cheapie

i got a job offer and will likely accept it and relocate to the chicago area this fall.

i'm not making a ton of money now, less than 90k and will likely have about 35-45k to put down on a house/condo/etc. fwiw, we have zero debt other than our house and aren't likely to add any in the near future.

the company i'm likely to work for has made it clear that they think i'll only be in this location for 2-3 years before they promote me and move me to DF's fine city.

should i buy something or just rent? we've ALWAYS thought it would be cool to live in the city somewhere. should we get a condo in chicago itself and be close to the museums, shopping, lake michigan, etc....but risk having to send our kids to crappy schools?

or should we live in the suburbs and just take the train into town when we feel like it and live in an actual house and be able to send the kids to a decent school?

we've never lived in a decent-sized city so we don't know what it's really like.

one more thing that might help is that if we live near the city, our friends/family that want to visit will be able to take the south shore train in from basically the IN/MI border for just a couple $ and visit us. if we live in the burbs, it will be a nightmare for them to get to us and i can't see us realistically staying that close if we do.

help!

btw, congrats on the new job RAY!

__________________
70% of the world is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders

Chgoman

Congrats on the job! I've always wanted to go to Chicago, but haven't made it there yet.

If your likely time horizon is only 2-3 years, I'd really look at the renting option. As nice as it is to buy, you have 2 big things against you with such a short time period. First is that you're going to pay thousands in closing costs on a purchase and then much more on the sale in a few years. You'd have to appreciate something like 8% just to break even on the fees on both ends.

Second, even if you believe this is the bottom of the housing slump, the recovery is much more likely to be a slow flat recovery than a V shaped recovery. Appreciation will likely be very slow for the coming years.

Put both slow appreciation potential and the costs of purchasing and selling a home in just a few years together and you're probably as likely to loose money as make it in a few years. Plus rents in many areas of the country are really weak righ now with the combination of unemployment and people starting to look at buying with prices coming down so much. I don't now about Chicago specifically, but there are great deals on rentals in a lot of areas right now.

cheapie

Keep in mind my moving costs will be covered by the company. I believe this includes realtor and closing costs.

renovation

grads on the new job first off.
I'm going to Chicago on the 24th for a week min. well Chicago sub.mount prospect to help a friend out. one thing you need to know if you own a car in Chicago proper parking very well might eat up any raise you get in parking fee's unless the company your going to work for has it's own parking garage or arrangement setup with a garage for parking.
I for one just park my car and let my friends drive me around town when I'm there due to the crazy drivers and parking costing so much. not used the rail system there but i understand it is very good and easy to get around in the city.
the friend of mine lives on the west side of Chicago and is north of midway airport and tolls on the freeway cost me like $3-$5 each way going to his place. also gas prices were 10 to 15 cents a gallon more then at my place here in Michigan as of last night were at like $2.49 gallon and was told it was $2.65 or $2.69 gallon.
and like most city's there is good and bad and then very bad areas of town. i have heard it is very costly to live in a good area of town. it is cheaper to live in Michigan i will tell you this.
traffic around Chicago on the loop is as bad as driving around Atlanta or the freeways in Los Angles if you have very driven either. not anything like Detroit even on I-75 around rush hour in troy.
now the down town Chicago area is a very popular area with bars and restaurants and clubs . i have gone to movies in Chicago and they were very large complexs and booming hot spots.
chicago is a great city with a lot always going on. but go there and get with a realitor and look around before you decide on any area what may seem right at first site maybe wrong for you. i know this may not be much help but i hope it helps a little .

__________________
be careful of what you wish for . you may get a ton of junk e-mail !

smile or f-off

ray

way to crap on your own thread. CONGRATS TO YOU!!!



Let's meet in the middle to celebrate? Can you say, VEGAS!?

__________________
new uploader

MrGreg

I spent a year in Chicago for work, but I'm single, no kids, and lived in a corporate apartment downtown. It was awesome. But I'm guessing your need are a little different than mine were.

When you get there I can suggest some great places to eat, though. What I wouldn't give to have a Potbelly's in Portland.

