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That place is too far a commute if I were to apply to DC and if I lived in DC, I'd live in a Virginia suburb so I can get in-state tuition at UVA in case I go to grad school. Is DC any good for the industries I mentioned? I liked it a lot, but I'm worried everything is Government/Non-profit stuff and there's no tech/healthcare, etc. or entrepreneurial activity there.
Yeah, DC is heavily govt related (including private sector) for obvious reasons, but it should have plenty of options for other industries given its large population and highly educated talent pool. Don't think you'd have any trouble finding a startup to work with, etc.
Arlington (VA) would be an awesome place to live and probably very convenient commute into DC.
So I am currently an accounting student and we have to submit our city preferences within 2 weeks. Although I have a sense for what I like and dislike, I'm really not sure which city I would choose to start off my career and I really need help from the experts here!
Here is some of my criteria:
-Prefer warm to cold weather but don't mind a change of seasons. Not a big fan of snow, but I can live with it in a car-less city
-Definitely need to be in a city near lots of large, public companies (since I'll be auditing them) so small towns are a no go.
-Not as important as the one above, but my favorite industries (in order) are pharmaceuticals, energy, media, and tech, so being in a city strong in those industries is ideal but not a requirement
-Strong entrepreneurial community (if possible) as I'm hoping to eventually work in finance at a startup
-Hate owning a car and want to live somewhere with good public transportation or not so much traffic that it's a challenge to find parking like it is in NYC
-I like diversity but I also prefer a strong Asian community (includes both south east Asians and east Asians). I'm not the type of person who exclusively hangs out with my own ethnic group, but I do tend to assimilate better in these communities than others for obvious reasons. This is actually pretty important but not a deal breaker compared to the industry stuff mentioned above.
-Nightlife is good but outdoor recreation is better
-Sports culture is preferable
-Intellectual/Educated crowd is highly preferable
Another thing to consider is that my school places lots of people in NYC, DC, and Atlanta (NC + VA cities are also where we are strong in placing people) and even though it has a strong enough cachet to put me in most places in the country, the further west we head, the harder it will be for me to match.
Man, from my perspective based strictly on what you said I feel like there's a ton of places with great potential. The entire West Coast. Every big city in Texas. Boston, Chicago, NYC, DC, Philly, etc...
Anyway, let's break this down a bit. If you REALLY dislike cold weather (it was your first factor after all) and you don't want to own a car (cause you hate it) then I'm now down to just a handful of large metros: San Francisco and DC (robust public transit and somewhat moderate weather). I'd say Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, OKC, Nashville, Miami and Tampa might present opportunities to go carless from time to time but you'd probably still want to have one with you. Taking those cities and being a bit subjective regarding your other criteria, I am left thinking Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas.
So SF, DC, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas plus I'll wildcard back in NYC and Seattle for offering so much of what you want except warmth.
Honestly, I doubt you'll go wrong with NYC, DC or Atlanta if that's where your school has connections. (Just make sure that Atlanta work puts you in a place where you can be less car dependent.)
Also, it sounds like you are in a good spot and don't need to stress so much! Your line of work will probably make you stress plenty , don't worry as much about this preferences list.
Man, from my perspective based strictly on what you said I feel like there's a ton of places with great potential. The entire West Coast. Every big city in Texas. Boston, Chicago, NYC, DC, Philly, etc...
Anyway, let's break this down a bit. If you REALLY dislike cold weather (it was your first factor after all) and you don't want to own a car (cause you hate it) then I'm now down to just a handful of large metros: San Francisco and DC (robust public transit and somewhat moderate weather). I'd say Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, OKC, Nashville, Miami and Tampa might present opportunities to go carless from time to time but you'd probably still want to have one with you. Taking those cities and being a bit subjective regarding your other criteria, I am left thinking Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas.
So SF, DC, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas plus I'll wildcard back in NYC and Seattle for offering so much of what you want except warmth.
Honestly, I doubt you'll go wrong with NYC, DC or Atlanta if that's where your school has connections. (Just make sure that Atlanta work puts you in a place where you can be less car dependent.)
Also, it sounds like you are in a good spot and don't need to stress so much! Your line of work will probably make you stress plenty , don't worry as much about this preferences list.
I'm from the NW so Seattle weather is just fine to me. Currently, I'm living in the south and I'm actually now realizing how I kind of miss cloudier/weather that isn't so hot and humid all the time as the mercury continue to rise. What I say that I dislike cold weather, I mean places like Michigan that are FREEZING constantly. I think what bothers me more than snow are freezing winds. That's what will make me miserable. I can live with overcast though.
So far, I'm liking DC a lot. NYC was magnificent to look at, but I mostly went there as a tourist. If I had to live there, I'm sure the grime, etc. would get to me despite the beautiful skyline and all. DC was very clean and still felt bustling, plus I mentioned the getting in-state thing is at the back of my mind, so it seems awesome IMO. I also actually just read that DC is one of the largest markets for Venture Capital surprisingly and that Livingsocial was founded there, so maybe I'm just oblivious to other activities there.
I don't know a ton about Atlanta. I know it has lots of F500 companies, but it might be too southern for my taste. You mentioned Charlotte and I was wondering if you knew how easy it is to live either there or Raleigh with a car in terms of parking, traffic, etc. in case I wind up there? The main thing I hate about having a car is worrying about parking, dealing with rush hour traffic, and DUIs (not that I have one).
Gotcha...well if that's all you worry about with car ownership then I'm guessing a place with relatively low congestion but also neighborhoods where you can live and walk to bars will solve the problem.
I do NOT know Charlotte well at all, but can vouch for its urban amenities based on the experiences of friends. I would think that traffic is fine, it has decent transit...actually great transit and planning for the south, and I'm sure nice housing options should you want to live in a vibrant walkable area.
Raleigh I am a bit more familiar with. It is a pretty cool metro (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) with lots of things going for it, hence its tremendous population growth. Mostly fueled by the great research institutions in the area. But it is still extremely car-centric. Also, those three cities are pretty distinct and separate. I say this to mean that 1) none of them is a truly big city...for a metro area of an estimated 1.2 million people it feels even smaller cause that population is divided into three distinct areas 2) if you need to travel between the different cities for work then you'll be logging a lot of miles on the car. But I suppose to your concerns, I doubt traffic or parking is much of an issue at all.
There are some cool areas in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham, but overall I personally wouldn't want to live there.
Oh, I forgot about Atlanta. Well it definitely has a southern influence there's no denying that. To me it's still a cosmopolitan city but then again I'm from the south so I might be a little, umm, immune to that vibe haha. But to paint a picture for you...Atlanta has:
5.5 Million people. (Larger than Seattle and San Francisco/Oakland MSAs with which you are familiar)
16 Fortune 500 companies. (as you know)
The world's busiest airport for passenger traffic...BY FAR!
254,307 Asians as of 2010 (about 5% of the population)An area north of the city (Duluth) where you can live only speaking Korean. I have friends who moved their Korean parents there since they couldn't speak English.
I mean, it's still undeniably influenced by southern culture but I feel like the above factors limit just how much of an effect that would have on you.
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, don't worry as much about this preferences list.
