3.75/5
830 reviews
Photo by Antonio Gabola via Unsplash

Chicago, IL

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love

neighborhoods

food

scene

nightlife

winter

west

cities

bars

Chicago stands out for its late-night scene and world-class food options, with many noting the variety of neighborhoods and creative energy in areas like the West Loop and Wicker Park. The city offers plenty of parks, forests, and museums, giving residents lots to explore year-round. Making friends can be easier in the suburbs than in the city itself. Winters are harsh, so many recommend avoiding that season if possible. The variety of architectural styles and constant activities make it feel lively, though some mention a recent rise in crime.

AI-generated summary of reviews
4 months ago

I grew up in Chicago and still return fairly often. I love the character of the different neighborhoods, the variety of architectural styles, and as others have said, the food scene is incredible. It's easy to make friends in the suburbs, perhaps not so much in the city itself. I have never witnessed racial tension here, and have been pleasantly surprised by the interracial friendliness I have observed. There are a wonderful selection of forests and parks just about everywhere, and the museums can't be beat. There's always something to do - too many choices! In recent years, though, the crime rate has increased significantly. Shootings are becoming increasingly commonplace - including people firing guns out of cars on the expressways. In spite of that, Chicago definitely has a personality all its own, and I will always love it.

5 years ago

Amazing nightlife and possibly the best overall food scene in the states (lots of michelin-level restaurants at far lower prices than NYC/SF). Avoid the winter and you'll love your time Chicago. It's a city of neighborhoods, so do some research to find which area suits you best. Lots of creative types live/work in the west side (West Loop, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Logan Square, etc.)

8 years ago

Chicago is great if you can afford it. I’m not sure why the “low” rating for fun and nightlife. One of the only US cities (after New York, Miami and Vegas) that stays open late (4am and 5am bars and clubs). One of the best foodie cities in the world. Winter is freezing, summer time is a blast with rooftop bars and beach days.

8 years ago

✅ Amazing nightlife

✅ One of the best food scenes

✅ City of neighborhoods with character

✅ Lots of parks and forests

✅ Great museums

✅ Always something to do

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Safe for women

✅ Very family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Winter is freezing

❌ Extremely expensive

❌ Not safe at all

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

-621°
freezing

-425°
freezing

541°
cold

846°
cold

1559°
cool

2475°
warm

3086°
warm

2373°
mild

1966°
mild

541°
cold

-032°
freezing

Real (median)

-326°
freezing

-229°
freezing

744°
cold

948°
cold

1559°
cool

2475°
warm

2474°
warm

2781°
warm

2374°
warm

1966°
mild

745°
cold

337°
very cold

Humidity

damp
83%

damp
78%

damp
75%

damp
72%

damp
76%

nice
78%

nice
82%

sweaty
78%

nice
72%

nice
77%

nice
69%

damp
75%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
61mm

rainy
56mm

dry
48mm

rainy
50mm

rainy
72mm

rainy
96mm

rainy
81mm

rainy
94mm

dry
43mm

rainy
86mm

dry
20mm

rainy
60mm

Cloud

cloudy
76%

cloudy
70%

cloudy
60%

cloudy
62%

pockets
43%

pockets
47%

pockets
30%

cloudy
58%

cloudy
57%

cloudy
66%

Air quality

clean
41 US AQI

clean
39 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
39 US AQI

clean
45 US AQI

clean
44 US AQI

clean
27 US AQI

clean
40 US AQI

clean
44 US AQI

Sun

safe
1 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
2 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

2,725 people

3,120 people

3,571 people

3,433 people

4,122 people

4,175 people

5,220 people

4,513 people

4,855 people

4,114 people

3,655 people

4,770 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Chicago's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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98pts

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Joliet, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 17° 63° AQI 11

🚕2h

$3,996 / mo

111 Mbps

Elgin, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 16° 61° 16° 61° AQI 28

🚕2h

$6,049 / mo

111 Mbps

Waukegan, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 15° 59° AQI 32

🚕2h

$5,556 / mo

110 Mbps

Aurora, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 17° 62° AQI 23

🚕2h

$5,102 / mo

113 Mbps

Kenosha, WI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 15° 59° AQI 55 😷

🚕3h

$5,593 / mo

108 Mbps

Rockford, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 16° 61° 16° 61° AQI 37

✈️10min

$4,700 / mo

58 Mbps

Milwaukee, WI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety very bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 13° 55° 15° 58° AQI 45

