SHOULD I MOVE TO CHICAGO?

Question

Ok well i'm from phoenix arizona, and i'm planning on moving to Chicago or anywhere in the suburbs of chicago. The thing is that i ain't so sure if i should move. I mean is it any different from phoenix? Which is safer? I really dont mind a diverse city, I like rain and thunderstorms.I just want to know like the basic things. Which city is more expensive when coming to gas and homes? Is education tooken seriously in chicago? Would i feel as if i was home in phoenix? which is cleaner and more reliable? If anyone can please help me out i would be more than appreciated. Thanks :)

Answer 1

Well I'd never move to chi town.. I live like 30 minutes away so I take the train like every week end but to live in the city it's 30 dollars for 30 minutes! gas is very expensive. It's generally a safe place tho. Gosh it is so beautiful in the city. It makes it all worth while when it's 3: in the morning and there is a thunder storm and your on like the 20th floor. It truly is breath taking!

Answer 2

You're moving from Phoenix to Chicago? Wow, that's a first. Usually it's the other way around.

Of course, Chicago is a LOT different than Phoenix. One is a southwestern city with a lot of southwestern heritage, the other is a blue collar type of town with a huge mix of people, incomes, living conditions, etc.

I would guess that Phoenix is a little safer only because there are fewer people than in Chicago. But don't let the safety factory scare you. Most of the crime in Chicago occurs in places you probably won't be going to anyway.

Chicago might be more expensive only because the city taxes just about everything up the wazoo, including gas. There are special city taxes on gas, liquor, even bottled water. That being said, there are ways to cut corners, save money and still enjoy the city. YOu can ride the bus, which is only about $2 per trip. You can find a cool "dive" bar with cheap booze or a typical Wrigleyville type bar with drink specials. You can see live theater at some of the top theater companies in the country for $20 or less. A lot of the swanky clubs have free admission until 10 or 11 p.m. And there are grocery stores where you can save money on food, furniture stores that offer wholesale prices, etc. There is free entertainment in the form of free outdoor concerts and festivals.

As big cities go, Chicago is about one of the cleanest. It's much cleaner than NYC, for instance, which is considered the epitome of American cities. Not sure what you mean by 'reliable". Don't know what a "reliable" city means.

Also, not sure what you mean by education be taken seriously. Yes, we have schools here and whe have at a bunch of major colleges and universities in the area that have great national reputations (University of Chicago, Northwestern University - actually in Evanston, but close enough; Loyola University, DePaul University, University of Illinois-Chicago, etc.). So yeah, i guess education is taken seriously.

Finally, as far as you feeling "at home", that's up to you. There's a lot of stuff going on in Chicago, a lot of great neighborhoods and a lot of of  things to do. if you like that sort of stuff, then it can be "home".

Answer 3

Well I don't know much about Phoenix but I think Chicago is an awesome place 2 live. In chicago it depends which area you want to live in when it comes 2 expenses. For example, the downtown area is very expensive to live, as for gas it's up there almost $5 a gal. Also about the city being safer and more clean it all goes back to which area you live in. Not saying that all parts in chicago are bad but I recommend a suburb in the city, or living in or somewhat close to the downtown area. Hope that helped ya.

By the way I live in chicago.

Answer 4

Chicago is nothing like Phoenix. Chicago gets cold in the winter, this past winter I consistantly had a mile walk to work in negative 0 weather and lots of snow. Chicago is probably also a little less friendly than Phoenix. You dont really take it too seriously since you asked h ow education was tooken lol. It's a cool city but very expensive and very cold in the winter.

Answer 5

Chicago has some of the highest taxes in the nation and the same goes with our gas prices. i don't know anything about phoenix, but we have some pretty expensive real estate. the suburbs is way cheaper in terms of gas, real estate and taxes. the weather is obviously different. we are a pretty friendly city though. well, education is "tooken" (looks like you're looking for education for yourself!) pretty seriously. we have many excellent private schools as well as magnet public schools.