__________________
-The nerd formerly known as vectorcalculus

Daedalus

Congrats on the new job! I'm glad it didn't take you very long. Regarding housing, I say rent. I'm not familiar with the Chicago housing market, but in my area the answer would be clear. It's unlikely property values will see much appreciation, and I believe they will actually keep dropping at least through 2012, and longer (though slower) if the govt keeps screwing things up.

Consider this: Amortize the mortgage over the next 3 years and see what you pay in interest on the loan. If the interest costs are more than rental costs for a comparable property, then there's no reason to buy. At today's rates on a 30-year fixed maybe 75-80% of your mortgage costs go to interest over the next 2-3 years (rent property or rent money--what's the difference?). Of course you could get a slightly better interest rate on a 3-year ARM if you know you'll be moving, but that bears risk too. Also, there's some opportunity cost involved with tying up your savings in a downpayment. Nothing wrong with keeping it in the bank as an emergency buffer.

Just to be clear, will the company cover closing and commission costs to sell both your current home and any home you decide to buy in the new city (in 2-3 years)?

Nija

City living is probably not an ideal situation for your kids.

I'm not sure how far out of "The City" you are, but imho, but it's... different. You have become acclimated to space, which is a bit of luxury the closer you get any city.

Rent. It's going to suck because it's going to be vastly different, but you guys will get through it. Grats on the job.

__________________

"Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

Jeffbx

Congrats on the job!

I'd say for sure rent, and rent outside the city. IMHO, the market is too unstable to risk a drop in value in that short of a timeframe.

My sister in law & her husband just moved back here to MI after living in the city, and it's a pain having kids there. Parking is a huge hassle, so you'd want to go down to one car. If you want a good school, you'll either have to live in an area you won't be able to afford or you'll have to send them to private school. So my $0.02 is find a nice place in the burbs.

VTGreg

Congrats on landing a job! My wife and I lived in Chicago for 3 years before moving to Charlotte. It's a great city. With regards to where to live, just keep in mind that commuting in from the suburbs is a very long affair. We never had kids to worry about in the city so I'm really not sure how good the schools are but I do know that there are some really nice neighborhoods in the city that I'd guess have nice schools.

Could be a fun experience for the family to try city life for a few years. Good luck with the decision and let me know if you want any info on the area.

__________________
It only ends once... Anything that happens before that is just progress.

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

cheapie

thanks all! i wouldn't have to commute since i'll be working out of my home so that's a plus. and if i move again with work, my realtor and closing costs will be covered again.

Prngr44

I'd be inclined to rent given the housing market and your relative certainty of a short time there.

__________________
http://otthouse.blogspot.com

mcs328

I'd rent and do what's best for the kids. And 90K is a lot of money IMHO. I don't have kids so maybe 90K is not enough. Congrats on the job and I hope everything goes smoothly.

__________________

cheapie

yeah. agreed. plus, i just found out i get a lump sum for moving costs, not a blank check for closing and realtor costs. i find out this afternoon how much they are offering.

ray

50% of that goes to me. Paypal plz

speedracer120

Congrats man. I envy you.

Just the dump the kids on their grandparents for a while and live the life in a skyscraping Magnificent Mile condo. All kidding aside, if kids weren't part of the mix, that's probably what I'd do. I would love to live in the heart of the city for about two years and enjoy the convenience of just about everything available.

As for the kids, living in the city doesn't necessarily mean poor public schooling, the problem lies with the wait list and testing involved in getting into the magnet schools. That being said, I'm a product of six years of the Chicago Public Schools system and I think I turned out fine. Plus they'll only be there two years.

I think the only issue I would have if I were you would be "where do I really want to live?"

__________________
Off in La La Land

attgig

I'm going to go against everything everyone else has said, and say that you could take advantage of a depressed housing market and buy now. 2-3 years, and then sell, and you should be able to make some of it back, or come close to even. in the end, i would think you would be able to come out ahead vs renting. most states, the breakeven point for closing costs is 3 years.
I think you're close to there. with renting, there is never any break even point.

