Slow (Reasonable) Pace of Life (real estate, mover, attorney)

[wallstreet1986]

Hi all,

I am originally from the Northeast, more specifically the Philadelphia area. It is a pretty place a nice place but I would never live there again. It is a very impatient, unfriendly, fast moving place.

Now living in Chicago. ditto but a little better.

I'm looking for a place that is relaxed, with a booming economy and good job opportunities (if you tell me something like rural Missouri I will shoot you down for this reason), people are friendly, and there is a good quality of life.

Would people suggest Texas like Dallas Fort Worth or San Antonio?

I'm going into law and want to work for a big firm you know 6 figure sals.

I'm a big, tall guy and I move and talk slowly. I've been criticized for that before especially back home in Philadelphia. People tell me I move on Midwest Time which is hardly much slower in Chicago.

I don't think it's a bad thing at all its just being relaxed and being yourself. Personally I prefer a place where everyone isn't going to bite my head off.

Just as a side note I have visited Europe before and its not as laid back as everyone thinks. I found Paris to be every bit as bad as New York or Boston. But then you get into the smaller cities like Tours and the country and you're like ahhh thats nice.

Come on fellow slow people give me your advice.

[plaidmom]

Hmmmm. Ok, when I first read your post, the very first city that popped to mind was "Louisville, KY".

I'm about an hour north and I visit for food and art events. It's a largish city with the cultural ammenities, and has that Southern charm.

Indianapolis is about 2 hours north of Louisville, and has more of a Midwestern feel. Several large law firms. Definitely slower-paced than Chicago! It's about 6 hours drive-time to the PA border (if you still have family there).

I've lived in TX and Dallas and Houston are *not* laid back. Austin maybe.

Good luck!

[Steve-o]

San Antonio might be a little slower paced, definitely slower than Chicago and Philly, but Dallas/Ft. Worth is hardly slow paced, theyre almost as big as Chicago.

[ScranBarre]

I don't think anywhere is truly "slow-paced" anymore in this era of cell phones, iPods, OnStar, committee commitments, expectations of "instant" service, working two jobs, etc.! Even here in my native Scranton (with a very modest metro population of around 600,000), I find people weaving in and out of traffic on I-81 and the Cross Valley Freeway, blaring their horns, tailgating, knocking each other over in big-box stores, becoming irate if they're even just the third person in line at the grocery store, etc.

P.S. May I inquire about your user name? Wall Street West, is a term being tossed around heavily in Scranton right now as Manhattan-based firms are seeking to locate satellite offices in the Scranton/Pocono metro in the event of another terrorist attack in NYC. Also, I was born in 1986, so if that's the case with you as well, then it's finally nice to find a fellow peer on here as opposed to the throngs of 45-year-old, borderline "mid-life crisis" people that seem to dominate on here! LOL!

By the way, don't go into law simply because the "salary is attractive." I'm currently majoring in Accounting and Finance simply because I wanted to start out earning a decent $55,000 or so starting salary in NJ so I could jump-start my real estate flipping business in Scranton. I'm now finding that preparing financial statements and analyzing trends amongst them through the usage of various ratios isn't exactly quite as "exciting" as I'd hoped it would be. It's just that after several years of working outdoors at a low-paying, dirty, rough job, I thought to myself "I need to be in an office setting!" Now, I'm not so sure if I'm happy I made the move into Accounting. Since I'm already nearly halfway through college, I really don't want to anger my parents by switching majors to urban planning (my true passion), as that would require me to relocate and start fresh from square one, so now I'm stuck in a career that I chose simply because there are high-paying opportunities in the field within a 90-minute commute of Scranton via the Morristown area of NJ. (Whereas there are no opportunities for urban planners in my part of PA) I'll get off my soapbox now; just make sure that you're passionate about law and not just doing it for that "six-figure salary." What good is a high salary if you're miserable? Now, I'm beginning to realize that I'd rather earn an abysmal $20,000 salary in a field I love just so I could stay in Scranton and be happier as opposed to commuting three hours daily round-trip to chase the "Joisey Money", as my fellow local commuters call it. (Perhaps tele-commuting via my laptop would be an option?) Better yet, why doesn't Scranton attract some f*&&*#&#&! college-level career opportunities so we don't all have to work for either Wal-Mart or Burger King or commute 90 minutes! LOL!

