Chicago over New York

Wondering what everyone's opinions are on Chicago? I've had multiple interviews for analyst roles in repe acquisitions/AM that are based in Chicago and NYC and I'm honestly leaning toward Chicago. Cost of living is cheaper, cleaner than nyc, people are friendlier, and it is a great place to grow your network. Obviously nyc will always be the epicenter of finance, but Chicago just seems like a better place for me. I know this has been discussed on wso countless times, but I just want some fresh perspectives. Thoughts on living in Chicago over nyc?

 
Funniest

Let me do some simple math for ya:

If you make $1mil per year in NYC, that is approximately equivalent to $175k in Chicago.

If you live in NYC you are a fucking idiot and will be poor for the rest of your life because $1 mil in NYC = $175k in Chicago

 

Its cold in chicago dawg. Real cold in the winter. Also, you'll see most of the people working here are from the midwest. Where your family is from plays a role maybe not when your 22 but later on for sure. There is a lot more variety in NYC for sure in terms of people and neighborhoods. 

 

I've never lived in NY but moved to Chicago from SF a while back. Thought I should provide some insights. A few observations,

1) COL is significantly different, you can lease an 40 floor+ apartment with lake view or city view for a bit over $2000/month

2) Winter is brutal. It's windy and cold, so really not many people walking around on the street which makes the city look a bit empty. But heard summer is perfect

3) Absolutely love midwest culture, people are generally very friendly

4) Crime rate's going up, speaking from my own experience, I don't feel safe walking on the street after 8pm. Had a few collegues who were verbally and physically threated a few times within a week

Overall, I would say it's a great city for young people who are in their first couple years of their career. When it comes to choose where to live long term, I wouldn't consider Chicago.

 

Why anyone ever mentions cost of living anymore is beyond me.  New York City is expensive.  No one is surprised by that.  It's expensive because of all the other reasons to live here.  You pay more because you like a 24/7 extensive subway system.   Because you like being able to do whatever you want, essentially at any time of the day.  Because it has Broadway and better restaurants and all sorts of other stuff.  Because your two hours from great beaches and nice mountains.

Yes, Chicago is cheaper.  So is Gary, Indiana.  It's also brutally cold for half the year, there is less to do, and less variety of things to do.  If you want to save money, don't live in New York.  Otherwise, it's better in every way.

 

Valid points although I think you're down playing the amount of stuff there is to do in Chicago. Yes you wont have a greater density of restaurants compared to NY but if you're a foodie the chicago restaurant scene will not disappoint. Just like NY, different neighborhoods gives you access to different cuisines. Some places are better than NY and vice versa. Things to do like museums,bars,club etc is all here except they're not 24/7 and unless you're fresh out college and trying to be in that scene do you really care if a great bar closes at 5:00am versus 2:00am? I will say the whole point of cost of living is brought up so much is because at the end of the day your after tax income goes farther therefore provides you an opportunity to experience things in greater depths(all things mentioned above). Ex. Instead of being in the nose bleeds at basketball game You can use those extra dollars to pay for seats close to the floor

 
cbdbanker

Valid points although I think you're down playing the amount of stuff there is to do in Chicago. Yes you wont have a greater density of restaurants compared to NY but if you're a foodie the chicago restaurant scene will not disappoint. Just like NY, different neighborhoods gives you access to different cuisines. Some places are better than NY and vice versa. Things to do like museums,bars,club etc is all here except they're not 24/7 and unless you're fresh out college and trying to be in that scene do you really care if a great bar closes at 5:00am versus 2:00am? I will say the whole point of cost of living is brought up so much is because at the end of the day your after tax income goes farther therefore provides you an opportunity to experience things in greater depths(all things mentioned above). Ex. Instead of being in the nose bleeds at basketball game You can use those extra dollars to pay for seats close to the floor

Yeah I'm not trying to imply Chicago is a cultural or restaurant waste land or something.  It's not Houston!  But anything that exists in Chicago, I would argue a better and more diverse set of options exists in NYC.  And for what it's worth, just browsing Ticketmaster, it is vastly more expensive to go to a Bulls game than a Nets game, so while I understand your argument, I think it falls down on that front.  It's really a question of rent being cheaper, not so much cost of goods.  And for someone making 150k a year, it's a 5% savings in taxes.  Meaningful, but hardly life changing.

 

Chicago born, live in NYC. Chicago is a great city - you will be just fine with the food and nightlife (west loop is unreal food wise), albeit obviously it will not be AS good as NYC (quality is there just could never match the quantity). Cost of living is definitely a benefit, and you might as well get a car and not spend the cost of an apartment for a parking spot, which makes up for the worse transportation system. Winters suck but so do NYC winters. Either way you can't go wrong. I would think if you want to work hard/ play hard then New York is your move but if you want to have a chiller work life balance with a better cost of living then Chicago is 100% the move. 

 

Also Chicago-native / NY living. Agree with their points. Chicago's "hustle and bustle" is in no way comparable to New York's. It's there, but just doesn't hit the same as NY. Overall great city, just more laid back. Also for what it's worth, girls in Chicago seem to target a more specific niche of guys than those in New York. Don't think careers like IB/PE/HF etc. get you much weight in the competitive dating pool(my guess is CHI girls either don't care or simply don't understand societal hierarchies like NY girls do. NY girls are surrounded and influenced by more elitism given finance culture and ivy league presence and COL that they are directly impacted and inherently add more value to those in a higher social ranking).  

