Moving to Illinois (2021)
Are you thinking of moving to Illinois? Today, I am diving into the pros and cons, let’s get started!
If this is your first time visiting welcome! My name is Kerri Jonikas. I am a Realtor in Chicago Southwest Suburbs. You want to make sure to head on over to my YouTube channel and hit the subscribe button and the little bell notification to be notified of any new videos that I post, you won’t want to miss out! If you have been here before-thank you for joining me again!
Before I get started with some pros and cons–make sure you stay until the end to hear some of the strangest laws in Illinois–You will not want to miss these!
Okay, Let’s kick things off here with a PRO
- You are close enough yet far enough away. You can live in the suburbs of Chicago and still be within driving distance to enjoy all the fun the City of Chicago has to offer such as Navy Pier, Museums, the Lakefront, and Beaches. If you live in the Southern part of Illinois you likely are a short drive away from visiting the St. Louis arch or going on one of the most scenic road trips along the Mississippi River on Great River Road. If you move to Illinois I would recommend you take a ride on Great River Road on a beautiful day! It will not disappoint.
Now let’s take a look at a Con of living in Illinois
The weather….I should rephrase this as this one can be a pro for one but a negative for the next. In my opinion, the changes of seasons is a PRO. Fall colors and freshly fallen snow on the trees.. are incredibly beautiful.
However, severely cold weather is a con. I do NOT like to be cold.
Schools have closed down in the Chicagoland area for temperatures reaching -23 and with the wind chills, it was somewhere between -45 and -50 degrees.
While it is rare for it to get THAT cold…In the winters you can expect temperatures below 30 degrees and in the negative.
In the Springtime you can look forward to waking up with your heat on and dressing for winter and by afternoon turning on your air conditioner and completely changing your wardrobe. One thing you will learn is to always dress in layers!
A PRO BEFORE Covid-19, Illinois was rated 31st in total employment growth, which is a decent amount of employment growth. Unfortunately, according to illinoispolicy.org the job losses have been increasing and continue to increase due to the restrictions due to Covid-19.
Traffic–This one is a CON. If you are planning on moving to Chicago, you can be sure you will experience a great deal of traffic. Illinois is ranked the third most congested US city. Many years ago I commuted for a job. My commute took me almost 2 hours one way due to traffic. It was a good distance of about 26 miles. But I will tell you that commute was brutal.
PRO- We have the best food—That is the one complaint I hear from those who flee Illinois-Their social media pages are filled with complaints on how they would LOVE a Chicago Pizza, Chicago hot dog, or a Beef Sandwich from Portillos. The food is just not the same in other states.
PRO- We have plenty of affordable housing! The median home value is $227,500 with a median household income of $65,030.
CON – We have some of the STRANGEST laws such as making faces at dogs is strictly forbidden or you are not permitted to eat in an establishment that is on fire or how about anyone who sells reptiles must warn buyers that they should not kiss the reptiles. Okay–you know we have these laws because SOMEONE did it..Someone kissed the frog, got sick, AND then tried to sue the seller. If you want to check out more strange laws in Illinois click here to be taken to a list of the strangest laws in Illinois.
The biggest reason people tend to stay or come back to Illinois is for family. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to pack up and bring their entire clan to another state.
If you are interested in learning more about a specific area in Illinois click here and I will send you a detailed list of available properties as well as a copy of my moving to Illinois guide, which is a must for anyone looking to move to Illinois. Thanks for stopping by and I will see you at the next one!