Best of luck to you!

[wallstreet1986]

Thanks plaid I have thought before about Cincinnati. Louisville sounds nice too.

I have also thought about Savannah GA, Charleston and other parts of South Carolina. I have relatives down there, it is gorgeous, and the land of gracious living.

I want to be a tax lawyer/estate planner and I love the job. Its as relaxed or as stressed as you want to make it especially with your own firm which I want to do eventually.

Yes was born in 1986.

Just read the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Sounded perfect -- could do taxes for nice people, have parties, go to parties, and gather up some clients.

"Lucille I'm having a party for two hundred people and I want low country food and plenty of it. And I don't want it to run out."

It's expensive down there -- Joe Odom from the book was a partner at a law firm before he went on his own and played in real estate. Those nice houses in Savannah or Charleston are in the low to mid millions.

I agree financial analysis lost its allure after a while of studying it. Did an internship and it is a very cog in the wheel, subjective field.

[laamin]

Vermont!!!!! Vermont!!!!!!! V-E_R_M_O_N_T

Slow....beautiful......clean.....friendly......and a bit odd in some places.
Pure heaven for a high income big guy.
Think about Burlington, they enjoy public nudity there. During luch hour you can relax on a lounge chair naked in the parking lot and no one really cares. Unless of course your physique will make the other not so big men jealous.
I went to school in Scranton...Marywood shoot me now....and Scranton was the most depressing town ever.
Good luck

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by laamin

Vermont!!!!! Vermont!!!!!!! V-E_R_M_O_N_T

Slow....beautiful......clean.....friendly......and a bit odd in some places.
Pure heaven for a high income big guy.
Think about Burlington, they enjoy public nudity there. During luch hour you can relax on a lounge chair naked in the parking lot and no one really cares. Unless of course your physique will make the other not so big men jealous.
I went to school in Scranton...Marywood shoot me now....and Scranton was the most depressing town ever.
Good luck

Have you been to Scranton in the past 2-4 years?

[wallstreet1986]

Vermont is a little too socialist for my tastes and it is impossible to make a big income there.

Law firms start at 56k a year I think. A lot of retired Wall Streeters move up there but thats AFTER they make their bones down on Wall Street.

I hate all the green party liberals and I'm a Bush fan and die hard conservative. Vermont is not my cup of tea for all the nice it is to vacation there.

Yeah Scranton is depressing and a dump. Former steel town no offense Scranton. Ditto on Allentown. Those areas may be a new Wall Street west this is true. Lots of people doing that monstrous commute to live in the Poconos more cheaply.

My name is now a misnomer perhaps cuz I want nothing to do with that life. You can enjoy every pushed and pushy moment of it.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by wallstreet1986

Hi all,

I'm a big, tall guy and I move and talk slowly. I've been criticized for that before especially back home in Philadelphia. People tell me I move on Midwest Time which is hardly much slower in Chicago.

I don't think it's a bad thing at all its just being relaxed and being yourself. Personally I prefer a place where everyone isn't going to bite my head off.

Just as a side note I have visited Europe before and its not as laid back as everyone thinks. I found Paris to be every bit as bad as New York or Boston. But then you get into the smaller cities like Tours and the country and you're like ahhh thats nice.

Come on fellow slow people give me your advice.

Well I am 6'7" tall but a fast mover! What's wrong with Missouri, I was thinking of looking there? In general it's the Midwesterners who are the only snowbirds I get along with, and they tend to be a bit more friendly as well. Any place with a high cost of living cannot/will not be laid back for a person who needs a job. You can only be laid back if your neccesities of life come regularly, without fear of the future. Since much of Europe is a real estate bubble it does not surprise me it's not laid back. Especially Paris as the French tend to be odd anyway.

[anonymous]

Charleston sounds like a good choice. They just opened a new law school in the past few years (not that it matters). I'm sure it's not like Chicago or New York in terms of salary, but it's a very popular destination for professionals in South Carolina. They have something called the "Four Corners of the Law", which is a really cool downtown area that historically was a big law center; so the area certainly has that type of history.

The pace of life is slow, and there is plenty to do. It's too expensive for your average south carolinian, but as an attorney, you shouldn't have any problems.

Just invest in a few seersucker suits, and perhaps some linen as well.