What do you do with your BIG LAW salary? Forum

[DELG]

Maybe Philly is more expensive in the aggregate if yo include ring suburbs or Chicago is cheaper if you're talking about living in Hyde Park, but living in Center City is much cheaper than the Loop and the tax burdens are comparable. Philly local taxes are higher but PA state is lower. Rent is comically low in downtown Philly compared to downtown Chicago.

Except there are neighborhoods in the city that are as good as center city Philly other than the loop that are much cheaper than downtown Philly decent neighborhoods

No one even lives in the loop so that's a stupid point of comparison

[09042014]

Living in the loop is for weirdo NYC transplants who just moved to chicago who didn't realize nobody lives there.

I talked to somehow who said they liked NYC better because everything in chicago shuts down at 6pm. I was extremely confused because
I realized she literally just lived in the loop and never left.

[XxSpyKEx]

I really like Philly but Chicago is much better than Philly in almost every way

+1.

I spent a good deal of time in Philly while I was in living on the east coast, and can say Philly doesn't even compare to Chicago in terms of a city. Downtown philly is decent, but past that it seems to be epic-ly shitty. Granted, there are a lot of rough parts of Chicago, but there are also a lot of really great neighborhoods in Chicago outside of the downtown area, which Philly doesn't seem to have the equivalent of*. To make matters worse, law firms pay less in Philly (market in Chicago is $160k, which is a lot of $$ in Chicago, whereas market in Philly is significantly lower), while the cost of living is higher in Philly.

*except the Italian market, which is just plain awesome

Living in the loop is for weirdo NYC transplants who just moved to chicago who didn't realize nobody lives there.

I talked to somehow who said they liked NYC better because everything in chicago shuts down at 6pm. I was extremely confused because
I realized she literally just lived in the loop and never left.

The only reason I can think of that you might possibly want to live in the loop is if you're someone who consistently works 100 hour weeks and don't have more than 5-10 minutes a day for commuting.

[Anonymous User]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

[rickgrimes69]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

[09042014]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

[rayiner]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

What's amazing is walking out the door from an air conditioned building and immediately starting to sweat because of the humidity.

[Nebby]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

Yesterday's rain did nil for the humidity. Even at 5:30AM it's already humid enough that a knife could cut the air.

[XxSpyKEx]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

+1. July and August are the worst in DC. 100 degrees practically every single day and humid as hell. Makes you wonder what kind of a person thought that building a city on a swamp was a good idea?

[XxSpyKEx]

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

It seems like most of DC's population is young professionals who come to DC to start their careers but leave after a couple years. Not sure why anyone would want to live in DC long term. It's expensive and has very little going for it in terms of a city. The best parts of DC, imo, are some of the suburban neighborhoods (e.g. Korean neighborhood in Annadale, Eden's square in Falls Church, etc.), but most people in DC don't have cars and can't practically get to those neighborhoods.

[rayiner]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

+1. July and August are the worst in DC. 100 degrees practically every single day and humid as hell. Makes you wonder what kind of a person thought that building a city on a swamp was a good idea?

The same assholes who thought traffic circles were a good idea?

[Foghornleghorn]

1. Chicago is slightly cheaper than Philly and a substantially nicer place to live

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

+1. July and August are the worst in DC. 100 degrees practically every single day and humid as hell. Makes you wonder what kind of a person thought that building a city on a swamp was a good idea?

People from Houston/New Orleans

[09042014]

Chicago ABSOLUTELY has better weather than DC.

[XxSpyKEx]

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

+1. July and August are the worst in DC. 100 degrees practically every single day and humid as hell. Makes you wonder what kind of a person thought that building a city on a swamp was a good idea?

The same assholes who thought traffic circles were a good idea?

I need to invent a time machine so I can go back and murder those pricks. Try driving in England. No intersections; only traffic circles that run clockwise (i.e. you turn left into the circle and exit on the left). Talk about a mindfuck.

[09042014]

Traffic circles are good because DC people are retarded mongloids who block the box and cause gridlock.

[XxSpyKEx]

Accidental anon

Its like 65 degree and I'm profusely sweating. This damn swap is unholy.

