Where We Live—Recommendations Where To Live

[Stuhoo 89,410]

2 hours ago, Napleshoosier said:

Naples, FL

Often recognized as the best city in the country to live.  It’s very clean, safe, and easy to get around.  Collier County Sheriffs Dept. and Naples City Police are very friendly but will NOT put up with ANY nonsense!  Beautiful Gulf of America beaches abound with fun had by all.  For golfers there are 93 courses in the county.  We have so many restaurants you could never visit them all.  There is plenty of entertainment choices to suit most tastes.  It has a very informal feel as well.  Also home to the famous Seed to Table.  #1 grocery market entertainment in the country.  No state income taxes in Florida works too!  Been here 22 years now.

downsides……very hot summers with afternoon showers and the occasional hurricane!

Nips ain't kidding; if you can afford it and live close to the Gulf, Naples is really, REALLY nice (but not from June through September).

[Stuhoo 89,410]

1 hour ago, HoosierX said:

I think Chicago's affordability is pretty underrated at this point. 

When I first moved to South Florida, Chicago was about the same cost and both were significantly cheaper than the Northeast. 

Now? If you're in 'civilization' in Florida, housing prices are every bit as expensive as the Boston area. No State income tax but a 7% or higher sales tax from Daytona through the Keys.

And Chicago? World class things to do, pretty safe, walkable, excellent public transportation and suburban schools, and really, really affordable and excellent housing, restaurant and grocery prices. Taxes are crazy-high though. For nine months a year it's a pretty awesome place to be.

[Golfman25 6,769]

You guys touting Chicago obviously haven't been here in a while.  Chicago and IL are hellholes.  Chicago is no longer "safe," not like it once was.  A lot of problems just go unreported because there is nothing the cops can or will do.  Real estate taxes are obscene and steal the value of your home and wealth.  Taxes and fees are going up, up, up.  The underfunded pension crisis will push Chicago and IL into "bankruptcy" eventually.  Many better places to live and raises a family.  But yeah, nice place to visit on a nice summer day.  

[Stuhoo 89,410]

1. Portsmouth New Hampshire.
2. Helena, Montana.
3. New York, New York ... if you're brave enough.

All really good at what they are.

[Napleshoosier 10,870]

49 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Nips ain't kidding; if you can afford it and live close to the Gulf, Naples is really, REALLY nice (but not from June through September).

September is the worst!

[OGIUAndy 1,082]

6 hours ago, Golfman25 said:

You guys touting Chicago obviously haven't been here in a while.  Chicago and IL are hellholes.  Chicago is no longer "safe," not like it once was.  A lot of problems just go unreported because there is nothing the cops can or will do.  Real estate taxes are obscene and steal the value of your home and wealth.  Taxes and fees are going up, up, up.  The underfunded pension crisis will push Chicago and IL into "bankruptcy" eventually.  Many better places to live and raises a family.  But yeah, nice place to visit on a nice summer day.  

I live in Chicago, and it's not a "hell hole." Sure, it has its issues, like many other cities do. The taxes are high for sure, making some neighborhoods less, if not unaffordable. However, if you look at the value of a house you bought ten years ago, it's value has likely gone up considerably. 

I've lived in several major cities—Los Angeles, Seattle, New York—and when you compare them, Chicago is much cheaper relatively. As for crime, it tends to be cyclical, neighborhood based. I've been here for almost 20 years, and despite all the talk, crime isn't any worse and since the pandemic has improved, and I've lived in various neighborhoods.

Some neighborhoods that were once considered sketchy ie Uptown, West Loop, and near the United Center have or will be undergoing significant development. Grand Ave is night and day what was even 4 years ago. 

Don't get me wrong; there are issues like some you've mentioned: taxes, pension stuff, segregation, and infamous Chicago political corruption, but calling the city a "hell hole" is off base. I’m likely moving in the next few years—mostly out of a shift in priorities rather than any disdain for the city itself. Outside of the Chicagoland area, I agree there isn't any specific reason to live in IL, but Chicago is a great city, with especially great food and I travel around the country quite a bit. 

