Where at? I'm in the DeKalb area, it's sorta the outskirt suburbs of Chicago but not close enough to be the metro area, those areas and Chicago are just asinine lol. 1 bed apartments in Dekalb cost roughly $550-$600 for a decent apartment, but they get cheaper when you look around in the tiny towns outside of DeKalb. As I said before the townhomes are $1200 a month for the middle class but that doesn't include any utilities or trash. Depending where you're at it may cost a couple hundred more, the closer you are to Chicago the higher it gets. I used to rent a townhome with 2 other people, it was actually cheaper that way than paying for a 1 bedroom. Rent may be high but electricity is fairly low because of all the energy windmills.
Same, I couldn't live in Chicago. Just like I couldn't live in a lot of areas in Cali and the east coast, the taxes and the money you need to make to live is too much for me. Where I'm originally from in Missouri townhomes cost $850 a month for a 3 bed. My parents used to rent a 4 bedroom house 2,800 sq ft, 2 1/2 car garage with a upper level to it, a sunroom, and 2 1/2 bath for $950, but the electricity bill was massive due to the size of the house but it's still cheaper than anything here, especially if you include the pricing of property taxes. Their little to nothing down there, definitely a lot cheaper than where I'm at now. Min wage may be lower but other than min wage employers usually pay the same or roughly the same.
I make $11.50 at my current job so I make about $315 a week working 3 days, but I also make money recording, mixing, and mastering music so depending on how many people I bring in the studio or how many sends me tracks to mix I can make anywhere from $315-$500 sometimes up to $700ish a week.