Also, as a buyer, there are no realtors fees you need to worry about. it's just closing costs. Use a realtor through redfin.com, and they give you a cut of their commission, to help with that.
to me, it's a no brainer. buy.

Make sure you pick a good area for schools, limit your search to just that. even in the city, i'm sure there will be areas where there are pretty good schools. especially if it's elementary school, i think it would be great to have your kids exposed to more than just suburbia. (i could be wrong... who knows).

but yeah. i say buy.

__________________

Prngr44

There's also the additional costs of increased insurance premium on a home versus renter's insurance and those dreaded real estate taxes.

Taxes and insurance add ~850 to my monthly payment.

zippyjuan

Good people are in demand even in a slow economy. Glad you seem to have found something. My only experience (that I can remember) of Chicago was changing planes there on my way to see relatives in Pennsylvania. My grandmother used to live in Batavia which is just outside Chicago but moved when I was still very young. She is in Colorado now. My only suggestion would be to rent at first and see what sort of situation you are in and if you want to stay there and to learn just where it would be preferable (and affordable) to live before buying. You will continue to do well.

__________________
I add new pictures to my photo gallery pretty regularly. You can see them here if you are interested: http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz

Markel

Congrats on the job, cheapie. Sorry that I missed out on this thread until now.

Being in or close to "the city" has the advantage of transportation, but the disadvantage of gridlock, generally much poorer schools, higher costs for everything, etc. If you want nicer areas, better schools, etc., you'll be better off looking in the west and northwest suburbs. There are commuter rails that run west and northwest, so there is always the possibility of visitors coming up the South Shore, taking a cab over the the Ogilvie Transportation Center, and hopping on a train to the northwest, west, and southwest.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

p.s. If you become a Sox fan, all offers are rescinded!

__________________
stay low... keep moving...

attgig

btw, congrats! =)

attgig

oh, and btw, congrats ray! =)

mechmike0034

Congrats, man! My sister, her hubby, their 2 year old niece, and my mom relocated from Richmond, VA to Park Ridge, IL this spring. They are renting - my bro-in-law has already changed jobs since the move. My sis is a lawyer in the city and commutes by train. Bro-in law is an economist/risk analyst working in the city as well. They love it so far, but it is not winter yet...

__________________
"The price of progress is trouble." (C. F. "Boss" Kettering)
"50% of the American public has below-average intelligence. 70% of the American public now has regular access to the Internet. Do the math." (unknown)
"Every time you eat a steak, a hippie’s hackysack goes into the sewer." (seen on Fark)

johnnymk

You must be happy that you didn't buy that bigger house a few years ago.

Glad you found a job quickly during this depressed job market.

cheapie

yes i am jmk.

hey markel....tell me about evanston. found a nice place there. price isn't bad but $5900 in taxes!!!!!!!

Markel

I don't know a whole lot about Evanston (Northwestern U is there). I think some areas are nice. One problem I have is that getting to it is a bear - you have to negotiate surface roads since the highways are not really nearby. Long drive down Lake Shore Drive to get to downtown Chicago.

cheapie

But I can take the train, right? Since I'll be working out of my house the only time I'll need to go downtown will be for fun.

Markel

There's the CTA Rapid Transit ('L') Purple Line and the Union Pacific North Line (commuter rail - nicer, safer).

Links for more info:
CTA information
Union Pacific North Line

If you look on Yahoo Maps or Google Maps, the CTA stations are marked with blue M, and the Union Pacific shows the train tracks and stations.

clutchy

i lived in the western suburbs of chicago growing up(hinsdale) it was really an amazing place. The city itself is pretty neat and yes the trains are easily accessible and shoot you right into the city. There's also the L, elevated train in the city.

very exciting man I hope everything works out.

__________________
LK was treated unfairly

thanks X

VTGreg

Evanston is really nice but it can be pricey. Has a very good vibe and doesn't have quite the same hustle and bustle feel of some of the neighborhoods closer to the loop. The L is out there via the purple line as Markel mentioned and driving in down Lake Shore isn't all that bad either. You'll also have Big 10 football and basketball close by if it interests you. I'd imagine the schools are also better up there.