scrubbedexpat099

I will let you know if an opening comes up.

Do not hold your breath.

rbackhouse

That's a good idea. I'll be closer to Colorado when it reopens.

SultanOfSwing

California by the sea, where you get the sun but the heat is tempered by the marine air? I'd be all over that if I could make enough money to live there

rbackhouse

Thanks. I really appreciate it.

dj6372

We don't earn a shit load! Hence we live in a 1 bed apartment

I do love it here, but cost of living, taxes, gas prices do make you swallow hard!

SultanOfSwing

That's California for you. The upside is that you live in California.

Cost of living/gas (even though our road use taxes are quite high compared to other states) and houses are cheaper out here once you get far enough away from Chicago. Even moreso if you go downstate or into Wisconsin (away from Milwaukee, blah blah blah ...)

The downside is, I don't live in California

scrubbedexpat091

When I worked at O'hare, I lived just south of Milwaukee in Oak Creek, was like 5 mins from MKE airport, but were no transfers available, so O'hare it was, but the places I could afford in Chicago area were questionable, so I decided to commute, paid a sweet 580/month at the time. Looking at that place now rent seems to have only gone up to 650 in 13 years....Seems to still be affordable....


Only downside was the stupid tolls on the IL side.....

SultanOfSwing

Maybe I jumped the gun a bit there, comparing Milwaukee rents to Chicago rents. That's like comparing Belfast to London now I come to think of it. Unfair of me, because Wisconsin really is affordable, and quite nice to boot.

The trick is to get off of 94 once you cross the state line and stay on 41 instead. It's basically 55 all the way to Skokie where it rejoins 94 as a freeway again. I use interstates in IL all the time and the only time I pay tolls is if I need to get to O'Hare in a rush and don't want to take surface streets.

In general though, the tolls are annoying and go up every five minutes. Wisconsin has no tolls and their roads are in better condition as well, so WTF is that all about?

scrubbedexpat091

I always wondered that about IL roads, where is all that toll money going?

I don't know what the tolls are now, but if I recall back then I paid 3 tolls in total, maybe it was 2, and not huge amounts, but really add up when your commuting, and stupid need for always having coins if you wanted to go through the quicker automated line vs the line with a person...

This was back in 2002/2003, so no idea what it's like now.


When it snowed it was like day and night crossing into WI, they kept the roads clear, salted and in good condition, IL side was dicey at times.

Again this was back in 2002/2003 so no idea if things have changed.

WI was a nicer more laid back place to live, I don't think I would have liked living in Chicago even though it was closer.

Of those I worked with, only a couple actually lived in IL, most of us lived in WI somewhere, and one lady even lived in Indiana.....

Nice thing too I got the O'hare shift premium even thought I didn't live in Chicago.

Certain airports due to higher cost of living got shift premiums, not huge amounts, but a bit extra. Chicago we got an extra 80 cents per hour over say someone working at the Milwaukee airport.

SultanOfSwing

If I knew where the toll money was going, I'd probably end up as a speed bump in Bruce Rauner's drive.

The roads are night and day. Now, not all WI roads are perfect either, semis will tear up even the best of roads, but they've been resurfacing I-94 almost constantly since I moved here ten years ago and now when you join the freeway in Kenosha, it's a nice tough concrete surace, much like an airport runway. Plus, you hit the 70mph speed limit right over the state line now, unlike Illinois where you're almost out by Rockford before it goes up.

The tolls go up all the time. Not sure what the I-94/190 toll at O'Hare was in 2003, but it's $1.90 now. I remember traveling along I-88 from western IL back home a few years ago and we hit three $1.90 tolls and I think one that was over $3.00

scrubbedexpat091

1.90 I know I wasn't paying, I think it was closer to maybe 75 cents for each toll I paid, I know it was under 1.00 as I would pay with 1 bill and get some change back..

Still cheaper then the tolls they are placing here on the new bridges.

The most recent bridge that was rebuilt is 3.15 one way, so for a commuter 6.30 per day just to cross a bridge.

Luckily they haven't yet tolled the highways, but distance tolling is coming, they just need to get people used to tolls first via the bridges.

SultanOfSwing

I think it was about 75c when I moved over as well, I remember going to pick my parents up from the airport when they were coming over for the wedding and being able to pay with a few quarters.

mrken30

Pacific NW between the cascades and coast range is good for Brits that like the British climate. Not sure if anywhere else in the US has same weather as Portland, OR. Today is just fog and rain, no snow. Most snow we get is about 1/2 inch and then everything stops , just like England

SultanOfSwing

San Francisco has a near perfect climate, but it's bloody expensive to go along with it.

mrken30

Portland is a bit cheaper