+1. July and August are the worst in DC. 100 degrees practically every single day and humid as hell. Makes you wonder what kind of a person thought that building a city on a swamp was a good idea?

People from Houston/New Orleans

At least Houston's cheap (for a market that pays $160k /year), and New Orleans is pretty awesome despite its humidity. Pretty much the only ways to get arrested in New Orleans is to start a fight on bourbon street or to crash driving drunk. I mean some cop banged a woman on the hood of his squad car on bourbon street and no one cared (although he eventually got fired because the dash cam was running and a paper ran an article about it, which made the police look bad). DC, on the other hand, is a swamp with very little going for it.

[Foghornleghorn]

Houston is filled with rubber soled dress shoes, vertically striped van huesen shirts, and discount suits purloined from the discount rack at the men's warehouse. It is also filled with oil partners that drive hyundais and think they are cowboys because they get drunk at the rodeo every year.

[FSK]

2. DC is a cultureless swamp town and I immediately distrust people who willingly live there

It seems like most of DC's population is young professionals who come to DC to start their careers but leave after a couple years. Not sure why anyone would want to live in DC long term. It's expensive and has very little going for it in terms of a city. The best parts of DC, imo, are some of the suburban neighborhoods (e.g. Korean neighborhood in Annadale, Eden's square in Falls Church, etc.), but most people in DC don't have cars and can't practically get to those neighborhoods.

I really dig Cleveland Park/Woodley Park/Dupont. U Street is alright, too.

[ymmv]

Houston is filled with rubber soled dress shoes, vertically striped van huesen shirts, and discount suits purloined from the discount rack at the men's warehouse. It is also filled with oil partners that drive hyundais and think they are cowboys because they get drunk at the rodeo every year.

Better a frugal, practical, and tasteless culture than an exorbitant, wasteful, and fashionable one?
I mean, dude, I don't even like Houston, but this hardly seems like one of its problems.

[Foghornleghorn]

Houston is filled with rubber soled dress shoes, vertically striped van huesen shirts, and discount suits purloined from the discount rack at the men's warehouse. It is also filled with oil partners that drive hyundais and think they are cowboys because they get drunk at the rodeo every year.

Better a frugal, practical, and tasteless culture than an exorbitant, wasteful, and fashionable one?
I mean, dude, I don't even like Houston, but this hardly seems like one of its problems.

Haha, agreed, I just couldn't pass the opportunity to knock my hometown. If you can get past the weather, it's not all bad. But God save you if you live in Spring or Katy.

[Elston Gunn]

I like D.C.

[Anonymous User]

$1,500 for a 430 square foot studio 15 miles from Manhattan.

What. I've only ever rented apartments in Syracuse and St. Louis, both of which have low COL. Is $1,500 for a 430 sq. ft studio a good deal near NYC..? Is it significantly more expensive as you approach Manhattan?

Newflash. Manhattan is expensive. San Fransisco is expensive. Washington DC is expensive. Those cities are awesome. Syracuse and St. Louis are cheap. Those cities are dumps.

TBF DC is not awesome.

An contraire.

[Elston Gunn]

TBF DC is not awesome.

An contraire.

Before anyone complains about anon abuse, I also considered preserving my anonymity before admitting I liked DC.

[DELG]

TBF DC is not awesome.

An contraire.

Before anyone complains about anon abuse, I also considered preserving my anonymity before admitting I liked DC.

If you like chain restaurants, generic mid rises, high schoolers on class trips, families and fat Midwesterners misunderstanding public transportation, swamps, and self-important interns, I am glad DC exists for you.

[sundance95]

TBF DC is not awesome.

An contraire.

Before anyone complains about anon abuse, I also considered preserving my anonymity before admitting I liked DC.

If you like chain restaurants, generic mid rises, high schoolers on class trips, families and fat Midwesterners misunderstanding public transportation, swamps, and self-important interns, I am glad DC exists for you.

Not tons of chain restaurants in DC proper. And other than swamp, all of these things apply 100% to NYC as well.

I'm a DC hater too, lived there five years. Swamp plus the fact that NW DC has no real culture of its own is sufficient for DC to suck.