Relocation

If you’re weighing whether to move to Chicago, a pros and cons list should make it easy—lots of pros and just a few cons. Here’s what you’re in for: A diverse metropolitan city with a friendly Midwest attitude. A town whose pulse beats with blues music and university classes, hot night spots and romantic restaurants, amazing cultural institutions and championship sports teams. A lake and a river that provide recreation, transportation, and shipping, and a public bus and train system that traverses the city. Further boosting appeal is Chicago’s walkability (ranked #4 on the www.WalkScore.com website), with many neighborhoods boasting restaurants, shops, bars, train and bus stops, and even grocery stores just steps away from your front door.

Chicago’s central downtown is as vibrant as many of its neighborhoods, and during the past several decades, buying a condo downtown has become commonplace. While the housing downturn has no doubt negatively affected Chicago’s condo-building boom, it does mean that there are some great buys out there in areas that may have been prohibitive in the past. On the flip side, apartment-hunting is a bit trickier these days and pricier than you might assume, as former house-owners snatch up apartments and move to the city. Demand goes up as quantity goes down, with less new construction taking place. But a manageable cost of living and job opportunities at everywhere from huge corporations to small mom-and-pop-run businesses have kept people here. If you’ve already decided you’re Chicago-bound, then congrats. We’re happy to have you. If you’re still deciding, give us a shout and we’ll help convince you. Welcome to the Second City, which is always first in our book.