Recently my friend asked me how much you spend on housing, food, car and other essential things living in Chicago?
Short to say, I spend about $2,000 on rent, food, car, phone, internet and so on. It doesn’t include any major purchases you normally do ones in couple month. But your actual expenses might be different from my or any other Chicago resident. If you are planning to purchase a decent house in good neighborhood $2,500 a month will barely cover the mortgage. Gas in the city cost about $4 per gallon, but just 10 – 15 miles away in Indiana or Michigan the price is $3.40 - $3.50. Cost of food depends on what you eat and whether you cook at home or buying ready meals at restaurant. It is possible to find one bedroom apartment for $700 - $750 and spend another $600 or less on all other necessary things what makes your monthly expenses close to $1,300…
Chicago certainly is not the cheapest city in US, but it is all about your lifestyle. Many people do not like public transportation and still prefer to sit for 1.5 – 2 hours on I-90 or I-94 in traffic regardless the fact that CTA trains or Metra trains normally do not have major delays and will save you not only time and gas, but $30 - $40 parking fee in the Loop.