Living & Working in Chicago Forum

[dt22]

Any input on the following would be appreciated:

-Work opportunities in Chicago (big & mid-size firms, corporate counsel options, government, ngo, other opportunities) - difficulty of getting in, general level of satisfaction with the job, etc.?
-If you currently live & work in the city, how are you liking it (weather, atmosphere, size)?

Trying to get a general sense of satisfaction with the location & the opportunities it brings. thanks

[XxSpyKEx]

Chicago seemed to be one of the worst markets for large firms this year (I think it was something like 250 summer associateships total that were available). I have no idea about how competitive any of the other job options are though, maybe someone else will be able to answer that.

The weather in Chicago blows during the winter. They call it the windy city for a reason, and the lake effect is pretty brutal in the winter. The atmosphere is awesome, though, which IMO overcomes the shitty winters... Wikipedia will probably give you a better idea of what the city is like than what anyone is going to type up here. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago

[dt22]

thanks!

does anyone work in the city & commute from the suburbs or do you find most young professionals living downtown?

winter in chicago won't be much worse than winter in iowa....sad time of the year, but hoping the city itself would make it worth the suffering!

[Locke N. Lawded]

Don't even bother trying to get a gig in the Chi right now...it's just as bad as New York.

If you went to an out-of-state school that was not T-14, forget it. There are 6 law schools in the city itself, two of which are in the top 10, and then there are folks from SIU, Northern Illinois, U of I, and also from Notre Dame and the Wisconsin schools, Marquette and UW.

There are no jobs in Chicago right now, period. The classes of 2008 were the last to crack BigLaw without dealing with deferrals, and many more are either scrambling for doc review or are unemployed. 2009 and 2010 are in even worse shape.

I deal with a lot of students from a lot of different midwest schools, the Chicago schools among them, and it is really bad. Maybe over half of the U Chicago and Northwestern kids have jobs, but very few graduates from the other four schools have anything--and even the Law Review folks at the non-T-14 schools are unemployed for the most part, with just a few deferred offers at BigLaw floating around.

[XxSpyKEx]

does anyone work in the city & commute from the suburbs or do you find most young professionals living downtown?

I wouldn't live downtown. It is really, really expensive and there isn't much going on downtown in terms of night life. Just live out by Wrigley, it's awesome there. I'd imagine it would be tough to commute from the suburbs because it take so long to get anywhere with Chicago traffic and taking the train can be a pain, unless you live right next to the train station and are in a suburb that is really close to Chicago. I am actually from a city that's about 35 minutes away from Chicago at 3AM (i.e. the mapquest time). Around 11AM it would take me about 2 to 2.5 hours to get downtown. The train isn't much better when you figure in the 15 minutes to get to the train station and the 1.5 hours the train takes to get to union station (there are a lot of stops). But on the bright side, you can drink on the train (except 3-4 days a month when you have to conceal what you are drinking).

[chuddery]

does anyone work in the city & commute from the suburbs or do you find most young professionals living downtown?

I'd imagine it would be tough to commute from the suburbs because it take so long to get anywhere with Chicago traffic and taking the train can be a pain, unless you live right next to the train station and are in a suburb that is really close to Chicago.

Not to be a complete jerk, but this is just wrong. Commuting from the suburbs in very easy if you work in the loop. During the heavy commuter hours there are a ton of commuters trains that are very quick. For instance, I commuted from Naperville near the end of the BNSF line, and about 35 miles from the city. The express train, of which there are about 5 in the morning and night, takes 35 minutes to get in. I worked in the Federal building, and it took about 70 minutes to get door to door. Granted this is not ideal, but 35 minutes of this was just sitting on the train reading or spacing out.

That said, XxSpyKEx is right about living someplace like Wrigley. Unless you're married with kids, the suburbs will not be fun. There are a ton of neighborhoods in Chicago that are amazing to live in (Lakeview, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, etc.) My commute from Wrigleyville is about 45 minutes on the El.

[Locke N. Lawded]

There are definitely great places to live in Chicago, but OP should definitely research jobs prior to taking the step of moving away from Iowa. The cost of living in Chicago is much higher, there are tons of taxes, and it does take more time than you are probably used to to get from place to place.

