I need recommendation of state/city to move-to from Chicago.

[Ola Ade]

Hi all,

This is my first post on this platform and I have been listening to bigger pocket for three months now. By the way kudo to David and his team for sharing knowledge that is valuable.

I currently live in Chicago and my family and I decide to move but we don't know where. The only thing we know is that we want to move to a less crime city, NO SNOW,  safe and has a good economy with the hope to start investing in property too as well.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

[Allen Worley]

I’ve lived in a few places around the country.

Florida:  If you don’t mind rain about 300 days a year, humidity that stifles your breathing, air conditioning blasting always (I like that, but my wife had to keep a hoodie in the car because she was freezing inside every building), and then there’s the Hurricanes…and Mosquitos…and alligators…

Jacksonville is not a very attractive place in general.  There are some very nice areas, but in general it’s just really boring.  The downtown is OVERRUN with homeless.  The beach is not a clean water, it’s so shallow that the waves churn up the sand so it’s always kind of brown.

Orlando is nice but can get very overcrowded.  This is where I went to high school and I loved it.  TONS of things to do for a family, it’s kind of what the city is all about.

Tampa is not too bad, a lot of trashy neighborhoods just outside the city.  If you are moving for the beach check the time to drive from wherever you are looking at, it will be much further than you realize and over a Very Long bridge. 

Miami is just way too overpriced and the pay does not reflect the cost of living so it’s hard to make a living there.

Arizona:  I positively Love Phoenix.  Yes it’s hot as hell for a few months, but, for 9 months a year it is absolutely beautiful.  We will be buying a second home/condo there in the next few years.

Alabama…Sweet Home Alabama…If you haven’t thought about the Gulf Coast area you may want to give it a look.  Mobile has good and bad areas but also it’s close to A Lot of places like New Orleans, Pensacola, Gulf Shores (a secret gem of the south).  If you like hills and beautiful country look at Northern Alabama. (Yes, I am from southern Alabama)


I was stationed in North Carolina in the Marine Corps…literally nothing good to say about Eastern NC.  I’ve heard the western part of the state is amazing though, around the Charlotte area.  But, yes it gets cold and snows.

We stayed in Los Angeles for 6 weeks and I can not for the life of me figure out why anyone lives there.  Taxes, Homeless, Traffic, overcrowding, Cost!! Ex: $750,000 for an unliveable 1 bedroom house with a yard that needed 3 retaining walls to have any flat surface, in Inglewood….and that was over 3 years ago before the new SOFI stadium.

Just my opinion, hope it helps.