Fair warning with Chicago, it may look cheaper but taxes are much higher than Dallas, along with everything in general. Not trying to sway you, it’s a gorgeous city. But, the L has been kinda crappy the past couple years and the winters will be a drastic change taking public transit. There’s tons of job opportunities and plenty of ways to go cheaper here, so I recommend it if you think it would work for you, but plan for it to be more expensive than you think.
The entire time I was doing the awkward sad chuckles asking my partner repeatedly if it was for real and no, no ,no while I dragged it around killing it. I judged the parents soooooo hard for it.