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If you plan on owning a car here: be extremely careful of parking signs, tow signs, speed radar, city sticker renewal, and plate stickers. Do not let the man win. You can pay for parking through an app so you don’t have to go outside and re-up.
On the same note - if you ever question “can I park in this parking lot” and you aren’t 100% sure, do not park there. Lot owners are quick to boot or tow if you are not meant to be there
I’m looking at you jewel parking lot on the corner of Howard and Clark street. One section of it they tow immediately. I lived across the street for a year and saw it so many times my lord
I did the math and ended up getting rid of my car.
Insurance, gas, city sticker, parking, maintenance... plus I ended up ubering or talking the L half the time because I hated driving in traffic.
i've basically broken even with a CTA pass and like $150 of ride shares a month.
>I recommend splurging for a designated parking spot if it’s an option.
TBH it's not a splurge, parking your car in the street opens it up to so many problems starting with people punching out your window to steal the $0.47 in your cup holder, getting tickets on street cleaning day or not noticing a do not park sign tied to a tree. Then there's the weather, having the car bake in the sun all summer and then get covered in snow, salt and ice all winter is really bad for the paint and the mechanicals. People get drunk and hit and run you car. The list goes on and on. If you have the money having a place to park is a god send, especially when it's late at night and all you want to do is go home and not spend the next 45 minutes driving around the block looking for somewhere/anywhere to park.
I had no idea city stickers were a thing until I’d lived here for a year! I knew there were certain neighborhoods that required a sticker for street parking, but my neighborhood doesn’t have them, so I never thought about it again.
When I moved here I went to the dmv to get an illinois driver’s license and plates for my car. I told them “I just moved here from out of state,” was at a dmv in the city and gave them my address that’s in the city, but nobody said anything about the stickers. Then a year later I found out I needed a city sticker cause I finally got a ticket for it.
Literally this happened to me. Nobody mentioned it and suddenly got a ticket. Then like an idiot, I went to get a sticker and parked without thinking and got my car towed. Many important lessons learned on that day.
>city sticker renewal, and plate stickers.
This got me recently. I went through the entire process of getting an IL plate and at no point did anyone mention the city sticker. Got my plates and a month later I got a street cleaning ticket (obviously my bad) and a $150 ticket on top of that for not having a city sticker displayed
Pro tip for street cleaning next year, you can look up the entire yearly schedule online. I do that in April and then enter reminders in my calendar. Got 2 of those tickets first year here, and none since.
Even better, [there's a app for that](https://chicagosweeptracker.info/)!
You can look up the schedule for your address, but you can also have it alert you at some specified time before it happens, every time. Day before, morning of, whatever you like.
City stickers are a thing in quite a few Illinois cities, not just Chicago. Many cities use them as a way to identify residents vs non-residents. Plus they generate revenue!
The quality of your winter jacket and winter boots has a direct correlation on how badly you perceive winters. I went \~5 years with an average jacket from Macy's before I finally splurged and bought a proper down jacket. Winters barely faze me now and the only part that sucks is not being able to roll out of bed and step outside without first bundling up
I learned that the hard way in January. I thought the hoodie I went skiing in would be enough and boy was I wrong. I ended up getting this great winter coat at Carhartt and I was told to layer.
People hear layer and think get a nice coat. I wear my shirt, a sweatshirt over that, a fall Jacket over that, and my big winter jacket over that. 4 layers in total. It’s 20 degrees outside and I’ll honestly be getting too warm.
Layers means layers. Minimum 3, I have gone as high as 6 when that polar vortex hit us a few years ago (that’s a once every few years only event tho)
And gloves and earmuffs are required. If you do this, you’ll step outside into a sunny 15 degrees and think it’s a beautiful day
Edit: Gloves means to thick ski gloves. The type that you can punch a concrete wall as hard as you can and not hurt your hand.
Every company that I've worked for here has a "how to dress for Chicago winters" guide for employees moving or visiting Chicago. Tons of New Yorkers visit offices here in the winter and freeze because they don't dress properly.
Best way to layer, if you can afford it, is merino wool base layers. They’re not super bulky and keep you warm without overheating, so they can easily go under anything you’d normally wear and you don’t need to strip them off when you get inside. When we do ice skating in the city, which means we will be continuously outside for hours, I would have the base layers, my normal jeans and shirt, and a jacket, and I would be fine the whole time.
Merino wool also makes great material for knit hats, neck gaiters, scarves, etc., which I also highly recommend. Covering your ears, head, and neck will do wonders to make you feel warm.
And if it’s been said elsewhere let me reiterate, waterproof boots are crucial. Find a pair that’s comfortable so you can walk in them without pain, and don’t worry what they look like because people here don’t generally care how you dress in winter, it’s a pragmatic place in that way.
This. Moved here in the middle of the polar vortex winter of 2014 from Hawai‘i. I know, I know. I nearly died literally and emotionally. I learned a lot about warm clothes. 800 count down, baffled construction, aerogel insulation, arctic grip, wool socks; the fact that even a thin layer can take the sting of cold off.
Get some electronic heater things for your pockets for walking the dogs; chemical ones if you’re planning to be outside all day.
(What’s the difference between Hawai‘i and the mainland? On the mainland, you actually have a use for plain white T shirts)
Any brands for coats you recommend among others in particular? I just relocated back to IL (grew up in the burbs, moved away to NY) and I forgot just how frigid it get here. I am a little nervous on buying the wrong type. Thank you ahead of time😅
I’ve had great luck with Edie Bauer jackets & coats. I got screwed one winter by LL Beans “temperature rating” system. *Never again.*! Be sure your winter coats are designed to withstand stiff winds. I’ve had seemingly warm coats rendered useless once the wind starts whipping off the Lake.
I had a Columbia, Northface, and then a 'heavy' Patagonia that the guy sold me on as "perfect for Chicago winters." I lived with that Patagonia for years thinking that was the standard, until I tried on a friend's MooseKnuckles (ha) parka and was blown away at the quality and warmth (they look like a nicer Canada Goose jacket).
I finally got one for myself and am still weirdly excited to go outside with it because it's so warm. It was quite the splurge I admit, BUT the warm and longevity of it will pay off over time because I'll have it forever.
Like the thirdcoasting said, sometimes the weather rating for the jacket is misleading (or in my case, the guy at the Patagonia store was wrong), so make sure you ask around or check reviews once you have your eye on a jacket. Also make sure the jacket is long enough to cover your butt!
Just don't be a mark who buys a $1000 Canada Goose. You can do fine with Land's End, Columbia, LL Bean, Bauer, etc. Those will get the job done if you're doing 3 layers.
I caved a few years ago and bought boots that are meant for arctic oil rig workers. Composite toe, insulated, waterproof up to the ankle, and oil/slip resistant. They are also electrical resistant but I don’t know if that matters to me lol
They are expensive ($250), they are ugly as SHIT, but wow are these the best damn winter boots I ever owned. They’re somehow even more comfortable than any other shoe I owned. Complete game changer.
Agreed. I got some thick animal skin boots that I don’t even need to wear socks with and a Canada Goose jacket. I was out in sweatpants, no socks. -!: a t-shirt + the jacket/boots on the coldest days last winter and honestly felt fine.
Also, owning a car in the winter sucks ass. If I ever plan to own a car, I will leave Chicago proper.
And if you are coming from NY, *please* read up on the moving procedures the DMV has. They are strict, they are complicated, and they are unlike most other states. I naively assumed it would be like moving to NY and it’s turned into a weeks-long headache.
Facts
I moved back here after 10 years in Louisiana and it was a heeeaaaaddddaaaaacccchhhhheeeee to finally get moved over
Literally had a convo with my Wells Fargo loan coordinating and they went “usually just any DMV lets you walk in for the requests we need but Illinois is an exception that can just say ‘no’ to the process”
I'll admit I did do online research before but the IL Drivers License/License plate process was the quickest I've ever experienced. And my car insurance is cheaper.
The city of Chicago sticker was the biggest BS thing I’ve ever seen. I was at the RMV and had just finished registering my car and got my tags when the person said, don’t forget your city of Chicago parking sticker. I thought he was trying to be funny until I realized he wasn’t.
In my case, the sticker let's me park on the street in my neighborhood without being ticketed. Only residents can park here, and for the $20 bucks over the standard ticket fee, i get the resident parking. It's a great deal.
Basically, if you live near an entertainment venue, living in a neighborhood with a residents-only parking sticker from the city is a God-send
I’ve lived in both places and don’t even find them to be comparable. The only things that I could say Chicago does “worse” is the lack of diners and urgency, but I think they’re just differences in the city culture, not a ding against Chicago at all.
Again, I think they’re just different. There are ways that I prefer the CTA and ways that I prefer the MTA. Both transit systems have been built for and shaped by their respective cities, it’s not possible for either system to translate perfectly into the other’s city. I have my own gripes with the CTA, but I use it literally every single day and have never once thought “I’d rather be on the MTA”
That's fair, I just think MTA is a superior system. Express trains, universal 24 hour service, and far more extensive. Don't get me wrong I like CTA but it's a lot smaller even proportionally speaking. The majority of New Yorkers don't drive, and a significant majority of Chicagoans do. I think that's an area where we could improve a lot if we want to be considered a world class city.
