Cross Post: Moving from Bay area to Chicago on same salary

Bay Area
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Here is one of the reddit posts that someone planning Move from Bay area to Chicago on same salary.

Linked here for forum viewers discussions/review.

Hi FI, I was looking to move to Chicago to work in tech from the bay area but I have got offers which offer the same salary as current salary. Though the bay area is expensive and the perceived COL in Chicago seems lower, http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&country2=United+States&city1=San+Jose%2C+CA&city2=Chicago%2C+IL seems to say so otherwise. I know tax brackets are lower, but other than that not really sure. Any opinions on whether this move might make sense ?

Answer:

Also a tech worker, have done a bunch of real estate price modeling in these cities. The COL comparisons in that dataset are surprising/shocking. If you maintain the spending/consumption habits one would expect of a FI-forum reader, most of your costs are in housing, basic staples, and transportation. Housing and transport are the Bay Area cost-killers; Chicago is probably the cheapest major city with any tech sector to speak of. It’s also practical to live further out of Chicago proper – the trains are great – and spend less time/money commuting than you would in SF/Boston/NYC. The housing cost dropoff/ city tax dropoff are pretty significant as you get into the suburbs.

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You should do it if you can stand the winter cold and snow. COL is lower and housing costs are lower. Public transit is a lot better. You can even live in an older neighborhood in northwest Chicago or on the northern lakefront, which are both good neighborhoods.

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Comparison at macro level is for economists and for laymen, just a feel. Downtown Chicago is pretty expensive, and certain parts of San Jose is pretty cheap.

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Chicago is cheap for a reason…The murder capitol of America…Brutal winters, hot humid summers. Don’t forget the cost of the Miami condo you will need when leave town as often as everyone else does…
Sure you can commute to a boring cheap suburb…But the whole point for millennials in living in a great city is enjoying downtown living…highrise condos on Michigan ave are not cheap…

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Chicago has a tech sector? Like what? Groupon?

If she’s so concerned about costs, then Seattle would be a great choice.

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Chicago tech sector sucks. Ask former Motorola employees who are relocating.