benblaney

Evanston is quite close to where I work in Skokie. I don't know it very well, but I hope to be getting to know it better, as I'm going to be spending every week there until Christmas.

If you fancy a pint with a Brit, let me know.

bugman

heheh QFT.

bugman

i must admit ive never bought any special winter weather clothes here except some winter boots when my UK hikers finally bust, if im walking (5 mins to put out bins) in -20C i just put on a vest, t shirt, jumper and fleece, its usually enough, funny that in uk i'd wear same sans vest although you could walk for a while in that.

generally, i know being near chicago can be a bit daunting but theres loads of little towns all over the place, im in the geneva, st charles, batavia area and its very pleasant, and only an hour or so from hilly wisconsin, plenly irish bars too if you need a brit hit but ignore the english brekkys, nobody can do one remotely close, boiled bacon and that cardboard imitation black pudding is a no go area for me, stick to fish and chips which tend to be not 'authentic' of course but nice in its own style, i still find the best regional food here is the pizza, just now and again!

taffie77

{Slight Tangent} We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Skokie recently, as we couldn't get anything downtown for less than $400 a night (it was a fairly last minute trip!). We were a mile from the Metra stop in Edgebrook, so it worked out well for us.

Being even closer to Canada, we are starting to plan our winter wardrobe

Cape Blue

[Thread hijack]
Occasionally I go to DuPage airport (or nearabouts) for work - you have to tell me if there is a good curry house around - the best found so far is the Nepalese one in St Charles, any other recommendations?

taffie77

I'll have to mention that to my husband, and he visits a supplier in St. Charles. So far he's managed one good Greek restaurant, and one ropey Greek restaurant

Macca67

Some decent curryhouses (Tiffin) along Devon St. heading west from Loyola. I also like The Little India by Bryn Mawr cta.

Kaffy Mintcake

And a famous Northwestern football cheer is "That's alright. That's okay. You'll all work for US someday!"

MorganMars

As others have said, the weather can be quite cold and windy. I lived near Chicago many years ago and didn't consider it terrible until I moved to Florida. Now I avoid winters there, but have taken some contracts at other times of the year.
There is much that I enjoy about Chicago: The Museum of Science and Industry, the Natural History Museum, the Art Institute, Dim Sum in Chinatown, and Chicago Style Pizza. There is always something going on in Arts and Entertainment. You may want to watch the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" for an idea of some things to do in Chicago.

Enjoy,
Mary

S Folinsky

I've never been to Chicago in the winter. However, from what I understand, the winters there are no where near as temperate as are those in the UK.

SoccerMomby2

I lived in NW suburbs of Chicago for 5 years. We opted to live in the 'burbs for the good schools as we had kids. If we didn't have kids I would definitely have lived in the city or much closer to the city. The burbs are nice but a bit bland. Downtown Chicago is a wonderful vibrant city.

Evanston I know quite well. Quite familyish also, but kinda hippy families.
One of those 'cheaper by the dozen' moves was filmed in Evanston.
They pride themselves on the mixed community, ie black and white. I think its a pleasant enough community.I would urge you to look at Lincoln Park if you don't have kids. I know some singles and couples with no kids living there and they love it. It's more apartment living, so not sure of thats the type of accomodation you want?

Winter is brutal, no two ways about it. Even the natives tire of winter by February (and it can drag on into April) But summer is glorious.

Chicago has nice beaches and parks and wonderful museums and plenty of events and concerts. People are friendly, definitely of the no-nonsense breed, which think typifies the midwest. I think you will love Chicago! Good luck!

Chicagobound2011

wow thank you for your advice - we have been offered so much 'help' from people who i dont think really know about Chicago it is nice to get some info from people who have lived there!

My boss is already living there and has had real problems leasing a car for him and his wife as he has no credit history in the USA - does anyone know how to get a credit history in the USA?

Thanks again!

Bob

There's a huge read in wiki about credit....but no real short cut, just lots of deposits to make up for it

penguinsix

There is a WIKI on many of the basic questions, such as credit, that appears on the top of every page. Really your best bet for the basics.

As for Chicago, as others have said, dress warm. Dress very, very warm. Winter's can be rough, and wearing long underwear for those days when you are spending a great deal of time outside is basically a given. If you don't like the US brand of long underwear (i.e. sausage skin) than buy some soft ones at Marks and Spencer. (NOTE: Yeah, the issue of long underwear comes up from time to time--just to give you an idea of the adjustment). If you are going to be walking in the city, than preparing for the 'slosh' is also a good thing. The melting snow mixed with other snow and ice that is on every street corner. A good set of boots would be helpful. Scarf and gloves and a hat and all that as well, but you don't necessarily have to get them in the UK.

Chicagoans pride themselves on being a bit 'tough'. You'll see some of them without a shirt at a football game outside when it is -5 or something, screaming like an idiot. They also eat a lot of 'hearty' food to say the least. Quite a few folks from Poland in Chicago.

Evanston is a nice college town with Northwestern a top 20 school in the US. Lincoln Park, in the city itself, is a nice enough neighborhood for young with no kids, etc, living the city life. Hyde Park, on the South Side, is where Obama lives and the University of Chicago (one of the top 5 schools in the US). Tad sketchy at times safety wise.

You might check out the forums at http://www.city-data.com/forum/illinois/ These are messageboards for people relocating between cities where folks get much more detailed in their neighborhood assessments than we do here (i.e. school sucks, grocery 1 is better than grocery 2, etc).

p.s. watch out for alligators. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...rove-home.html

oloroso

I moved to Chicago from the UK in Feb 2009. Don't let the winter deter you, the summers more than make up for the baltic eyeball freezing Jan & Feb months.

My personal opinion - If you don't have any kids I'd consider Lincoln Park, somewhere near the lake. It's your first year so you might as well enjoy it, the community is busy and one of the safer areas, with a good mix of professionals and students.

If there is only one of you working, you might want to consider an apartment building with a door person. Just piece of mind for the one who isn't working.

You'll be more likely to meet a lot of people in this sort of neighborhood, it's split right in between Downtown and close enough to Wrigleyville (without being in the middle of the bar madness)

I've traveled with my job to nearly 20 different States since I arrived in 2009 and I have to say I can't think of another city I would choose over Chicago.

I used a free apartment finding service, craigslist is a pain in the backside to search through and the apartment finders will drive you around to properties without charging a fee.

I've been really lame with building credit in the US, so you'll want to start building it ASAP. I've finally got around to getting a Capital One card, it starts with a small limit and increases if you pay off in full each month. Other than that I'm not going to put any credit advice here other that to read the wiki's!

If you don't want to get a car (parking in my apartment building is over $200 a month) you can always look in to something like Zipcar, you can hire by the hour and use your UK license. Get yourself an IL license soon though, it's a lot handier as an ID for many other things.

Good luck.