Get a job before you move...seriously.

[dt22]

Get a job before you move...seriously.

thanks, but that's assumed.
just starting school at u of iowa, no moving plans. would like to select several locations for potential future residency, so that i'd have something to work towards. this thread is to get a general idea of the chicago residents' general level of satisfaction with work & life.
thanks!

[dt22]

does anyone work in the city & commute from the suburbs or do you find most young professionals living downtown?

I'd imagine it would be tough to commute from the suburbs because it take so long to get anywhere with Chicago traffic and taking the train can be a pain, unless you live right next to the train station and are in a suburb that is really close to Chicago.

Not to be a complete jerk, but this is just wrong. Commuting from the suburbs in very easy if you work in the loop. During the heavy commuter hours there are a ton of commuters trains that are very quick. For instance, I commuted from Naperville near the end of the BNSF line, and about 35 miles from the city. The express train, of which there are about 5 in the morning and night, takes 35 minutes to get in. I worked in the Federal building, and it took about 70 minutes to get door to door. Granted this is not ideal, but 35 minutes of this was just sitting on the train reading or spacing out.

That said, XxSpyKEx is right about living someplace like Wrigley. Unless you're married with kids, the suburbs will not be fun. There are a ton of neighborhoods in Chicago that are amazing to live in (Lakeview, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, etc.) My commute from Wrigleyville is about 45 minutes on the El.

both of these options seem reasonable to me (i grew up in a city; might not be the case for everyone), thank you!

[miamiman]

Chicago seemed to be one of the worst markets for large firms this year (I think it was something like 250 summer associateships total that were available). I have no idea about how competitive any of the other job options are though, maybe someone else will be able to answer that.

The weather in Chicago blows during the winter. They call it the windy city for a reason, and the lake effect is pretty brutal in the winter. The atmosphere is awesome, though, which IMO overcomes the shitty winters... Wikipedia will probably give you a better idea of what the city is like than what anyone is going to type up here. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago

Is this true? 250?

[09042014]

Chicago seemed to be one of the worst markets for large firms this year (I think it was something like 250 summer associateships total that were available). I have no idea about how competitive any of the other job options are though, maybe someone else will be able to answer that.

The weather in Chicago blows during the winter. They call it the windy city for a reason, and the lake effect is pretty brutal in the winter. The atmosphere is awesome, though, which IMO overcomes the shitty winters... Wikipedia will probably give you a better idea of what the city is like than what anyone is going to type up here. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago

Is this true? 250?

Yes, someone added up the SA classes from chicago big law firms. It was 800-900 before the crash. This explains why a lot of the chicago firms did Harvard, Chicago, Northwestern, and Michigan OCI only. Also why UIUC, WUSTL and NotreDame got assraped at OCI.

[miamiman]

Chicago seemed to be one of the worst markets for large firms this year (I think it was something like 250 summer associateships total that were available). I have no idea about how competitive any of the other job options are though, maybe someone else will be able to answer that.

The weather in Chicago blows during the winter. They call it the windy city for a reason, and the lake effect is pretty brutal in the winter. The atmosphere is awesome, though, which IMO overcomes the shitty winters... Wikipedia will probably give you a better idea of what the city is like than what anyone is going to type up here. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago

Is this true? 250?

Yes, someone added up the SA classes from chicago big law firms. It was 800-900 before the crash. This explains why a lot of the chicago firms did Harvard, Chicago, Northwestern, and Michigan OCI only. Also why UIUC, WUSTL and NotreDame got assraped at OCI.

I can always count on DF to give it to me plain.

[IAFG]

As neurotic as you are I am surprised you didn't know already, miamiman

[miamiman]

As neurotic as you are I am surprised you didn't know already, miamiman

thanks for your vote of confidence.

[XxSpyKEx]

does anyone work in the city & commute from the suburbs or do you find most young professionals living downtown?

I'd imagine it would be tough to commute from the suburbs because it take so long to get anywhere with Chicago traffic and taking the train can be a pain, unless you live right next to the train station and are in a suburb that is really close to Chicago.