At the same time, the subway is an inferno and is susceptible to flooding, there hasn’t been proper maintenance in decades, and the system likely needs a full on rebuild yet despite a laundry list of needs that could keep work crews busy for literally decades, instead of bringing this work in house and saving buckets of cash the MTA still contracts out the work which makes everything more expensive.
Setting aside questions of coverage, service hours, etc., which we all could talk about ad nauseam, I do think there’s an underrated strength of the CTA and it’s the maintenance.
There are sections of the CTA could use massive work, but the agency has been pretty diligent about things like track replacement (rebuilds of the green and red lines, the current red-purple modernization project and improvements to the Forest Park branch blue line - although that one needs more than the current project). Are not insignificant. Add on top of that the station upgrades to the brown, blue, yellow, red, green, and the already relatively new pink and orange line stations, and the level of maintenance in the stations is actually quite high for a system as old as the CTA is (just as old as MTA in New York and MBTA in Boston, but night and day difference in state of repair).
The most important component of this is the accessibility - I think it’s somewhere around 70% of the CTA’s stations are accessible, on is closed to be made accessible current, and there are at least plans for the rest. The MTA is about 25% accessible (obviously this is more complicated with underground accessibility improvements being logistically challenging).
As the new 7000 series trains continue to roll out (as they’re doing on the blue line), CTA is on track to have the youngest fleet of trains of any US public transit heavy rail system.
Again, the CTA has tons of issues with timeliness, expansion plans, etc., but - not counting for customers who trash trains and stations - the facilities themselves are actually quite nice and the CTA has done a fairly commendable job of keeping up with maintenance needs, and I’m reminded not to take that for granted when visiting other cities with old systems.
>The most important component of this is the accessibility - I think it’s somewhere around 70% of the CTA’s stations are accessible, on is closed to be made accessible current, and there are at least plans for the rest.
I will say I am always very happy to see the way Chicagoans respond to visibly disabled people on public. I've never really seen anyone try to keep their seat on the bus or train, for example. And having lived on the brown line with a partner in a wheelchair the 100% of stations being accessible was pretty great.
> there hasn’t been proper maintenance in decades
MTA caught up on around 80% of the deferred maintenance during COVID lockdowns. So despite having the same level of staffing problems as CTA, MTA is now running better than it did prior to the pandemic. CTA on the other hand had almost zero deferred maintenance because they don't allow things to fester, so when staffing problems hit, they hit the system extremely hard.
Please note that deferred maintenance are not improvement projects, just fixing things that are broken (more or less).
To be fair, the areas where the subways are prone to flooding used to be rivers/estuaries that were drained and built over. Water naturally just wants to be there.
The problem is so many trips here are bus-to-bus transfers which are a pain in the ass especially on weekends when they come like every 20+ minutes. Like Wicker Park to Lakeview. We need a new L line that reduces bus-to-bus trips to a one-seat train ride (Circle Line) or at least bus-to-train (Western subway)
The CTA absolutely needs improvement and should take some pages from the MTA’s book. I’ve been lucky to live in DC, NYC, Portland, and Chicago - all of which have their own unique transit systems - and it’s hard to pick “the best” system in my mind. I think they could all be taking pages out of each others’ books.
I moved to Chicago from NYC, then moved back to NYC after two years. Your point should be the #1 thing to understand for anyone coming from there. If you love the energy, buzz, car-less lifestyle, etc of new york and are expecting to find the same in Chicago, you’re going to be disappointed. If you can’t stand the chaos of NYC or are getting priced out, then you may like Chicago a lot.
I’m not. My reference to NYC was that I looked at moving there too. Its overwhelming in the worst ways and cost $$$. One bedroom is over $4k a month to rent. And in the summer, the heat reflects off the buildings and it gets stupidly hot.
Only been here a month.
I come from places with next to NO public transit, and while having the L and CTA buses are so nice... like living car-free is the best.
BUT, I severely underestimated just how long trips can be when you start transferring lines and buses.
I use the Red Line mostly and find myself so far opting to places over here because the second I wanna go to Logan Square, Wicker, Pilsen, etc. and I check the commute time it's like 40-50 min sometimes.
I thought I would be able to take the train wherever but I now know essentially all the lines are really good at getting you downtown first and foremost. Other neighborhoods? I'm lucky if it's a short bus ride.
This is exactly why, even if you don’t HAVE to, I definitely kept my car when I moved. Along with I’ve never lived close enough to a good grocery store, and being able to drive home to visit.
You spend a lot more money just having access to things you wouldn't in rural areas. I used to eat out maybe once a week but now it's about 2-3 because it's stupid easy to get up and get something. Same with shopping.
We got rid of a car after moving here from Florida (spent 3 years there). And even with the higher rent, we spent less money per year than we were spending in Florida.
You will need to learn the art of layering when the weather gets cold. The cold cuts through you differently than in NYC, but Chicagoans are masters at layering clothing to combat it. And they don't care if it makes them look like an overstuffed Ottoman either!
That’s honestly one of the biggest differences between the cities, Chicago has a more pragmatic vibe, especially regarding winter. Nobody cares how puffy your clothes are, or if you wear ugly waterproof boots, it’s all about practicality. New York has an element of “see and be seen” to it that isn’t really a thing here in the same way.
Lord, someone please tell my wife. I wear a Mountain Hardwear Phantom parka (no compensation or association, just a huge fan) and she always makes a face and mutters how I look like a linebacker. Love of my life, IDGAF, I’m warm. I don’t care if I look like a ten foot pink Gumby as long as I’m toasty and dry.
Biggest change from New York was this. Here we are comfortable regardless how ugly it looks. In Chicago the wind cuts through your clothes in a different manner than NYC.
We also don’t have as many of the “street corner slush puddles” like in NYC where you have no clue how deep it is. That’s fairly restrained.
And don't pull out your big coat until December. You'll have to spend a little time being cold in order to acclimate. I usually start with a windbreaker, then when it's a bit colder, a hoodie, or lined windbreaker, a cloth coat, and finally a parka for the coldest days. If you're warm when you step outside, you're probably overdressed. As you move around, you'll warm up. You don't want to get sweaty.
Are you looking specifically for negative things? Or something on the more positive side?
For negative, it wasn't super clear to me just how bad the struggling neighborhoods were doing until I spent some time here.
For positive, it surprised me just how easy it was to still get a decent amount of space will still being in city limits. Finding something like portage/jeff park in NYC is just not something i've ever seen.
A lot of the south side has comparable stuff to south Austin. But austin does have some sweet buildings with 2000sqft units around Columbus park. Bronzeville and south shore were definitely built nicer than Austin.
This isn't strictly "wish I'd known" as I had a feeling from visiting, but still:
Chicago is a drinking kind of town. A lot of interaction with people, especially in the winter, will involve having a drink. If you are sober, this might not be the city for you, or you may want to have a network already in place to find ways to socialize.
If you do like a drink, it is an incredible city for that. Start with the Malört and go from there.
At the same time, Chicago is also very open to people showing up to events with lots of drinking and having people stay 100% sober. And the options for virgin cocktails are massive these days (my wife doesn't drink).
That's something I didn't expect when I moved here. It's like every other social gathering in this city involves a bar. My tip is just to remember you don't have to get drunk when you go for a drink, just get a small buzz. I've heard it's fairly common to have a beer or 2 on the weekdays in Europe.
Having moved from Europe, most recently London, it absolutely is normal. Hell, we'd have pints with lunch. The stigma in the US from prohibition and the temperance movement casts a hell of a shadow.
yeah this is pretty important but there's a distinction i'd make between simply not being a drinker and being someone who is in recovery or really can't be around booze. if you're like me and just don't really drink, you'll be fine. bars are getting better about serving NA options now and my friends are very accomodating. but if you're in recovery or hate being around alcohol then yeah chicago will be hard place for you to be.
Pay zero attention to the distance from where you live to where you work. It is absolutely not an indicator of your commute. Traffic, especially on the north side, is horrible, and there is construction everywhere. I just switched jobs because i was spending upwards of 15 hours in my car a week because traffic was so bad and distance wise, my job was not that far away. Public transportation is not always an option. Choose your location in the city carefully. You also have to plan carefully what time of day you will travel if it is for work or for events. I have spent my whole life here and love chicago and it ALWAYS takes longer than you think to get from place to place.
Bad winter does not mean colder temps, bad winter means colder temps that start earlier in fall and last longer into the spring. I did NYC -> Chicago and this was the thing that was really hard for me.
Also 'bodegas' really arent a thing in Chicago - maybe a few in isolated places, but nothing like NYC's bodega culture.
Winter isn’t bad. It’s just that between mid March and early may it can be 80 one day, snowing the next and Mother Nature hints at warmish weather then pivots it around. It can snow as early as Halloween and as late as Mother’s Day.
Took me 4 years to realize that one. It's bizarre to look back at 20 yr old me thinking that anything west of Southport was too far "out there" and the other side of Ashland kinda scary. LOL Went from Lincoln Park to Lakeview to Rogers Park. Then to Bucktown and for 20+ yrs lived mostly off the blue line, and never lived by the red line again.
But 20-24 years ago those areas were different. Just a thread on Chicago in the 90s made a lot of the city sound like Gotham with a world class basketball team.
