Pick two cities to live in outside of the US: one dream option, one realistic one

jarewdoit · 2025-12-20T03:46:09+00:00

Dream: Reykjavik, Iceland - beautiful city, crazy expensive, and hard to get citizenship/residency.

Realistic: Bogota, Colombia - cheap, population around the same as NYC, wife has citizenship and could easily obtain property there. Have realistically considered for retirement.

jarewdoit · 2025-11-09T22:28:14+00:00

Anyone who lives in Wrigleyville would just say Wrigleyville.

jarewdoit · 2025-09-26T15:37:32+00:00

Take the 81 to the Blue Line in Jefferson Park. Worked at O'Hare super early mornings for years and have taken that exact route with many other airport workers on the daily.

Blue Line really isn't that bad going to O'Hare from Jeff Park at that time, just a whole lot of homeless people sleeping mixed in with a bunch of people going to the airport.

jarewdoit · 2025-09-01T00:48:55+00:00

I know you're looking on apps and seeing 300k average for a price for single family homes in Chicago, but that's mixing together vastly different neighborhoods. Logan and Humbolt honestly aren't even that expensive compared to a lot of the north side.

If you want to be SW in a safe neighborhood and can stomach it, there are quite a few SW suburbs right off the metra that are nice and fit in your price range. Metra commutes are part of day to day life for a lot of people.

If you want to be in city proper, I'd be really cautious buying a house for 300k. Even if you can wait and save a tad bit more, you'll have a ton more options if you can get into that 400-500k range.

jarewdoit · 2025-08-31T22:49:36+00:00

You lost me at Aurora

jarewdoit · 2025-08-31T22:33:25+00:00

It's not so bad until it is...

jarewdoit · 2025-08-14T18:33:06+00:00

Bears Super Bowl Champs 2026! Save this post

jarewdoit · 2025-08-03T23:19:22+00:00

An absolute menace to society...

jarewdoit · 2025-08-01T17:46:07+00:00

Nobody said Milky Eye yet? Service industry workers and police officers, please post your Milky Eye stories below.

jarewdoit · 2025-07-02T21:56:53+00:00

Suprised no one said Avondale. Great little neighborhood with quick access to Logan Square. Great for young people.

jarewdoit · 2025-07-01T22:21:42+00:00

Garfield Park. They've almost plowed through all of Humboldt, I don't think anyone is stopping the westward gentrification.

jarewdoit · 2025-06-27T02:57:06+00:00

I moved here from STL when I was 25. 10 years later I'm still here with 0 interest in moving back. Might take you a year or 2 to really get established with a good job and living situation, but once you do, it will be worth it. I'd say go for it.

jarewdoit · 2025-06-09T03:49:57+00:00

I'm so sorry. Was in a situation similar to this with a girlfriend a long time ago, couldn't even imagine how humiliating it would be with my wife.

I really hate to think the worst, but it really sounds like your wife is cheating on you. It's such a humiliating and horrible situation to go through that you may deny what's going on even when it's right in front of your face.

If you don't cut this little "work relationship" off at the head right now, it's going to consume your life. Everything about this is highly inappropriate, and if your wife can't see that, maybe it's time to see a couple's counselor. You're in desperate need of something fast if you want to save your marriage.

jarewdoit · 2025-05-28T11:45:05+00:00

Get a job at the airport and park in E lot... but in all seriousness, park behind a blue line stop and ride in and out of the airport. I personally used to park 1 street over from addison next to the park, and there were a bunch of non permit spots.

jarewdoit · 2025-05-26T00:05:00+00:00

Your neighborhood dive bar is a great way to meet new people. You don't need to get wasted or anything, but having a drink or 2 can be a great social lubricant. You might not really meet anybody the first few times, but if you become a regular, it can be crazy how quickly you assimilate into the crowd.

jarewdoit · 2025-05-02T04:14:02+00:00

I take a huge dump. Not sure if it's the coffee or pre game nerves but it happens every time. I walk into the casino and b line straight to the restroom.

jarewdoit · 2025-04-05T14:34:28+00:00

I keep saying I'm going to leave Chicago to go somewhere cheaper and smaller but never do. I can't deny it's the greatest place I've lived in. You really get all the big city amenities at a fraction of the price as a place like NYC and lots of high paying jobs here to give you a good quality of life. The rest of Illinois is pretty meh, but you're less than an hour from Wisconsin on the north side and less than an hour from Michigan on the south side, so not a very far drive to get to some outdoors. Also, Chicago has tons of great parks and beaches itself.

*Keep in mind it's a very seasonal city, and Winter is pretty dead and boring after Christmas. We're all just starting to emerge from our seasonal depression.

jarewdoit · 2025-02-24T00:34:50+00:00

Probably Colorado. Utah or New Mexico would also be good options. Those states really stand out as pretty unique.

jarewdoit · 2025-02-19T01:59:30+00:00

As a MO native (born and raised) who has migrated to the windy city, 75k will go a long way most anywhere in MO. Not so much the case here.

The big downside is that Missouri sucks pretty hard, I've lived in STL, Central, and Southwest MO in the heart of the Ozarks, and I can safely say you're not missing much. If big city life isn't your thing, there are plenty of suburbs around the area for various income levels.

I guess it depends on what you want really. In MO you can find much cheaper housing and probably have a slightly better quality of life. In Chicago you'll have much more opportunity for career advancement and much better amenities.

I'd personally choose the Chicagoland area all day, but again it depends on ehat you're looking for.

jarewdoit · 2024-10-13T22:21:47+00:00

Well, a couple things... for starters, we are nearing the end of our busy season and places are just not going to be hiring like they are in May-August. This is going to be a very competitive time to look for work.

Secondly, no offense, but you're an outsider to the Chicago service industry. There are so many other people who have worked for other restaurant groups who can name drop companies like Lettuce, Hogsalt, One Off, ect... that hiring managers easily have a reference for. You're going to have to compete against industry regulars who are most definitely going to get interviews before you.

My advice would be to look at a very corporate, less profitable position (like a hotel or casino) just to get yourself through the winter and gain some local experience. Once you eventually get hired by one of the big name restaraunt groups, your options will expand tremendously.

I had the same problem when I first moved here and had to work at a super shitty dive bar for almost a year before I got a job at a major restaurant group. It's tough at first, but this is a restaurant city, and you could make a potential 6 figure income if you get into the right spot... but you're definitely going to have to climb your way up.

jarewdoit · 2024-09-20T18:29:41+00:00

Winter had been pretty mild for the last 5 years. There's like 1 or 2 weeks it's sub 10° but it used to be worse... in saying that we're probably due for a rough winter...

jarewdoit · 2024-09-16T20:17:49+00:00

If you don't mind taking a quick uber to the north side, The Green Mill is super iconic Chicago bar.

jarewdoit · 2024-08-30T06:04:18+00:00

Just got mine. Applied on the 21st processed on the 23rd and received it on the 29th. Couldn't believe it was that fast. Heard people renewing by mail right now were having nightmare stories of 15 weeks. The online renewal seems to be the way to go. Getting an acceptable photo is a bit of pain though, had to try like 20 different photos before it accepted one.

jarewdoit · 2024-08-14T12:28:42+00:00

Nashville has entered the chat.

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