So my dad got a job offer in chicago for about $52,000. However he thinks that is not enough to survive in that city. The place we live now is down south and we hate it. he makes about $45,000 down here. What about the outskirts of chicago? We are so sick of this place.
Mostly, it will depend upon how many people he has to support. As a single person, I could get by pretty comfortably on that income (and I actually did a few years ago), but in no way would I be wealthy. You could probably get a decent apartment in the suburbs, but I doubt that you would be able to afford a house here unless you are able to sell the house you currently have (if you have one). Things might be a little tight for a family, but you could get by.
The state of Illinois alone is one of the more expensive states to live in. In the city of Chicago itself, you need more than that to get by on comfortably thanks to mayor Daley s obscene tax rates there. The burbs, depending on which neighborhood, can be extremely dangerous to live in. I highly suggest you research Chicago, it s burbs and other cities as well before making a decision to move.
I bought a fixer upper house for $169K two years ago right by the O Hare airport (15 min. from Chicago) and we make $65K a year. We have 3 kids and two car payments. Things are definitely tight but we are making it. The outskirts are okay but sometimes still pricey as it is conveniently close for the chicago commuters. Living in Chicago is tricky as areas are being updated and you could get a bang for your buck but neverless it s still in a crappy part of town. You can live an 1-1/2 to 2 hours for very cheap, nice houses but big time taxes (because area isn t fully developed) and the commute totally sucks, not recommened.
If you are living comfortably in the South on 45,000 I d say you d need a little more than 3 times that to live the same lifestyle in Chicago.