Post Grad House Hacking Feasability

[Jeff Wang]

Hi, long time listener, first time caller, I just made this account today to post.

I'm starting my final year of undergrad with a job offer to work remotely at a small tech company. It's not a mind-boggling salary, but it's enough, and the economical decision would be to move into a LCOL area and thrive. The issue is I've lived in cities my whole life and feed off social life, something I'm already concerned with having when I'm working remotely.

I'm currently eyeing cities like Chicago and NYC, the latter of which I have not lived in and have been doing some digging on. A lot of my friends and other new grad young professionals seem to congregate in areas like Midtown and lower Manhattan or in Williamsburg/Bushwick and Downtown Brooklyn.

I know house hacking isn't impossible in NYC, but my most ideal areas with people my age and high traffic are also everyone else's ideal places to live, and are much harder to house hack. I wanted to inquire and poke around on whether this is something feasible or if I should look towards other places (like Chicago). 

I'd love to talk, listen, and please feel free to realign my expectations or provide some experience and anecdotes - please go easy on me. Thank you in advance for reading!

[Jonathan Klemm]

Hello there @Jeff Wang - Awesome to see you jumping on the forums for the first, but hopefully not the last time!

I may be a little bit biased, but I believe Chicago is one of the best cities in the country to house hack.   You can find great 2-4 unit buildings at reasonable prices (compared to New York City), and many of them need to be fixed up, which is an added bonus of equity if you are willing to tackle a renovation.

I'd suggest somewhere along the blue line (train) in the northwest part of the city, where you can find some priceless neighborhood vibes.

Plus, the real estate community is unmatchable...tons of people willing to give you a hand up.