Can Illinois Survive?

[iamshack]

an article in the Trib from earlier this year on the dropping population in Illinois:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/b...1220-story.html

 

 

 

 

I freely admit that if not for nearly all of our friends and family being in the Chicago area, my wife and I would have fled to somewhere on the west coast already.

 

Gonna be interesting to see what increasing temperatures do to all of the migration currently heading to the sunbelt over the next few decades though.

Do it! Just being able to avoid the ridiculous discussion about White Sox attendance is well worth it

[StrangeSox]

There's also some public policy issues to consider for at least some people. If you're LGBT, you probably wouldn't want to move to Mike Pence's Indiana over Illinois, for example.

[bmags]

Good info, thanks. I know that, in general, taxes at the state level are regressive across the country.

 

Is Illinois pension model really that much more generous than other deep blue states like Cali or Mass?

 

They are modeled worse to pay, and now are in backlog that is hard to get out of.

 

Those states also are not facing the downward pressure of outgoing population headed south the way the midwest is.

 

The reason exhorbant pensions are difficult from a state level is when population drops, you need it to drop from the older population. It's one reason I don't think state gov'ts are always the best mechanism for delivering those types of benefits.

[iamshack]

A couple of years ago when I was job searching we were seriously considering moving out of state. Friends and family is mostly what has kept us here. That and not wanting to uproot our kids from their schools. But with our youngest turning 16 our reasons for staying are becoming less and less. I could see the possibility of us leaving the state within 10 years.

 

Although the idea of starting completely over in a new city/state is a bit scary. At least here we know where to turn if we need help with something and we've built a good relationship with a lot of businesses over the years. Banks, repair shops, construction companies, etc...

It's not that scary...the advent of gps/smartphones has made this sort of thing so much easier.

 

I love the Chicago area and I always feel a tinge of regret when I come back to visit, but there is just so much this country has to offer to spend your entire life living in just one place.

 

The west in particular has so many great opportunities.

[StrangeSox]

It's not that scary...the advent of gps/smartphones has made this sort of thing so much easier.

 

I love the Chicago area and I always feel a tinge of regret when I come back to visit, but there is just so much this country has to offer to spend your entire life living in just one place.

 

The west in particular has so many great opportunities.

 

that cost of living tho

 

 

Chicago's not cheap but prices anywhere on the west coast are just insane

[RockRaines]

that cost of living tho

 

 

Chicago's not cheap but prices anywhere on the west coast are just insane

I need to be near an urban area, thats my shortcoming. I cant move far from a large city.

[southsider2k5]

How many kids can attend a place like Culver on a voucher? It says on their site only 1/4 of new students qualify for need based financial aid.

 

I am really enjoying their website, I've never heard of this place.

 

Culver Military Academy is an amazing institution. I don't know for sure, but my guess is they are not a voucher school. Like I said it is a nationally known institution. George Steinbrenner went there and sent his kids there. Most of the kids that go there are rich beyond means. Some kids get in via athletics scholarships. Honestly it is kind of unreal as the place is in the middle of no where in Klan country, but people still send their kids from all over the USA.

 

LaLumiere is pretty similar. It is probably better academically, but less rigorous in the out of the classroom stuff. It has been put on the map for basketball in the last decade, but has always been one of the best academic schools in the country. Both CMA and LaLu are Ivy League feeders.

[bmags]

That's true. I love the west, would love to experience living there. Perhaps I could find ways to have month or 2 month stays.

 

But I don't feel regret about staying. I live blocks from family, and raising a family in that situation is too good to be true. My parents family was all east when we grew up. Among other things, every vacation is just visiting family. At the very least we get to visit the world on our vacation time.

[iamshack]

that cost of living tho

 

 

Chicago's not cheap but prices anywhere on the west coast are just insane

Notice I said west and not west coast

 

There are still a ton of places to go, despite the coastline being so expensive.

 

Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico....sooo many gorgeous places to live.

 

I really think Reno is a solid option as well. I know you had mentioned you weren't impressed, but it's got a lot of momentum right now. Just have to wait for the real estate market to come back to reality a bit.

[RockRaines]

That's true. I love the west, would love to experience living there. Perhaps I could find ways to have month or 2 month stays.

 

But I don't feel regret about staying. I live blocks from family, and raising a family in that situation is too good to be true. My parents family was all east when we grew up. Among other things, every vacation is just visiting family. At the very least we get to visit the world on our vacation time.

Samesies. Two sets of grandparents within minutes. Cant beat that s***.

[bmags]

I haven't paid for a babysitter once. It's great.

[iamshack]

That's true. I love the west, would love to experience living there. Perhaps I could find ways to have month or 2 month stays.

