Deciding where to move is a massive undertaking. When I moved from Salt Lake City to Chicago I knew I was picking the right place because I’d done tons of research and “city shopped” a lot of places. But knowing how to decide where to move is overwhelming. Since I’m always asked this question, I wanted to share why I moved to Chicago.

I’m not saying the way I decided where to move is right — everyone is different. But maybe knowing my thought process will help you if you’re wondering how to decide where to move.

First and foremost, know why you’re moving. I not only wanted to leave Utah (#sorryNotsorry) but wanted a new adventure somewhere else. Here’s how I decided where to move and why I moved to Chicago.

Why I Moved to Chicago & How to Decide Where to Move

Size Matters.

The size of where you live affects every aspect of the place, from jobs to cost of living and everything in between. One of the first requirements of my new home was that it had to be a big city with lots of people (read: more diversity) and all the advantages of a big city. For me, that meant lots of culture (arts, museums, things to do) and lots of people.

So my initial list of potential places to live included the largest cities in the country: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, and New York. I “city shopped” by traveling to all of them to see how they felt, then started narrowing down my choices.

That’s Life.

Then I thought about what kind of life I wanted to live. When I pictured my ideal lifestyle, I wanted to sell my car and walk everywhere. That already narrowed my choices by taking Los Angeles off the list. (Sorry LA!) I also wanted to live in a high rise building in the heart of the city. That removed San Francisco. (Also I sort of hated San Francisco.)

Extracurricular Activities.

Another factor for my new city was the sports scene. It sounds crazy, but cities full of citizens who are proud of where they live tend to be very passionate about their sports teams. And vice versa. Not only did I want to live somewhere where everyone was proud of their city (something not everyone can say about Salt Lake), but I knew I could walk into a bar during a game and make friends with everyone cheering on the team.

Besides sports, opera inspires me to jet around the world for a good performance. So a city with a good opera company was essential. That automatically axed Washington DC and Boston from the running, who both have less-than-spectacular opera companies.

Details.

Seattle, Chicago, and New York were left on my list. So I started thinking about the details in each city. I looked at taxes and salaries, rents and groceries. Then I thought about things like the weather I would have to deal with. I didn’t think I could deal with Seattle’s rain and clouds, so the Emerald City was out. I was iffy about Chicago’s winter but soon realized New York’s wasn’t much better. So suddenly those were the last two in the running.

Work it.

Obviously a job is a big deal when deciding where to move. Lucky for me, I work in an industry saturated in most big cities. That also meant I could potentially find a job before I moved. It’s tough, but possible. Pick a city where your industry has a presence and decide whether you’re willing to risk moving before or after you have a job. I applied to jobs in both Chicago and New York and even traveled to both places for interviews.

Then, surprisingly, I was offered jobs in both cities. (On the same day, no less!)

Trust your gut.

With job offers in both Chicago and New York, I had to decide between my two favorite cities in the country. I’d always loved New York but something was pulling me to Chicago. It just felt right. Plus the cost of living was a little lower and I was that much closer to Salt Lake City, so I could go back on a regular basis.

Chicago has an obsessive sports culture, great museums, and a world class opera. It’s a beautiful city with stunning views, and affordable flights around the world to travel. It has great food and one of the best whiskey markets in the country. It was everything I wanted in a new home.

And four years later I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the country.

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So I guess my advice comes down to this. If you’re wondering how to decide where to move, first figure out what you need in your life and what you want out of it. Research the places (even boring financial stuff), visit them, and trust your gut. If all else fails, you can always move somewhere else.