Anonymous wrote:Thanks, anyone NOT from Chicago go live there and able to compare to DC area? Preferably with a family in a SFH.

Yes, I'm not from Chicago, neither is DH and we lived there for 7 years before moving here. Had no friends or family in Chicago--no social ties there. We lived in an apartment there the whole time, but our rent was more than half of what we paid our first year here in the city for the same type of apartment. Cost of living is lower there, food is better, museums are much more expensive, and I felt there wasn't as much to do there as there is here. We love the outdoor activities, weather, places to drive to on the weekends, nearby beaches (well, 3 hours but that doesn't seem that far), and free cultural attractions here. Chicago was nice, and I definitely miss the food, but we much prefer here and have no plans to move back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Chicago, went to school in Evanston, went to grad school downtown, spend my time trying to move back.

Chicago is just a great city. Just do it!

Dude. We need to be friends. I went to NU for undergrad, University of Chicago for my MBA.

NU Grad too. So sorry for your time at UofC.

Thanks, anyone NOT from Chicago go live there and able to compare to DC area? Preferably with a family in a SFH.

God I must be the only Chicago native in this board who hated it growing up. I guess it's because I grew up in a very blue-collar SW suburb. Bet if I grew up comfortably in the North Shore bubble things would be much different.
The summers were just awful especially summer 1995 (remember?) when all those people perished from the heat. Winters are miserable with long days of little sun and black ice on the roads. Food is indeed good but NOT HEALTHY overall. Like Jennifer Hudson said, it's culturally acceptable to be fat there. People are sports-obsessed and the museums and cultural offerings are costly unlike DC.
City of Chicago schools are crappy unless you end up at a magnet like Payton or somewhere or pay for private like Latin. Best public schools are in the New Trier pyramid as PP mentioned. Highland Park HS, GB North HS, & Stevenson HS are good as well. Naperville is very nice as well as Oak Brook is you wanted to look down there. Cost of living will be much less there but sales tax is through the roof. Unemployment is high so be sure of your career situation!

I grew up in Chicago and PP is so right about the lakefront. It is truly magnificent.

But the thing that really sets Chicago apart are its city neighborhoods. DC's neighborhoods (urban - and I use that term loosely!) are really awful in comparison. There are really great, vibrant places to live there that you just don't find in DC.

What DC has over Chicago is the location - close to ocean, NYC, Carolinas, etc. Easy to get to lots of great places for long weekends, or vacation. Other PPs mentioned this, and yes Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and the Great Lakes are nice, but I do like being able to head to the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic for the weekend.

And yes, Chicago is an incredible restaurant town. Both high end and ethnic dives, and everything in between. I miss my Italian Beef sandwhiches!!!

Best of luck - winters can get you down but Chicago is a fabulous city.

The summers in the midwest are just unbelievable. There is more daylight because of how it's positioned. There, fireworks don't start until 10 PM. Yes, the past couple of summers have been pretty hot and humid there, but overall, the summers there are magical. 70s, 80s, no humidity. Beautiful sunsets that can easily been since because of the flat land.

Chicago is awesome in the summer. One of the things I really like is how the city's past leadership had the forethought to preserve the waterfront from development. Right there in Chicago along the river there are miles of parks with so much going on. Such a great place to run and just be. For vacations, many people go either up into Wisconsin to one of the many lake areas or along Wisconsin or Michigan to one of the towns along the Great Lakes. It's beautiful.

Other posters are right. Unlike here, the first question when you meet someone is NOT what they do for work. People have other identities there. They work hard, but once work is done, work is not them. Also, like the rest of the midwest, people have money, but do not flaunt it like they do here. It's OK to drive a non-luxury car and live in a modest home.

Good luck. I am from Minneapolis and miss it greatly. I love Chicago.

