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I just graduated with a degree in Chemical engineering. I've narrowed it down to these two cities. Ideally i'd like to visit both but i'm not quite sure if I have the money right now. Currently I am 22 years old. So what im looking for is:
Jobs for chemical engineers/engineers
Things to do in general
A good dating scene / amount of young people
Music scene (I play guitar and trombone, so a big rock/jazz scene would be great)
People friendliness
Climate
COL
Currently I live in Minneapolis, MN. I really hate the cold weather. I like scuba diving, kayaking, and things with water so I was thinking Ft. Lauderdale but Nashville's music scene seems really appealing. Thoughts? If I had to choose between these two options which one do you think would suit me better?
I just graduated with a degree in Chemical engineering. I've narrowed it down to these two cities. Ideally i'd like to visit both but i'm not quite sure if I have the money right now. Currently I am 22 years old. So what im looking for is:
Jobs for chemical engineers/engineers
Things to do in general
A good dating scene / amount of young people
Music scene (I play guitar and trombone, so a big rock/jazz scene would be great)
People friendliness
Climate
COL
Currently I live in Minneapolis, MN. I really hate the cold weather. I like scuba diving, kayaking, and things with water so I was thinking Ft. Lauderdale but Nashville's music scene seems really appealing. Thoughts? If I had to choose between these two options which one do you think would suit me better?
If you despise cold weather and enjoy water-related activities such as scuba diving and kayaking, you'd be much better served by moving to Ft. Lauderdale over Nashville, which is much colder than Ft. Lauderdale and not even remotely close to the beach/coastline. Ft. Lauderdale, OTOH, is located in the warmest region of the continental United States (South Florida), and has a very strong water orientation. FWIW, I lived in Boca Raton for 12 years, which is 20-25 mins. north of Ft. Lauderdale, and it seems like almost everyone I knew in South Florida owned a boat, fished regularly, went to the beach frequently, etc.
However, I will have you know that South Florida is, unfortunately, home to some of the lowest quality of people in the entire nation, IMO. It's home to lots of ghetto thugs, shady transients, people running from something, third-world immigrants who refuse to speak English, etc. Needless to say, South Florida is, arguably, one of the unfriendliness regions in the entire country. People down there are a lot like East Coasters in that they seem to have a general preoccupation with being shrewd, street-smart, ghetto, redneck, or some other variant of "tough." Also, it seems as though people in South Florida are always trying to "one-up" you--cut you in line at the grocery store, beat you to the stoplight, cut you off in traffic at the last possible second, etc. Coming from Minnesota, this will be very pronounced and will certainly require a significant adjustment. FWIW, I grew up in Rhode Island, which is home to many more ornery people overall than Minnesota, and I still had to undergo an adjustment when I first moved to South Florida.
That said, I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise that it's difficult to make friends and, in particular, find yourself a soul-mate in South Florida, especially as an educated professional. Simply stated, lots of people won't be on the same wavelength as you, not to mention that people have a different attitude and approach towards friendships and relationships overall than in the Midwest and other parts of the South. I don't know about Nashville because I've never lived there, but most career-oriented college graduates in their 20's and 30's from South Florida move to Atlanta, Charlotte, and Raleigh among other cities to launch their careers. Generally speaking, the economy of South Florida truly leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the professional services sector. I doubt the Nashville area would serve you that much better, if at all, from a career standpoint, either.
With a degree in chemical engineering, I recommend Austin, Texas or the Research Triangle area of North Carolina, where I'm certain you'd have far more opportunity to utilize your degree. Both Austin and the RT are much more educated, professional places overall than either Ft. Lauderdale or Nashville, although the RT is less exciting. Austin in particular has a great live music scene, even though it's not really my style. However, I should have you know that if you're not gainfully employed in an "exciting" city such as Ft. Lauderdale or Nashville, then you're not going to enjoy living there because you won't really be able to afford to take advantage of the activities that make it an exciting place.
At the of the day, I suppose you have to choose between whether you want a colder inland city with a better music scene and higher people quality or a warmer coastal city with a very strong water orientation, but very low people quality. Although I could be very wrong, I don't think you'll be gainfully employed in either city, so you might as well choose the city that you feel will best align with your personality, interests, hobbies, etc. On a final note, I'd like to leave you with this--Nashville is much more culturally Southern than Ft. Lauderdale. Overall, it's a very conservative, religious place, and there's too much "Bubba talk" and "Bible thumping" for me to truly like it there.
Outdoor activities - Ft Lauderdale has gorgeous winters, nice beaches and I'm sure some good scuba diving opportunities. Nashville has good hiking and a couple lakes and rivers that are suitable for kayaking.
Young population - Miami is close in proximity and has a good population of young people. Nashville has a fantastic young population as well.
