Chicago Moving FAQs

Common questions and answers about moving to Chicago

What are some essential things to know before moving to Chicago?

Definitely visit the city before moving here and see what it's like to live here.

See it in the day and the night. Spend a lot of your time in the place where you'll live. Certain neighborhoods can have two different personalities at different times of the day. Think, quiet in the morning and rowdy at night. Even downtown is like two different places: lots of business people and tourists in the daytime, but desserted at night. You'll also learn about the different races, ethnicities, social and economic groups.

Live life as you will when you move here. If you're going to have a car, then make sure to use it as you would so you can assess the parking situation. If not, learn how the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) works. Learn where the trains and busses go before you ride them, which hours they run, learn about the fare cards and how they work.

What are some of the pros and cons about living in Chicago?

Pros

• There's a neighborhood for everyone - from the quiet suburbs to an active city life Chicago has many neighborhoods for all demographic groups.
• The public transportation system is pretty well defined - there are two sets of trains and buses for both city and suburbs.
• There are a lot of grocery chains to choose from.
• There are a lot of free events.
• There are many dining options.
• It's not as expensive as most cities.
• The city has many parks including a very long public beach.
• There is a sports team for every sport.

Cons

• The weather. It gets very cold.

How safe is the public transportation in Chicago at night?

Generally safe. Some neighborhoods are more dangerous than others. In general try to take public transportation when others do. Surprisingly, there's more people riding the system weekday nights than say early weekend morning.

What are some ideas for young kids during the winter?

The Chicago park district offers many very affordable classes for young kids during the week. The list includes sports, arts and crafts, camps, early childhood, after school programs and much more. The biggest issue is making sure to sign up when registration opens. There are several parks in every neighborhood to choose from.