What is the cost of living in the Chicago area?

[MassNole]

The District Attorney's office is recruiting at my school and I am definitely sending in my resume. I've been to Chi-town before and it is my favorite big city by a very large margin. For those Chicago area OSers, how bad is the cost of living?

For example, if I lived in the suburbs (suggesting some not named Arlington Heights would be appreciated, AH is the only one I'm familar with), what would a 4 bedroom - 2 bathroom house cost me?

[funky_chicken]

Re: What is the cost of living in the Chicago area?

The District Attorney's office is recruiting at my school and I am definitely sending in my resume. I've been to Chi-town before and it is my favorite big city by a very large margin. For those Chicago area OSers, how bad is the cost of living?

For example, if I lived in the suburbs (suggesting some not named Arlington Heights would be appreciated, AH is the only one I'm familar with), what would a 4 bedroom - 2 bathroom house cost me?

In the burbs you are talking about $175,000 and up depending on which county. DuPage will be more then Cook which are the 2 counties I am most familar with. I would say send Candyman56 a PM since I know he lives in the Chicago burbs. If you don't mind commuting living in Indiana is cheaper then living in Illinois. You can get quite a bit more house in Indiana for what you would pay in Illinois.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: What is the cost of living in the Chicago area?

The District Attorney's office is recruiting at my school and I am definitely sending in my resume. I've been to Chi-town before and it is my favorite big city by a very large margin. For those Chicago area OSers, how bad is the cost of living?

For example, if I lived in the suburbs (suggesting some not named Arlington Heights would be appreciated, AH is the only one I'm familar with), what would a 4 bedroom - 2 bathroom house cost me?

In the burbs you are talking about $175,000 and up depending on which county. DuPage will be more then Cook which are the 2 counties I am most familar with. I would say send Candyman56 a PM since I know he lives in the Chicago burbs. If you don't mind commuting living in Indiana is cheaper then living in Illinois. You can get quite a bit more house in Indiana for what you would pay in Illinois.

Like Angel said, in the Northern suburbs expect to pay a pretty penny especially if your moving to Dupage County. Farther up North, home can range from $200K-$500K+. I live in Cook County, South side of Chicago and homes in my area for the amount of bedrooms and baths that your looking for, you can spend about $240K-$400K, depending on the area or subdivision that you move in and if homes need some remodeling or not.

If you were to move to Indiana, or by the Illinois/Indiana border (ex. Crete, IL), you can get a bigger house for the money. Property taxes on average depending on the area could range from $3,500 - $6,000.

If you try to find something in the heart of the city, good luck.

Mass, if you want to send me a PM with any other questions I'll try to help.

[MassNole]

Re: What is the cost of living in the Chicago area?

Like Angel said, in the Northern suburbs expect to pay a pretty penny especially if your moving to Dupage County. Farther up North, home can range from $200K-$500K+. I live in Cook County, South side of Chicago and homes in my area for the amount of bedrooms and baths that your looking for, you can spend about $240K-$400K, depending on the area or subdivision that you move in and if homes need some remodeling or not.

If you were to move to Indiana, or by the Illinois/Indiana border (ex. Crete, IL), you can get a bigger house for the money. Property taxes on average depending on the area could range from $3,500 - $6,000.

If you try to find something in the heart of the city, good luck.

Mass, if you want to send me a PM with any other questions I'll try to help.

Cool thanks a lot. I am really starting to work on my wife to move out there, if even for just a couple of years.

[UMass03]

Re: What is the cost of living in the Chicago area?

In the burbs you are talking about $175,000 and up depending on which county. DuPage will be more then Cook which are the 2 counties I am most familar with. I would say send Candyman56 a PM since I know he lives in the Chicago burbs. If you don't mind commuting living in Indiana is cheaper then living in Illinois. You can get quite a bit more house in Indiana for what you would pay in Illinois.

I lived in Elmhurst (DuPage county) for two years on my last assignment with my company. Having gone to school and lived in Western Mass prior it was a bit more expensive but nothing outrageous. Elmhurst was a more wealthy area but there were certainly affordable areas close to the city and Indiana is always an option.

On a side note, Chi town is just a great city and ranks right up there with Boston (my fav, of course)

[jmw1137]

Re: What is the cost of living in the Chicago area?

As some mentioned, it all depends on what county you want to live in, but I'd estimate about $210-$225k for a semi-decent area. I have friends who have condos in just ok suburbs that cost over $200k. If you're looking at living in DuPage county, hopefully you'll be making a lot of money as I'd bet average house price is over $300k.

We moved from Chicago to Dallas a few years ago. We have an almost 3000 sq. ft. house in a very nice area for less than houses go for in the semi-decent areas go for in Chicago. We also enjoy many other things cheaper here, like gas. In talking to friends & family there, gas is about $3.80 in the city & $3.50 in the 'burbs. Our gas in Dallas is $2.80. A buck a gallon difference is pretty big.

Bottom line...the Chicagoland area is very expensive.