New Graduate wanting to Move South (fit in, best cities, apartment)

[mnracefan]

Hello,

I am sure there are many people that have asked this question already, but I am looking into specific cities.

I graduated this spring, with a degree in accounting. I am trying to get away from MN winters, and have narrowed my search down to:

- Atlanta, GA
- Fort Worth, TX
- Houston, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Phoenix, AZ

I would like to live someplace where people are generally happy with their living experience. I have no children, and don't care what the schools are like. I want it to be relatively safe, though I understand that dif't areas of any city will be safer. The job market is important, and I would like to live in an apartment.

Does anyone living in these areas have anything to tell me, positive or negative?

Thank you

[What!]

Originally Posted by mnracefan

Hello,

I am sure there are many people that have asked this question already, but I am looking into specific cities.

I graduated this spring, with a degree in accounting. I am trying to get away from MN winters, and have narrowed my search down to:

- Atlanta, GA
- Fort Worth, TX
- Houston, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Phoenix, AZ

I would like to live someplace where people are generally happy with their living experience. I have no children, and don't care what the schools are like. I want it to be relatively safe, though I understand that dif't areas of any city will be safer. The job market is important, and I would like to live in an apartment.

Does anyone living in these areas have anything to tell me, positive or negative?

Thank you

Ha! I got info on all those places.

Atlanta , GA: Spread out; many ethnicities; many things to do; watch out for crime if you're a small town Minnesotan like me (); weather might be all right; some friendly people; financially segregated; and southern.

Fort Worth, TX: boring; sprawled; sociable people; lots and lots of asphalt; millions of Texas flags waving everywhere; and southern.

Houston, TX: see above.

Jacksonville, FL: huge; boring; nothing special; southern.

Phoenix, AZ: so hot Satan wouldn't live there; cranky people; road rage capital of America; suburban; sprawled; kinda skanky; and hopeless.

Hope you find the city you want. Oh, as far as jobs go Texas is best.

[ogre]

About the weather:

Atlanta: like the Carolina Piedmont; four seasons, skewed toward a long, muggy summer, rather than a long, cold winter; very pleasant in spring and fall; mild but variable winters, with the occasional pleasantly cool or warm day, the occasional brief cold spell, a little snow here and there, sometimes an ice storm; generally milder climate than inland in the center of the country, but humid.

Jacksonville and Houston: mild winters, with a lot of pleasantly cool days, quite a few pleasantly warm days, and some occasional chilly weather, which may seem especially chilly because it's humid, so it causes the kind of dank chill that cuts into you; pleasant springs and falls; long, hot, HUMID, oppressive summers.

Phoenix: mild winters, with pleasant days and cool to moderately chilly nights; long, hot, hot, hot, dry baking hot, summers, except for a period of a few weeks with a lot of thunderstorms.

Fort Worth: four-seasons climate with more extremes of temperature than you'd find east of the Appalachians (as in Atlanta); very hot summers; variable winters, with warm, cool, and cold weather, ice storms, a little snow here and there; pleasant, temperate autumn weather; springs that are volatile, with a number of severe thunderstorms each year, but pleasant and temperate, like fall, the rest of the time.

[Eastender67]

Click on these (4 links following) and read what Forbes, Business Week and some other magazines have to say about Houston. . . .


Best Cities For Recent College Grads - Forbes.com

Are You in the Best City for Your Job?

Best Cities to Live, Work and Play - Kiplinger.com

Houston, we have no problems. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

[Kofi713]

Originally Posted by What!

Ha! I got info on all those places.

Atlanta , GA: Spread out; many ethnicities; many things to do; watch out for crime if you're a small town Minnesotan like me (); weather might be all right; some friendly people; financially segregated; and southern.

Fort Worth, TX: boring; sprawled; sociable people; lots and lots of asphalt; millions of Texas flags waving everywhere; and southern.

Houston, TX: see above.

Jacksonville, FL: huge; boring; nothing special; southern.

Phoenix, AZ: so hot Satan wouldn't live there; cranky people; road rage capital of America; suburban; sprawled; kinda skanky; and hopeless.

Hope you find the city you want. Oh, as far as jobs go Texas is best.

Lying is a sin.

[radraja]

What! seems to be a bit off-base here...

Atlanta is the friendliest city I've visited in a while. It's really green and beautiful, and there are plenty of walkable neighborhoods (I like the town of Decatur).

Houston is really vibrant and has plenty to do. Great skyline. I wouldn't say that it's too extremely southern...a northerner would fit in just fine.

[TheGeneral]

Originally Posted by What!

Phoenix, AZ: so hot Satan wouldn't live there

What!

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by radraja

What! seems to be a bit off-base here...

Atlanta is the friendliest city I've visited in a while. It's really green and beautiful, and there are plenty of walkable neighborhoods (I like the town of Decatur).

Houston is really vibrant and has plenty to do. Great skyline. I wouldn't say that it's too extremely southern...a northerner would fit in just fine.

The same can be said for Atlanta.