I love love love living in Chicago. Barrington is a nice suburb as well. The cost of living is more than NC but so is the pay so hopefully that will cancel each other out.
Are you single or married? Odd question I know but there are great neighborhoods to be in if you are single and good neighborhoods to raise kids in. Alot of cross over but I want to make sure I give you what you are looking for.
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I just moved here and I really like it! There is a lot to do and you don't really have to travel out of your neighborhood if you don't want to. The cost of living is high. I don't think most jobs are like mine, but I know I could make the same amount of money in an area with a much lower cost of living. I think most of the other jobs compensate for this.
OMG girl - you have to move here!! Chicago (in my humble opinion) is the best city in the world! I moved here from a town in Michigan where you can buy a nice 4 bedroom home for under $100K so I know about cost of living adjustments, but you will definitely by compensated accordingly.
As far as the city goes, you get the best of everything: big city life, wonderful places to eat, shop, great cultural centers, pro sporting events, but you also get great neighborhoods that can make you feel very welcome and you also get that midwestern friendliness. I have to admit that after 5 years this city really doesn't seem as big anymore. If you are looking to move to the burbs there are a lot of beautiful ones. Palatine is right next to Barrington and it is a little less pricey, but just as beautiful. I will be honest though, Barrington is kind of far from the city. It is about an hour drive with no traffic. If you were thinking about living in the city and commuting to the burbs there are great train systems that go out to the burbs that will get you there in much less time. Oh, and if you want any info about neighborhood that would be good for you, your hubby and the new baby feel free to PM. I can give you a lot more details. HTH!
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That's great! I actually live in Crylstal Lake which is about 15 minutes away from Barrington. Are you going to live in the city and commute to Barrington? Barrington is in the Suburbs about an hour and a half from the city. Just some info, Barrington is a very high end suburb and has VERY expensive living prices. But there are tons of surrounding suburbs within minutes away that have much lower expenses. Crystal Lake, Cary, Algonquin. I have lived in Cary since I was 6 and I love it here. (again about 10 minutes away from Barrington.) Let me know if you have any other questions or PM me if you want apartment reccomendations or a tour or anything!! Maybe we can get together for coffee sometime! It will be fun to have a fellow ST'er living in the suburbs!
Thanks for all the hints. I hope it works out for us. How about those winters? It would be wonderful to meet you all.
I am sure we couldn’t afford Barrington. We would probably have to live in one of the other suburbs. My husband is looking at transferring with his company, Wachovia.
Can you take the train into the city too? How long does it take from place like Crystal Lake, Cary, Algonquin.
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There is a train stop in EVERY one of those towns whish is the really nice thing. From Crystal it is an hour and 20 minutes, and every other town you mentioned is about 10 minutes closer each stop. It goes Crystal Lake, Cary, Fox River Grove, Barrington, Palatine, etc. all getting closer to the city.