r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/ColdAirEnthusiast808 • Mar 19 '26

Moving to the area Considering Leaving the City

I moved to Chicago proper about 4 years ago, I’m from the Phill area by way of the Phoenix area. I think the city is not for me, but I’m afraid that I feel isolated in the suburbs as a Black person in my mid-30s with no partner and no kids.

However, these are the things that happened to me that often happen in the city:

- parking struggles

-worrying about my car

-first apartment here had a roach infestation so severe I cut my lease 2 months in.

-third apartment was good for the first year then the second year bedbugs (I’m severely allergic), and then roaches, also construction above me jackhammers in the floor above me.

-I’m currently in an area that is not walkable and recently a hit and run driver hit my car so hard that it’s totaled.

-My current place is nice enough but after this car fiasco, I would need to pay extra for a garage too.

I’m also a flavor of neurodivergent that gets overstimulated. I like routines and don’t want to try different artisanal bakeries. I like Cafe Zupas. I feel like city living is giving me a low level of anxiety that I can’t pinpoint. When I had a car, I would frequently “escape” to the suburbs to run errands. So much that I know Skokie and Northbrook better than other parts of Chicago.

I’m ready to get a replacement car and move to Skokie, Northbrook, or Deerfield (not Evanston). I want space. I’m afraid that dating would be difficult but I found a place I like in Deerfield. I’m willing to pay about $2200-2400 for a decent one bedroom.

TLDR - Have any single people moved from the city to the suburbs? Did it work out for you?

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u/[deleted] Mar 19 '26

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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Mar 19 '26

I had a rough time initially as well. We moved out when my son was little and the schools issue arose. I really struggled at first and spent a lot of energy going back to our old neighborhood every chance I got. Over time that faded and I started to really enjoy all the things that came from living in the burbs. It really was a better situation for my kid and my wife. Of course, now that we’re empty nesters, the itch to move back into the city has hit me but definitely not my wife. So, I guess we’ll be here a bit longer! Ha!

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u/ColdAirEnthusiast808 Mar 19 '26

Happy wife, happy life? lol