re: Was in Chicago for 2 days. It was 34 and people were talking about it being warm.

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Place is incredible from May-Sept if you have money.

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you dont really need that much

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you dont really need that much

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It hurts my feelings how much I spend when I go to Chicago. Always great stuff to do and great restaurants to try though.

The only things I miss about the cold are being able to play hockey outdoors (freaking awesome, especially with a light snow), snowboarding and snowmobiling. Freaking sucks when you get up early in the morning for work/school/whatever and your car door is frozen.

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AbitaFan08

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HEY YOU!!!

That is a heat wave in January/February. As I always tell people I'll take the cold before the heat. At least you can just put more clothes on... kind of limited on how much you can take off. I will admit though the two worst days were the first day it hit a below 0°C wind chill after moving to Indiana from State and the first day below 0°C temperature after having lived just outside of Orlando.

Now...I had somewhere I had to go quickly so just slipped on a pullover & flip flops and ended up standing outside for 20 minutes in 14° weather. Didn't even phase me.

ETA: The only thing worse than high heat inside is when they put those heaters in between doors at clinics. Small area, everyone having to breathe in there, place where sick people are abundant, and they're promoting f'ing viruses by keeping it at the perfect temp.

New Chicago and NOLA expat resident here. Been here a little over two months and yes, according to most, this has been a mild winter. We did get a few days where it was close to zero, including last Sunday.

Honestly, I love it. Friends back in NOLA think my wife and I are nuts, but after being in South LA my entire life up to this point, I was beyond tired of the oppressive heat. As long as you have the proper attire for the winter weather, thus far, I'd take it any day of the week over LA summers that never seem to end.

Regarding cost of living, it's obviously higher than NOLA, but nowhere near as much as one may think. Restaurant and bar costs are similar. Groceries are a little bit higher. Utilities cost LESS (thanks Entergy and SWB). And my car insurance went down over $120 per month when I changed our address.

There's also two LSU bars and a Saints restaurant/bar, so that's been awesome.

Been in Chicagoland for 16 years now. This has been one of the more mild winters since I've been here it's been great

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moved to Chicago in January 2014. The week I arrived the windchill was -49. NEGATIVE. FORTY. NINE. So yeah if you know anything about Midwest winters, 34 in January is pretty ideal.

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i would take my shirt off and sunbathe up against my house when it hit 40.

Single digits the snow crunches.

Im good to about 15 below.

49 below requires face ski mask, long underwear.
Mittens. Real deal parka down to your balls.

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I might make the NOLA to Chicago move as well. May I ask what you do for a living? How do salaries in Chicago compare? How is housing cost?

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I work in marketing/advertising. Admittedly, my situation is a bit odd. I still work for a NOLA based company and telecommute. We chose to move as we needed a change and felt like it was now or never. Told my company in August (I've been with them for 15+ years) and assumed that would be the end, but they were fine with me staying on remote. If I were to pull the plug and get a job here, I'd likely be looking at a $15K or so raise. But I honestly enjoy working from home and I like that I still get to go back to NOLA every so often.

Not knowing your situation and industry it's hard to compare salaries, but I would imagine just based on the cost of living increase, it would go up at least 10-15%.

Housing (we rent) I don't find to be that much more expensive. But it depends on what you're looking for. If you haven't already, you should play around on Zillow or Domu.com and you'll get a sense of what your budget will get you here. The areas vary. If you wanted to live, say, in a neighborhood like Pilsen or Humboldt Park/West Town, you'll get a lot more square feet than you would for the same price in Bucktown/Wicker Park, Logan Square or Lakeview. Then amenities come into play - do you need a parking spot, need to be close to the L....

We did a lot of research and also spent a lot of time here before we pulled the trigger, so happy to help and share any info with you.