I am a recent graduate with my masters degree. I was recently offered a job working for the City of Chicago as a Testing Specialist. The pay is in the high 60's. I am 32. Not married no kids. Im very humbled to have received this kind of offer right out of graduate school. Unfortunately, I haven't received similar offers here in Houston. Ideally, I would want to stay home but at the same time I think it's a great opportunity to venture out explore a different city. However, I am concerned about cost-of-living and safety since Chicago is known for high crimes I currently have about 100k in debt. This includes student loans, credit cards, and car payments. I do have other interviews lined up but the pay for those jobs are anywhere from 35 to 45k. These job that I'm interviewing for are not related to my field of study. The Testing Specialist job is. My question is is it worth the hassle of moving to a different city for a 20 K difference in pay or do you think it's best to stay home and save some money since I live at home with parents.
A few things: It mainly boils down to the living expenses. What rent do you think you'll be paying in Chicago? Conservatively say $1250 per month including utilities. That is 15K a year. Maybe you could get something at $1k per month. Keep in mind no state taxes in Houston. All in all, I think you're overstating the savings you would get by staying in Houston. I think it'll be close to a wash.
Take the job in Chicago, find a reasonable apartment in a nice area. Grind it out and live with the bare necessities to pay off your credit card debt and auto loan. Gain the experience in your desired field. Cash in later with a higher paying job in the city of your choosing.
Yes, make the move to Chicago. Gain the valuable experience. Grind hard during the week, enjoy the new scenery on the weekends. After three years, become a mercenary and only go to the highest bidder. Good luck!
I'll echo what's already been stated and just mention that while Chicago is known for its crime, it's mostly concentrated in a few areas. The rest of the city is very nice and definitely worth leaving Houston for.
What are the roles of a testing specialist? In my mind, working for the government offers long term stability, sometimes excellent work experience if the role is right. If it's in IT or medicine, you're in a proverbial catch 22 with experience, which means the right experience could save you at least six months in career growth. Aside from that, if you choose Chicago, the long term money advice would be to commit for at least two years. Chicago can be a beautiful world class city if it fits your style. Stories of violent crime is real, but mostly segregated to the east side. Bars, nightlife, rail, sports, culture are top notch in your age range. You get four real seasons with the good and the bad (airports in winter). It's an entirely different city from Houston which can be good or bad depending on how adventurous you are. In the short term, because of cost of living, you'll pretty much break even with either option. You'll need to find a roommate in Chicago, but definitely makes it less lonely if you're new to the city.
Don't give yourself a reason for regret. Take the job, move to Chicago, if it was meant to be for you to come back to Houston, then it'll happen. Like others have said, budget, find a good area, blah blah blah. Follow your dreams!
You'll enjoy Chicago. It's a great place to live, especially if you're young. Prepare for the winters because some of them are really cold. I would take the job for now. If you end up not liking Chicago or get home sick, you will have a much better chance of moving back home or somewhere else once you've put in some time and gained some experience with this job. Enjoy the summers there, it's one of the best summer cities in the entire country. Crime is pretty concentrated to the southern neighborhoods and western neighborhoods. I never had an issue with any of it when I lived there, so I'm sure you won't either if you use common sense. Definitely take advantage of the public transportation because it'll save you a lot of time and money over owning a car. Enjoy!
Home sickness is real. I'd probably budget a ticket home from time to time. Check out Google flights and skylscanner for below 200 ish rt deals astound your date range
There is no eastside of Chicago, that would be the lake. The crime is concentrated around pockets of the south and west sides. I moved from Houston to Chicago back in 2007 and the city really isn't very expensive. It's nowhere near as pricey as the east or west coasts, and while it is more costly than Houston, it's pretty much a wash when you consider the slightly higher pay in Chicago plus not having to have a car (and all the expenses that come with that). I say go for it.
There's a big difference in that 20k. At 42k I was making just enough to live on my own (with a roommate) but I had to be extremely frugal. But then Everything after that became money I could save or spend on fun stuff. Now I don't know what the difference in the cost of living is in chi-town. But I imagine you will be fine. And I hear the city is amazing outside of the bad parts of town.
I think it depends on what you want to do and who you are. Are you an adventurous person? Do you make new friends easily? Are you comfortable being on your own? Do you prefer familiarity? Would you be able to let go of the relationships you have in Houston? That's a big difference in income if it's high 60s in Chicago vs. 40s in Houston. Even adjusted for cost of living, you'll come out ahead income wise by taking the Chicago job. But if you're gonna live at home in Houston, that's a bunch of money saved in rent and utilities. If you're willing to live with your parents for a long time, I think you'd pay back your loans quicker than taking that Chicago job. But again, it's not in the field related to what you mastered in. You're gonna have to decide what you want, OP. Both have pros and cons and it's up to your personality.
@LCAhmed you know that was my avatar when Clutch was testing the forums. Go to Chicago. Living your own life is priceless.
Not married, no kids? Go for it. In fact, if you market yourself as someone willing to travel and relo, you can often find great positions. You have an advantage that a lot of folks don't have. Chicago is great if you stay out of the bad parts of town. Downtown is a lot of fun, and some of the suburbs are really nice...small town feel with a train right into town for work. When you say testing specialist, do you mean IT testing? What kind of testing. That is quite a niche if that is what you are talking about. What is your degree in?
I like Chicago. There's a ton to do. Crime is easy to stay away from. I also like Houston, though. To me, it just depends on where you truly want to be. The money will work itself out. 40k should be enough for you to live comfortably on your own. 60k is a plus, but some of it you'll spend in cost differences, so it's not am equal 20k. That said, go where your happy. Your happiness is not to be overrated. Chasing that dime sounds fun and all, but go where you want to be and live your life happily.
FYI ... do a cost of living comparison before making the jump. Most salary calculators, while not always exactly correct, show that $60k in Chicago is equivalent to about $50k in Houston. Then weigh your likes and dislikes. I know people that experienced one winter up there and basically said "hell no" and came back to Texas. lol. Good luck!
Sounds like most of the board is enamoured with Chicago, nothing wrong with that I guess. Following your dreams and working in the field that you studied are important, but not as important as being debt free with less stress! IF, that's a big IF.....if your parents are willing to help you with giving you a place to stay and food to eat (You need to help with expenses!!!) then IMHO should take advantage of that! 100k in debt is no laughing matter especially since you have no realty debt! My focus would be to eliminate the debt as soon as possible, THEN go and live wherever your heart desires. Whatever you decide....GOOD LUCK!!! ....... ....... .......
