How do people afford to live in places like Chicago and Atlanta? I know it's expensive but it seems like tons of people do it. I live in a small as fuck town in some rural area far as fuck from everything and would rather live paycheck to paycheck poor as fuck in some bad part of the city. I have literally nothing here and I'm just so sick of seeing all the rednecks, knocked up trashy teenagers, and broken down houses in the middle of grassy fields. I don't think I would be any worse off than I am now I live in a 300 year old house that no one takes care of and everything in it is total shit.
I don't even really want to attend the colleges out here as they're all jokes when compared to colleges around the cities and I don't want to waste my time living here. I'm in a non stop cycle of depression living here and really don't think I'll ever figure out what I want to do or try anything new unless I get out and actually see the world or something.
My town basically has like 3 buildings, it's just old people who are afraid of the world walking around grassy fields while doing the same exact pattern of nothingness all day. My entire family is abusive and poor as fuck. I barely have a way to get to a job now I share a car with my parents and I have been unemployed for awhile so it's going to be really fucking hard to find a job. I checked the classifieds for jobs in the paper and it literally goes 2 weeks without a new job being there.
Update I found an sro in south side Chicago for 145/week can anyone verify if shit like this exists?
>>17340065
I live in Chicago. It probably exists but trust me you do not want to live in the south side.
>>17340087
Actually it depends where in the south side. Tell me the nearest interestion
>>17340097
South Michigan avenue and east 49 street
How the fuck do people going to college and working afford this shit? Or people with shitty jobs as waiters?
>>17340104
That walking distance from the united of Chicago. Which means the place will be shitty but you'll have less crime than the the rest of the south side.
Yeah, people don't. Parents pay for for them. Have you applied for a pel grant? If not, do that right fucking now
>>17340046
>this thread again
brandon pls go and stay go
>>17340129
*university of Chicago
>>17340129
I'm looking more to get on my feet right now then to start college
>>17340137
You're not going to get a job in Chicago without experience of at least a certification. Get at least some type of certification
>>17340142
I don't think you understand how rural and poor this place is
>>17340154
I'm trying to be real with you here. If you come to the city without experience you'll end up working at mcds till you die.
>>17340197
I wanted to be a waiter/bartender till I die though
I know you can't get a good job without tons of college and experience shit isn't any different here. Actually here the decent jobs that require college don't even exist besides nursing
I live in Chicago, have my whole life. When I was younger I worked a lot and lived in a shitty place in a shitty neighborhood without much in the way of disposable income. I bought most of what I needed from the kinds of shops that cater to recent immigrants or the black community, places where prices are low because nothing is on the books.
Today I live in a neighborhood a lot of people think is sketchy but that I love. That perception of sketchiness keeps the yuppies from moving in and driving up the prices, but eventually the poor white hipsters will roll in and I'll make a little money on my condo.
When I get back from vacation I'm going to start actively house hunting in my neighborhood. My wife and I have been frugal, we've got a down payment saved, but we're also pretty well off. To seriously live a middle-class quality of life, have a car, own a house, go out with friends, and not be in debt in Chicago you're going to need low six figures.
>>17340046
How do others do it? Two executive-tier incomes, with at least half the combined incomes going to rent.
>>17340065
You do not want to live in an SRO. Thats literally one step up from a homeless shelter. It will be infested with bed bugs, roaches, and rats. Your neighbors will be felons, hardcore alcoholics/addicts, and the severely mentally ill on SSI. Expect your things to be stolen. If you're white and not adept at how to act on the South side, expect to be robbed regularly.
It doesn't matter that you're close to UofC, an SRO is an SRO.
>>17340225
Thats a bit of an overstatement, but not much. My wife and I cleared around 150k on the books last year and our budget for mortgage is going to be around 30% of our net.
>>17340232
The only part of that I don't like is the bed bugs so I'll be fine my neighbors and friends now are all drug addicted felons just they don't shoot and kill
>>17340220
That life is all I want. I'm not worried about a car and a house and shit like that yet I just want a shitty apartment and a job. If I don't find anything I'm good at and I've already thoroughly enjoyed city life I'll just pack it up and go to some shitty cheap small town along the coast
>>17340065
I've lived in Chicago for 8 years since I was 18. Never got any help from my parents and I'm doing okay. Just work shitty jobs, two if you need to. It's really not that hard and Chicago is super cheap compared to NYC or San Francisco. I pay $500/month to live in a nice, new apartment with two other people that's a block away from the blue line
You can find a room to rent in an apartment with roommates for a lot less than that, i've found places for $250 a month before in Chicago.
>>17340129
>>17340132
That's a far, far walk
>>17340220
What neighborhood?
>>17340242
You won't be fine. You think you will, but you're wrong. You're a country boy and you're talking about moving into an SRO in Fuller Park. That is literally, statistically, the most violent neighborhood in the city. Allow me to link you to wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuller_Park,_Chicago
I live near Atlanta, about 20 minutes away so it's not too far but I can tell you it's pretty hard to actually live in the heart of it. You have the big buildings, but those are mainly large hotels, offices, or condos. They're expensive. The outskirts of Atlanta are the worst part, you have the ghetto pretty much but, if you decide to live 20-30 minutes away in an apt complex it's perfect for your situation. You can find a roommate on Craigslist and get a job around the area. There are plenty of places hiring down here so that really shouldn't be an issue. Georgia is fucking great.
>>17340258
East Rogers Park, not east enough to be on the lake and not south enough to be where the college kids are.
