Relocating from Ohio. Where to move? (lawyer, employment, neighborhoods)

[erik_1717]

Hello. I am a 26 year old male trying to decide where I should relocate. I have lived in Ohio my entire life and have always wanted to relocate to an area with nicer weather. Additionally, a fresh start is something that I always thought would be fun. I've studied abroad in Germany for a summer so I at least have an idea of what an extended period of time without family can feel like.

All of that sounds pretty minor but I have put a lot of thought into making this move. I am an attorney and have been practicing just shy of a year. Due to my love of warm, dry weather as well as sunlight, I've always wanted to move out west. I've also visited Arizona and Nevada so I am aware, at least a little bit, of what the heat out there entails. The current areas where I am looking are Arizona (Phoenix, Yuma, Tucson), Nevada (Las Vegas), Texas (Austin and El Paso), and Colorado (Grand Junction). I am a prosecuting attorney here in Ohio and have contacted Prosecutor/DA offices as well as Public Defender offices in each of these areas. Main factors that I am looking at with the move are:

Cost of living change (I'm in Columbus which has a very low cost of living)

Employment potential (as a new attorney, I would need to take the bar exam and hopefully work for another government agency such as a pros. office or public defender)

Overall quality of life as a young professional (I enjoy being outside and warm weather. Lots of hiking and sports and I also enjoy skiing. I am an avid poker player)

Aside from Phoenix and parts of Colorado, all of these places seem to have pretty good cost of living. I would probably be looking for a 1 BR in the range of $800-900 per month.

I have saved up some money working for the last 10 months and am hoping to have about 4-6 months worth of expenses saved for the move in case employment becomes a bigger issue. Ultimately, I want to be employed as a law clerk somewhere until I get results back and then go back to being a salaried attorney.

*I looked into bar exam reciprocity and I do not believe I fit any of the criteria for that. Any advice or stories on these areas would be great! I am also open to other areas.

**Since I would have to pass another bar exam in any of these places, deciding on a state is more pressing than a city. I would probably take the February Bar exam with the intention of moving to the new location sometime in late spring/early summer.

[kyle19125]

You might add Salt Lake City to your list as well and if you haven't visited could be quite surprised at the quality of life measures there for young professionals. The central core neighborhoods like Sugar House, 9th and 9th, Harvard-Yale, 15th and 15th, The Avenues or Liberty Wells are some good places to start looking. All are also in close proximity to I-80 which if you head out 30-40 minutes east will take you to beautiful Park City for world-class skiing and in the warm weather months great hiking/mountain biking options.

Place Matters: Salt Lake Neighborhood Map - Salt Lake Digs

[erik_1717]

Thanks! I will certainly look into Salt Lake as well. One thing that drove me away from that area a bit was the weather. I am looking for warm weather. How are the winters there? I have a friend that lives in Park City and LOVES it so this is tempting but I do not want to find myself in weather similar to Ohio.

I have also considered some states in the South as well as Florida in my search. Any thoughts as to these?

[projectmaximus]

Florida is sunny and warm (usually hot) but definitely not dry. You won't have any skiing nearby and hiking is limited to woods and trails no mountains. Tampa, Orlando and Miami all have pros and cons but they at least have sizable young professional populations. Jacksonville is good too but definitely a smaller yp scene, fewer singles and less nightlife. But not there are some positives to that.

One benefit of FL is that you have a lot of options within the state if you can pass the bar. Incidentally I have many friends who work or have worked for both the prosecutors office and public defenders in the jax area. Most of them hate it.

[FourFiftyFour]

Austin is not necessarily dry. It is pretty humid there.

I am not a lawyer so I am not as sure on the bar exam for each of the states but for climates: New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona would be my front runners in consideration.

Cost of living would be a big change for a lot of those places though.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by erik_1717

Thanks! I will certainly look into Salt Lake as well. One thing that drove me away from that area a bit was the weather. I am looking for warm weather. How are the winters there? I have a friend that lives in Park City and LOVES it so this is tempting but I do not want to find myself in weather similar to Ohio.

I have also considered some states in the South as well as Florida in my search. Any thoughts as to these?

Salt Lake is similar to Denver (and nowhere near Ohio-like) in that it's largely sheltered from cold fronts and weather coming in off the Pacific so it doesn't get dumped on with snow like other areas and is fairly dry, not arid/bone-dry but certainly not humid. Winter in general is largely a three month affair and not overly severe in terms of cold temperatures. The city receives an equal mix of the other three seasons as well which gives it a more moderate feel.

http://dssni5kiwicxb.cloudfront.net/...0City/temp.png

Given your desire for significant single professional communities and the recreational activities you like to participate in (skiing/hiking) the only cities in the South/Southeast worth checking out in my opinion would be places like Atlanta or Charlotte which are in closest proximity to those activities and definitely young professional-centric cities.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Follow the herd to NC!!