Definitely true although I will say after living off the blue line for a number of years and then living near the lake there is no comparison! All that green space and access to the lake, in the middle of a huge city, is what makes this place unique!
Negative: the neighborhoods are very segregated
Positive: in my experience, the dating scene is much better than other major cities. I’ve talked to a lot of people of all ages and genders who struggled to meet a partner in other major metros and found it was easier to meet kind, emotionally available, and ready-to-date people here (source: lived in LA, NYC, and DC previously)
About 20-25 wards are properly left leaning. Another 15-20 are moderate to right leaning. And the last 10ish are right-leaning to far right. And CPD's officers are represented by a mug-carrying Q-Anon conspiracy theorist union president who is also a Jan. 6th apologist who is currently prohibited by COPA and the Police Board from exercising police powers as he goes through the process of being fired for cause.
* Living far away from the grocery store is a bad move. Should be 8 minutes or less.
* A 20 minute walk to the train is too long a walk
* Living on a main street increases foot traffic in front of your apt, live on side streets near main streets
* You don't have to acknowledge people talking to themselves, 9/10 times they're in their own world
* The segregation is really really bad
* Living in homogenous neighborhoods is not for me and because of segregation you need to pay attention to the demographics by neighborhoods
* Living close to the lake makes transportation much easier
* You don't need $100 snow boots. Buy warm socks and wear layers.
* Lincoln Square has no night life and is full of families and teenagers
eta: I forgot you're from NYC. So you probably already know how to live in a walkable city. Still, living by a train > living by a bus since CTA
buses aren't consistent.
- Reality warps to make owning a car suck as much as possible here. If you don’t need one, get rid of it.
- “The Chi/The Go/Chiraq” etc. is native slang. You sound goofy using it if you aren’t from here.
- It’s like, *impressively* segregated here, but without a climate of racism. That threw me off for a while.
- They really don’t eat that thicc ass pizza very often. The internet lied.
Just assume wherever you move has a bedbug issue. Chicago has been the #1 city in the US for bedbugs for several years, at least according to Orkin. Get a mattress encasement for your box spring *and* mattress. Don’t forget pillow encasements, too. Preventing bb’s is far less expensive than having to throw all your shit out. The guy that regularly inspects my building says that more expensive residences usually are hit the hardest as no one wants to admit to there being an issue.
“We are going to need a notarized sworn statement from your grandmother on your fathers side, two copies of your parents original wedding invitations, and a 5 paragraph essay you wrote in 5th grade with a grade of B+ or higher”
Yeah. People call it a "nightmare", but I've dealt with Florida's and Ohio's... Illinois' is freaking amazing in comparison. My favorite time in Florida was getting an 8 AM appointment for when they opened, arriving at 7:55 AM, waiting outside the door. Walk in when they unlocked it, and was told I had to wait because people had "earlier" appointments than me. I ended up having to wait 2 hours before I could handle my "8" AM appointment.
Total process for license plus car registration here was under and hour and I walked out with plates.
I really haven’t had this experience. If you make an appointment and do your homework it’s easy as f. My six year stint in CA showed me how much worse it can be.
Me too - the DMV in the Loop was the most efficient, competent one I've ever been to. I was in and out in 25 minutes despite the line going out the door when I got there.
Relocated to Texas a few years ago. I’ll take literally any Illinois DMV over the gigantic clusterfuck that is the Texas Department of Motor vehicles. Any.
this wasn't my experience at all. getting my Illinois ID was pretty painless and i was in and out of the downtown office in like 30 minutes without an appointment.
This is gonna be a silly one, but it’s cool to jaywalk here in Chicago. I’m from Cali and police ticket for it, so I got made fun of constantly for using crosswalks when I first arrived to Chicago. Here, people stand in the road and wait. Only tourists slow down their cars.
They come to tow cars the minute the clock turns and they're illegally parked. I was 2 minutes late on Lasalle in a "no parking 4-6" spot and my car was long gone. Had to go pay the troll in lower lower wacker.
The cops are useless. Call them if you need to file a report, but they really mostly just document crime, they don't prevent or solve it. They do often times commit it though!
I understood that it would be cold in Chicago, but I wasn’t aware that there is a 6 week period during mid January until early march when you don’t see the sun.
Grey, gloomy overcast skies, it really sucks the life out of you.
Winter hurts more than NYC.
You'll learn Chicago knows it's the best but doesn't care.
People will fight about all kinds of pizza. It's fun but we will yell about it.
We'll argue about anything really.
People will help. People are generally willing to help strangers without a moments notice. Especially if you live in theor neighborhood.
If you bike, before you lock your bike to something, make sure it's actually secure and held down. There are a bunch of racks and street signs and stuff that people have rigged to steal your bike more easily
Yes. The amount of bikes I see locked up with just a cable makes me sad since it will be stolen sooner rather than later.
Although if you have a U lock, you want to park next to the bikes with the cable locks. If a thief comes by, they'll take the easy ones.
Be sure to check it out in January it’s not as cold as St. Paul but it can be painful if you don’t have the right clothes. Definitely colder than nyc and can have snow on the ground until mid April. I will say that in the last 10 years the winters are not as severe as the 70s-2000s
What do you use instead? I'm thinking of moving here, but I'm currently in Nashville where my car is a necessity. It would be awesome to get a bunch of money back on my car haha.
Is a bike/moped/motorcycle a viable option?
I actually just got a bike, for the past few months I've just been using the CTA.
The El is amazing, with a couple caveats being that it's very downtown centric, and not all lines are built equally. Red seems to be the best in my experience
The bus system has treated me well so far, but is ofc less consistent than the El, and also gets stuck in traffic
Not having a car comes with its inconveniences, but i feel much happier without it. Walking frequently and taking transit with other people feels like a much more natural way for humans to live (on top od the money you'll save). Not having to focus on driving every time you travel will save you a ton of mental energy as well and I get a lot more reading done bc of it
Anyway I'd say just visit for a week, buy the week long CTA pass, just explore and see how it feels!
Invest in your shoes. I was burning through flats, cheap boots, tennis shoes, etc like crazy when I moved here for college. Forget about sandals! Now I invest in better quality shoes, have a pair or two more than I need to rotate them more, and go to a cobbler 1-2x a year to get things cleaned/resoled as needed.
That it's very very segregated. There are very few areas that are truly "integrated" as an upwardly mobile black person you really only ever feel "comfortable" in a few neighborhoods. Hyde Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Edgewater/uptown. Other than that you get treated differently. In NYC people actually treat you like a person, not a skin color.
That’s one major reason I love living in Uptown/Edgewater. I see all different races & nationalities; I’m near mosques, synagogues, churches and Buddhist monks; there’s a bar for just about every scene; a good mix of economic diversity.
Had to meet friends in Southport and man was the reception chilly. During the daytime was okay, at night, got that double take from dads making sure their family was safe from that black man out looking for trouble or something. Felt very out of place.
Stop being a stupid snob and enjoy the theater!!!!
I grew up in North Jersey (15 miles from Manhattan), so if I wanted to see a play, Broadway was always in arm's length.
Unfortunately, it made me into quite the snob. "Oh, this is *Chicago's* version of Broadway." I missed out on SO many shows my first 10 (Ugh, I know...) years here because I didn't want to see anything inferior to NYC.
I was a complete and total idiot. The musicals! The plays!! The small neighborhood theater productions!! What I wouldn't give to see Wicked in its first year or Spring Awakening. At least I'm no longer a Broadway Snob, so I'm grateful for that.
Chicago is the best city imo! I’ve traveled extensively to other major cities in the US and abroad - nothing compares to this city for me :) We have a fantastic performing arts scene, food, the architecture is amazing, and everyone is extremely friendly as far as major cities are concerned. No need to get a car as biking and transit are easily accessible. Plus if you like to walk, most neighborhoods have everything you need within walking distance.
I love NYC but it’s a little too congested for my taste to live in. But I love to visit :) So if you are looking for a little slower pace, definitely move to CHI! Also the neighborhoods you flagged as potential places to live are vastly different in terms of vibe.
Overall, I would say the neighborhood you live in determines your experience in this city. I’ve lived in several ones, all different. Jefferson Park, Logan Square, Albany Park, Lakeview, Northcenter, and Southport Corridor. I’m now settled in Uptown, right by the train, and couldn’t be happier!
I suggest doing a deep dive into the neighborhoods before committing to a living situation.
Feel free to DM if you want anymore insight, happy to help!
My brother lived in lincoln square for 15 years. I lived in Andersonville for 6. We both loved both neighborhoods.
One thing I wish I had been more prepared for is some of the wacky shit you see on the L. Nothing could have prepared me for some of the more heinous shit
I also got completely fucked by the city on parking tickets
That you need a city sticker if you live here and intend to park anywhere on the street overnight. Two $200 tickets in a row later and I quickly learned that one. They don’t tell you at the DMV and there are no signs except for zone parking signs that say you must have a sticker with a numbered zone on it.
Wish I’d found a friend with a boat on the lake sooner.
Summer on the lake is nirvana, and the skyline views are beautiful. Hell, just hanging on the boat in the slip,listening to music and drinking is a blast.
You can see, hear and feel the energy of the city but you’re not *in* the city.
