Should I stay Or Should I Go?

[Latifa Al Latif]

My lease is up March 2020, I’m prepared to purchase but looking for input. I have 2 options: A. Buy a townhome in my current area (Naperville, fairly affluent suburb near Chicago with great schools) or B. Buy a small Multifamily in Chicago.

Option A: My son doesn't have to change schools. I'll be saving on rent. I could get creative and find an investor for deals in Chicago to start my REI journey.

Option B: Find a great school in Chicago (Southside, Chatham), buy a small multifamily, have tenants pay you the bills and save my work income for another property and in a year or two, move back to Naperville.

The dilemma:

Option A: Naperville is expensive and as a poker dealer, my income remains $67/k without increase. And I work 60 miles away. My money is spread super thin, and it’s starting to get stressful.

Option B: Chatham isn’t the safest neighborhood. I can save 90% of my paychecks for the year with a small MF.

What would you do?