Quote Originally Posted by BigMacFU
QuietC,

I grew up in Chicago, am here for the summer, but spend most of my time in NYC now. I went to Miami U. undergrad, so I understand the Ohio mindset (Get the hell out once I graduate). NYC and Chicago are both awesome places to live if you don't mind the weather (which is the same weather you pretty much grew up with in Ohio). But, both are in the top 5 of Forbes most overpriced cities. If I had to choose one I'd do so asking myself certain questions:

1) What is the specific industry I want to work in?
2) Do I want to buy a car and pay for all a car costs?
3) Do I really want to live in either climate, shouldn't I just move to Cali where it's always 70 degrees?
4) Where do I have more people I know?
5) How much culture do I want available at my fingertips: a) a lot, or b) endless amounts?

PM me if you ever want to have a phone conversation about this, like I said, I grew up in Chicago, still spend my summers here (I'm a graduate student), but live in NYC otherwise.

I love both, the questions above are the key.

Sean summed it up pretty well in his post...

Now that I've travelled around a bit, and seen other big cities, there are things I really like about Chicago (culture, variety of things to see and do, plenty of professional sports teams to watch within striking distance, etc.) and things that I absolutely hate (the weather when it's really cold and nasty, the friggen TRAFFIC, people that don't give a damn about you, etc.).

So far, the best two cities I've enjoyed are Salt Lake City, and San Antonio (except the traffic was a bitch...) To me, both are smaller, more friendly versions of Chicago - all the charm, without all the hassle and the weather is nicer). I don't know how I'd feel if I had to live there all the time, but they seemed nice.

What Sean says is try - it's pretty expensive to live in Chicago. Affordable is way out in the outer suburbs. But, the pay is far higher here than in other markets. Housing is just skyrocketing - gas is expensive (because we are forced to use the "summer" bleand) - and produce/fresh meat is not cheap. But, all in all, I don't think it's outgradeiously different than many other places....

If you ever need more info about housing,etc. - or are going to be in the area and need help finding things or a tour - let me know. I'd be more than happy to show you around.