Anonymous wrote:Chicago is bungalow country, lots of brick but on the small side. Lots of teardowns going on in the better neighborhoods, just like round here. Once you get out to the areas that were corn fields twenty years ago, it's subdivisions as far as the eye can see. I grew up in Algonquin, practically farm country- it's like an alien planet now, cloned homes and cookie cutter chainstores <shudder>

I don't think this is totally accurate. I don't know about Algonquin (at all), but there is a lot of stone architecture throughout the city, most homes in most of the downtown neighborhoods (outside of high rises) are 2,3 or 4 story homes, either single family homes (detatched, attached row homes or townhomes) or one of those bldgs will contain two or three units.

Then, there are many many many many (many) more suburbs there with pretty homes than here IMHO, not all identical boring brick bungalows or colonials.

Love it there. Would move there in a heartbeat.

After I left Chicago, someone asked me if there was anything I missed about it, and I just kept naming restaurant after restaurant. Every hole in the wall place is just good (and a lot of the time, inexpensive too). I thought that's how it was everywhere...but not so much.

DH and I moved here from Chicago, he was there 8 years, I was there 4 years. While we enjoyed it there we like DC much better.

Anyhow, what I really miss about Chicago is the food. The restaurants were much better there. For instance, it's really hard to find a cute brunch place here but Chicago has tons of them in every neighborhood. We lived right downtown and I enjoyed being so close to everything.

What I didn't like was being landlocked in the midwest--there wasn't a whole lot to drive to if you wanted to do a weekend trip or day trip, compared to here. Here, I love being just a few hours from the Atlantic beaches.

I also much prefer DC's weather. I like long falls and springs, and I don't mind a long, hot summer either. I'm not a big fan of winter, and Chicago's winters were harsh.

If we were to move out of DC, I would choose San Francisco.

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in Chicago, went to school in Evanston, went to grad school downtown, spend my time trying to move back.

Chicago is just a great city. Just do it!

Dude. We need to be friends. I went to NU for undergrad, University of Chicago for my MBA.

Chicago is fantastic. Why not go and if you hate it after 2 yrs, come back. Chicago is vibrant, has fabulous restaurants, fun things to do, the lakeshore is fantastic and beautiful, lots of very active people out jogging and biking, lots of walkable areas with little shops (much less of that here). Fun, more laid back, people are friendlier and less achievement obsessed (but still some great universities there and lots of culture). Houses in the city tend to be 2-3 flats (i.e. 2-3 unit condo buildings) but can be very pretty. I lived there for 10 yrs and do not recall grey skies from Oct to March. Yes, it gets cold and sometimes grey, but you have sunny days at least intermittently throughout the year. I've lived in the northwest where it's grey for 8+ months and there are not even full weeks in Chicago like that. While summer here is a nightmare of heat and humidity, Chicago is quite pleasant by comparison. I don't recall as many mosquitos there but then again, I did not live in the suburbs. I personally much prefer Chicago to this area for many reasons. Housing is cheaper there too. Good luck!

Chicago is pretty spread out, perhaps you can go there and tour around before deciding? It would also give you a sense of the 5 month long winters.
I don't think you have an easy decision, upending your family and house for a transfer, or staying put and finding a new job. It sounds like you both work so perhaps that mitigates some squeezes.
I'm from Chicago originally but have lived my adult life on the east coast, I find I like it better out here so would just do a regional job search. I know many people who regret moving, so if you do you must make a good attitude. And most people I meet that have lived in the DC area and moved away, are always wistful.

Chicago is bungalow country, lots of brick but on the small side. Lots of teardowns going on in the better neighborhoods, just like round here. Once you get out to the areas that were corn fields twenty years ago, it's subdivisions as far as the eye can see. I grew up in Algonquin, practically farm country- it's like an alien planet now, cloned homes and cookie cutter chainstores <shudder>

And be sure to visit beautiful Berwyn!

Grew up in Chicago, went to school in Evanston, went to grad school downtown, spend my time trying to move back.

Chicago is just a great city. Just do it!