But there’s more to it: A recent article in the magazine Chicago Social, “A Chicago State of Mind,” details how New Yorkers are finding more benefits to buying Chicago condos than just a greater bang for their buck:

A slower pace, a greater quality of life. “The work-life balance in Chicago is just quantifiably better,” financier Lincoln Ellis said in the article. It’s not just that Chicago condos are much larger for the same amount of money one would spend in New York — it’s that here, people actually have time to enjoy them.

“My way of life has slowed down, and I’m actually able to enjoy it. In New York, I wasn’t able to absorb things around me,” said another New York transplant, Samantha Gauntt, in the article.

High-quality entertainment and culture that matches the options in places like New York.

Ellis pointed out “the usual suspects” — Chicago’s world-class arts institutions, including the Lyric Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Many Chicago homes for sale are near these cultural lions.

And beyond those, “If you dig a little deeper, there is a huge, less obvious but very well developed tier of arts groups and theaters here that are amazing,” Ellis added in the article.

Like any other big city, there’s always more to explore, and new arts groups are constantly springing up — this is especially true given Chicago’s lower cost of living.

The fabled “Midwest nice.” According to some New York transplants, Chicago’s friendly vibe actually lives up to the hype.

“Honestly, when I moved here, people would stop and say hello to me in the street and I didn’t know what to make of it,” said Gauntt in the article. “I thought everybody was crazy. Now I’ve realized that people are just genuinely nice here.” And the only thing better than a Chicago luxury home is a Chicago luxury home with great neighbors.