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| *Travel Tips>>>Chicago Travel Tips |
Questions about moving and living in chicago...? |
Travel Info I am currently a graphic design student in ohio where design jobs are scarce but cost of living is cheap. After I graduate I would like to move to Chicago, and I was wondering if finding a graphic design job in Chicago will be hard to find. Also, if I plan to move there, should I find the job first, or move first? As for the cost of living, would it be possible for a graphic designer to live moderately well in the city with their type of pay? What is the average salary of a graphic designer in chicago? Any help at all would be appreciated, thanks :) Travel Tips I suggest moving to Chicago before finding a job. The reason for this is because Chicago isn't really hard up for graphic designers, since they have many graphic design schools in the city, and potential employers will view your Ohio residency as a strike against you. (This also goes for any career path one might pursue in Chicago.) So make sure you have enough money to survive for a month or two before you move. I have no idea of the average salary of a graphic designer in Chicago, but I would assume that it varies greatly depending on your employer. Since Chicago is the home to many magazines, advertising firms, and lots of giant corporations, I would imagine that they pay very well; whereas a smaller firm would pay a smaller salary. I doubt you'd have too hard of a time finding a job in Chicago. That being said, living on a moderate wage in Chicago can be accomplished fairly easily. I suggest looking into apartments in the northwest part of town. An area like Portage Park is up and coming but rents are still relatively cheap in this part of town. I also suggest getting the latest edition of the Not For Tourists Guide to Chicago; these handy maps break down the city by area, giving you an overview of the community and the location of restaurants, supermarkets, and pretty much everything else worth mentioning. Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/community_a... http://www.notfortourists.com/chicago.as... Other Travel Tips Start looking at the help wanted ads on Chicagotribune.com under graphic designers. Hopefully that can give you an idea of how much to expect. Also different parts of town the rent is much different. North side is more expensive than South side. I'm a graphic designer and I work for the state and I make a decent living. Generally, a graphic designer here can make anywhere from $37-55,000 a year. Your best best would be to check monster.com or careerbuilder.com and do a search for graphic designers AND chicago. You'll get a pretty good idea of what sort of opportunities are out there in Chicago. you can live pretty well cheaply in Chicago. You can find a decent apartment in a modest neighborhood for about $600 and up. Public transportation is everywhere and it's cheap (about $2 without a bus car, $1.75 with). There are large and small grocery stores who's prices are competitive (meaning they'll try to undercut each other with low prices) and there are a bunch of dollar stores. (don't known 'em: why go to a major grocery story and pay $3 for a box of sandwich bags when you can get a the same bags at a dollar store for, well, a dollar). Chicago is not as expensive as people make it out to be. I'm in school for Visual Communications and the college promises a job with a minimum starting wage of $40,000 a year if we use their placement system. Finding design jobs within Chicago is easy, though. My graduate friends have not had a problem finding positions they are happy with. The cost of living depends on the area. There are still some inexpensive areas within the city. However, I'm paying $700 for a small studio is a nice part of town... If you look, you can find less expensive lodgeings if you're willing to dig. A friend of mine got a three bedroom basement level apartment in Lincoln Square for next to nothing. |
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