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Hey all, first time poster looking to gather some opinions, as I'm really lost here.
I'm planning on going into Big 4 accounting, so I can basically relocate wherever theres an office. The thing is, the recruiting process is starting this week, and they generally want you to be decided on where you wanna live, even when you're as far as two years out from a full time hire, so I've been trying really hard to figure this out. I've been told they're pretty forgiving if you change your mind before you begin, but they want you to basically tell them you're absolutely sure of where you want to go.
I'm currently in Orlando, FL. Dont really plan on staying here. I'm from south Florida. So my current cities I'm thinking about are:
South Florida area, maybe Ft. Lauderdale or Boca
More northern Florida, like Jax, or a little more central in Tampa
Boston, or somewhere near it in MA
Chicago, or somewhere near it in IL
San Diego
Austin, Houston, or Dallas
Denver
What do you guys think of those places? Anyone who's lived in any of those places after college, feel free to share what you liked or didn't like about them. Factor in CoL, weather, career prospects, social life, etc.
Obviously, I'll be a young 20-something looking to make friends and find a potential sweet, intelligent (female) spouse. Lots of businesses are a plus if I decide to leave the Big 4 for private industry. I'd love for some seasons and change of weather. Generally trying to avoid constant weather extremes.
I'll start with what I'm thinking about each one: the weather here in Florida isnt all its cracked up to be. I can see how its nice from a tourist perspective, but sweating walking from your apartment to your car gets old real fast. However, comparatively the CoL is low and I have all my family here. Just not that many young professionals around. I want to see 20 somethings everywhere I look.
Boston always seemed like a nice place to live to me. I know its not as city like as Chicago would be, but its in the Northeast which I like, and its not as expensive as NYC. Weather seems to be nice without too much brutal extremes.
Chicago I have only heard great things about in all regards... except the weather. I've heard the winters are by far worse than the Northeast and the summers rival FL summers. Any input on this? I've heard so many great things about the social life, CoL, and career prospects in this city, I'd hate weather to outweigh that.
SD I have heard is beautiful weather year round. I'm not sure how high the CoL is, and obviously there are tons of young ladies in the area. However, I've been told by someone who's career is in a position I'd like to be in 5 years from now not to go to SD "if I ever plan on doing anything good in my career" because people are generally too laid back, and you can end up falling into the trap. Some actually complain that the weather is so perfect it starts to be annoying after a while.
The three Texas cities all seem to have great things about them, and consistently rank high on those "best cities for college grads" lists. The cost of living is low, and there are supposed to be many young people. However, it gets brutally hot, and, well, its Texas. It just seems like a whole different world out there. Not that thats a bad thing necessarily, but I've heard its hard to fit in with the culture.
Denver I dont know much about. Obviously it will get cold, but I've heard that Denver is a great weekend playground with a lot to do.
I apologize for the lengthy post, but I wanted to give as much info as possible to show everyone where I stand. If you can, please provide any tips, opinions, and suggestions you can.
Lived in Chicago:
- Global city
- 1st rate cuisine
- Unlimited culture
- Access to world class performing arts
- Brutal winters
- Brutal summers
- Affordable COL
- High QOL
Live in Denver
- 4 distinct seasons
- Great sports city
- 1st rate outdoor activities
- Functional food scene
- Serviceable performing arts
- High QOL
- Low COL
I've visited and spent considerable time in your other cities. I'm a huge Boston and SD fan for different reasons.
Boston
- Access to NY and Montreal
- Extremely diverse
- 1st class public transportation
- Great neighborhoods
I agree I'm a major fan of San Diego & Boston myself. For different reasons of course, overall I like San Diego more but Boston's not that far off either.
Just a side note on the weather issue: having lived in Chicago, Madison, WI, and Boston, I'd say Chicago's winters are no worse than any of those...certainly not as bad as Minneapolis. I personally think the summer is pretty decent in Chicago, especially if you are along the lakefront. My sister lives just outside of Orlando, and Chicago summers are muggy, but they're nothing like the prolonged heat and humidity experienced in FL.
I think you can't go wrong with either Boston or Chicago.