 
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Have made this point before—crime in Chicago is massively overblown. It’s pretty localized to the south side and far far away from yuppies. Other people might say they don’t feel safe, but personally I think you are the sort of person that wears a mask outdoors if you really think you are going to get shot in lakeview or Gold Coast. If you are north of the loop and in a neighborhood that has been gentrified, it’s pretty safe. Is there a person that gets mugged every so often? Yeah, but for me personally it’s one friend of a friend that that’s happened to and I know a ton of people. Otherwise, it’s just a news story and something I see people freaking out about despite the fact that the crime in Chicago is the same as it was in the 90s.

Edit: also adding this, it’s cold as a witch’s tit in the winter, so most people are ubering half the year anyway or Imo, you can walk anywhere in the winter because even criminals are like nah, this weather isn’t worth it.

 

Our firm do deals in Chicago and I've traveled there extensively over the last 5 years. Here's my thoughts as a person living in NYC who happen to travel/talk to lots of Chicago folks.

Culture wise, you won't miss NYC if you live in Chicago. The city has rich history and "old" city feel to it.

Living expense, you're spot on. We've put billions into multifamily in Chicago over the last decades, so can confirm cost of living can be half that of NYC. Easily get a high rise 1BR top floor in highly desirable neighborhoods (streeterville, gold coast, river north) with amazing views/amenities for half the price in NYC (~2500/unit)

City vibe, this I did not enjoy. Chicago just lacks that "energy" NYC has. I've been there at all seasons in the year (hot/cold/fall whatever) and the streets always seem to clear up at night regardless of where you are. I mean businesses are still open, but the energy of the city just dies down after 6-7p. Not something I can say about NYC, or even Boston for that matter. I grew up in the west coast and I can compare Chicago to almost a downtown LA feel....things just clear up after work hours.

Nightlife, is great. You'll get all the people that go to midwest schools and lots of young folks to befriend with. Big gradschools/bschools are there and so there's that crowd as well.

Food, is also great. Michelin star guide is present, and you definitely have worthwhile places to spend your money.

Diversity, is not bad. Not NYC level weird, but there's a decent mix of diverse people culture wise.

Would I live in Chicago (if I were single and my situation allows), hell yea. You get 80% of NYC pay and for living expenses that are 60-70% that of NYC. Seems like more money in your pocket if you ask me.

 

Spend a weekend in Chicago with people that know the city to get a taste for it. Go out in the west loop and river north. It's a very different city from NYC in many ways. Yes, smaller, more laid back, etc. as others have said. But I think the biggest difference is a cultural one. I've found that people that live in NYC primarily define themselves by their career and education e.g. you meet some new people and the convo invevitably goes to "oh yeah, my roommates boyfriend also works at UBS," or "yeah, do you know so and so, they also went to Cornell."

Chicago, no one cares and no one asks. Conversations tend to focus more around what people do for fun and much less about career. Also, few people are impressed by any kind of finance job in Chicago because 99% of people you meet have no idea what a banker, PE, or HF bro even does or makes or why it's impressive. 

 

This discussion has centered of the relative attractions of the two cities and the cost of living. Much like with PE placements, the other metrics you need to consider are the network you build and the career opportunities. If your current firm isn’t your dream job or your priorities change, you have a lot more options in NYC. Bankers cycle shops all the time in NYC, so you be surprised about the breadth of network you build across groups in NYC. In addition, groups in NYC look down on the experience you get in other locations. It will be harder to switch to a banking job in NYC if you don’t start there. In the current strong recruitment market that doesn’t seem as big a concerns, but that could change.

All that being said, Chicago definitely has its benefits.

 

This subject has been beaten to death so badly a mangled corpse would look better.

Honestly OP, it's a simple 3 step process to figure this out:

1. What do I value (food, nature, nightlife, proximity to family etc)?

2. How feasible would it be for me to do it in my city of choice (costs, transit time, weather differences, demographic mixes)?

3. For any items in step 1 that have a relative shortfall VS the other choice, how could I make that up (NYC is too dirty, maybe I live near a park; Chicago is too spread out, maybe I uber more b/c it costs less)?

Use those excel skills and whip up a weighted cost benefit matrix model or something. Should take you 20-30 minutes tops lol

 

Dallas is better bro we got Jerry Jones and Highland park and SMU top shelf trim, Dallas is the future.  30k millionaires galore 

 

Personally hated Chicago when I spent some time there but I can't shit on it - it just wasn't for me but I could see why other ppl liked it. All of these city vs city arguments are meritless. Objectively, yes, Chicago is cheaper than NYC so your salary will go a longer way there (I remember seeing the crazy difference in apartment quality the Chicago analysts in my class had vs the ny ones) and yes Chicago is cleaner, has more friendly folks as a whole, and totally has its own culture. But NYC, to me, has a more appealing mix of people and has better food / nightlight etc. Pretty basic argument to be fair.

Visit each one and see where you have a better sense of home. It's okay to have a preference for one over the other without erupting in an explosive tirade.

 

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