Not to be a complete jerk, but this is just wrong. Commuting from the suburbs in very easy if you work in the loop. During the heavy commuter hours there are a ton of commuters trains that are very quick. For instance, I commuted from Naperville near the end of the BNSF line, and about 35 miles from the city. The express train, of which there are about 5 in the morning and night, takes 35 minutes to get in. I worked in the Federal building, and it took about 70 minutes to get door to door. Granted this is not ideal, but 35 minutes of this was just sitting on the train reading or spacing out.

That said, XxSpyKEx is right about living someplace like Wrigley. Unless you're married with kids, the suburbs will not be fun. There are a ton of neighborhoods in Chicago that are amazing to live in (Lakeview, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, etc.) My commute from Wrigleyville is about 45 minutes on the El.

Naperville is a relatively large city, so I'm not too surprised that there is a train stop right next to your house. The libertyville train station is a good 15 minute drive with the morning traffic from where I'm at (and I'm only 38 miles from the loop), and then there is the other 1.5 hours on the train to get to union station. I guess it's more about what suburb you are in. Although, the prerequisite to living in Naperville is being rich, so I wouldn't plan on that one, OP, right out of law school.

Chicago seemed to be one of the worst markets for large firms this year (I think it was something like 250 summer associateships total that were available). I have no idea about how competitive any of the other job options are though, maybe someone else will be able to answer that.

The weather in Chicago blows during the winter. They call it the windy city for a reason, and the lake effect is pretty brutal in the winter. The atmosphere is awesome, though, which IMO overcomes the shitty winters... Wikipedia will probably give you a better idea of what the city is like than what anyone is going to type up here. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago

Is this true? 250?

Yes, someone added up the SA classes from chicago big law firms. It was 800-900 before the crash. This explains why a lot of the chicago firms did Harvard, Chicago, Northwestern, and Michigan OCI only. Also why UIUC, WUSTL and NotreDame got assraped at OCI.

Not "someone," I did!!

[09042014]

Naperville is a relatively large city, so I'm not too surprised that there is a train stop right next to your house. The libertyville train station is a good 15 minute drive with the morning traffic from where I'm at (and I'm only 38 miles from the loop), and then there is the other 1.5 hours on the train to get to union station. I guess it's more about what suburb you are in. Although, the prerequisite to living in Naperville is being rich, so I wouldn't plan on that one, OP, right out of law school.

Not "someone," I did!!

It takes 1.5 hours from Libertyville? Harsh. It's only 45 min from Arlington Heights. But rent in the Northwest burbs isn't really much less than what you can find in the city if you live farther out in the city.

Thanks for doing that research. Do you know which thread its on?

[XxSpyKEx]

Naperville is a relatively large city, so I'm not too surprised that there is a train stop right next to your house. The libertyville train station is a good 15 minute drive with the morning traffic from where I'm at (and I'm only 38 miles from the loop), and then there is the other 1.5 hours on the train to get to union station. I guess it's more about what suburb you are in. Although, the prerequisite to living in Naperville is being rich, so I wouldn't plan on that one, OP, right out of law school.

Not "someone," I did!!

It takes 1.5 hours from Libertyville? Harsh. It's only 45 min from Arlington Heights. But rent in the Northwest burbs isn't really much less than what you can find in the city if you live farther out in the city.

Thanks for doing that research. Do you know which thread its on?

I just re-posted it here (because it seems like a better place to archive it):
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 9&start=50

[chicagolaw2013]

Can't really comment on the legal landscape yet here, I'm an 0L. But I've lived here since UG, so I figured I could be of help in the location regard.

If you live in the suburbs, live near a Metra station. That way, your commute is shortened...traffic gets just as bad in the suburbs, unfortunately. The great thing about Metra is that it is almost always on time (except for the Burlington Northern line that goes through Naperville...that one line can't seem to get its act together, and the trains are always too packed...think sardines). Spyke is right about the train rides though...depending on where you live/if there are express trains on your line from your stop, you could be on the train for over an hour. Naperville, for example, has express trains directly from there to downtown (not a single stop in between), and that ride is 45ish minutes, if there isn't a delay. If you don't catch an express, the ride is an hour and 15 minutes. Better than sitting in traffic on the Ike, but definitely not a close commute.

