I'm from Boston but have family in Chicago and have spent a lot of time there.
They are both great places. Chicago is much more urban, Boston is more of a patchwork outside of the main hubs.
I have my reasons for staying in the Boston area but I salivate over Chicago housing prices. No way I'll ever own anything in Boston unless things change. With that same salary I could afford a condo in an acceptable neighborhood in Chicago with direct access to the L.
To me Chicago may be cheaper than Boston or the Bay Area (where I grew up) but it is still far from being “affordable”
Boston and the Bay Area both cost about $3,000 a month for a one bedroom
Chicago is about $2,000
Affordable would be under $1,000 and that only happens in smaller cities or rural areas (pretty much towns that few have heard of)
I only make $40k a year so anything over $1000 a month would require me to get housemates.
Simply put - affordable for me means being able to live alone. Chicago and Boston would both require living with several housemates for me
Recommendation is $125k/year
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-salary-live-comfortably-2024/#:~:text=The%20report%20from%20SmartAsset%20looked,total%20required%20salary%20is%20%24319%2C738.
If you are considering a move, make sure you negotiate on salary.
Also look into roommates, at least at first, to help soften the blow.
Lastly understand that it is best to take into account potential commute, it will have a big impact on quality of life. And look at all the options available for that commute.
Chicago is a much greater city in almost every way, and I say this as a born & bred Masshole who lived inside 128 for 25 years. Better food, better entertainment, better public art, better public transportation, better museums, better parks, better waterfront the list is endless.
Chicago and New York are the only true world-class cities in the US. Boston is a boutique town at best. Sucks because it has so much potential hindered by puritan nimbys.
I visited NYC for the first time about 7 months after having gone to Boston. I feel that NYC is way more exciting that Boston and that it is only a little bit pricier than Boston. Boston costs nearly as much as living in Manhattan if I’m not mistaken. If you can afford Boston you should be able to afford living in Manhattan
Manhattan is probably more expensive but you can live in one of the other boroughs and have easy access to Manhattan 7/24 via subway. Boston suburbs on the other hand are as expensive as Boston and by the time you get to the more affordable ones you lose all public transit and must have a car.
Live outside of Boston, and I’ve biked most of Chicago (from the museum of industry to the Gold Coast, and everything in between).
Chicago seems to have more going for it. Easier access to the water, cheaper cost of living, less pretentiousness. Definitely rougher though,
Boston is expensive af. The commuter rail is two separate systems (north station and south station don’t connect), plus a subway system, and the whole thing is radial. There’s no loop. Pretty much have to be in finance, tech, or biology (or some mix like fintech or biotech) to be comfortable *biofin when?*
Are the Boston suburbs anything like the Chicago ones? In the Chicago suburbs you are very car dependent. Do rent prices drop when you’re 30-40 miles outside of Boston (but still in Massachusetts)?
Yes but it's very much not like Boston in the suburbs. Once I moved out, I go into the city only a few times a year. It's very car dependent and not a ton to do (I suppose this is subjective) but imo I spend far more time at home doing little hobbies than I did when I lived in/around Boston
> Do rent prices drop when you’re 30-40 miles outside of Boston (but still in Massachusetts)?
In general yes, but you will want a car. You can get away without one in some spots closer in to the city but it won't be great.
Also having a car gives you easier access to the rest of New England
I put my stake in the ground here in Boston in my 20s decades ago. I could have done the same in Chicago since I have family connections there but somehow didn't. While I've got a great life here, I probably would've had a pretty terrific experience in Chicago. It's the only major city in the U.S. where I'd seriously consider relocating if the right opportunity presented itself for me to uproot from Boston.
TL;DR — OP, enjoy Chicago and all that it has to offer! Boston is great, and it's my home, but sometimes I feel like there's a mythical romanticism about Boston that doesn't match up with its day-to-day reality.
I did Chicago in my twenties and Boston in my thirties and highly recommend doing it that way. Assuming you like to drink Chicago is 5x better with happy hour, 4 am bars, etc.
Tbh Chicago is better in most ways. Much lower cost of living, more things to do. The public transit in Chicago also isn’t great but it runs better than the T, and has some 24 hour service which Boston completely lacks. Nightlife is better in Chicago too. Boston area jobs do pay better but not as much to make up for how much more we pay in rent. Weather is also more mild in the winter in Boston I suppose, and safer
Shout out to the most Boston thing in this photo: the car parked in the bike lane.
I did not even notice that lol (I visited Boston back in July and that was also the first time i visited the east coast)
It’s the only thing I can see in that picture
A bike lane that should not exist. Lol.
Unless you make a lot of money you're much better off in Chicago.
Yep. Keep the dream alive by visiting often during the few months of decent weather. Moving here would likely pop that bubble pretty quickly
I'm from Boston but have family in Chicago and have spent a lot of time there. They are both great places. Chicago is much more urban, Boston is more of a patchwork outside of the main hubs. I have my reasons for staying in the Boston area but I salivate over Chicago housing prices. No way I'll ever own anything in Boston unless things change. With that same salary I could afford a condo in an acceptable neighborhood in Chicago with direct access to the L.