>>17340242
Anon, we all know you won't do it anyway, you will never leave your rural shithole and you'll keep dreaming about Chicago till the day you die. I've been around on /adv/ for three or four years, you've been posting for two, maybe one and a half... I remember these posts, you were discussing the same stuff, people have given you the same advice over and over again, and you are still here, making the same thread every two days. It will never change, because you have a mentality of a cowardly dreamer, never actually doing anything, just sitting and dreaming the days away. I just feel sorry for you
>>17340046
Chicago is not bad actually but don't expect to get a girlfriend there either most of them are attractive gold diggers who move there to find guys who make more money. also you can save money if you buy a bike and do most of your traveling on bike. The city has separate roads just for bikes and you never have to worry about the shitty parking space there if you get a bike. also I don't think you will ever get bored there because the city has many parks,museums and activities since they want to attract tourism.
>>17340262
I don't need to be midtown or anything
OP, same person from Atlanta, moving here wouldn't be a bad idea! Like I said, lots of job opportunities, great colleges, good people(I've lived in Florida before and I definitely favor the people in Georgia more), and there's lots of things to do/see here. Just come down here for a visit, check it out, if you like it then become a roommate for someone on Craigslist and get a job.
>>17340420
>visit
Check your privilege I've never been on a family vacation before or able to afford anything like that in my life nor will I ever
http://www.movoto.com/guide/atlanta-ga/best-atlanta-suburbs/
They're not lying about these places
Alright well then fuck the visiting part, if you can't afford it then skip it. Go on with the following steps Craigslist, job, etc.
Your either going to change your life or keep making excuses for not being able to change it.
>>17340268
This.
Sell what you can, get a greyhound bus ticket, go to a major city, find roommates and work whatever shitty job you can get. It is not hard. Millions of people in the city do it all the time.
>>17340129
>Their parents pay for them
Lol. I wish. I work part-time for $9.20/hr (maybe 15hrs a week, if that) have a $950/mo condo, and attend college full-time. I pay for all of my shit with merit scholarships. My job only affords me small bumps of cocaine with $2 hookers.
>>17340046
Wow Op, are you literally me? I'm a few miles from Atlanta in an extremely rural town. Rednecks, wannabe gangsters, and knocked up teens, just as you described. What makes it so intolerable is the absence of venues for younger people to hang out and socialize. Everyone here is so damned insular too because of it. I would love to move to a bigger city but my family is here and I'd rather not leave them behind.
>>17340510
I'm hours from any sort of major city and its the most expensive in the country if I had your opportunity I'd be on the bus
I live downtown in a major city. Rent is $2k/month, split with one roommate. We don't make a lot of money but it's worth it to us to be able to walk to and from downtown or take a cheap-ass uber ride. Our place is awesome, high ceilings, wood floors, granite countertops, and an insane view. If there's a will there's a way.
>>17340046
I lived in Los Angeles during my time in college and while it was tough I found a way to make it work without living in shit areas like Compton or Watts. Basically I worked, got roommates, had student loans that helped and I was able to live in relative comfort. If you really want to do it, then just do it.
>>17340810
>paying 1k a month
>don't make a lot of money
Lol
>>17340823
I'm sure it's a lot to most autists but not in the grand scheme. I get to wake up and go on my balcony and look at the skyline and mountains. The way people afford to live in big cities is by accepting that it will be expensive but worth it.
>>17340329
>the city has separate roads just for bikes
There's the path along the lake, a few segregated lanes downtown, and the treacherous painted lanes elsewhere. We really don't have meaningful special bike access, though.
Also, the cops are not going to prosecute a driver who beats the shit out of a cyclist and that happens more often than you'd think in Chicago.
Then theres winter...
>>17340823
A grand a month is a little steep for having a roommate, but when I buy my house I'll be renting out my 2 bed, 1 bath condo in a questionable neighborhood for $1500/month. It took me six days to find a renter willing to sign a conditional lease for fucking November.
>>17340826
I don't think I'd ever be able to afford 1k a month unless they let me pay 80 percent of my pay checks towards rent while I starve
>>17340046
I have a housing subsidy and typically live in disgusting neighborhoods where I'm the only white boy.
>>17340264
Hey I'm your neighbor, I live on Marshfield. They haven't run out of m-80s yet goddamit.
>>17340264
Hey I'm your neighbor, I live on Marshfield. They haven't run out of m-80s yet goddamit.
>>17340220
Dude fuck gentrification lol, I grew up in Armour Square, and moved towards Lawrence. I'm attending UIUC and you would not believe the amount of people who grew up in the suburbs and blow so much money living in the Loop because any neighborhood with an ethnic store is "ghetto."
Chicago isn't that bad, if you live towards the fringes of the city limits, and commute via Metra/CTA (public transits). I also bike all-season, and generally as long as you follow the same rules of the road as a car, signal, and all that, you don't have issues. The winters are shit to most outsiders, but the "culture" of the place is fantastic. It's not as densely crowded as NYC, but isn't sprawling as Atlanta or LA: there's still a pretty definable skyline, and everything is walkable given the time. There's plenty to do, lots of fests and bars, and people aren't as rude. The diversity is also pretty great in regards to food.
You probably will want to have a pretty good skill though, if you don't have some degree. Cooks and bartending come to mind as common jobs. Try not to work municipal jobs though.
>>17340264
I'm moving there soon. Finding work is tough. I don't have good people skills, even though I've worked in customer service for most of my life. Living on minimum wage isn't impossible, but it's difficult.
Rogers Park is turning into Logan Square a few years ago. Prepare to sell that condo fast. The hipsters are coming.
>>17341476
I live near Gale Elementary and it's like gangbang central. And there's piss all over the Howard El station.
Since when was Atlanta an expensive place to live in?
>>17341549
There are rough sections, but they're moving in. I'm related to two of them.
