be a vast change

EDIT
I'm sorry, you said professional. If you're a professional, you should be fine. Chicago may appear prohibitively expensive because of where you're coming from, but if you value that "big city lifestyle" you'll be fine

Yes but you are probably single. If you are single or DINK then yes you can live in a 1 bedroom. But if you have kids and need a larger dwelling, be prepared to pay out the ass for it. As I have often said on here- Chicago is a great place to live if you are educated, skilled and single. If you are not, I would look elsewhere. Other cities even in the region like Rockford, Milwaukee, Madison and Indianapolis are far more family friendly (although not nearly as culturally rich or fun).