LA vs. OC vs. Bay Area vs. Portland vs. Seattle vs. Phoenix vs. Denver vs. The Twin Cities (Los Angeles: home)

[pgrit154]

I know... this is one heck of a comparison. My girlfriend and I are about to embark on one heck of a move, but have been unable to further narrow down our decision. While this may not be the best forum for discussing this, because of the number of places in California, as well as my trust in this forum... I'm posting it here.

A little background on myself - Wisconsin native.. from to far northwoods... spent a bit of time in central Wisconsin for college. I then moved to Los Angeles for a few years and loved it - but left in early in the year due to my inability to finish college there (no way I'd be able to work as an unpaid intern and pay the bills) and a desire to spend time with my nieces, and due to meeting my better half.

Currently, I'm living in Wisconsin, but both the lady and myself are itching to do bigger and better things. Our influences in moving will be the City itself, job opportunities, and potentially grad school opportunities.

So I'm wondering what you guys think. We're thinking of moving in May... Myself with a degree in Geography (Urban Planning emphasis) and her with a degree in Biology. She has been working in genetics, and I have had jobs in IT... but would rather bridge into something in my career field - either Urban Planning or GIS. I personally lean towards better weather... while she doesn't mind snow. She's been to the Pac-NW and loved it... and it's always been on my radar. We both really enjoyed Denver... in the summer.

Based on the location, city, job outlook, housing costs.... where would you move? Obviously, in our mid-twenties, we are thinking of finding our home - a place we could settle down and spread our roots.

Thanks in advance for your help guys!

PS- a bit of bias. She has an uncle in the Bay Area, and my best friend lives there. I also have many friends in LA. She also has a sister in the Cities.. making that another viable option. Everyone wants us to move by them, ha. I'm also a fan of diversity - I'm biracial (White/Black).

[Charles]

Find a job first. It is 69 times easier to find a nice place to live in a town with a job than it is to find a job in a town.

[pgrit154]

Agreed... and that would be the best situation. It just seems like some places are completely unwilling to give you a job unless you already live there.

[マジン]

I hear Stockton is very nice this time of year.

[pacific2]

Given that both you and your girlfriend are considering graduate school, maybe it is a little bit too soon to decide on a place where you could settle down. What happens if you are accepted into a good graduate program on, for example, the East Coast; or, do you plan to limit your options to universities that are near your home?

I would recommend getting the graduate degree first, and then finding a place to plant your roots.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by pgrit154

Based on the location, city, job outlook, housing costs.... where would you move? Obviously, in our mid-twenties, we are thinking of finding our home - a place we could settle down and spread our roots.

Thanks in advance for your help guys!

PS- a bit of bias. She has an uncle in the Bay Area, and my best friend lives there. I also have many friends in LA. She also has a sister in the Cities.. making that another viable option. Everyone wants us to move by them, ha. I'm also a fan of diversity - I'm biracial (White/Black).

I cant wrap my head around your question.

Do you have job offers in all these places?

There are positives to all of these places. The job market in LA sucks. Job market in Phoenix sucks. Can't speak to anywhere else.

LA and OC is a discussion in and of itself. Both are extremely expensive compared to the other selections.

honestly, there is ZERO way to answer your question, especially without knowing your income/budget, job needs, etc. Knowing your biracial is nice and all, but wont pay the bills - we need hard facts.

[pgrit154]

The job market right now for Urban Planning is pretty good... and while we don't have jobs yet, we're looking at places that we should be applying to. As far as grad school - if we decide to go, that would trump all... but right now that isn't factoring into the decision much. From what I can tell, we're going to make a combined $80,000 - $100,000 per year regardless of the city. The pay scale for planning as well as lab tech jobs is pretty consistent in many of the areas.

With my job - I simply need an area to practice planning in... areas with sprawl are areas that likely have more jobs. The more municipalities an area has, the more opportunity for me. As for her - she needs hospitals to be close.. or genetics labs.

With that in mind... what do you think? No job offers in place... just wondering which places you'd think would be best to apply. Obviously we're going to go where the job and/or school is... but we want goals.

[pgrit154]

As for the location of the school... not as important. We'd like to either be close to home (Twin Cities) or out west. Right now, it's just a though... not something either of us have made serious strides towards.

[MtnSurfer]

The thing is this is a very subjective poll and decision. I can tell you Seattle because I like that city or Portland or San Jose. But I like those cities for a number of reasons that are unique to my career and families' personal preferences - being closer to the coast, more moderate weather vs. more of a MidWest snow weather pattern, proximity to family, etc...

We lived in CO and did not like being land locked in the middle of the US. But the Rockies are gorgeous and we did fully enjoy them while living there. So we don't regret living there for a time. For many Midwesterners the winters are relatively mild although they were extreme for us. I just don't like those types of extremes and sub freezing temps for many months out of the year - seeing my breath when I get in the car every morning, driving on ice, snow or through huge hail storms which crack windows, etc... I also don't like Big Box Americana which I found too common in both Denver and Colorado Springs.

But if those things don't bother you, which very well could be the case, then Denver may be the best option. There are a lot of jobs, unemployment isn't as bad as out west and the cost of living is much better. It is most likely easier for a younger couple to get ahead as you are not putting the majority of your income into housing costs. Can you live with a snow season which sometimes doesn't end until May? Or are you looking for a bit more moderate climate? We met quite a number of Midwesterners who swore Denver and the Springs had mild weather.

So do you see what I mean about it really depending on the individual?

Since you are young I would just think about this as a chance to explore and experience another part of our great nation - nothing wrong with that. If you don't like after lets say 5 years you can always move somewhere else.

So I recommend writing down what you are really looking for. Then prioritize them with your girlfriend. How important is:

* weather
* jobs
* cost of living
* proximity to friends/family
...

Then rate each city accordingly.

Derek