Music scene - Nashville has tons of people playing music and for rock music you have bands like the black keys, white stripes, kings of leon all living in Nashville. Miami has more of a club scene but does have a few rock shows.
Friendliness - Nashville is far superior in friendliness.
Climate - Ft Lauderdale dominates. You can go to the beach year round.
Cost of living - To live in a fun young neighborhood, Nashville is cheaper.
I just graduated with a degree in Chemical engineering. I've narrowed it down to these two cities. Ideally i'd like to visit both but i'm not quite sure if I have the money right now. Currently I am 22 years old. So what im looking for is:
Jobs for chemical engineers/engineers
Things to do in general
A good dating scene / amount of young people
Music scene (I play guitar and trombone, so a big rock/jazz scene would be great)
People friendliness
Climate
COL
Currently I live in Minneapolis, MN. I really hate the cold weather. I like scuba diving, kayaking, and things with water so I was thinking Ft. Lauderdale but Nashville's music scene seems really appealing. Thoughts? If I had to choose between these two options which one do you think would suit me better?
If you like scuba diving, then Ft Lauderdale might not be such a bad idea. You won't find better access to shore diving in the continental US. I frequently go to Pompano Beach/Lauderdale by the Sea(the reef is just as good as in the Keys, extends all the way up to Jupiter, and is in close proximity to the beach(for the most part). The ambiance should be a lot different than Nashville. Personally I like it a lot, but then again I just visit to scuba dive. I don't find all people being rude/ghetto thug characters etc as others say. One thing you can have though is good NY style pizza.
In essence, it's a lifestyle decision (you'll probably be more active with your hobbies down there than in Nashville or Austin or anywhere else). Most people down there are in 'Salt Life' mode. I don't live in South FL but I would imagine in a metro area of 6+ million, there should be jobs within your field/what you studied to start. COL should be higher, so an idea would be to live a bit further up(by West Palm/Jupiter). In the end, I can't imagine the place is so horrible as others make it sound.
Things to do in general - tie, depends on interests.
A good dating scene / amount of young people - both but i'd stress how much more approachable and polite the women are in nashville over ft lauderdale.
Music scene (I play guitar and trombone, so a big rock/jazz scene would be great) - Nashville, not even close.
People friendliness - Nashville. South FL is horrible when it comes to ppl.
Climate - 4 season is better than constant heat and humidity, so Nashville.
Interestingly, 7 years later, I’m debating the same question. I’m ALSO from MN but work remotely and can live anywhere. So where is the best spot!?
I think the response still holds true. There is no denying how great the weather, sun, ocean and beaches are in Florida. But I’ve been here 4 months and I’m having a hard time getting over how horrible the “rejects” make it. The people suck and everything mentioned above is true. Everyone is out to one up you or cut you off, like everyone wants to be in the mafia or something. So I really struggle with the same question - am I better off going inland and being happy with people having manners in Nashville or do I go on not being able to make friends but have access to coral reefs? I HATE that there isn’t a happy medium :/
Ft Lauderdale will be warmer and closer to what seems to be your ideal climate. Having lived in Nashville for 6 years I would say there's plenty of single/young people, but it does get relatively cold there in the winter (like it can get below freezing and due to the humidity it feels very cold, though that doesn't happen often in the winter) and it can snow a couple of times each year, which pretty much shuts the city down when that happens.
Nashville is exploding and has been for a while. I would not consider it "cheap" though. Not in the way other midwestern (Indianapolis, Columbus) or southern cities (Birmingham, Louisville) might be considered "cheap living". The COL has risen quite a bit over the years (it rose quite a bit just during the 6 years I lived there... like I had some guy in our apartment complex once tell me he would soon no longer be able afford his rent because it kept going up yr and yr). Can't comment on Ft. Laudy since I have no experience in that city.
Nashville has plenty to do in the city and the surrounding area (great food, lots of gentrified or gentrifying areas in/around the city, outdoorsy stuff, etc.), but it's popularity has grown significantly so you'll be dealing with a lot of traffic day in/day out, just a heads up.
It IS music city and you will find tons of musicians everywhere (as a fellow musician I would know). Oddly, it was great and terrible at the same time, haha. You would meet people from all over the US, many of which played some sort of instrument (often guitar). That was cool sometimes but it just meant more competition and that your particular talent was one most other people in the area had. If you're just someone who does music as a hobby it can be very fun initially though.
Nashville has become super transient and for someone young that's not necessarily bad because people are generally very friendly and most in the area are from another state (seriously, I had trouble finding locals). Just keep in mind that many of my friends (and my wife's friends) ended up moving away from the area due to either family reasons or job relocation. Still, it's a cool city that's growing like crazy. If you do move there it's not uncommon to see well known musicians here or there, just a heads up. That's my .02 cents.
Last edited by Kluch; 07-21-2021 at 11:56 AM..
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. Just kidding. Sort of...
