Chicago Posters

[ZoomVT]

I have a couple of serious questions, and i was hoping i could get some answers.

1. If money was no object; what is a good are to move into in Chicago? Do you recommend suburbs? or downtown? Are the suburbs more than 30 mins away commute?

2. I searched but couldnt find tax information. there is a state tax right? do you know how much it is as a percentage of your federal? i know the calculation is different; but i can say that in VT state tax is roughly 30% of your federal tax.

3. along the same lines; what is the sale tax in chicago? do the suburbs have the same or does it go up?

4. Property tax; obviously this changes based on the suburb or the city; but do you have any idea on what the tax would be?

5. Would you have a car? I know windy has said before he doesnt have one but he lives in the city. Is public transportation outside of the city good enough that you can not have a car and still do as you please outside the city?

6. Are you guys familiar with the Accenture office in Chicago? do you know anyone there?

i might have more questions later but these are a few that come to mind right now. It is very early in a possible opportunity but i want to start getting some reasearch done as i know this could happen very fast and want to be prepared.

thanks!

[cook county capper]

Hey ZoomVT
Here is what I would tell you about Chicago since I have been here almost my whole life.

1) The closer you live to the city, the sketchier it gets for the most part. In the North (Highland Park, Lake Forest, Deerfield, Northbrook) are all great. The north suburbs are typically great. West (Aurora, Naperville, Oak Park, Oak Brook) Aurora has pockets of bad, Naperville really nice. South (Orland Park, Palos Park, Homer Glen, Frankfort) I live in the south suburbs, they are ok, it gets bad east of i-57 to the indiana line. Those towns above are nice though, i live in one.

2) state tax for work seems the same not much difference

3) sales tax is killer! highest in country is chicago, cook county is not fun. Some collar counties like Kendall aren't bad. You do your big shopping in towns with lower tax. Or another state.

4) depends on the town.

5)if you do not live in the city it would be pretty hard without a car. Metra is great, but some commutes are awful! It gets worse in the Winter, so you would commute to accenture by train. gas is high as well, especially in the city limits.

6) accenture is in the middle of the loop downtown. It is centrally located and would have a great location to spend your days at.

Living outside an hour of downtown would kill your social life as your commute would eat up a lot of your day.

If you get a car get an I-Pass immediately! I cant stress this enough.

You can get to both airports by rapid transit.

If I worked downtown like it seems like you would, I would live downtown for sure. But don't rule out some suburbs, other chicagoans will have choices just like mine.

Hope your opportunities work out for the best!

I am still going to wait til tuesday to start handicapping picks.

Thanks to upinya, trossi, and windy city irish for the welcome

I won't change my avatar until the juice runs out, sorry be47320.

It sucks the bengals went to 3.5. booooooo!

good luck all, the bears are on soon and the pizza pie is on its way.

ccc

[ZoomVT]

hey ccc welcome to the mall!

thanks for the info!

1. sounds like north is the way to go. how is the housing market there?

2. i can live with that.

3. is it higher than 7% sale tax?

5. looks like i'll need a car which is good cause i love driving.

6. good to know.

thanks a lot for the info. hoping other chicago people can chime im.
it is very early; but its moving fast so i would know a lot more in the next couple days. it has to be a considerable step up for me to consider; but obviously the company seems strong and the opportunity could be too good to pass up.

[Windy City Irish]

Originally Posted by ZoomVT

I have a couple of serious questions, and i was hoping i could get some answers.

1. If money was no object; what is a good are to move into in Chicago? Do you recommend suburbs? or downtown? Are the suburbs more than 30 mins away commute?

2. I searched but couldnt find tax information. there is a state tax right? do you know how much it is as a percentage of your federal? i know the calculation is different; but i can say that in VT state tax is roughly 30% of your federal tax.

3. along the same lines; what is the sale tax in chicago? do the suburbs have the same or does it go up?

4. Property tax; obviously this changes based on the suburb or the city; but do you have any idea on what the tax would be?

5. Would you have a car? I know windy has said before he doesnt have one but he lives in the city. Is public transportation outside of the city good enough that you can not have a car and still do as you please outside the city?

6. Are you guys familiar with the Accenture office in Chicago? do you know anyone there?

i might have more questions later but these are a few that come to mind right now. It is very early in a possible opportunity but i want to start getting some reasearch done as i know this could happen very fast and want to be prepared.

thanks!

zoom, ill try to answer what i know

city. stay in the city if you are going to work in the city. you dont want to move to a city like chicago and have to commute. traffic can be a nightmare and you could spend 2 hours+ a day in the car. you will also miss out on being around everything and getting to experience it all. metra is GREAT, if you live along the metra lines and have a car. property taxes in the city is alot less than you will pay for a home in the burbs. my advice...buy a nice condo in the city. i have not had a car since 2002. I use I-GO car service or Zipcar. kind of like a rental car except for same day usage. I dont know anyone at Accenture, but they used to be in my old building downtown. nice location and good people.

anyway, i would lean city, but it depends on the type of life you want to have and what you are looking to do. i dont know your plans for the next few years ( wife, kids, schools, how you want to live...etc....) but for me...i could not imagine living anywhere outside of the city at this point in my life

W C I

[Windy City Irish]

zoom, on another note. ill give jack my cell ##, PM him for it

if you are at the point where you are very very serious about moving then let me know

[ZoomVT]

windy, thanks for the reply

you make good points. It would be a little different as i am already used to living outside of a "metro" area. i own a home with a large yard, etc. so i am accostumed to that; on the other hand; i would enjoy livin in the city a lot more if it is a city like chicago with a lot more stuff going on.
So to follow up with a question; how much does a "nice" condo go for in the city? again, money is no object; but also cant be obscene. You raise a good issue about life; i dont have kids; but im getting married next June; and i suppose kids would be in the not too long future; how is the school system in the city? i assume private is the way to go then.
the car situation would be an issue; i am big car fan; so i wouldnt go with a car membership deal; how much would it cost to maintain a vehicle in the city? similar to NYC?

again, thansk for the replies.
Once i hear more and if i need some answers i'll take you up on the offer and get your #.

