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Hey all, I'm a college junior, born, raised, and currently attending school in Maryland. I've lived all my life (with the exception of my semester abroad in Manchester, England) in the suburbs, and the only American cities I've been to are Baltimore, D.C. and one day each in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and NYC. However, I've become quite fascinated with the idea of living in a city once I graduate and hopefully find a job.
I'd be looking to get into any job related to journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/etc and so I figured that a city would be the best option. I have a few factors for my ideal city, which of course doesn't exist, but I was wondering if anyone here could help me narrow my search.
-Culture
It's super important that the city be an interesting place to live. I go to a lot of live shows, so music venues are a must. I'm pretty far left, politically, so ideally I'd like to stay away from super conservative places (like the South). Bookstores are awesome, small record stores are cool, and anything in that sphere.
-Job Prospects
Well of course this is actually the most important. I need to survive in the city, so it's got to have jobs in the sphere I'm in. Again, anything journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/writing/etc.
-Cost
Obviously this is super important as well. My job prospects will probably be slim, given my liberal arts education and the awfulness of the job market now. Places like NYC and D.C. are probably off the market for me. I don't mind living in a small apartment - in fact, I'd prefer it.
-Walkability
I love walking. It's the only exercise I enjoy doing, but I love it. I'd hope for a city that's both easy to walk around in and interesting to walk around in. If I didn't have a car, it would save me money and help the environment. So if it's not necessary to drive a car, that would be ideally.
-Greenery
For most of my life I thought cities were awful. I've pinpointed the reason - I need some kind of greenery in my life or I'll go insane. Parks, trees around the street, cool nature not so far away, any and all would suffice.
-Distance
I wouldn't mind moving to the west coast, but it would definitely be a difficult adventure. I'd prefer places relatively close by, but I wouldn't mind further away places.
So from what I've gathered, there are a few places that come to mind.
-Seattle
-Portland, OR
-Portland, ME
-Boston
-Baltimore
Are there others that fit these categories? Do some of the ones I mentioned not really fit my criteria? Is it wishful thinking to expect to move to any of these cities in the next few years? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
If NYC and DC are financially tough the Seattle are right behind.
If the cold dosent bother you I would recommend Chicago, Philadelphia, and although in the south Atlanta and Dallas and Houston are big cities and not concervative at all. And are green especially Atlanta. All are very affordable and provide lots of chances to grow in your career. For smaller cities also consider Raleigh/Durham,NC, Charlotte, NC and Austin Texas
-Job Prospects
Well of course this is actually the most important. I need to survive in the city, so it's got to have jobs in the sphere I'm in. Again, anything journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/writing/etc.
Jobs will be the big hitch, honestly. Traditional journalism is pretty squeezed - if you can market yourself into marketing skills or some other field tangential to what you've listed, you may have broader options. But really you should be talking to career services, alumni contacts, or perhaps even your faculty to figure out where the jobs are to match your skill set.
Agree that Seattle isn't cheap. Portland OR really isn't either - you can do okay renting a room in a house, but the job market isn't great here, and there's not much of a COL discount. Though certainly, both are pretty green. And getting a job from 3200 miles away is rough, and moving across country with no job is a bad idea in this economy.
Portland ME really isn't much of a city, as cities go. It's only a city by northern New England standards at 66k - basically the same size as Frederick MD. It's the 29th largest city in New England, behind Boston, Providence (which you should at least glance at), Hartford, and 25 other places you've never heard of.
I'd look at Chicago and live near the lakefront and Lincoln Park for your nature fix. It's lovely. Chicago is walkable and also has good metro transit options. It's liberal and has an active music, arts and theater scene. It's got a lot of publishing and media, too.
Avoid Providence like the plague--high COL/taxes, no jobs, anti-business, rising crime rate, provincial, ghetto, most dilapidated infrastructure in the country, cold from October-May, tough-talking trash-mouths abound, etc. Overall, it's just a very bleak city with no future.
Hey all, I'm a college junior, born, raised, and currently attending school in Maryland. I've lived all my life (with the exception of my semester abroad in Manchester, England) in the suburbs, and the only American cities I've been to are Baltimore, D.C. and one day each in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and NYC. However, I've become quite fascinated with the idea of living in a city once I graduate and hopefully find a job.
I'd be looking to get into any job related to journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/etc and so I figured that a city would be the best option. I have a few factors for my ideal city, which of course doesn't exist, but I was wondering if anyone here could help me narrow my search.
-Culture
It's super important that the city be an interesting place to live. I go to a lot of live shows, so music venues are a must. I'm pretty far left, politically, so ideally I'd like to stay away from super conservative places (like the South). Bookstores are awesome, small record stores are cool, and anything in that sphere.