I personally recommend living in the city, but in one of the north side neighborhoods. The CTA is much more budget friendly in the long run (Metra passes can run you around $200 a month if you live a Naperville or Schaumburg's distance from downtown), and your commute will obviously be shortened a great deal. The north side neighborhoods, on a whole, are also more reasonably priced compared to living right downtown. The place we just moved into in Roscoe Village is an older place, really high ceilings, about 1200 sf, for 1300 a month. When I first moved to Chicago, I lived in Streeterville, in a 650 sf place for 1700 a month. The view and location were ridiculous, but I realized pretty fast that it was really not worth the money unless you have a pile of cash just sitting around. Also, those downtown areas don't really have the culture and interesting things to do that some of the other neighborhoods do. Using Roscoe Village as an example, there are multiple street festivals on Roscoe or Belmont every summer, and the area really functions as a closeknit neighborhood. There's a dog park around the corner, as this is a VERY dog-friendly area, and many residents will bring their dogs out to play and chat in the interim. You get a very small town feel here for this area being in Chicago. I have friends in other areas of the city (Bucktown, Wicker Park, Old Irving), and they say the same about their neighborhoods. If you are downtown, you only get the big city feel. The north side areas seem to give you the best of both worlds.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Oh, and my last place in Schaumburg was about the same square footage as my new place in Roscoe for the same price. The burbs (if you want to be in one that actually has some character/stuff to do) are no cheaper.

[09042014]

EDIT: Oh, and my last place in Schaumburg was about the same square footage as my new place in Roscoe for the same price. The burbs (if you want to be in one that actually has some character/stuff to do) are no cheaper.

There really is no reason to live in the burbs unless you have kids. They are boring as fuck.

[chicagolaw2013]

Also in agreement with Spyke about the winters, and the fact that what the city has to offer outweighs your frozen nose and ears in January hahaha. I wouldn't be happy living anywhere else...I just try to stay indoors as much as possible in the winter.

With law school coming up, I think I now have a GREAT reason to stay indoors when it's -12 out lol.

And +1 DF...yeah, burbs are def boring. I mean, Coach House at 2AM has always been fun when I'm there, but that's probably because I was wasted. HAHA

[LoyolaLaw2012]

They call it the windy city for a reason,

That's actually not why Chicago is called the windy city. Instead, it is named after its politicians. But yes, it gets quite cold.

[chicagolaw2013]

They call it the windy city for a reason,

That's actually not why Chicago is called the windy city. Instead, it is named after its politicians. But yes, it gets quite cold.

Damn, you beat me to it! I was gonna mention this haha. Learned this from the Weather Channel...wow, I'm a nerd.

[09042014]

Also in agreement with Spyke about the winters, and the fact that what the city has to offer outweighs your frozen nose and ears in January hahaha. I wouldn't be happy living anywhere else...I just try to stay indoors as much as possible in the winter.

With law school coming up, I think I now have a GREAT reason to stay indoors when it's -12 out lol.

And +1 DF...yeah, burbs are def boring. I mean, Coach House at 2AM has always been fun when I'm there, but that's probably because I was wasted. HAHA

It's barely -12 outside. And the Lake Effect just makes it warmer near the lake during the winter right?

My biggest problem with the suburbs is that days are all long car rides away. Finding a DD is like drawing blood.

[chicagolaw2013]

Also in agreement with Spyke about the winters, and the fact that what the city has to offer outweighs your frozen nose and ears in January hahaha. I wouldn't be happy living anywhere else...I just try to stay indoors as much as possible in the winter.

With law school coming up, I think I now have a GREAT reason to stay indoors when it's -12 out lol.

And +1 DF...yeah, burbs are def boring. I mean, Coach House at 2AM has always been fun when I'm there, but that's probably because I was wasted. HAHA

It's barely -12 outside. And the Lake Effect just makes it warmer near the lake during the winter right?

My biggest problem with the suburbs is that days are all long car rides away. Finding a DD is like drawing blood.

Haha I try to imagine this, but it's still cold as ice.

Yeah, having to call a cab at 3AM is no fun...you can't just walk outside and hail one.

[miamiman]

does anyone know anything about the little firms in chicago that pay market? the barack farrazanos, goldberg kohns, of the world?