[HoosierX 1,777]

1 hour ago, Golfman25 said:

You guys touting Chicago obviously haven't been here in a while.  Chicago and IL are hellholes.  Chicago is no longer "safe," not like it once was.  A lot of problems just go unreported because there is nothing the cops can or will do.  Real estate taxes are obscene and steal the value of your home and wealth.  Taxes and fees are going up, up, up.  The underfunded pension crisis will push Chicago and IL into "bankruptcy" eventually.  Many better places to live and raises a family.  But yeah, nice place to visit on a nice summer day.  

I've lived here for 10 straight years in the actual city. The crime narrative is incredibly overblown, the South side is pretty dangerous but there is no reason to go to the South side. Of course there is crime in other neighborhoods as well, but all big cities have crime.

I recently bought a beautiful 2 bedroom / 2 bath condo in the West Loop that I absolutely love. A comparable type of condo in a decent area of NY would be 3-4x the price I paid.

[Stuhoo 89,410]

I’m from Chicago and spent a week there last summer. For me?

Chicago > Florida every day, any day, all day.

Seattle is the one big city that I’ve been to in the past five years that I thought had gone way downhill post-COVID.

The ‘Chicago & NYC have gone to crap’ narrative is BS to me. Just spent a week in Manhattan and Brooklyn in January. If you can afford it? It’s every bit as incredible as ever.

[Banksyrules 5,342]

16 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

I’m from Chicago and spent a week there last summer. For me?

Chicago > Florida every day, any day, all day.

Seattle is the one big city that I’ve been to in the past five years that I thought had gone way downhill post-COVID.

The ‘Chicago & NYC have gone to crap’ narrative is BS to me. Just spent a week in Manhattan and Brooklyn in January. If you can afford it? It’s every bit as incredible as ever.

I’m going back to NY  to watch baseball games but the food in Queens is the best because everyone around the world cooks there. 

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,694]

Outside of the Chicagoland area, I can agree there isn't much reason to live there

Wrong. Good old Teutopolis, is a great place to live. Schools are great, both academically and athletics.
I'll take a small town over Chicago any day. Chicago has ruined this State.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[HoosierHoopster 8,283]

20 hours ago, Demo said:

My wife’s sister and our brother in law lived there 2005-2010 and hated every single day of it. Wouldn’t even let us visit. Would visit us as an excuse to get out of town. Weather, traffic, pick something, never said a nice word about it other than the opera company was ok.

Yep, standard of living is good in that you can get a big house / lot, but the weather is crazy (I've watched it rain on one side of my house and not the other), I've had an alligator in my yard -- IN MY YARD! - the heat is nuts, the storms are nuts (last storm took down three very large trees in my backyard - luckily they fell away from the house, one year the entire neighborhood flooded we were under mandatory evac and were out of the house 5 days, returned by driving my lifted jeep past the barricades and then wading through the 3 foot river in my street that reached the garage, while watching for alligators, we had the ridiculous winter freeze that courtesy of the idiots who run this state who took TX of the national power grid took out all power in the Houston area for 5 days, house was 33 degrees, more than a 100 people died -- died because of the utter stupidity of taking the state off the national power grid (you know, so the power companies could make more money).... It's wack. Lots of jobs here though... lol

[BtownStrength 1,478]

3 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

1. Portsmouth New Hampshire.
2. Helena, Montana.
3. New York, New York ... if you're brave enough.

All really good at what they are.

Only place i have ever lived outside of Indiana. Loved every day. Doubt i will get the opportunity to live there again but I wouldn't trade my time in Manhattan for anything. 

[HoosierX 1,777]

22 hours ago, Demo said:

St Louis is weird as hell. I can’t imagine there’s a more insular or provincial large city anywhere. Example: When we moved here I was told that people were gonna ask me where I went to high school. That that was a St Louis question. I was 51. And yeah, many, many times. Also, everything here is named the St Louis________. Panera is called The St Louis Bread Company here and here only. And the city’s sports culture of Cards/Blues/MLS couldn’t miss me any worse. People from here can’t imagine living elsewhere. Those of us who aren’t really, really can. Because it’s an organic old River town it’s very poorly land planned and incredibly hard to get around in. Has most of the good stuff and bad stuff of large cities with 1 notable exception: Home prices are shockingly good and there are some spectacular and very affordable areas to live in. On the whole I wouldn’t recommend it, and I’ll be happy as hell if/when I can move, but if you really, really do your homework there are very good options. 