-Job Prospects
Well of course this is actually the most important. I need to survive in the city, so it's got to have jobs in the sphere I'm in. Again, anything journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/writing/etc.
-Cost
Obviously this is super important as well. My job prospects will probably be slim, given my liberal arts education and the awfulness of the job market now. Places like NYC and D.C. are probably off the market for me. I don't mind living in a small apartment - in fact, I'd prefer it.
-Walkability
I love walking. It's the only exercise I enjoy doing, but I love it. I'd hope for a city that's both easy to walk around in and interesting to walk around in. If I didn't have a car, it would save me money and help the environment. So if it's not necessary to drive a car, that would be ideally.
-Greenery
For most of my life I thought cities were awful. I've pinpointed the reason - I need some kind of greenery in my life or I'll go insane. Parks, trees around the street, cool nature not so far away, any and all would suffice.
-Distance
I wouldn't mind moving to the west coast, but it would definitely be a difficult adventure. I'd prefer places relatively close by, but I wouldn't mind further away places.
So from what I've gathered, there are a few places that come to mind.
-Seattle
-Portland, OR
-Portland, ME
-Boston
-Baltimore
Are there others that fit these categories? Do some of the ones I mentioned not really fit my criteria? Is it wishful thinking to expect to move to any of these cities in the next few years? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
You might not have thought of it, but you might actually want to consider Cleveland. I live in a neighborhood that is undergoing a bit of gentrification right now. It has an awesome Indie concert venue in a old converted Slovenian neighborhood hall, 3 record stores on the same block, art galleries, a soon to open micro brewery, restaurants, and it's all less than a mile from the beach. Cleveland has some fantastic culture, such as the world class Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Orchestra, Playhouse Square all of which can rival anything in the largest cities in the country, at a fraction of the cost (free for the CMA astonishingly). We also have a very low COL (I bought and renovated a house for less than $20,000). As far as jobs in journalism, I'm not too familiar with that field, but I do know there is a very popular weekly alternative newspaper here (Scene Magazine), along with the city's newspaper, The Plain Dealer, NPR, local TV stations, online publications such as Rust Belt Chic. There are quite a few writers that live here. If you have talent and a degree you shouldn't have a problem finding work. I think you'd be surprised to find some really beautiful things here. Lakeview Cemetary, Wade Lagoon, Rockefeller Cultural Gardens, Holden Arboretum, the Cuyahoga Metroparks, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park are a few that come to mind. If you're looking for a diamond in the rough, Cleveland might be your place.
This summer (and the next year) I hope to take some trips to several of the cities on here and actually see what they're like firsthand. At least I hope to visit Boston and Chicago.
I'd be looking to get into any job related to journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/etc and so I figured that a city would be the best option. I have a few factors for my ideal city, which of course doesn't exist, but I was wondering if anyone here could help me narrow my search.
-Culture
It's super important that the city be an interesting place to live. I go to a lot of live shows, so music venues are a must. I'm pretty far left, politically, so ideally I'd like to stay away from super conservative places (like the South). Bookstores are awesome, small record stores are cool, and anything in that sphere.
-Job Prospects
Well of course this is actually the most important. I need to survive in the city, so it's got to have jobs in the sphere I'm in. Again, anything journalism/media/publishing/libraries/radio/writing/etc.
-Cost
Obviously this is super important as well. My job prospects will probably be slim, given my liberal arts education and the awfulness of the job market now. Places like NYC and D.C. are probably off the market for me. I don't mind living in a small apartment - in fact, I'd prefer it.
-Walkability
I love walking. It's the only exercise I enjoy doing, but I love it. I'd hope for a city that's both easy to walk around in and interesting to walk around in. If I didn't have a car, it would save me money and help the environment. So if it's not necessary to drive a car, that would be ideally.
-Greenery
For most of my life I thought cities were awful. I've pinpointed the reason - I need some kind of greenery in my life or I'll go insane. Parks, trees around the street, cool nature not so far away, any and all would suffice.
-Distance
I wouldn't mind moving to the west coast, but it would definitely be a difficult adventure. I'd prefer places relatively close by, but I wouldn't mind further away places.
I would give Boston the top slot given your criteria and career interests.
Since you're talking about big cities, I wouldn't worry about the South being too conservative. Just don't take the wrong exit lest you end up in the rural south!
Boston, Philly and Chicago are your cheaper big city alternatives. Seattle and Portland are potential matches. In the south you can start with Atlanta (a major media center) and also consider Dallas, Houston or Austin.
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