✈️10min

$5,284 / mo

105 Mbps

Elkhart, IN

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 15° 59° 16° 60° AQI 21

✈️11min

$4,704 / mo

108 Mbps

Janesville, WI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 15° 59° 16° 60° AQI 40

✈️12min

$4,812 / mo

43 Mbps

Normal, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 33

✈️15min

$4,519 / mo

114 Mbps

Bloomington, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 64° AQI 41

✈️15min

$4,773 / mo

104 Mbps

Madison, WI

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 15° 59° 16° 60° AQI 27

✈️16min

$5,316 / mo

110 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 31

✈️2h

$7,330 / mo

26 Mbps

Los Angeles, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 36° 97° Has AC AQI 52 😷

✈️4h

$6,565 / mo

103 Mbps

Miami, FL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 34° 93° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 19

✈️3h

$7,490 / mo

92 Mbps

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80° Has AC AQI 29

✈️4h

$8,569 / mo

168 Mbps

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🙂 Okay

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70° AQI 32

✈️11h

$2,724 / mo

16 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

✈️8h

$8,221 / mo

23 Mbps

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 15

✈️4h

$3,350 / mo

21 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 87° Has AC AQI 68 😷

✈️18h

$1,675 / mo

32 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63° AQI 47

✈️9h

$8,074 / mo

15 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 21° 70° 21° 71° AQI 24

✈️14h

$4,437 / mo

25 Mbps

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 54 😷

✈️9h

$7,010 / mo

40 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 25

✈️9h

$6,426 / mo

38 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 31

✈️2h

$7,330 / mo

🌇 Also went here450 people

Miami, FL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 34° 93° 29° 84° Has AC AQI 19

✈️3h

$7,490 / mo

🌇 Also went here246 people

Las Vegas, NV

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 32° 90° 33° 91° Has AC AQI 18

✈️3h

$6,758 / mo

🌇 Also went here253 people

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 15

✈️4h

$3,350 / mo

🌇 Also went here277 people

Los Angeles, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 36° 97° 36° 97° Has AC AQI 52 😷

✈️4h

$6,565 / mo

🌇 Also went here334 people

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80° Has AC AQI 29

✈️4h

$8,569 / mo

🌇 Also went here364 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 18° 65° AQI 38

✈️8h

$8,221 / mo

🌇 Also went here381 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 76° AQI 29

✈️9h

$4,877 / mo

🌇 Also went here295 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63° AQI 47

✈️9h

$8,074 / mo

🌇 Also went here289 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 20° 68° 19° 67° AQI 54 😷

✈️9h

$7,010 / mo

🌇 Also went here370 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 25

✈️9h

$6,426 / mo

🌇 Also went here313 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 62° AQI 50

✈️9h

$5,135 / mo

🌇 Also went here271 people

Rome

Italy

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 28° 82° 26° 79° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️10h

$5,669 / mo

🌇 Also went here250 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 21° 70° 21° 71° AQI 24

✈️14h

$4,437 / mo

🌇 Also went here275 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 40° 104° 31° 87° Has AC AQI 68 😷

✈️18h

$1,675 / mo

🌇 Also went here308 people

3,600 remote workers in Chicago now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.75/5 (Rank #85) 830 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍12 liked it 👎0 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	😳 Extremely expensive: $6,291 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 91 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Bad
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 A bit cold: 16°C61°F (feels 16°C61°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 77%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 89%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 11 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 40 US AQI
👌 Safety	Bad
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Okay
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very rich: $8,176 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Low density: 5k ppl/km² (1 per 15x15m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	North America
🚩 Country	United States
🗓️ Average trip length	8 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	91 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 16°C 61°F + 💦 Damp (77%) = feels 16°C 61°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 11 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 40 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	West Town
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Austin
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 Tipping	Yes, 15%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best alt. coworking space	1871
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
🦷 Fluoride added	💧 Yes, fluoridated
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,080,000 visitors
📸 Tourists now	39,863 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	3,700,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$98,115 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ not busy: 15x15m (225m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 47% 👱‍♀️ 53%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 79% 👱‍♀️ 21%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Amazon
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Southwest
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	United

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$6,291 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$4,398 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$5,689 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,626 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,788 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$9,524 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,009 / month
🏠 Median home price	$310,000
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$131 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$312 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$250 / month
🍛 Dinner	$21
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$3
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$7
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$6
👩‍🏫 International school	$30,558 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$5 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,352
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$30,278
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$71,127

Chicago, IL

3,600 remote workers in Chicago now, of which 4+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

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