A couple of other fun facts about St Louis (where my sister lives):

1) Hoosier is a pejorative term there that means white trash. I've never heard of this outside of St. Louis

2) For all the media attention Chicago's crime rate gets, St. Louis has a higher murder rate per capita

[Demo 23,468]

11 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Yep, standard of living is good in that you can get a big house / lot, but the weather is crazy (I've watched it rain on one side of my house and not the other), I've had an alligator in my yard -- IN MY YARD! - the heat is nuts, the storms are nuts (last storm took down three very large trees in my backyard - luckily they fell away from the house, one year the entire neighborhood flooded we were under mandatory evac and were out of the house 5 days, returned by driving my lifted jeep past the barricades and then wading through the 3 foot river in my street that reached the garage, while watching for alligators, we had the ridiculous winter freeze that courtesy of the idiots who run this state who took TX of the national power grid took out all power in the Houston area for 5 days, house was 33 degrees, more than a 100 people died -- died because of the utter stupidity of taking the state off the national power grid (you know, so the power companies could make more money).... It's wack. Lots of jobs here though... lol

True story: a guy who used to work for me lives down there because his, no kidding, Vietnamese mail order bride thought St Louis was too cold. All you’d need to know is someone from Vietnam likes your climate. 

[Demo 23,468]

5 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

A couple of other fun facts about St Louis (where my sister lives):

1) Hoosier is a perjorative term there that means white trash. I've never heard of this outside of St. Louis

2) For all the media attention Chicago's crime rate gets, St. Louis has a higher murder rate per capita

I’ve lost count of the people I’ve asked about the Hoosier thing and no one can explain it. It’s just a given. 

[HoosierHoopster 8,283]

16 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

A couple of other fun facts about St Louis (where my sister lives):

1) Hoosier is a perjorative term there that means white trash. I've never heard of this outside of St. Louis

2) For all the media attention Chicago's crime rate gets, St. Louis has a higher murder rate per capita

yeah I lived in KC for a couple years and Hoosier being a pejorative cutdown was a thing

[Golfman25 6,769]

2 hours ago, OGIUAndy said:

I live in Chicago, and it's not a "hell hole." Sure, it has its issues, like many other cities do. The taxes are high for sure, making some neighborhoods less affordable. However, if you look at the value of a house you bought ten years ago, it's likely gone up considerably. 

I've lived in several major cities—Los Angeles, Seattle, New York—and when you compare them, Chicago is much cheaper relatively. As for crime, it tends to be cyclical. I've been here for almost 20 years, and despite all the talk, crime isn't any worse.

Some neighborhoods that were once considered sketchy, like Uptown and West Loop, near the United Center have or will be undergoing significant development.

Don't get me wrong; there are issues some you've mentioned: taxes, pension, segregation, and the infamous Chicago political corruption. But calling the city a "hell hole" is off base. I’m likely moving in the next few years—mostly out of a shift in priorities rather than any disdain for the city itself. Outside of the Chicagoland area, I can agree there isn't much reason to live there, but Chicago is a great city and I travel around the country quite a bit. 

 

2 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

I’m from Chicago and spent a week there last summer. For me?

Chicago > Florida every day, any day, all day.

Seattle is the one big city that I’ve been to in the past five years that I thought had gone way downhill post-COVID.

The ‘Chicago & NYC have gone to crap’ narrative is BS to me. Just spent a week in Manhattan and Brooklyn in January. If you can afford it? It’s every bit as incredible as ever.

 

2 hours ago, HoosierX said:

I've lived here for 10 straight years in the actual city. The crime narrative is incredibly overblown, the South side is pretty dangerous but there is no reason to go to the South side. Of course there is crime in other neighborhoods as well, but all big cities have crime.

I recently bought a beautiful 2 bedroom / 2 bath condo in the West Loop that I absolutely love. A comparable type of condo in a decent area of NY would be 3-4x the price I paid.

Born and bread in Chicago.  I've got more than 50 years to see the good, the bad, and the currently ugly.  That includes 20 years of running a business and owning property.  You guys may be suffering from the frog in a boiling pot of water phenomenon.    

RE appreciation while up, lags other areas of the courty.  In a lot of cases, you have barely beaten inflation.  

The crime issue is real. Up until several years ago, I knew nobody who had been a victim of a crime.  I now know two who have been carjacked at gun point and one assaulted while walking the dog in a "safe" neighborhood.   