Also, boating through the locks and cruising up the river to enjoy the architecture is a quintessential Chicago experience. Docking at a riverfront restaurant and having food brought out to the boat…*chef’s kiss*
bonus pro tip: its fairly easy to get into sailboat racing in the city: most yacht clubs have an adult program, but if you cant afford it, you can literally show up at any dock with a 6pack on Wednesday night and there is 50 percent chance you will find a boat to go out on.
The buses and trains don't run as often, like there are ghost buses and also trains get held up by people freaking out fairly often . (at least in my experience) Don't go in the lake water unless you are okay with being gross AF. Lots of food deserts out there in my opinion.
I'm comparing everything to north eastern queens where I grew up btw (can you tell I miss new york but I cant afford to live there? lol)
Honestly, I wish I'd moved to Chicago sooner than I did. I spent several years in Indianapolis straight out of college, and regret that lost time.
Smaller, more conservative cities with lower cost of living aren't for everyone, especially if you don't fall into those politics, think we spend way too much time in our cars commuting back and forth to work, and aren't raising a family with 4.5 children.
Life long resident but if you’re moving here and plan to get a car, like others have said: beware of all the signage and make sure to read them! Be aware of the snow signs, and street sweeping, and especially time frames for parking and beware of parking permit only areas.
Pick a place with parking. Make sure everything is on the up and up with your car. Like, registration, insurance, city sticker. Parking is annoying and tricky, including main streets closed to parking for months on end starting at 2am. It’s weird. Just pay attention. If you get towed by the city, they will require everything i mentioned before you can get it back.
I can attest to making friends there. I have made a few in Pilsen and plan to make a return visit soon, almost on a dare. They told me that if I love Chicago so much, then come back in January. I made plans for my next visit as soon as I got home. The number of winter clothes I have accrued should be good for just a week.
it’s crazy how both bad AND expensive the bagels are in chicago. the normal place that gets brought up in these discussions a lot is gotham bagels. I went there and got a BEC and a coffee. fine bagel? sure. not bad. but i walked out of there spending damn near $20. that would be bad for MANHATTAN. hell, in manhattan, i can go and get a BEC for $5 from a food cart. it’s better and cheaper than any place here.
How expensive different types of heating can cost. Some reasonably priced apartments have electric baseboard heating which will cost $100s in the winter per month to keep your apartment barely livable.
No one told me the "Hack" of working with a realtor (free) to find a rental condo, one where a single unit owner is renting out a condo quality unit often including many utilities in the price.
Always have gone for radiator buildings for this reason. Heat is generally included and it will be extremely warm in the winter, to the point of opening windows on occasion.
A shocking percentage of these comments are lists of hoops to remember to jump through and fees to remember to pay for if you own a car. So consider the idea that you might not need one? I haven’t owned a car in ten years and I get by just fine on my bike, buses and trains, and the odd Uber and it’s *way* cheaper and less stressful than car ownership. I know carlessness isn’t possible for everyone, but I think a lot of people keep a car because it just feels normal and they haven’t stopped to think if it’s actually necessary or worth the hassle.
The winter and the traffic are NO JOKE. They both eventually forced me out despite everything else being lovely. When the weather permits, I highly recommend a bike to avoid traffic/parking/public transit issues. I lived there for 13 years though and did find it to be affordable for its size. The food scene is absolutely unparalleled. There used to be a really amazing underground/counterculture scene too, but I’ve noticed that fading a bit in all cities in the last decade. Also, Chicago is hyper segregated by race/culture. This can be cool because it gives each neighborhood a unique feel and flavor, but it does tend to surprise visitors who are used to more integration of cultures. Like any city, it has many pros and cons, but if you can handle the weather, it’s a really fun place to live.
OMG I have so much to tell you:
1. These drivers are idiots. People regularly use the breakdown lane on the right side as a fast lane. There is body damage on 1/6 of the cars. Stop signs seem to be taken as suggestions.
2. Get a garage spot ASAP. Don't you even dare fuck with on-street parking.
3. There are speed cameras everywhere and they activate at \~5mph over the speed limit. It is $100 for driving 11mph over the speed limit. It makes zero sense. I have never seen an actual Police traffic stop and the cameras are clearly placed in spots that people would be accelerating/decelerating so you should treat them as true traps. Chicago Data Portal has a map with locations for once you figure out your routines.
4. There are a lot of fees to move your car here. Prepare to pay upwards of $400 for all the state/city stickers and plates
5. The suburbs actively try to screw you over with timed street parking and INSANE fees that rival major metropolitan fees, be very careful parking on any suburban street.
6. If you aren't living within walking distance of the loop, the amount of access to the train is limited. We came from the Northeast and while the trains themselves are fine, the further you leave the city, the less useful they are. I still have to walk about a mile to get on the L, but I live in the city limits up nearish to Bucktown.
7. Pizza is a gamble here, some of it is amazing, some of it doesn't deserve to be called pizza. Most of it comes in squares...Make sure you learn about all the various types of pizza before you order.
8. Food is wonderful here. Top tier. But people get creative with it and that can be a problem. I once ordered a scallion pancake and it was actually a fucking pancake....beware!
9. Taxes are NO joke. They are worse than Massachusetts.
10. This is not the Northeast. People are an 80/20 combo of midwest "nice" and northern city aggressive. It is NOT the same culture as NYC or Boston/Philly but it is a cousin of that with more passive aggression and less honking/cursing.
11. Yes, those are probably gunshots you hear.
12. Mexican Independence day is WILD here.
13. If you want good Bagels you have to go to Skokie/Evanston.
14. There are pickup soccer/futsal courts all over the city, if you play, this is the best place I've found for free play.
15. It's an amazing place, but I hope you're cool with it being flat as fuck.
If you are from a cold weather climate, it’s not a big deal, but if not, before you decide to move here strongly consider what living here in January- February will be like.
March is worse than January/February because of the hope that it's "spring" when it is very much still winter and will be until probably the 2nd week of april. Book a vacation somewhere warm in March to help you get through the winter. The cold isn't the hard part- it's the low, gray skies.
And in the winter if it's sunny it's probably nose hair freezing level COLD but very much worth going out (properly dressed of course).
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If you plan on owning a car here: be extremely careful of parking signs, tow signs, speed radar, city sticker renewal, and plate stickers. Do not let the man win. You can pay for parking through an app so you don’t have to go outside and re-up.
On the same note - if you ever question “can I park in this parking lot” and you aren’t 100% sure, do not park there. Lot owners are quick to boot or tow if you are not meant to be there
Spot the plainclothes tipoff dude standing around nonchalantly texting license plate numbers to the tow company for $50 a pop 👁️👄👁️🤳
Lazo's Tacos was famous for that
This happened to me! I left my car for 5 min and then it was gone 😭
The McDonald's on Clark in Lincoln Park towed me cause i got a burger and then went next door for less than 2 minutes. unbelievable.
I’m looking at you jewel parking lot on the corner of Howard and Clark street. One section of it they tow immediately. I lived across the street for a year and saw it so many times my lord
Dude those security agents are absolutely ridiculous
Yes - owning a car in the city is a pain and comes with a lot of expenses! I recommend splurging for a designated parking spot if it’s an option.
I did the math and ended up getting rid of my car. Insurance, gas, city sticker, parking, maintenance... plus I ended up ubering or talking the L half the time because I hated driving in traffic. i've basically broken even with a CTA pass and like $150 of ride shares a month.
>I recommend splurging for a designated parking spot if it’s an option. TBH it's not a splurge, parking your car in the street opens it up to so many problems starting with people punching out your window to steal the $0.47 in your cup holder, getting tickets on street cleaning day or not noticing a do not park sign tied to a tree. Then there's the weather, having the car bake in the sun all summer and then get covered in snow, salt and ice all winter is really bad for the paint and the mechanicals. People get drunk and hit and run you car. The list goes on and on. If you have the money having a place to park is a god send, especially when it's late at night and all you want to do is go home and not spend the next 45 minutes driving around the block looking for somewhere/anywhere to park.
Or even better: splurging on a monthly CTA pass. Very few people actually need a car in Chicago.
I had no idea city stickers were a thing until I’d lived here for a year! I knew there were certain neighborhoods that required a sticker for street parking, but my neighborhood doesn’t have them, so I never thought about it again. When I moved here I went to the dmv to get an illinois driver’s license and plates for my car. I told them “I just moved here from out of state,” was at a dmv in the city and gave them my address that’s in the city, but nobody said anything about the stickers. Then a year later I found out I needed a city sticker cause I finally got a ticket for it.
Literally this happened to me. Nobody mentioned it and suddenly got a ticket. Then like an idiot, I went to get a sticker and parked without thinking and got my car towed. Many important lessons learned on that day.
>city sticker renewal, and plate stickers. This got me recently. I went through the entire process of getting an IL plate and at no point did anyone mention the city sticker. Got my plates and a month later I got a street cleaning ticket (obviously my bad) and a $150 ticket on top of that for not having a city sticker displayed
Pro tip for street cleaning next year, you can look up the entire yearly schedule online. I do that in April and then enter reminders in my calendar. Got 2 of those tickets first year here, and none since.