 

But I don't feel regret about staying. I live blocks from family, and raising a family in that situation is too good to be true. My parents family was all east when we grew up. Among other things, every vacation is just visiting family. At the very least we get to visit the world on our vacation time.

I agree with this...we've got both our parents here with us now, and I think eventually we will even get them all under one roof. I really want my son to grow up with his grandparents nearby.

[StrangeSox]

That's true. I love the west, would love to experience living there. Perhaps I could find ways to have month or 2 month stays.

 

But I don't feel regret about staying. I live blocks from family, and raising a family in that situation is too good to be true. My parents family was all east when we grew up. Among other things, every vacation is just visiting family. At the very least we get to visit the world on our vacation time.

 

Part of what convinced us to stick around and move to a place ~10 minutes from both of our parents' homes was 1) having a baby and 2) our friends who moved out of state for a few years for work. All of their vacation time was eaten up by traveling home to see family and friends, and whenever they were back in town, it was a whirlwind trying to figure out how to see everyone in 5-7 days.

 

So instead of moving out west, we've just flown out there 2-3 times a year for the last 5 years and collectively in that time I've probably spent 9-10 months all over California for work.

 

Notice I said west and not west coast

 

There are still a ton of places to go, despite the coastline being so expensive.

 

Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico....sooo many gorgeous places to live.

 

I really think Reno is a solid option as well. I know you had mentioned you weren't impressed, but it's got a lot of momentum right now. Just have to wait for the real estate market to come back to reality a bit.

 

Lots of places in Idaho are extremely sketchy, and the good places in Montana like Missoula are more expensive than Chicago. We loved Oregon, but again, way more expensive than Chicago.

[StrangeSox]

haha we're all old now

[iamshack]

Part of what convinced us to stick around and move to a place ~10 minutes from both of our parents' homes was 1) having a baby and 2) our friends who moved out of state for a few years for work. All of their vacation time was eaten up by traveling home to see family and friends, and whenever they were back in town, it was a whirlwind trying to figure out how to see everyone in 5-7 days.

 

So instead of moving out west, we've just flown out there 2-3 times a year for the last 5 years and collectively in that time I've probably spent 9-10 months all over California for work.

 

 

 

Lots of places in Idaho are extremely sketchy, and the good places in Montana like Missoula are more expensive than Chicago. We loved Oregon, but again, way more expensive than Chicago.

There are sketchy places in every state.

 

I understand the COL argument, but that doesn't mean employers don't make up for that...it's not necessarily that your salary(ies) would be static.

[RockRaines]

haha we're all old now

No s***.

[southsider2k5]

Samesies. Two sets of grandparents within minutes. Cant beat that s***.

 

Absolutely. It is the best.

[Quin]

I refuse to acknowledge Indiana as a state.

 

I know the ribbing ended, but I wanted to get in a shot.

 

Also, despite loving living in NYC, if my company ever opens a Chicago bureau, I'm there.

[Harry Chappas]

Indiana has a voucher system where you can get a voucher to participating privates. That doesn't exist in Illinois.

 

Yes and it is killing the private school option for the middle class especially in the south end of the city.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

Yes and it is killing the private school option for the middle class especially in the south end of the city.

 

The biggest thing killing education in Chicago is all of the people leaving.

[Soxbadger]

The biggest thing killing education in Chicago is all of the people leaving.

 

Chicago the city lost less than 9k people last year. Its been on a downward trend for a bit. Its not the "loss" its the fact that its not increasing as rapidly as other areas. It will be interesting to see what happens because while Chicago is losing people on the lower end of the income spectrum, it is gaining people on the higher end. https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170525/so...pulation-census

 

Office rents in Chicago rose almost 20% last year, 2nd highest in the world. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/col...317-column.html

 

Residential is up 2.5% http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/03/01/...ge-satisfaction

 

 

The thing killing Chicago education is that its such a large area and its hard for the wealthier areas to subsidize the poorer. Not to mention its hard to compare River North to the South Side etc.

[StrangeSox]

gotta say I'm glad Illinois is at least a little bit slower on the mission of funneling public tax dollars to private schools than Indiana is

[BigSqwert]

Do it! Just being able to avoid the ridiculous discussion about White Sox attendance is well worth it

 

I'll back you up on this one.

[caulfield12]

Notice I said west and not west coast

 

There are still a ton of places to go, despite the coastline being so expensive.

 

Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico....sooo many gorgeous places to live.

 

I really think Reno is a solid option as well. I know you had mentioned you weren't impressed, but it's got a lot of momentum right now. Just have to wait for the real estate market to come back to reality a bit.

 

Why not Colorado and Washington? Too expensive still?

 

Utah, the religious element turns off quite a few....although it's a beautiful state in terms of nature.

[Soxfest]

Mike Madigan face of faliure