Wrigleyville, for example, went from a basic slum in the 70s, to a great neighborhood in the 80-90s, to guys being kidnapped at gun point walking down Clark street (driven around, robbed, and thrown out of the car).  Several such incidents happend blocks from my kid's aparment a few years ago.    

The gem of the City is its lakefront.  I am in a group of Chicago boaters.  The issues they have around the marinas (especially Montrose, Diversey, 31st Street) is unreal.  

Yeah, I know, all big cites have crime and issues.  But let me tell you this -- Chicago did not back in the day.  Not like it is today.  From that perspective, I will double down and repeat Chicago is a hellhole.  Good luck.  

[Napleshoosier 10,870]

46 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

Yep, standard of living is good in that you can get a big house / lot, but the weather is crazy (I've watched it rain on one side of my house and not the other), I've had an alligator in my yard -- IN MY YARD! - the heat is nuts, the storms are nuts (last storm took down three very large trees in my backyard - luckily they fell away from the house, one year the entire neighborhood flooded we were under mandatory evac and were out of the house 5 days, returned by driving my lifted jeep past the barricades and then wading through the 3 foot river in my street that reached the garage, while watching for alligators, we had the ridiculous winter freeze that courtesy of the idiots who run this state who took TX of the national power grid took out all power in the Houston area for 5 days, house was 33 degrees, more than a 100 people died -- died because of the utter stupidity of taking the state off the national power grid (you know, so the power companies could make more money).... It's wack. Lots of jobs here though... lol

Hooper, you got jacked up cuz u had a gator in ur yard?  Come on man…… fun creatures.  Used to have one as a pet.  His name was Wally!  Cool dude.  Very affectionate used to kiss me all the time.  Unfortunately Wally caught a reptilian virus called Samazo and passed away.  I was heart broken!  Man oh man!  I had to keep him inside the house cuz the neighborhood wouldn’t have approved…..wonderful memories!

[HoosierX 1,777]

16 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

 

 

Born and bread in Chicago.  I've got more than 50 years to see the good, the bad, and the currently ugly.  That includes 20 years of running a business and owning property.  You guys may be suffering from the frog in a boiling pot of water phenomenon.    

RE appreciation while up, lags other areas of the courty.  In a lot of cases, you have barely beaten inflation.  

The crime issue is real. Up until several years ago, I knew nobody who had been a victim of a crime.  I now know two who have been carjacked at gun point and one assaulted while walking the dog in a "safe" neighborhood.   

Wrigleyville, for example, went from a basic slum in the 70s, to a great neighborhood in the 80-90s, to guys being kidnapped at gun point walking down Clark street (driven around, robbed, and thrown out of the car).  Several such incidents happend blocks from my kid's aparment a few years ago.    

The gem of the City is its lakefront.  I am in a group of Chicago boaters.  The issues they have around the marinas (especially Montrose, Diversey, 31st Street) is unreal.  

Yeah, I know, all big cites have crime and issues.  But let me tell you this -- Chicago did not back in the day.  Not like it is today.  From that perspective, I will double down and repeat Chicago is a hellhole.  Good luck.  

Chicago Voted Best Big City 8th Year in a Row | Choose Chicago

Eight years in a row, so obviously this publication disagrees with your assessment.

And I own a boat and have spent the last four years at Diversey and Du Sable harbors. I've never had an issue and don't know anyone else that has had an issue related to crime. I don't doubt they exist and that you and/or your friends have experienced them, but you are painting a pretty broad brush using your personal experiences.

Edit: Let's also add some stats to the mix. I don't have stats going back to the 80s/90s, but the rate of violent crime is down more than 25% since 2004. The Chicago crime media narrative is just not accurate.

Chicago violent crime trends up as arrests trend down

[Stuhoo 89,410]

9 minutes ago, Napleshoosier said:

Hooper, you got jacked up cuz u had a gator in ur yard?  Come on man…… fun creatures.  Used to have one as a pet.  His name was Wally!  Cool dude.  Very affectionate used to kiss me all the time.  Unfortunately Wally caught a reptilian virus called Samazo and passed away.  I was heart broken!  Man oh man!  I had to keep him inside the house cuz the neighborhood wouldn’t have approved…..wonderful memories!

You’ve been posting for a long time Nips.

But this one right here just may be your masterpiece.