Indianapolis was ranked as the 4th best city in America for young professionals.
the top 1-6 aside from Indy were all California cities.
The list is based on which cities have the Happiest young professionals. 20 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals | InvestorPlace
Indianapolis has a cost of living thats 30-50% lower than California. Taxes are 50% lower too. Indiana and the city of Indianapolis have balanced budgets too so taxes arent going up.
Indy also has the nations most affordable Real Estate Market and the lowest cost of living of any Major US city.
Finally Indy offers many great amendities for a metro of 2M people. Its the fastest growing city/metro in the midwest and its only a 4 hour drive or less from Chicago/Fort Wayne/Cincy/Dayton and Columbus Ohio/St Louis/Detroit/Evansville.
Indianapolis was ranked as the 4th best city in America for young professionals.
the top 1-6 aside from Indy were all California cities.
The list is based on which cities have the Happiest young professionals. 20 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals | InvestorPlace
Indianapolis has a cost of living thats 30-50% lower than California. Taxes are 50% lower too. Indiana and the city of Indianapolis have balanced budgets too so taxes arent going up.
Indy also has the nations most affordable Real Estate Market and the lowest cost of living of any Major US city.
Finally Indy offers many great amendities for a metro of 2M people. Its the fastest growing city/metro in the midwest and its only a 4 hour drive or less from Chicago/Fort Wayne/Cincy/Dayton and Columbus Ohio/St Louis/Detroit/Evansville.
Even better Indy is 2 hours from cincy, dayton, parts of chicago and its four from the rest!
-Seattle - young, funky, eccentric, huge arts community
-Portland - Like Seattle but slightly less corporatized
-San Francisco - It's San Francisco, I don't think anything more needs said
-Austin - Don't worry, its extremely liberal, not like the rest of Texas. They have a nude bike ride there and lots of hipster culture to give you an indication
-Boston - My favorite out of these choices. Very progressive and liberal and great arts community, much like San Francisco, but a little more history and a little more class
Even better Indy is 2 hours from cincy, dayton, parts of chicago and its four from the rest!
a 5 hour radius from Indianapolis for driving can put you in range of over 20M people not to mention the 2M people in Indy metro.
thats almost like New York City's whole metro.
No wonder the NFL choose Indianapolis for Super Bowl 46.
Lived in Chicago:
- Global city
- 1st rate cuisine
- Unlimited culture
- Access to world class performing arts
- Brutal winters
- Brutal summers
- Affordable COL
- High QOL
Live in Denver
- 4 distinct seasons
- Great sports city
- 1st rate outdoor activities
- Functional food scene
- Serviceable performing arts
- High QOL
- Low COL
I've visited and spent considerable time in your other cities. I'm a huge Boston and SD fan for different reasons.
Boston
- Access to NY and Montreal
- Extremely diverse
- 1st class public transportation
- Great neighborhoods
SD
- Climate
- Scenery
- QOL
Great job outlining it for me, thanks. Chicago would basically be a no brainer for me, but I'm concerned about the winter. I've never experienced anything like it for any extended period of time. Denver is now my second choice I think, with Boston close behind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valencian
The place just grows on you.
I agree I'm a major fan of San Diego & Boston myself. For different reasons of course, overall I like San Diego more but Boston's not that far off either.
SD I would only do for the weather, but I'm not too sure about living in California. It seems like a whole different world out there lol. And its not necessarily the greatest place for career progression in my field.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maintainschaos
Just a side note on the weather issue: having lived in Chicago, Madison, WI, and Boston, I'd say Chicago's winters are no worse than any of those...certainly not as bad as Minneapolis. I personally think the summer is pretty decent in Chicago, especially if you are along the lakefront. My sister lives just outside of Orlando, and Chicago summers are muggy, but they're nothing like the prolonged heat and humidity experienced in FL.
I think you can't go wrong with either Boston or Chicago.
As I said, Chicago winters just scare me. I can handle the cold, but the wind is making me nervous about committing to it.
Indianapolis ...Its the fastest growing city/metro in the midwest
Indianapolis isn't the fastest-growing city or metro in the Midwest.
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