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As a person in that age group, I love the Phoenix area.
Cost of living is cheap, and jobs are plentiful (especially if you have a degree in a tech field -- I've got a few electrical engineer / computer science major-friends who work for Intel, for example). Commuting distances can be long, if you choose to live far from work, but for a metro area of its size traffic really isn't bad.
Summer heat isn't terrible. Yes, it's hot, but you can still live your daily life -- and the rest of the year the weather is incredible.
As for social life -- there's several options for sports, you just have to look around. Several local baseball / softball teams, rugby, soccer, football, etc. Golfing is HUGE here, with well over 250 golf courses around the Valley (that's not a typo). If you want to go out and party, there's plenty of options. Downtown Tempe (Mill Avenue) caters to a more younger crowd. ASU main campus is right next door, and you get the rowdy college group. Downtown / Old Town Scottsdale caters to the more young professional crowd, but it can get expensive (I've seen $50 cover charges at some of the clubs!). Downtown Phoenix / Central Ave tends to draw in the older, more settled crowd.
Honorable mentions go to the metro areas of Texas. Dallas has always been a great metro area, with an affordable cost of living, jobs in various markets, and a lot to do. Austin is a great place, but cost of living has skyrocketed recently (though is still affordable, especially when compared to DC, NYC, or the Bay Area).
Cleveland- downtown is one of the fastest growing places in the country for college educated young adults. It has a vibrant bar scene, a leading city for microbreweries, world class arts/culture scene, great food scene. There are all kinds of places to live. Fantastic metro-parks and national park. Many young people moving into town. Cleveland has the amenities of the major cities with much lower cost of living.
Areas such as West 6th/warehouse district, east 4th, Tremont, Ohio City, Coventry, and others, are all areas downtown (except Coventry which is Cleveland Heights) which have vibrant bar/restaurant scene.
Here's a timely article about cities where young people have the highest incomes. I don't think there are any surprises here:
The Richest Cities for Young People: 1980 vs. Today
"Today, the ten cities in the country with the highest median income for young people are, in order: San Jose, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, Baltimore, Seattle, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Chicago. I think if you asked somebody to forecast what this list would look like in 20 years, he would offer something very much like this list. Why? Cumulative advantage, basically. The theory would be that the agglomeration of talent on the coasts will continue to attract the smartest cookies from college, further sorting the country into a handful of elite cities on the oceans, separated by a smattering of thriving metros and a vast hinterland."
Cleveland is getting a lot of attention and is experiencing a major revival.
This year NY Times, Travel +Leisure magazine, Fodor's, LA Times, Huffington Post have all said Cleveland is a top destination in 2015 (along with places such as Iceland, Cuba, and others).
So I read a lot of stories about how Americans graduate college and as soon as they do, it is like the social aspect of their life takes a beatdown. I am not talking partying and getting wasted every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night because if you are doing that as an adult, you are screwed!
What I want to know is what places in the USA can give a person fresh out of college to build an amazing social life with those that are around their own age. Places in the USA that pander to the 22-29 year olds who have not quite outgrown the social life aspect of college and want to make friends, engage in social activities (co-ed sports, etc.) with, and hang out with those around their own age.
Any ideas?
Any of the hipster magnets; Austin, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, NYC, or Boston.
Also add in other cities that aren't necessarily "capitals of cool" but are still magnets for young professionals. Places like Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Even some mid-sized cities like Charlotte, San Antonio, or Kansas City might work.
I would avoid metro areas under 1.4 million in population or so. There are exceptions but once you get smaller you get into areas that are heavily geared towards families looking to settle down and its difficult to have an active social life.
No, find a happy medium. In terms of sheer volume, sure the biggest populated cities (NY, DC, LA, etc) have the most people your age. They have the most people in any age group.
However, you probably won't have built up your career too much by this point (fresh out of school) so the jobs you can get probably are not going to pay very high. Mega-cities are expensive as fudge. Living like a peasant sucks.
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