What is the downside (if any) of Chicago IB?

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Pros: 64th and 65th

Cons: 63rd

I was a banker in NYC and Chicago and know many who did the same.

New York bankers move to Chicago all the time, but it literally never goes the other way. My life is about 100% better with the same salary and bonus but cheaper, larger (space-wise) and much cleaner everything else.

Chicago winters are 50 below zero with high winds and multiple feet of snow

Chicago finances are horrible, and so they will be raising taxes to the moon

High likelihood you might get shot driving thru certain neighborhoods

but otherwise....why would you leave NYC to goto chicago?

People don’t understand how much cheaper Chi is vs other big cities (NY/SF but also places like Boston). At NY office of a Chi bank (you can probably guess which one…) but analysts make street in Chicago and live like kings. I know analysts that live in the nicest buildings in 1 bedrooms for

MM PE

Chicago has a pretty solid industrials IB scene - it's not like Houston where they run it exclusively, but many banks have industrials teams out there. Automotives in particular are mostly covered out of Chicago.

If you otherwise like NYC, have you ruled out living towards NJ/CT? There are more affordable areas which are commutable if you're only in office 3 days a week. 

Chicago is just about the last city I would want to be in long term, particularly as a place to buy a house/condo. The tax/pension situation is FUCKED, and in all likelihood they will have to declare bankruptcy at some point, which isn't a great situation to be in for someone who's planted a lot of money into an immovable/illiquid asset there. You can already see this situation begin to manifest in the pseudo-taxation schemes they've begun to implement like tons of traffic cams who's sole purpose is to generate revenue for the city. This of course, is not nearly enough for their problems, and they'll likely have to dig deeper in the impending future. As a young person with lots of disposable income working in an already disliked industry, you are the one who's gonna be dug deeper.

Edit: This comment from reddit sums up the city's fuckedness fairly well:

Among the toplines: Total unfunded pension liability for the state’s five retirement systems was up again in fiscal 2020, hitting an almost unfathomable $144.2 billion, an increase of roughly $7 billion from the previous year. That record deep hole occurred even though taxpayers contributed a record high amount, with the tab in 2021 scheduled to rise another $500 million to $9.76 billion.

There's more: The total funded ratio of the five funds – the percentage of future liabilities that are covered by available assets – dropped to 39 percent from 40.3 percent. That effectively puts us back where we were way back in 2009 at 38.5 percent, despite a decade of tax hikes, increased taxpayer contributions and an overall booming investment market.

Move to Northern Queens (North Flushing, Bayside, College Point, Whitestone) or Southwest Brooklyn (Dyker Heights) if you want to stay in NYC and really want to buy a home. I know plenty of people who live in these areas and commute in (including my parents who both work in Midtown). You can live in NJ/CT but really is not the same as living in the Boroughs. The properties will be more expensive but they also appreciate significantly more e.g my parents bought a 4 bed home in Whitestone for 1.25 mil 10 years ago and could sell it today for 2.2. Great schools particularly in the Northern Queens area. 

I work for a BB and really enjoy it here. I don’t get the whole IB experience. Our team is incredibly lean and it’s just one coverage team and no product teams. We cover industrials, automotive, etc. We don’t have the resources like NYC and generally have to jump through some more hoops. I work NYC hours which is good and bad. I’d say it’s more laidback in Chicago too. Not as intense as NYC. One of the biggest perks is definitely cost of living. I live in 2,000 square foot apartment with 2 roommates in a great neighborhood close to downtown. We have 2 parking spots, free street parking, a front yard, and back yard and only pay $950 each. My pledge brothers live in closets in Manhattan for much more. Taxes are high, but so are NYC’s. Bars are cheaper generally. Lake Michigan is cool for the summer and there’s a ton of cool places in like Wisconsin. A quick 2 hour flight to the Rockies for less than $100 to go skiing. Tons of cheap and affordable golf courses. As for the city itself, there’s a BUNCH of kids who grew up here. They make up most of the population imo. Crime isn’t that bad. Just don’t go too far south or go too far on the trains or pass out on one. It’s definitely cleaner than NYC. You don’t get the big city vibes as much as NYC.

Overall, I like and have been here two years. I don’t really have any plans to move for a quite some time. Happy to answer any questions.