My wife and I both have pretty portable careers and considering the financial condition of this state, taxes, weather, etc have talked about maybe one day gtfo of here for warmer climes. Don't have a lot of family considerations to keep us here. Doing some very preliminary scouting of out of town locations. Texas, Colorado, Arizona, California are all viable options. Would you consider moving from here if you could keep your exact job and just transfer it somewhere else? Discuss.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

texas, arizona, new mexico.. no way.

cali, maybe if i knew i could afford it with ease

otherwise maybe washington state.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Fuck and yes.

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-- source

No to California. I've heard Texas is awesome, and az has a lot of Midwesterners but is not really community oriented yet.

Yes.

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We know some people in tx and co. They loved it, probably won't move back.

We did leave, and we are happy we got to experience a new area, but we are ready to return to Illinois when the timing is right.

You'll miss a lot of things about Chicago. You are just trading the problems with Chicago for the problems with other places.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Left Chicagoland several years back. Miss a few things, but overall am glad to be gone. Lower taxes. Lower cost of living. Friendlier people. Better weather. Distance from family.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Texas and Colorado are much, much better than Illinois. Do it brogue, you wont regret it.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

you need a 1200 mile buffer zone

Step 1. Win tonight's mega millions
Step 2. GTFO of Illinois
I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh yes. Love the buffer zone

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Leaving Illinois was one of the best decisions we made - not because Illinois is bad but because it was liberating to start somewhere brand new and knowing no one. I would love to move somewhere new again, actually. There are, of course, things about Illinois we miss too.

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family? i just ignore them

texas is too republican for me. those guys down there are really stupid when it comes to politics

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

agree but i think it was a good move for me to move because illinois is bad

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Thats kinda what Id be afraid of. Get down to a new place where you don't know anyone, new start and it still sucks. I don't think the problems I listed are just minor issues though Rick. . A state nearing bankruptcy , ( especially as we're both union) and the constant take , take , take, from local government , being taxed to death, raising a child here are real issues .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Illinois is the dumbest state in the union, politically. Maybe 2nd to New York.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Those 2 are the early favorites right out of the gate. Hell we'd get about an 8k raise just by virtue of no state income tax in Texas.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

California is in the photo. Not sure why anyone would move to California.

Weather is great, but everything else blows. You can get nice weather other places.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Either you have Chicago in your blood or you don't. I've left a couple of times but the city keeps calling me back.....beef sandwiches, pizza (thin crust, sausage), DAMANEEEL....... 'course I wouldn't actually live within the city limits....

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

If you're looking at the DFW area, avoid Haltom City/North Richland Hills. Lotta methheads. Unless that's you're thing.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The lack of quality pizza outside this area is easily the thing I miss the most when I leave.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

In a New York minute.

The wife and I are already pre-plotting our getaway for about 4-5 years from now. Colorado is the early favorite, but Utah, NM or Texas could be in the picture as well (as there are some pockets that are not too Republicany ). Wife needs a drier (and possibly cooler, but that's what AC is for) climate due to health issues.

If I had my way, I'd pack the vehicles up this very second and head for the Pacific NW.

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Not a mult.

Check out Austin....Texas I mean.

Imagine if all of Chicagoland was Schaumburg. No downtown. No lake. No bungalows. that's what DFW is like. miles and miles of Schaumburg. only hotter. and no Italian beef. Crappy pizza. BARF.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Chicago and the surrounding suburbs have a lot going for it though. Economically stable, stable housing, lots of things to do, lots of job opportunities. It's expensive but there are cheaper areas even in the suburbs. You kind of get what you pay for.

This is about the weather, but one of the things I liked about New York is how the weather in general is less extreme. It doesn't get as cold in the winter and as warm in the summer. We get the same snowstorms but even many of those aren't as strong as what the flyover states get. Tornadoes are almost non-existent in the area. We were thinking how great it is.

Then we got hit by hurricanes in two straight years, and we spent 4-5 days in the dark, with travel nearly impossible, and people at my wife's work literally had houses that did not exist. All of a sudden a hotter day in Chicago didn't sound so bad.

If you are young and mobile you should seriously consider trying a new place but I would guess most people feel the draw to return like me and FavreFan did.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If you are catholic, it is weird living somewhere where you are in the minority.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Not quite accurate. Downtown Ft Worth is about a million times better than any spot in Schaumburg. Schaumburg is quite simply the dullest place on the planet.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I've had the fortune of experiencing a lot of other cities through work related travel. I love the energy of NYC. I have a great appreciation for why people used to flock to California as San Diego has perfect weather and awesome beach, San Fran is a very unique place including the wine country nearby. I've been to Denver and Dallas/Houston quite a bit. Texas is too hot for me. Denver is nice if you like outdoors stuff, but the lack of water is kind of strange (most cities are built on a lake, ocean or river..). Of all the places I would move, the Twin Cities would be my favorite as I love snow and hockey. No thanks to Atlanta, Florida or Arizona as they are too transient.

But in all my travels, what I have found is that I love Chicagoans more than anything else. I would miss the people from Illinois, who I find to be honest and down to earth. Folks tend to be nice to one another but not in a fake California sense. For all the problems and costs involved in living here, I know I would miss it the second I left.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I concur.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

That's the thing. I could run my business from anywhere, but I'm a Chicagoan. I spent a few winters down in Florida and it was nice to escape the weather, but I was glad to head back in April. And there's no place like New York, but I'm not a New Yorker. I will eventually get out of this weather though. I'm thinking Carbondale or Lexington, KY or Pinehurst, NC. I'm just going to train a couple trotters all by myself. Maybe have a cute college girl who likes horses helping me out. Get up at 5 in the morning, hang around the track until noon, meet my wife for lunch, then go home and call RPB to find out how much we made moving bellies and beans around that day.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don