My Kind of Town
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4/10/2014
47 years ago, I came to Chicago for the first time to visit my aunt, and I never left! I immediately felt at home and absolutely loved this city! Chicago has a fantastic Planetarium on the Lake Front; the longest stretch of public lake front beach anywhere in the Country, first class museums, incredible cultural activities, first class universities, and in a nutshell, everything New York has to offer, but less expensive.
On the negative side, housing has gotten very expensive for what you get; state taxes have gone from 3% to 5%, and our mayor, Rahm Emanuel, wants to raise property taxes again. Our state is deeply in debt due to a pension crisis, and the winters are incredibly brutal from January through March. When I came here, jobs were extremely easy to get; not so today. Chicago has a heavy unemployment problem, and the jobs that open up are generally minimum wage jobs. So, if you're looking for a job, I would advise you NOT to come to Chicago to compete with all those who are still out-of-work from the Great Recession. The crime has always been bad here in certain parts of the city (e.g., the South and the West sides). Now even the south suburbs are crime-ridden. The North side of the city is the safest but also the most expensive. I am so glad that my working years are almost finished. Because of the horrendous winter weather here, I will be relocating to a better climate upon my retirement since I won't have to worry about finding a job wherever I go to. Chicago has been good to me, but I'm kissing it off now along with so many other baby boomers who have already left or are planning on retiring elsewhere.
ChicagoCarol | Chicago, IL