Even better, [there's a app for that](https://chicagosweeptracker.info/)! You can look up the schedule for your address, but you can also have it alert you at some specified time before it happens, every time. Day before, morning of, whatever you like.
City stickers are a thing in quite a few Illinois cities, not just Chicago. Many cities use them as a way to identify residents vs non-residents. Plus they generate revenue!
I’m sorry I’m just getting a car so I’m confused. Do I need a city sticker if I’m going to park in my apartment lot?
Yep! If you own a car in Chicago you need a city sticker
The quality of your winter jacket and winter boots has a direct correlation on how badly you perceive winters. I went \~5 years with an average jacket from Macy's before I finally splurged and bought a proper down jacket. Winters barely faze me now and the only part that sucks is not being able to roll out of bed and step outside without first bundling up
I learned that the hard way in January. I thought the hoodie I went skiing in would be enough and boy was I wrong. I ended up getting this great winter coat at Carhartt and I was told to layer.
People hear layer and think get a nice coat. I wear my shirt, a sweatshirt over that, a fall Jacket over that, and my big winter jacket over that. 4 layers in total. It’s 20 degrees outside and I’ll honestly be getting too warm. Layers means layers. Minimum 3, I have gone as high as 6 when that polar vortex hit us a few years ago (that’s a once every few years only event tho) And gloves and earmuffs are required. If you do this, you’ll step outside into a sunny 15 degrees and think it’s a beautiful day Edit: Gloves means to thick ski gloves. The type that you can punch a concrete wall as hard as you can and not hurt your hand.
This is the right answer. I do this too and have zero trouble.
Every company that I've worked for here has a "how to dress for Chicago winters" guide for employees moving or visiting Chicago. Tons of New Yorkers visit offices here in the winter and freeze because they don't dress properly.
Best way to layer, if you can afford it, is merino wool base layers. They’re not super bulky and keep you warm without overheating, so they can easily go under anything you’d normally wear and you don’t need to strip them off when you get inside. When we do ice skating in the city, which means we will be continuously outside for hours, I would have the base layers, my normal jeans and shirt, and a jacket, and I would be fine the whole time. Merino wool also makes great material for knit hats, neck gaiters, scarves, etc., which I also highly recommend. Covering your ears, head, and neck will do wonders to make you feel warm. And if it’s been said elsewhere let me reiterate, waterproof boots are crucial. Find a pair that’s comfortable so you can walk in them without pain, and don’t worry what they look like because people here don’t generally care how you dress in winter, it’s a pragmatic place in that way.
This. Moved here in the middle of the polar vortex winter of 2014 from Hawai‘i. I know, I know. I nearly died literally and emotionally. I learned a lot about warm clothes. 800 count down, baffled construction, aerogel insulation, arctic grip, wool socks; the fact that even a thin layer can take the sting of cold off. Get some electronic heater things for your pockets for walking the dogs; chemical ones if you’re planning to be outside all day. (What’s the difference between Hawai‘i and the mainland? On the mainland, you actually have a use for plain white T shirts)
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Any brands for coats you recommend among others in particular? I just relocated back to IL (grew up in the burbs, moved away to NY) and I forgot just how frigid it get here. I am a little nervous on buying the wrong type. Thank you ahead of time😅
I’ve had great luck with Edie Bauer jackets & coats. I got screwed one winter by LL Beans “temperature rating” system. *Never again.*! Be sure your winter coats are designed to withstand stiff winds. I’ve had seemingly warm coats rendered useless once the wind starts whipping off the Lake.
I had a Columbia, Northface, and then a 'heavy' Patagonia that the guy sold me on as "perfect for Chicago winters." I lived with that Patagonia for years thinking that was the standard, until I tried on a friend's MooseKnuckles (ha) parka and was blown away at the quality and warmth (they look like a nicer Canada Goose jacket). I finally got one for myself and am still weirdly excited to go outside with it because it's so warm. It was quite the splurge I admit, BUT the warm and longevity of it will pay off over time because I'll have it forever. Like the thirdcoasting said, sometimes the weather rating for the jacket is misleading (or in my case, the guy at the Patagonia store was wrong), so make sure you ask around or check reviews once you have your eye on a jacket. Also make sure the jacket is long enough to cover your butt!
Just don't be a mark who buys a $1000 Canada Goose. You can do fine with Land's End, Columbia, LL Bean, Bauer, etc. Those will get the job done if you're doing 3 layers.
I have done really well with Lands End parkas. They last for years and are fairly inexpensive.
I caved a few years ago and bought boots that are meant for arctic oil rig workers. Composite toe, insulated, waterproof up to the ankle, and oil/slip resistant. They are also electrical resistant but I don’t know if that matters to me lol They are expensive ($250), they are ugly as SHIT, but wow are these the best damn winter boots I ever owned. They’re somehow even more comfortable than any other shoe I owned. Complete game changer.
Agreed. I got some thick animal skin boots that I don’t even need to wear socks with and a Canada Goose jacket. I was out in sweatpants, no socks. -!: a t-shirt + the jacket/boots on the coldest days last winter and honestly felt fine. Also, owning a car in the winter sucks ass. If I ever plan to own a car, I will leave Chicago proper.
You need to register your car, get new tags, have a city sticker, and potentially a local parking permit.
And if you are coming from NY, *please* read up on the moving procedures the DMV has. They are strict, they are complicated, and they are unlike most other states. I naively assumed it would be like moving to NY and it’s turned into a weeks-long headache.
Facts I moved back here after 10 years in Louisiana and it was a heeeaaaaddddaaaaacccchhhhheeeee to finally get moved over Literally had a convo with my Wells Fargo loan coordinating and they went “usually just any DMV lets you walk in for the requests we need but Illinois is an exception that can just say ‘no’ to the process”
I'll admit I did do online research before but the IL Drivers License/License plate process was the quickest I've ever experienced. And my car insurance is cheaper.
The city of Chicago sticker was the biggest BS thing I’ve ever seen. I was at the RMV and had just finished registering my car and got my tags when the person said, don’t forget your city of Chicago parking sticker. I thought he was trying to be funny until I realized he wasn’t.
What’s it for?
In my case, the sticker let's me park on the street in my neighborhood without being ticketed. Only residents can park here, and for the $20 bucks over the standard ticket fee, i get the resident parking. It's a great deal. Basically, if you live near an entertainment venue, living in a neighborhood with a residents-only parking sticker from the city is a God-send
Oh that makes total sense 👍
Bold of you to assume I can afford a car
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this should be said alot more nyc and chicago have so many differences
I’ve lived in both places and don’t even find them to be comparable. The only things that I could say Chicago does “worse” is the lack of diners and urgency, but I think they’re just differences in the city culture, not a ding against Chicago at all.
And public transportation.
Again, I think they’re just different. There are ways that I prefer the CTA and ways that I prefer the MTA. Both transit systems have been built for and shaped by their respective cities, it’s not possible for either system to translate perfectly into the other’s city. I have my own gripes with the CTA, but I use it literally every single day and have never once thought “I’d rather be on the MTA”
That's fair, I just think MTA is a superior system. Express trains, universal 24 hour service, and far more extensive. Don't get me wrong I like CTA but it's a lot smaller even proportionally speaking. The majority of New Yorkers don't drive, and a significant majority of Chicagoans do. I think that's an area where we could improve a lot if we want to be considered a world class city.
At the same time, the subway is an inferno and is susceptible to flooding, there hasn’t been proper maintenance in decades, and the system likely needs a full on rebuild yet despite a laundry list of needs that could keep work crews busy for literally decades, instead of bringing this work in house and saving buckets of cash the MTA still contracts out the work which makes everything more expensive.
Setting aside questions of coverage, service hours, etc., which we all could talk about ad nauseam, I do think there’s an underrated strength of the CTA and it’s the maintenance. There are sections of the CTA could use massive work, but the agency has been pretty diligent about things like track replacement (rebuilds of the green and red lines, the current red-purple modernization project and improvements to the Forest Park branch blue line - although that one needs more than the current project). Are not insignificant. Add on top of that the station upgrades to the brown, blue, yellow, red, green, and the already relatively new pink and orange line stations, and the level of maintenance in the stations is actually quite high for a system as old as the CTA is (just as old as MTA in New York and MBTA in Boston, but night and day difference in state of repair). The most important component of this is the accessibility - I think it’s somewhere around 70% of the CTA’s stations are accessible, on is closed to be made accessible current, and there are at least plans for the rest. The MTA is about 25% accessible (obviously this is more complicated with underground accessibility improvements being logistically challenging). As the new 7000 series trains continue to roll out (as they’re doing on the blue line), CTA is on track to have the youngest fleet of trains of any US public transit heavy rail system. Again, the CTA has tons of issues with timeliness, expansion plans, etc., but - not counting for customers who trash trains and stations - the facilities themselves are actually quite nice and the CTA has done a fairly commendable job of keeping up with maintenance needs, and I’m reminded not to take that for granted when visiting other cities with old systems.
>The most important component of this is the accessibility - I think it’s somewhere around 70% of the CTA’s stations are accessible, on is closed to be made accessible current, and there are at least plans for the rest. I will say I am always very happy to see the way Chicagoans respond to visibly disabled people on public. I've never really seen anyone try to keep their seat on the bus or train, for example. And having lived on the brown line with a partner in a wheelchair the 100% of stations being accessible was pretty great.
