CHICAGO | General Discussions

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

very true.

elevators, pools, 24-hr doormen, maintenance/landscape staff, office staff, fitness rooms, party rooms, etc. cost a lot, even when divided among 100+ units.

by comparison, a 3-flat condo association really only has to pay building insurance, water/sewer/garbage, a negligible electric bill, and sock money away into reserves for periodic roof and tuckpoint repair.

for example, our association fee for our 2,300 SF home in a 3-flat in lincoln square is $350/month. my association fee for my 500 SF studio condo downtown in marina city is $320/month (and marina city is a relative HOA bargain compared to newer full-amenity downtown condo towers). that's a pretty big difference on a PSF basis, and that's compared to one of the absolute cheapest big downtown condo towers.



in any event, i think you're overthinking this. is the pension/tax situation in chicago/illinois going to continue to be an issue? yes. will it spell doom for the city until it empties out detroit-style and those left will be on the hook for $100K annual property tax bills? no. chicago is too much of a center of gravity for that, something will eventually give.

as for the crime issue, you're WAY overthinking that. are you a young black male engaged in the gang/drug underworld? do you sell or purchase illegal narcotics? do you associate with gang-members in any fashion? do you frequently visit and hangout in known gang activity hot-spots?

if you answered "no" to all of those questions, the chances of chicago's atrocious levels of street gang violence directly affecting you are actually pretty damn low in the grand scheme of things. i'm not saying it can't ever happen, but it's definitely not something that keeps me up at night, and i've actively chosen to raise my family in the city.

No, I am as square as they come lol good point.

Jesus, that is *very* inexpensive for your HOA for how much square footage you have. I would never take advantage of any of that other crap anyways.

Yes, I am overthinking things, without a doubt. But I've never been in the position to pick a city and stick with it because of my past life and events I couldn't control, so I want to make sure I make the best possible choice possible.