How's life in Chicago, Columbus OH or Boston?

[Only Ornamental]

Hi there,

I was thinking about looking for a job at a US university with a reputed pharmacy department which leaves me mainly with Chicago, Columbus (Ohio) and Boston... Judging from what I've heared or seen in movies and alike (I never was in the states) and the climate, these towns don't tease me much. Also mentality-wise, extrapolating from the few american volks I've met I'd prefer the west coast or the south but one can't have everything...
Could anyone please tell me, how life is up/over there? Especially, how much I would have to earn to have a decent living with my eventually unemployed spouse (cause academic salaries at my current level are rather crappy). Would there be the possibility to rent a house? I hate apartment buildings and love gardening...

Appreciate any input!

 

[Easy7]

Lot's of house rentals in C-bus (Columbus). Might have to look for a good neighborhood, something nice, affordable and easy driving times. I'd say 60k a year is not a bad income. You may want some money to move and just get a loan to buy a house. Renting can be an issue, seems you never get ahead that way. Set a budget based on a plan with hopes and expectations.

Ohio is not that bad, spent lot's of time there. Know people in Chicago, but your not going to find a house in the city. And I know nothing about boston, unless you a robber (from movies).

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

Boston is a great city, but the cost of living is pretty damn high.

 

[lifehack]

C bus - go to westerville, hilliard, or arlington.. else youre gonna have junkies.. even then still junkies... fuck

 

[Only Ornamental]

Thanks for the input.
Though, seems that it won't work that easy due to the green card 'bottleneck', too low estimated income and no drivers licence (yet)... Besides, how's it with public transport there?

 

[Commonwealth]

I've been to most of the major cities of the world and have visited all fifty of our great states. I feel more unsafe on the streets of Chicago at 2pm than I would in Juarez at 2am. It's cold, the weather is shit 9 months of the year, it's poorly managed, the neighborhoods are notoriously divided on ethnic lines, the drivers are assholes, deep dish pizza is a disgusting affront to food, the list goes on. If you want to be cold, miserable, and pay through the teeth to live with a bunch of people who've been there so long they have Stockholm Syndrome choose Chicago.

 

[lifehack]

Stockholm Syndrome is everywhere.. Try de calcifiying your pineal... besides that Id say Columbus has decent public transit.. we got Bike lanes finally so maybe someday they will finish the Cinci Line... jk that money is gone with the times..

 

[rasputin]

Chicago has become known as "Chiraq" which might overlook some of the cities qualities but it is rather telling of the state of things there and the headlines coming out of there each day are just terribly sad and tragic.

I've visited, it is a nice city and it has some killer music and comedy venues but it has a boat load of problems not unlike many other cities but Chicago is on another level in some cases. Not least of which is all the stick up kids running around.

Never been to Columbus. I'm partial to Boston but its not without its flaws. It's lost some of its charm as more national companies and chains have come in, killing some of the local flavor but you can still find some neighborhoods that have resisted it and theres plenty of local joints that are great.

Cost of living is insane, even outside the city it's very expensive, and the winters suck. Other than that, it's a pretty chill place and there's a lot of cool shit to do for whatever you're into. Art, entertainment, sports, live music, food, et al;.

 

[Only Ornamental]

@Commonwealth: ROFLMAO I nearly fell of the couch from laughing!!! Your skill with words, just GORGEOUS!!!
The way you describe Chicago, it's so bad that it's getting tempting again .

Recently, I found an article in a local newspaper about the growing pharma R&D business there but it looks like I'd had to go there as postdoc before getting a green card for a 'real' job and now I suppose that you guys think that, say, $ 3.5-4 k a month for a couple wouldn't do the trick up there... *sniff*
And I hate windy-cold-rainy winters...

 

[oldergrower]

I agree Chi town = expensive, shitty weather, rude people. Nice to visit but not to live.
From a midwesterner

 

[Commonwealth]

Btw OP - I don't know about their pharmacy program but you might try John Hopkins located in Baltimore (You must watch The Wire whether or not you consider moving there) which has a stupendous medical program. You might also try MCV, the medical side of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. They get overlooked a lot but everything at MCV is top notch and the city is cheap and fun. As VICE put it: "Richmond, Virginia, is a black hole. It is a sedative. It is gloriously lazy. It’s the easiest place in the world to do nothing and still have the best fucking time in the world. We’ve heard so many times about how LA is laid-back and how Portland and Austin are easygoing, but honestly, nobody can simply just dick around the way Richmond does."

 

[pzykolo]

lol