[Windy City Irish]

Originally Posted by ZoomVT

windy, thanks for the reply

you make good points. It would be a little different as i am already used to living outside of a "metro" area. i own a home with a large yard, etc. so i am accostumed to that; on the other hand; i would enjoy livin in the city a lot more if it is a city like chicago with a lot more stuff going on.
So to follow up with a question; how much does a "nice" condo go for in the city? again, money is no object; but also cant be obscene. You raise a good issue about life; i dont have kids; but im getting married next June; and i suppose kids would be in the not too long future; how is the school system in the city? i assume private is the way to go then.
the car situation would be an issue; i am big car fan; so i wouldnt go with a car membership deal; how much would it cost to maintain a vehicle in the city? similar to NYC?

again, thansk for the replies.
Once i hear more and if i need some answers i'll take you up on the offer and get your #.

maintaining a car in Chicago is like doing it in any bigger city. depending on your neighborhood free street parking or pay $150 for parking spot in your building or a lot. once a year you have to buy a city parking pass, etc....
street parking will ding the sh1t out of your car though. all that parellel parking kills it.

schools....suburbs for sure. city you want private schools.

condos in the city can range from 100,000-1M. Depending on size, bedrooms, neighborhoods. i was looking at 2 Bedrooms recently and was finding nice ones in the 250-350K range in all good hoods.

but if you are a fan of having a yard, having a car, kids in the future then one of the close burbs might be a little better for you

[GFootsXtreme]

My reco is live in the city if you work there, and live in the burbs if you work there. Commuting to the city is easy, 45 minutes at most by train up to 30 miles away.

you need a car if you want to get in and out of the city frequently. The city has great public trans and works fine, no car needed. The burbs have transportation but will be very cumbersome trying to get around to a lot of different places...better to have a car.

Traffic sucks from 7:00-9:00 and then from 4-6, everywhere, period. In the city with public trans the public trans is clogged during those hours also.

North suburbs are cushy, moderate to high wealth, safe and easy to commute to city. West has mix of average to "estate" level wealthy areas. Schaumburg is probably the best place to go if looking for any "action." SW suburbs, Aurora/naperville area exploded into a thriving and busy area that's 20-30 miles from the city. South suburbs are fine but commutes are long and roads into the city are very busy.

traffic sucks from 7-9 and then from 4-6 all weekdays, in the city or out. Especially bad in the city.

3% state tax I believe, city tax tops out over 10%....yes I said 10%. it is actually 10.25% for most things with a 10.75% rate for certain items within the downtown area.

In the city you want to live on the north side basically anywhere...lincoln park, wrigleyville areas are coveted, busy and youth-oriented. There is everything from busy condo zones to quiet bedroom communities...to high-rise techno condos...that is what makes the city awesome, the variety.

If moving here i reco renting a place in the city for a year and deciding what you think of it, and the neighborhoods...a year here and you'll know "where" and "what" you want.

if looking for action, live in the city, if looking for quieter family life with more open space and comfort, live in the burbs.

Housing market in suburbs is atrocious, you can get great deals, in the city it is somewhat depressed...especially condos. but single-family homes are still at a semi-premium because there are only so many in each neighborhood

[Da Fanatic]

Lived here my whole life. Hopefully this helps with your decision.

1. If money is no object, I would go to the Northwest side of Chicago. I would say to search around the Oriole Park area. Train to downtown is near as is the express way to get you where you need to go if you want to drive. This is a really nice area on the city border.

2, 3, and 4. Taxes are all outrageous. Property tax right now on a $250,000 property is about $3500 a year. (5 cent tax on a bottle of water in the city). If it can be taxed here it is. County tax as stated is 10.25%. (Democrats run this town, dont know why but they love to tax tax tax).

5. Would definitely have a car, but would never ever drive it downtown. If you lived here you wouldnt need to go downtown for entertainment. Plenty to do around the rest of the city and suburbs without having to go downtown. Public transportation can get you downtown easily if you need to go.

6. If the office you are looking for is downtown that would be great for you. I have been at the Sears Tower since 02 and love the fact I dont have to drive to my job. If you found a place near Oriole Park it would take you about 30 minutes to get downtown on the Blue Line.

Best of luck to you.

[sundance]

Don't move in the city Mayor Daley's taxes are outrageous. I lived right across the border in Elmwood Park in the northwest burbs before i moved to AZ. The metra gets you downtown in 20 minutes for about 80 bucks a month this was in 2004 prolly more now. Overall Chicago is a great city and the pizza is the best yur find anywhere. .

[ZoomVT]

extremely busy with work so have not logged in at all.

ouch. city tax is pretty high. but property tax are not too bad. Property Taxes here are about 25% higher going by a $250k house.

thanks all for the info. waiting on more info; i thought i would hear this week.