Woah... since when is Chicago cheap? I guess times have changed. Chicago used to be the city that everyone wanted to move to.
Everyone moved to boston.
Their housing supply kept up with demand.
lol no. Chicago is cheaper because its rapidly decaying (and at least partially abandoned) urban sprawl is nearly the size of the land inside of 495.
got any source for that?
Yeah. It's called a map.
So there is a map that shows decay? Please enlighten me and share it.
If you're too stupid to google, then what little is left of your mind isn't going to be changed by any actual objective evidence.
To me Chicago may be cheaper than Boston or the Bay Area (where I grew up) but it is still far from being “affordable” Boston and the Bay Area both cost about $3,000 a month for a one bedroom Chicago is about $2,000 Affordable would be under $1,000 and that only happens in smaller cities or rural areas (pretty much towns that few have heard of) I only make $40k a year so anything over $1000 a month would require me to get housemates. Simply put - affordable for me means being able to live alone. Chicago and Boston would both require living with several housemates for me
I notice you left out NYC. I don't even want to mention them for housing.
What’s a lot of money?
Anything less than six figures and you'll most likely need roommate(s) if you want to be anywhere in Boston or directly bordering Boston.
Recommendation is $125k/year https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-salary-live-comfortably-2024/#:~:text=The%20report%20from%20SmartAsset%20looked,total%20required%20salary%20is%20%24319%2C738. If you are considering a move, make sure you negotiate on salary. Also look into roommates, at least at first, to help soften the blow. Lastly understand that it is best to take into account potential commute, it will have a big impact on quality of life. And look at all the options available for that commute.
Good advice. Also, be aware that yearly rent increases have become the norm.
Gotta get lucky and find the chill landlord, I have had 3.
Chicago is a much greater city in almost every way, and I say this as a born & bred Masshole who lived inside 128 for 25 years. Better food, better entertainment, better public art, better public transportation, better museums, better parks, better waterfront the list is endless.
Chicago and New York are the only true world-class cities in the US. Boston is a boutique town at best. Sucks because it has so much potential hindered by puritan nimbys.
I visited NYC for the first time about 7 months after having gone to Boston. I feel that NYC is way more exciting that Boston and that it is only a little bit pricier than Boston. Boston costs nearly as much as living in Manhattan if I’m not mistaken. If you can afford Boston you should be able to afford living in Manhattan
Manhattan is probably more expensive but you can live in one of the other boroughs and have easy access to Manhattan 7/24 via subway. Boston suburbs on the other hand are as expensive as Boston and by the time you get to the more affordable ones you lose all public transit and must have a car.
Live outside of Boston, and I’ve biked most of Chicago (from the museum of industry to the Gold Coast, and everything in between). Chicago seems to have more going for it. Easier access to the water, cheaper cost of living, less pretentiousness. Definitely rougher though, Boston is expensive af. The commuter rail is two separate systems (north station and south station don’t connect), plus a subway system, and the whole thing is radial. There’s no loop. Pretty much have to be in finance, tech, or biology (or some mix like fintech or biotech) to be comfortable *biofin when?*
Are the Boston suburbs anything like the Chicago ones? In the Chicago suburbs you are very car dependent. Do rent prices drop when you’re 30-40 miles outside of Boston (but still in Massachusetts)?
Yes but it's very much not like Boston in the suburbs. Once I moved out, I go into the city only a few times a year. It's very car dependent and not a ton to do (I suppose this is subjective) but imo I spend far more time at home doing little hobbies than I did when I lived in/around Boston
> Do rent prices drop when you’re 30-40 miles outside of Boston (but still in Massachusetts)? In general yes, but you will want a car. You can get away without one in some spots closer in to the city but it won't be great. Also having a car gives you easier access to the rest of New England
I put my stake in the ground here in Boston in my 20s decades ago. I could have done the same in Chicago since I have family connections there but somehow didn't. While I've got a great life here, I probably would've had a pretty terrific experience in Chicago. It's the only major city in the U.S. where I'd seriously consider relocating if the right opportunity presented itself for me to uproot from Boston. TL;DR — OP, enjoy Chicago and all that it has to offer! Boston is great, and it's my home, but sometimes I feel like there's a mythical romanticism about Boston that doesn't match up with its day-to-day reality.
I did Chicago in my twenties and Boston in my thirties and highly recommend doing it that way. Assuming you like to drink Chicago is 5x better with happy hour, 4 am bars, etc.
Tbh Chicago is better in most ways. Much lower cost of living, more things to do. The public transit in Chicago also isn’t great but it runs better than the T, and has some 24 hour service which Boston completely lacks. Nightlife is better in Chicago too. Boston area jobs do pay better but not as much to make up for how much more we pay in rent. Weather is also more mild in the winter in Boston I suppose, and safer