Atlanta vs Chicago. Better city to settle down? Weather/school/safety/social life/COL, other factors? 32 yrs of age. We will rent out an apartment for first year but after that would love to buy our own house. Combined earning ~ 270k total per year. Also I am not a US citizen if that changes anything in the mix.

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Chicago is legitimately depressing half the year. Atlanta is nice, good suburbs like Decatur or further out like Alpharetta

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M1 there are people who like warm weather and then there are sociopaths

Chicago

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PS we have friends in both who love where they live.

Chicago

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Just moved from Chicago to ATL a week ago. It is definitely a world of a difference. But we like it so far. Lots of outdoors activities to do with the kids. We found that our neighborhood has tons of kids, which will be great.
Culturally it is different, but people seem very nice.
Very spread out and congested everywhere, so a 10 minute errand in Chicago would be 30 mins here.
One huge con, if you care…cannabis is not legal in GA
If you decide to move, just find a great community/neighborhood that you all will like

likeuplifting

Thanks EY2? Do you mind sharing the cultural difference. Also if given a chance, would you consider moving back to Chicago?

Weather was #1 and you’re torn between a Chicago and ATL? Do you like shitty winters or not?

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Chicago at first, and once you have your first kid, Atlanta is a better slower placed environment esp in the suburbs.

You won’t get anything like a real big walkable city in ATL, everything’s spread out, you’ll definitely need a car. It’s harder to meet people in ATL bc everything’s spread out and you have to make a lot of effort to see friends.

Atlanta has the better weather though.. I think the Midwest has the worst weather. Hot/humid summers and freezing winters. The summers in ATL suck but fall, winter, and spring are relatively mild.

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I lived in atlanta for five years and Chicago for four years as a non-US citizen. My thoughts:

Weather: atlanta. Quite simply there are more warmer months in the year to enjoy outdoor activities

School: No idea, assume comparable, I know smart people in both places but I don’t have kids.

Safety: seems comparable: both have problematic areas that people typically avoid and both have seen surges in crime spilling into traditionally ‘safer’ areas during the pandemic

Social life: Chicago without a doubt. Lot more to do, world class restaurants, museums, institutions. That said, Atlanta has more outdoor options (hiking, camping, water activities)

Cost of living: chicago will be higher. Not bad if you enjoy urban living and willing to pay a premium for access to more restaurants/amenities. If you’re down for a suburban life, may as well go for Atlanta.

Traffic: honestly its bad in both places. Its up to you to minimize or be smart about your commute. It’s 25 minutes from downtown ATL to the airport outside of rush hour but 1 hour in Chicago at almost all times of the day for an inexplicable reason.

Transit: Chicago has better transit options and its feasible to live without a car in the city. My monthly auto expense (uber + transit) must be $250.

the Atlanta housing market has seen a lot more growth than Chicago’s (will be neighborhood specific)

I enjoy Chicago as a thirty-something child-free person and continue to be able to save. I’ve met people of diverse origins in both cities.

helpful

Neither

Well, I have lived in San Diego and now live in Minneapolis so…. Loved living in both of them for very different reasons.

Chicago is too crowded. Well, it's a big city. Atlanta is pretty far different form Chicago especially when it comes to weather and the crowd.

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