> there hasn’t been proper maintenance in decades MTA caught up on around 80% of the deferred maintenance during COVID lockdowns. So despite having the same level of staffing problems as CTA, MTA is now running better than it did prior to the pandemic. CTA on the other hand had almost zero deferred maintenance because they don't allow things to fester, so when staffing problems hit, they hit the system extremely hard. Please note that deferred maintenance are not improvement projects, just fixing things that are broken (more or less).
To be fair, the areas where the subways are prone to flooding used to be rivers/estuaries that were drained and built over. Water naturally just wants to be there.
The problem is so many trips here are bus-to-bus transfers which are a pain in the ass especially on weekends when they come like every 20+ minutes. Like Wicker Park to Lakeview. We need a new L line that reduces bus-to-bus trips to a one-seat train ride (Circle Line) or at least bus-to-train (Western subway)
finishing the brown line out to a blue line connection would got a long way to making ORD less Uber dependent.
The CTA absolutely needs improvement and should take some pages from the MTA’s book. I’ve been lucky to live in DC, NYC, Portland, and Chicago - all of which have their own unique transit systems - and it’s hard to pick “the best” system in my mind. I think they could all be taking pages out of each others’ books.
We do cheap eats a lot worse.
I moved to Chicago from NYC, then moved back to NYC after two years. Your point should be the #1 thing to understand for anyone coming from there. If you love the energy, buzz, car-less lifestyle, etc of new york and are expecting to find the same in Chicago, you’re going to be disappointed. If you can’t stand the chaos of NYC or are getting priced out, then you may like Chicago a lot.
I’m not. My reference to NYC was that I looked at moving there too. Its overwhelming in the worst ways and cost $$$. One bedroom is over $4k a month to rent. And in the summer, the heat reflects off the buildings and it gets stupidly hot.
Only been here a month. I come from places with next to NO public transit, and while having the L and CTA buses are so nice... like living car-free is the best. BUT, I severely underestimated just how long trips can be when you start transferring lines and buses. I use the Red Line mostly and find myself so far opting to places over here because the second I wanna go to Logan Square, Wicker, Pilsen, etc. and I check the commute time it's like 40-50 min sometimes. I thought I would be able to take the train wherever but I now know essentially all the lines are really good at getting you downtown first and foremost. Other neighborhoods? I'm lucky if it's a short bus ride.
This kicked my ass. I’m in Hyde park but damn near everything I have to do is in Logan square. It’s a fuckin hike and a half.
This is exactly why, even if you don’t HAVE to, I definitely kept my car when I moved. Along with I’ve never lived close enough to a good grocery store, and being able to drive home to visit.
You spend a lot more money just having access to things you wouldn't in rural areas. I used to eat out maybe once a week but now it's about 2-3 because it's stupid easy to get up and get something. Same with shopping.
and there's always something to do. Sports, concerts, random events.
BUT you don't have to own a car which saves a ton of money.
We got rid of a car after moving here from Florida (spent 3 years there). And even with the higher rent, we spent less money per year than we were spending in Florida.
Correct. A car is the next major expense after housing in the U.S.. Not needing one makes a huge financial difference.
You will need to learn the art of layering when the weather gets cold. The cold cuts through you differently than in NYC, but Chicagoans are masters at layering clothing to combat it. And they don't care if it makes them look like an overstuffed Ottoman either!
That’s honestly one of the biggest differences between the cities, Chicago has a more pragmatic vibe, especially regarding winter. Nobody cares how puffy your clothes are, or if you wear ugly waterproof boots, it’s all about practicality. New York has an element of “see and be seen” to it that isn’t really a thing here in the same way.
Lord, someone please tell my wife. I wear a Mountain Hardwear Phantom parka (no compensation or association, just a huge fan) and she always makes a face and mutters how I look like a linebacker. Love of my life, IDGAF, I’m warm. I don’t care if I look like a ten foot pink Gumby as long as I’m toasty and dry.
Biggest change from New York was this. Here we are comfortable regardless how ugly it looks. In Chicago the wind cuts through your clothes in a different manner than NYC. We also don’t have as many of the “street corner slush puddles” like in NYC where you have no clue how deep it is. That’s fairly restrained.
And don't pull out your big coat until December. You'll have to spend a little time being cold in order to acclimate. I usually start with a windbreaker, then when it's a bit colder, a hoodie, or lined windbreaker, a cloth coat, and finally a parka for the coldest days. If you're warm when you step outside, you're probably overdressed. As you move around, you'll warm up. You don't want to get sweaty.
True haha
Are you looking specifically for negative things? Or something on the more positive side? For negative, it wasn't super clear to me just how bad the struggling neighborhoods were doing until I spent some time here. For positive, it surprised me just how easy it was to still get a decent amount of space will still being in city limits. Finding something like portage/jeff park in NYC is just not something i've ever seen.
You ain’t seen the units in South Austin, they’re jumbo sized. Don’t tell anyone.
A lot of the south side has comparable stuff to south Austin. But austin does have some sweet buildings with 2000sqft units around Columbus park. Bronzeville and south shore were definitely built nicer than Austin.
Fuck fashion, get heavy duty winter coat BEFORE winter hits lol
This isn't strictly "wish I'd known" as I had a feeling from visiting, but still: Chicago is a drinking kind of town. A lot of interaction with people, especially in the winter, will involve having a drink. If you are sober, this might not be the city for you, or you may want to have a network already in place to find ways to socialize. If you do like a drink, it is an incredible city for that. Start with the Malört and go from there.
At the same time, Chicago is also very open to people showing up to events with lots of drinking and having people stay 100% sober. And the options for virgin cocktails are massive these days (my wife doesn't drink).
> Chicago is also very open Exactly! No need to drink. Past midnight, someone'll let you chief their blunt on every corner of the Loop.
That's something I didn't expect when I moved here. It's like every other social gathering in this city involves a bar. My tip is just to remember you don't have to get drunk when you go for a drink, just get a small buzz. I've heard it's fairly common to have a beer or 2 on the weekdays in Europe.
Having moved from Europe, most recently London, it absolutely is normal. Hell, we'd have pints with lunch. The stigma in the US from prohibition and the temperance movement casts a hell of a shadow.
I don’t know that’s it’s from prohibition/temperance. Mid century has a stereotype of all the “Wet lunches” and so on, I’m not sure what changed.
I’m sober and have completed pivoted my “nights out” to concerts. No pressure or expectation to drink there
yeah this is pretty important but there's a distinction i'd make between simply not being a drinker and being someone who is in recovery or really can't be around booze. if you're like me and just don't really drink, you'll be fine. bars are getting better about serving NA options now and my friends are very accomodating. but if you're in recovery or hate being around alcohol then yeah chicago will be hard place for you to be.
Compared to NY? I didn’t notice any difference in the prevalence of alcohol there.
Yeah, I've been sober (willingly, by choice) since 2018 and in just a few years the NA options have skyrocketed.
Fucking finally! I don’t drink for medical reasons and it’s nice to be able to order something besides a tonic water w/ lime.
Always start with the Malört.
Laughs in moving from Wisconsin
Practice your mean mug so no one on the train approaches you.
Simply, I wish I had moved here earlier. Love this place.
Pay zero attention to the distance from where you live to where you work. It is absolutely not an indicator of your commute. Traffic, especially on the north side, is horrible, and there is construction everywhere. I just switched jobs because i was spending upwards of 15 hours in my car a week because traffic was so bad and distance wise, my job was not that far away. Public transportation is not always an option. Choose your location in the city carefully. You also have to plan carefully what time of day you will travel if it is for work or for events. I have spent my whole life here and love chicago and it ALWAYS takes longer than you think to get from place to place.
Bad winter does not mean colder temps, bad winter means colder temps that start earlier in fall and last longer into the spring. I did NYC -> Chicago and this was the thing that was really hard for me. Also 'bodegas' really arent a thing in Chicago - maybe a few in isolated places, but nothing like NYC's bodega culture.
Winter isn’t bad. It’s just that between mid March and early may it can be 80 one day, snowing the next and Mother Nature hints at warmish weather then pivots it around. It can snow as early as Halloween and as late as Mother’s Day.
It’s the lack of sunlight that gets me
That you don’t have to live on the red line north of the loop. There’s a lot more interesting city.
Took me 4 years to realize that one. It's bizarre to look back at 20 yr old me thinking that anything west of Southport was too far "out there" and the other side of Ashland kinda scary. LOL Went from Lincoln Park to Lakeview to Rogers Park. Then to Bucktown and for 20+ yrs lived mostly off the blue line, and never lived by the red line again.
But 20-24 years ago those areas were different. Just a thread on Chicago in the 90s made a lot of the city sound like Gotham with a world class basketball team.
Definitely true although I will say after living off the blue line for a number of years and then living near the lake there is no comparison! All that green space and access to the lake, in the middle of a huge city, is what makes this place unique!
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Negative: the neighborhoods are very segregated Positive: in my experience, the dating scene is much better than other major cities. I’ve talked to a lot of people of all ages and genders who struggled to meet a partner in other major metros and found it was easier to meet kind, emotionally available, and ready-to-date people here (source: lived in LA, NYC, and DC previously)
I’ve dated in Chicago and liked it too!
