Quote:
Originally Posted by jtown,man
Taxes: I am not worried about taxes per se. I am worried about the unstable financial situation that could lead to higher and higher taxes which will eventually hurt the city.
Plenty of cities have budget issues(I can't think of one that doesn't every year), but Chicago's seems to be on the brink...and this could only mean one thing; increased taxes. If the city had a clamp on crime and the city was buzzing along fine high taxes might be fine. But it isn't, it still has some issues, so the question is where is all the money going?
I am almost certain NO has a higher crime rate and less areas like Chicago has of neighborhoods where crime is not an issue at all. Hence, one of the reasons its not my top destination. But just because it's not as bad as New Orleans, doesn't mean its not a huge issue. Didn't a hospital in Chicago have to turn people away recently because of the amount of people coming in with gun wounds? Theres a serious issue here.
"Chicago's crime rate isn't great, but it's typical for a big American city"
That depends on what we are calling a big city. NYC and LA are much safer cities. My frustration is that NYC went from like 2k murders a year(just one indicator, of course) in the 1990s to having 1/3rd the murders of Chicago while having 3xs the people. Chicago can do better.
I hope no one took my post as a ding at Chicago. Those are just my two fears of moving to the city. I think they are both justified beyond preception, don't yall? In any case, I hope I move there. I hope the city cuts its crime in half. I hope all the upper-class people moving in helps the budget issues. I hope for nothing but the best. Trust me, I wouldn't even consider the city if I thought it was hopeless.
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The issue with taxes is concerning but context is key. Chicago is still has among the lowest COL of major cities in the US, despite having top 3-4 urban amenities (transit, walkability, etc.) That doesn't solve the budget issues the city has, but it does put the threat of higher taxes into perspective. I would say it is worthy of consideration, though, and yes justified beyond perception. There are glaring issues facing the city's budget with no easy fix.
The crime issue I do not believe is justified, however. Chicago has more crime than is good or acceptable, but that's just in comparison to the possibilities (i.e., what NY and LA have done with their crime problems in the past 30 years.) However, several other large, destination US cities have as high or higher violent crime rates than Chicago. I don't see many people online or in the media holding Houston or Washington DC up as examples of urban decay and lawlessness, despite those cities having higher rates of violent crime than Chicago. In fact, Houston and Washington are often cited as the future-bearers of urban growth in the US.