My wife and I will be relocating to Chicago from Dallas in the near future. She'll be working downtown and I'll be searching for a new job.

Any information on neighborhoods to look to live in would be great. Currently we live near Uptown Dallas and would like to keep the same proximity to downtown and lifestyle.

Thanks and Gig Em!

More info needed: do you want a condo in a high rise, condo in a 3 story walk up, or a house? Any pets?

Thanks for the reply Doc. I think we more intersted in either a 3 story walkup or a house. We do have 2 dogs that are older and are currently debating on bringing them or not (most likely will).

We just made the same move 2 months ago from Dallas to Chicago. We ended up getting a condo in Lakeview and absolutly love it. You definitly get a lot less space for your $ here than in Dallas, but we love being in the city, espically after hearing so many horror stories from coworkers about their commute from the Burbs.

We looked in Lincoln park, which is just north of downtown, and Lakeview, which is around Wrigley. Can't go wrong either way.

Lakeview is a little bit older, more established area and a little more expensive. Lakeview is mixed between some very old building by the Lake and newer condo's and houses as you get further West.

Let me know what else you are looking for, we had looked for 3-4 months before we moved so I feel like I know the area decently well now.

"Damn the man, Save the Empire"

Lakeview is one of the areas that we've been told to look. Not positive yet but we may be making a trip up towards the end of next week so that she can visit the office and we can do some recon.

Is getting to downtown fairly easy from the Lakeview area?

Empire, besides the cost of housing how would you compare the overall costs of living to Dallas?

Am I correct that Illinois has a state income tax of 5% and that Chicago does not have a city income tax but does have sales taxes in the 10% range as well as property taxes?

Empire don't mean to bombard you with questions but was there a certain realtor you used or was it handled through a relocation service?

Getting downtown is very easy from just about anywhere. If you want a walkup and green space you'll need to stay out of downtown - Lakeview is a good choice, as is Bucktown/wicker park.

I lived in Lakeview my 1st year here, but moved to Bucktown a year ago for better access to the El, bars, and restaurants.

You are right on the taxes, except that Chicago sales tax is closer to 13%

Thanks Doc. We've found some walkups online that we like in the Uptown area. What's the overall consensus on uptown?

Uptown definitly looks good when looking online. It's not a terrible hood by any means but it is definitly a more diverse area. Our realtor thought we might not like it as much but still had us pick 1-2 places there and drove us through the area. We decided to focus our search in Lakeview/Lincoln Park.

Getting downtown from Lakeview seems very easy. I actually work in the area, and my wife works from home, but the Red and Brown lines go right into downtown so it seems easy enough.

The cost of living is definitly a little higher for basic things, but we are probably saving money since we aren't driving all across the metroplex and paying tolls etc. Everything is so dense that during the week we probably drive less than 30 miles total. The thing that sticks out is there is a tax on EVERYTHING up here. In addition to state income and the high sales tax we also had to pay a title transfer tax which was I think .75% of the purchase price of the condo, due at closing. There are also strange tax rules that may or may not effect you depending on when you close. Kinda complicated but essentially the county is way behind on property taxes so we had to shell out some extra money at closing because the previous owner didn't even have the bill yet.

We used a realtor name Paul Gorney, and he really knew that part of town well. I don't have his contact info handy but I think he would be easy to find.

Let me know any other questions you have. I'd be happy to help where I can.

[This message has been edited by Save the empire (edited 10/27/2011 10:50a).]

lakeview + 1

Thanks for all the info guys. Don't think we'll be up before the Ags season is over but would love to meet for a drink or three once we are there.

Lakeview is definitely a good choice

I like in Wicker Park/Bucktown and I love it. Bucktown is a great neighborhood as well. You'll find that each neighborhood as a bit of a distinct personality so finding one that fits you is pretty important.

Wicker Park has a lot of restaurants and bars and some famous live music venues. Bucktown, next door, is a little more yuppy with more upscale shopping and a lot of late 20s/early 30s couples with young children. I feel like I'm in an actual neighborhood like I had back home in the suburbs of Houston. As a newleywed that still likes to go out a lot but maybe heading towards a family situation soon, this is a good spot for me and I'm not sure I'd want to live somewhere else.

That being said, Lakeview is a great neighborhood with lots to do! Living off the Red Line is nice as well - it's services a lot of Chicago (Wrigley Field through downtown all the way down to US Cellular).

Feel free to post on the Chicagoland Aggie club's facebook page if you have questions about anything (homes,jobs, etc) - you'll get fast responses.

I tailgated wityh the Chicagoland group for the Iowa State game. Good group of people.

Anybody have any good commercial real estate contacts in Chicago? The majority of my experience is in the multifamily arena.

agdoc-

You live in Bucktown? Where do you work? I'm moving to Chicago for1 year for a fellowship in july at UIC with a wife, kid and a dog. We were thinking of living in Bucktown b/c it seems like a cool place to live, seems relatively accessible to UIC, and is close to the Blue line.

Thoughts?

Skelly,

I'm at Loyola. Bucktown is great if you're going to UIC because you can take the blue line right there.

nice, thanks! That is what I was thinking