combatentropy
Veteran
My wife and I are thinking of moving from Austin to Chicago some day. Any words of warning?
We have already done research. Last year we visited and loved it.
Pros
- Big city. We love a big city's diversity, opportunity, and activity.
- Public transit. We hate owning and driving cars. Walkability --- common in Europe, rare in the United States --- is a big reason.
- Cooler weather. You can say that again. I will address it in the Cons, but at least it's not like Austin, which has just two seasons, Summer and Summer Lite. Chicago is winter half the year, but at least in the other half there is Spring, Summer, and Fall.
- Beaches, waterfront, sailing, kayaking. I love sailing. My wife loves kayaking.
- Closer to family. They don't live in Chicago, but it's closer to them than Austin is. Plus, airfare in and out of Chicago is cheaper.
- Best bang for the buck. We could move to other walkable cities, like New York, but we would be paying more or would be farther from family. I'm originally from the Midwest, so Chicago is ever-so-slightly closer-feeling than any other walkable city.
Cons
- Brrrr. The winters, I hear, are demoralizingly long and hard. I get it. We will do our best to prepare and buy the right clothes. Any good tips here are welcome.
- Murder. Okay, so there's a lot of shootings. But when you dig down into the details, 99% of it is targeted shootings between street gangs, and mainly in certain neighborhoods. I've read testimonials by young women who say they feel safe walking downtown at night. We don't plan to walk downtown in the middle of the night, but we agree that Chicago is a large town, with many different neighborhoods.
- Political corruption. I don't really know the details, though, nor exactly how it affects me (or what I can do about it).
- High taxes. The total sales tax is 10.25% now, right? And I think that is the highest in the nation.
I'm a computer programmer, not a professional videographer anymore. So I'm not really looking for work, though it might be fun to get back into it some day.
We have already done research. Last year we visited and loved it.
Pros
- Big city. We love a big city's diversity, opportunity, and activity.
- Public transit. We hate owning and driving cars. Walkability --- common in Europe, rare in the United States --- is a big reason.
- Cooler weather. You can say that again. I will address it in the Cons, but at least it's not like Austin, which has just two seasons, Summer and Summer Lite. Chicago is winter half the year, but at least in the other half there is Spring, Summer, and Fall.
- Beaches, waterfront, sailing, kayaking. I love sailing. My wife loves kayaking.
- Closer to family. They don't live in Chicago, but it's closer to them than Austin is. Plus, airfare in and out of Chicago is cheaper.
- Best bang for the buck. We could move to other walkable cities, like New York, but we would be paying more or would be farther from family. I'm originally from the Midwest, so Chicago is ever-so-slightly closer-feeling than any other walkable city.
Cons
- Brrrr. The winters, I hear, are demoralizingly long and hard. I get it. We will do our best to prepare and buy the right clothes. Any good tips here are welcome.
- Murder. Okay, so there's a lot of shootings. But when you dig down into the details, 99% of it is targeted shootings between street gangs, and mainly in certain neighborhoods. I've read testimonials by young women who say they feel safe walking downtown at night. We don't plan to walk downtown in the middle of the night, but we agree that Chicago is a large town, with many different neighborhoods.
- Political corruption. I don't really know the details, though, nor exactly how it affects me (or what I can do about it).
- High taxes. The total sales tax is 10.25% now, right? And I think that is the highest in the nation.
I'm a computer programmer, not a professional videographer anymore. So I'm not really looking for work, though it might be fun to get back into it some day.