Move to Chicago: thread 2, sorry, more help please..!

[shaktar]

Thank you so much to everyone who gave advice on my last thread, it's been an amazing help. We visited for a week, back yesterday, and I've more questions if you don't mind helping..

So, we had a tour with a relocation agent and saw all the areas we asked about: Oak Park (thinking this would be a comparison for N Shore), Evanston and a few places on the North Shore (bits of Wilmette, Highland Park, Lake Forest).

We ended up waiting 90 mins for a delayed train at Lake Forest which may have unfairly biased against the area but have essentially decided it's too far out (husband will be commuting to the Loop every day). I think we had some dream of stretches of beaches and lakeshore accessibility on the North Shore and have realised that is not the case. So: although it will ultimately depend on what houses are available close to a decent elementary school when we arrive we have loosely decided on Oak Park, Evanston, south North Shore.

Here is my question (sorry for epic post) - how safe is Oak Park? I feel ok about Evanston and North Shore but liked OP and we are concerned about availability of rental houses in Ev and NS after hearing horror stories from realtors. But, for every 3 online love ins for Oak Park there is a warning about safety regarding surrounding areas. Any experience or anecdotal evidence of how safe it is - particularly the commute into downtown - would be incredibly helpful.

Please chuck any advice you have at me anyway - offer letter will be signed next week to move in early Jan and then there's no going back (visa issue permitting) so I will be haunting this board regularly.

How's it going @shaktar? Did you sort out the dog transport? You must be getting fairly close to moving date now?

@holdmylobster
hello! We will be in Chicago mid Feb
The house is utter chaos as random bits of furniture disappear to eBay, plants are slowly being palmed off on friends, random freezer food is being excavated.

My sanity is definitely in question but I think we are moving in the right direction. BA have started flying pets again and we have an air bnb booked.

One thing we havent sorted - yet - is finance. We could set up an international account with lloyds but it makes much more sense to me to open an account with an american bank which has lots of ATMS and that we can actually walk into of we have issues. Any thoughts, as ever, appreciated..

Exciting and terrifying - good luck! I remember that chaotic stage. I actually moved out of our nearly-empty house before we left, and went to stay with family, so that I could finish emptying and cleaning the house.

For banking, I'd open the Lloyds international account for now so that you have a checking account you can use in the US initially. We still write a fair number of checks/cheques here.

I'd say keep a UK bank account and at least one UK credit card up and running. Some banks don't like you having a UK account once you've moved to the US - we're with First Direct and we also kept our Tesco credit card for quite a while, and we didn't have any problems keeping either. They may do periodic extra identity checks (I think related to money laundering regulations).

Once you arrive, find a local bank that has lots of ATMs and a local branch you can use, and open an account with them. If you can, ask locally for recommendations.

You'll need to build up credit. One way we did it was to take out secured credit card - where you put down a deposit, use the card, pay it off each month, and that way you build up credit.

You may well have to put down large deposits for things like rent, utilities, mobile phones etc. IIRC it didn't take that long to build up enough of a credit rating that this stopped being a problem.

How fantastic! We went to Chicago last year and LOVED it. Hope all goes well for you 😀

I lived in downtown Chicago and used Chase, had lots of ATMs. Might be one to look into!

You will need a driver's licence or state ID to open a bank account, and you will need a social security number and proof of residence in order to get a driver's licence. Proof of residence in IL means utility bills plus rental agreement or mortgage document. An AirB&B address won't be enough.

You need to get an American Express card asap, in the UK. Apply today.

An Amex account will help you establish credit in the US. It will also be usable for expenses for the first few months.

www.us.hsbc.com/international-banking/moving-to-america/
You need to set up a HSBC account asap too.

Or Lloyds as suggested.

After a few months and when you have the necessary IDs, Chase has lots of ATMs and also branches in the city and suburbs.

Look to see if your OH's employer has a credit union too.