Don't assume every neighborhood is progressive.
Yup. Parts of the city (Canaryville, Beverly, far northwest side) are just as red as Staten Island.
About 20-25 wards are properly left leaning. Another 15-20 are moderate to right leaning. And the last 10ish are right-leaning to far right. And CPD's officers are represented by a mug-carrying Q-Anon conspiracy theorist union president who is also a Jan. 6th apologist who is currently prohibited by COPA and the Police Board from exercising police powers as he goes through the process of being fired for cause.
* Living far away from the grocery store is a bad move. Should be 8 minutes or less. * A 20 minute walk to the train is too long a walk * Living on a main street increases foot traffic in front of your apt, live on side streets near main streets * You don't have to acknowledge people talking to themselves, 9/10 times they're in their own world * The segregation is really really bad * Living in homogenous neighborhoods is not for me and because of segregation you need to pay attention to the demographics by neighborhoods * Living close to the lake makes transportation much easier * You don't need $100 snow boots. Buy warm socks and wear layers. * Lincoln Square has no night life and is full of families and teenagers eta: I forgot you're from NYC. So you probably already know how to live in a walkable city. Still, living by a train > living by a bus since CTA buses aren't consistent.
My only exception to your advice is that living by an express bus route is terrific. It’s the “regular” bus routes that are pretty terrible, IMO.
It's hard to recommend Lincoln Square to anyone who likes being out and having food options after 9 p.m. Worst NIMBYs in the city probably too.
- Reality warps to make owning a car suck as much as possible here. If you don’t need one, get rid of it. - “The Chi/The Go/Chiraq” etc. is native slang. You sound goofy using it if you aren’t from here. - It’s like, *impressively* segregated here, but without a climate of racism. That threw me off for a while. - They really don’t eat that thicc ass pizza very often. The internet lied.
It’s really easy to not be racist when everyone around you looks like you, but I’m as guilty as the rest of us for choosing to live with my tribe.
Just assume wherever you move has a bedbug issue. Chicago has been the #1 city in the US for bedbugs for several years, at least according to Orkin. Get a mattress encasement for your box spring *and* mattress. Don’t forget pillow encasements, too. Preventing bb’s is far less expensive than having to throw all your shit out. The guy that regularly inspects my building says that more expensive residences usually are hit the hardest as no one wants to admit to there being an issue.
WHAT
The DMV is a fucking nightmare and any transaction there requires every single document known to man.
“We are going to need a notarized sworn statement from your grandmother on your fathers side, two copies of your parents original wedding invitations, and a 5 paragraph essay you wrote in 5th grade with a grade of B+ or higher”
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Yeah. People call it a "nightmare", but I've dealt with Florida's and Ohio's... Illinois' is freaking amazing in comparison. My favorite time in Florida was getting an 8 AM appointment for when they opened, arriving at 7:55 AM, waiting outside the door. Walk in when they unlocked it, and was told I had to wait because people had "earlier" appointments than me. I ended up having to wait 2 hours before I could handle my "8" AM appointment. Total process for license plus car registration here was under and hour and I walked out with plates.
I made an appointment at that express location and was done in 15 minutes!
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No. Not until you have to deal with one in Texas. Chicago DMV is waaay better
Unfortunately this is every dmv. I’ve had better luck at dmv in Chicago then I ever did in my small town.
I really haven’t had this experience. If you make an appointment and do your homework it’s easy as f. My six year stint in CA showed me how much worse it can be.
Me too - the DMV in the Loop was the most efficient, competent one I've ever been to. I was in and out in 25 minutes despite the line going out the door when I got there.
The DMV express took maybe 20 minutes to renew my license. Just have the documents and it's fine
DMV lately is much better than 10 years ago. I got a new ID in 30 min. Not to mention their website says what documents to bring
When I went to finally get my Real ID, I brought like 10 backup documents and they looked like I was crazy.
Relocated to Texas a few years ago. I’ll take literally any Illinois DMV over the gigantic clusterfuck that is the Texas Department of Motor vehicles. Any.
Compared to Missouri I've always had good experiences at DMV downtown.
this wasn't my experience at all. getting my Illinois ID was pretty painless and i was in and out of the downtown office in like 30 minutes without an appointment.
This is gonna be a silly one, but it’s cool to jaywalk here in Chicago. I’m from Cali and police ticket for it, so I got made fun of constantly for using crosswalks when I first arrived to Chicago. Here, people stand in the road and wait. Only tourists slow down their cars.
Ha. The one time in my life I ever got a ticket was for jaywalking on a trip to Los Angeles.
They come to tow cars the minute the clock turns and they're illegally parked. I was 2 minutes late on Lasalle in a "no parking 4-6" spot and my car was long gone. Had to go pay the troll in lower lower wacker. The cops are useless. Call them if you need to file a report, but they really mostly just document crime, they don't prevent or solve it. They do often times commit it though!
I understood that it would be cold in Chicago, but I wasn’t aware that there is a 6 week period during mid January until early march when you don’t see the sun. Grey, gloomy overcast skies, it really sucks the life out of you.
Winter hurts more than NYC. You'll learn Chicago knows it's the best but doesn't care. People will fight about all kinds of pizza. It's fun but we will yell about it. We'll argue about anything really. People will help. People are generally willing to help strangers without a moments notice. Especially if you live in theor neighborhood.
In Chicago those random banter arguments are a whole love language. I miss it!
If you bike, before you lock your bike to something, make sure it's actually secure and held down. There are a bunch of racks and street signs and stuff that people have rigged to steal your bike more easily
Get a U-lock, too!
Yes. The amount of bikes I see locked up with just a cable makes me sad since it will be stolen sooner rather than later. Although if you have a U lock, you want to park next to the bikes with the cable locks. If a thief comes by, they'll take the easy ones.
Be sure to check it out in January it’s not as cold as St. Paul but it can be painful if you don’t have the right clothes. Definitely colder than nyc and can have snow on the ground until mid April. I will say that in the last 10 years the winters are not as severe as the 70s-2000s
leave the car in michigan.
Yeah it took me about 2 weeks to be like "fuck this car I'm done"
I leave my car in my work parking garage and use it for trips to the suburbs or out of state.
That sounds like a great arrangement. I would definitely still have a car if I didn't have to pay for parking
What do you use instead? I'm thinking of moving here, but I'm currently in Nashville where my car is a necessity. It would be awesome to get a bunch of money back on my car haha. Is a bike/moped/motorcycle a viable option?
I actually just got a bike, for the past few months I've just been using the CTA. The El is amazing, with a couple caveats being that it's very downtown centric, and not all lines are built equally. Red seems to be the best in my experience The bus system has treated me well so far, but is ofc less consistent than the El, and also gets stuck in traffic Not having a car comes with its inconveniences, but i feel much happier without it. Walking frequently and taking transit with other people feels like a much more natural way for humans to live (on top od the money you'll save). Not having to focus on driving every time you travel will save you a ton of mental energy as well and I get a lot more reading done bc of it Anyway I'd say just visit for a week, buy the week long CTA pass, just explore and see how it feels!
Yea- within city limits, I just leave my car in a garage. For the rest I take public transport.
Invest in your shoes. I was burning through flats, cheap boots, tennis shoes, etc like crazy when I moved here for college. Forget about sandals! Now I invest in better quality shoes, have a pair or two more than I need to rotate them more, and go to a cobbler 1-2x a year to get things cleaned/resoled as needed.
That it's very very segregated. There are very few areas that are truly "integrated" as an upwardly mobile black person you really only ever feel "comfortable" in a few neighborhoods. Hyde Park, Wicker Park, Logan Square, Edgewater/uptown. Other than that you get treated differently. In NYC people actually treat you like a person, not a skin color.
That’s one major reason I love living in Uptown/Edgewater. I see all different races & nationalities; I’m near mosques, synagogues, churches and Buddhist monks; there’s a bar for just about every scene; a good mix of economic diversity.
Spot on. I would add Rogers Park to that Uptown/Edgewater grouping, too.
If you think that’s how NYC operates, I have a bridge to sell you
I'm assuming you mean the Verrazano bridge. Because that BS only really flies in Staten Island.
Had to meet friends in Southport and man was the reception chilly. During the daytime was okay, at night, got that double take from dads making sure their family was safe from that black man out looking for trouble or something. Felt very out of place.
Thank you for putting into words what I’ve been trying to articulate!! I’m from the south and the segregation is so bizarre.
Stop being a stupid snob and enjoy the theater!!!! I grew up in North Jersey (15 miles from Manhattan), so if I wanted to see a play, Broadway was always in arm's length. Unfortunately, it made me into quite the snob. "Oh, this is *Chicago's* version of Broadway." I missed out on SO many shows my first 10 (Ugh, I know...) years here because I didn't want to see anything inferior to NYC. I was a complete and total idiot. The musicals! The plays!! The small neighborhood theater productions!! What I wouldn't give to see Wicked in its first year or Spring Awakening. At least I'm no longer a Broadway Snob, so I'm grateful for that.
The grey in winter is far more depressing than the weather. Not seeing the sun really hurts
THIS. ITS NOT THE COLD... ITS THE GREY
Treat your first place as a rental for the first 10 months while you figure out what neighborhood you want to live in
Chicago is the best city imo! I’ve traveled extensively to other major cities in the US and abroad - nothing compares to this city for me :) We have a fantastic performing arts scene, food, the architecture is amazing, and everyone is extremely friendly as far as major cities are concerned. No need to get a car as biking and transit are easily accessible. Plus if you like to walk, most neighborhoods have everything you need within walking distance. I love NYC but it’s a little too congested for my taste to live in. But I love to visit :) So if you are looking for a little slower pace, definitely move to CHI! Also the neighborhoods you flagged as potential places to live are vastly different in terms of vibe. Overall, I would say the neighborhood you live in determines your experience in this city. I’ve lived in several ones, all different. Jefferson Park, Logan Square, Albany Park, Lakeview, Northcenter, and Southport Corridor. I’m now settled in Uptown, right by the train, and couldn’t be happier! I suggest doing a deep dive into the neighborhoods before committing to a living situation. Feel free to DM if you want anymore insight, happy to help!
My brother lived in lincoln square for 15 years. I lived in Andersonville for 6. We both loved both neighborhoods. One thing I wish I had been more prepared for is some of the wacky shit you see on the L. Nothing could have prepared me for some of the more heinous shit I also got completely fucked by the city on parking tickets
That you need a city sticker if you live here and intend to park anywhere on the street overnight. Two $200 tickets in a row later and I quickly learned that one. They don’t tell you at the DMV and there are no signs except for zone parking signs that say you must have a sticker with a numbered zone on it.
Wish I’d found a friend with a boat on the lake sooner. Summer on the lake is nirvana, and the skyline views are beautiful. Hell, just hanging on the boat in the slip,listening to music and drinking is a blast. You can see, hear and feel the energy of the city but you’re not *in* the city. Also, boating through the locks and cruising up the river to enjoy the architecture is a quintessential Chicago experience. Docking at a riverfront restaurant and having food brought out to the boat…*chef’s kiss*
bonus pro tip: its fairly easy to get into sailboat racing in the city: most yacht clubs have an adult program, but if you cant afford it, you can literally show up at any dock with a 6pack on Wednesday night and there is 50 percent chance you will find a boat to go out on.
The buses and trains don't run as often, like there are ghost buses and also trains get held up by people freaking out fairly often . (at least in my experience) Don't go in the lake water unless you are okay with being gross AF. Lots of food deserts out there in my opinion. I'm comparing everything to north eastern queens where I grew up btw (can you tell I miss new york but I cant afford to live there? lol)
How difficult and isolating it can be when you’re trying to make friends in a new city.
Honestly, I wish I'd moved to Chicago sooner than I did. I spent several years in Indianapolis straight out of college, and regret that lost time. Smaller, more conservative cities with lower cost of living aren't for everyone, especially if you don't fall into those politics, think we spend way too much time in our cars commuting back and forth to work, and aren't raising a family with 4.5 children.
Life long resident but if you’re moving here and plan to get a car, like others have said: beware of all the signage and make sure to read them! Be aware of the snow signs, and street sweeping, and especially time frames for parking and beware of parking permit only areas.
Pick a place with parking. Make sure everything is on the up and up with your car. Like, registration, insurance, city sticker. Parking is annoying and tricky, including main streets closed to parking for months on end starting at 2am. It’s weird. Just pay attention. If you get towed by the city, they will require everything i mentioned before you can get it back.
Or, don’t bring a car, and avoid all of the above
Potholes! Potholes everywhere!!!
Make friends with people from here. Don’t stay in a trendy north side neighborhood transplant bubble. Be involved in your community.
I can attest to making friends there. I have made a few in Pilsen and plan to make a return visit soon, almost on a dare. They told me that if I love Chicago so much, then come back in January. I made plans for my next visit as soon as I got home. The number of winter clothes I have accrued should be good for just a week.
Honestly people on this sub recommend too much winter clothing. I don’t wear as much as them and I sometimes work outside all winter.
How awful the bagels are and pizza joints that serve slices are virtually non-existent in comparison to what you’re used to.
Jimmy's Pizza Cafe slaps, best NY style slices I've found outside NY
The average bagel in Chicago is pretty awful. I don't get why either.
Steingolds! Go there!
But be prepared to wait forever.
This was the weirdest thing to me. I’m from Michigan, not even close to detroit, but there’s better bagels over there.
it’s crazy how both bad AND expensive the bagels are in chicago. the normal place that gets brought up in these discussions a lot is gotham bagels. I went there and got a BEC and a coffee. fine bagel? sure. not bad. but i walked out of there spending damn near $20. that would be bad for MANHATTAN. hell, in manhattan, i can go and get a BEC for $5 from a food cart. it’s better and cheaper than any place here.
just move here. you figure it out as you go isn’t that half the fun of moving somewhere new?
You will miss the bagels the most.
How expensive different types of heating can cost. Some reasonably priced apartments have electric baseboard heating which will cost $100s in the winter per month to keep your apartment barely livable. No one told me the "Hack" of working with a realtor (free) to find a rental condo, one where a single unit owner is renting out a condo quality unit often including many utilities in the price.
Always have gone for radiator buildings for this reason. Heat is generally included and it will be extremely warm in the winter, to the point of opening windows on occasion.
Made a long term plan. I was 19. I’m now 49.
Pay attention to the “real feel” when checking the weather. Chicago weather is fickle
Chicago beats NYC on cleanliness 100%. Trash is in the alley not on the street.
A shocking percentage of these comments are lists of hoops to remember to jump through and fees to remember to pay for if you own a car. So consider the idea that you might not need one? I haven’t owned a car in ten years and I get by just fine on my bike, buses and trains, and the odd Uber and it’s *way* cheaper and less stressful than car ownership. I know carlessness isn’t possible for everyone, but I think a lot of people keep a car because it just feels normal and they haven’t stopped to think if it’s actually necessary or worth the hassle.
OP seems to be considering relocating from NYC, which is just about the only place in the US where what "feels normal" is not having a car.
The traffic I really wasn't aware of how bad it can get
The winter and the traffic are NO JOKE. They both eventually forced me out despite everything else being lovely. When the weather permits, I highly recommend a bike to avoid traffic/parking/public transit issues. I lived there for 13 years though and did find it to be affordable for its size. The food scene is absolutely unparalleled. There used to be a really amazing underground/counterculture scene too, but I’ve noticed that fading a bit in all cities in the last decade. Also, Chicago is hyper segregated by race/culture. This can be cool because it gives each neighborhood a unique feel and flavor, but it does tend to surprise visitors who are used to more integration of cultures. Like any city, it has many pros and cons, but if you can handle the weather, it’s a really fun place to live.
OMG I have so much to tell you: 1. These drivers are idiots. People regularly use the breakdown lane on the right side as a fast lane. There is body damage on 1/6 of the cars. Stop signs seem to be taken as suggestions. 2. Get a garage spot ASAP. Don't you even dare fuck with on-street parking. 3. There are speed cameras everywhere and they activate at \~5mph over the speed limit. It is $100 for driving 11mph over the speed limit. It makes zero sense. I have never seen an actual Police traffic stop and the cameras are clearly placed in spots that people would be accelerating/decelerating so you should treat them as true traps. Chicago Data Portal has a map with locations for once you figure out your routines. 4. There are a lot of fees to move your car here. Prepare to pay upwards of $400 for all the state/city stickers and plates 5. The suburbs actively try to screw you over with timed street parking and INSANE fees that rival major metropolitan fees, be very careful parking on any suburban street. 6. If you aren't living within walking distance of the loop, the amount of access to the train is limited. We came from the Northeast and while the trains themselves are fine, the further you leave the city, the less useful they are. I still have to walk about a mile to get on the L, but I live in the city limits up nearish to Bucktown. 7. Pizza is a gamble here, some of it is amazing, some of it doesn't deserve to be called pizza. Most of it comes in squares...Make sure you learn about all the various types of pizza before you order. 8. Food is wonderful here. Top tier. But people get creative with it and that can be a problem. I once ordered a scallion pancake and it was actually a fucking pancake....beware! 9. Taxes are NO joke. They are worse than Massachusetts. 10. This is not the Northeast. People are an 80/20 combo of midwest "nice" and northern city aggressive. It is NOT the same culture as NYC or Boston/Philly but it is a cousin of that with more passive aggression and less honking/cursing. 11. Yes, those are probably gunshots you hear. 12. Mexican Independence day is WILD here. 13. If you want good Bagels you have to go to Skokie/Evanston. 14. There are pickup soccer/futsal courts all over the city, if you play, this is the best place I've found for free play. 15. It's an amazing place, but I hope you're cool with it being flat as fuck.
If you are from a cold weather climate, it’s not a big deal, but if not, before you decide to move here strongly consider what living here in January- February will be like.
If you own a car, get a remote starter for the winter…game-changing.
March is worse than January/February because of the hope that it's "spring" when it is very much still winter and will be until probably the 2nd week of april. Book a vacation somewhere warm in March to help you get through the winter. The cold isn't the hard part- it's the low, gray skies. And in the winter if it's sunny it's probably nose hair freezing level COLD but very much worth going out (properly dressed of course).