Young adult: higher income at Minneapolis vs. better lifestyle at Washington DC? (safe neighborhood, school)

[aiyoweii]

Hi everyone,

I'm a young professional in Atlanta, who graduated from college last year and has been working at a private company since graduation. I recently received two job offers that require relocation to Minneapolis and Washington DC respectively. The job at Minneapolis is at a fortune 500 company that offers $60+k, whereas the Washington DC job is at a consulting firm with $50+k salary.

As I really LOVE the lifestyle in big cities, I will pick washington dc location wise without hesitation. I also personally value the consulting job (washington dc) experience more, but I think it's somewhat underpaid (lower than my current salary). On the other hand, the Minneapolis job is in a fortune 500 firm, so the experience could not be bad, and the pay is 10k higher!!

I'm really torn between these two choices. (fyi. staying in Atlanta has been ruled out.) Which one would you suggest please? Could you also give me some ideas in the following criteria for both cities:
- young adult lifestyle/entertainment
- food and shopping
- people: young professionals and networks
- career opportunities
- estimated monthly cost of living with roommate(s) in a safe neighborhood
- crime

To help you understand my situation better, I'm hoping to get into a good business school, after another 2 years of work experience at the new company. So working in the company and the city (in terms of experience and networking, etc.) that is helpful with my mba preparation/application is also very important.

So all in all, do you think I should choose Minneapolis with a higher income or Washington DC with a more preferable lifestyle? Your honest advice is truly appreciated!!

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by aiyoweii

Hi everyone,

I'm a young professional in Atlanta, who graduated from college last year and has been working at a private company since graduation. I recently received two job offers that require relocation to Minneapolis and Washington DC respectively. The job at Minneapolis is at a fortune 500 company that offers $60+k, whereas the Washington DC job is at a consulting firm with $50+k salary.

As I really LOVE the lifestyle in big cities, I will pick washington dc location wise without hesitation. I also personally value the consulting job (washington dc) experience more, but I think it's somewhat underpaid. On the other hand, the Minneapolis job is in a fortune 500 firm, so the experience could not be bad, and the pay is 10k higher!!

I'm really torn between these two choices. (fyi. staying in Atlanta has been ruled out.) Which one would you suggest please? Could you also give me some ideas in the following criteria for both cities:
- young adult lifestyle/entertainment
- food and shopping
- people: young processionals and networks
- career opportunities
- estimated monthly cost of living with roommate(s) in a safe neighborhood
- crime

To help you understand my situation better, I'm hoping to get into a good business school, after another 2 years of work experience at the new company. So working in the company and the city (in terms of experience and networking, etc.) that is helpful with my mba preparation/application is also very important.

So all in all, do you think I should choose Minneapolis with a higher income or Washington DC with a more preferable lifestyle? Your honest advice is truly appreciated!!

That's an interesting one. I lived in Minneapolis for 18 months when I was in my early 20s.

It's a progressive little city. It's also extremely cold. I loved living in Minneapolis, and loved everything about it except the long winters. However, it felt like most people living in Minneapolis, are people who were born and raised there or somewhere nearby. Met people from throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Iowa, and one person from Nebraska. I don't recall meeting anyone else from anywhere else.

As much as I actually really did like Minneapolis - especially the people and the politics and the thinking. I have absolutely no desire to ever go back there again to live. But I liked it.

As this is as Washington DC forum, I'm personally drawn to DC for all the reasons you mentioned. Minneapolis (and most American cities for that matter) just can't offer what DC does on the job front.

If your heart is in Washington DC, and it seems to be if you're strongly considering a much higher paying job in a much lower cost of living city, than you should go for DC. I'm sure you can maneuver your way into something higher-earning as well. It seems the ceiling for that in general in DC is just much higher.

In short, go for DC, based on what you've written above.

[DomRep]

I think you've already made your mind up about where to go.

[coldbliss]

I can't speak for the Twin Cities much. But I have to caution you about Washington, DC. Business/Corporations and MBAs don't fly very far in the Nation's Capital. The level of entrepreneurship is no where near as creative or exciting say as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, or NYC. If you were planning to get a law degree or a master's in public administration then I would say DC is the best choice.

I know people who got MBAs at Georgetown and UMD-College Park and they could not find jack squat in terms of lucrative corporate management positions in the Washington, DC region. They had to find jobs in Chicago, Atlanta, NYC and so on. The bottom line is that DC has been--and always will have--a public policy and government-oriented professional environment.

Sure, there are many private-sectors businesses headquartered in the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs but many of these businesses rely ONE customer: the federal government. Someone with business management skills and an MBA education would be ill-suited for this scenario. Frankly, you would be bored out of your mind.

My two cents: take the job in Minnesota and endure the harsh winters for a couple of years. In the end, you will get a killer recommendation for a top tier business school and once you get your MBA, you can live anywhere you want in the world.

Originally Posted by aiyoweii

Hi everyone,

I'm a young professional in Atlanta, who graduated from college last year and has been working at a private company since graduation. I recently received two job offers that require relocation to Minneapolis and Washington DC respectively. The job at Minneapolis is at a fortune 500 company that offers $60+k, whereas the Washington DC job is at a consulting firm with $50+k salary.

As I really LOVE the lifestyle in big cities, I will pick washington dc location wise without hesitation. I also personally value the consulting job (washington dc) experience more, but I think it's somewhat underpaid (lower than my current salary). On the other hand, the Minneapolis job is in a fortune 500 firm, so the experience could not be bad, and the pay is 10k higher!!

I'm really torn between these two choices. (fyi. staying in Atlanta has been ruled out.) Which one would you suggest please? Could you also give me some ideas in the following criteria for both cities:
- young adult lifestyle/entertainment
- food and shopping
- people: young professionals and networks
- career opportunities
- estimated monthly cost of living with roommate(s) in a safe neighborhood
- crime

To help you understand my situation better, I'm hoping to get into a good business school, after another 2 years of work experience at the new company. So working in the company and the city (in terms of experience and networking, etc.) that is helpful with my mba preparation/application is also very important.

So all in all, do you think I should choose Minneapolis with a higher income or Washington DC with a more preferable lifestyle? Your honest advice is truly appreciated!!

[stateofnature]

Keep in mind that if you take the 50k job in DC versus the 60k job in Minneapolis, you are giving up more than just 10k because the cost of living is much higher in DC.
According to this calculator, you would need to increase your income by 31.9% to have the same standard of living in DC as you would in Minneapolis.
Cost of Living comparison calculator

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by coldbliss

I can't speak for the Twin Cities much. But I have to caution you about Washington, DC. Business/Corporations and MBAs don't fly very far in the Nation's Capital. The level of entrepreneurship is no where near as creative or exciting say as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, or NYC. If you were planning to get a law degree or a master's in public administration then I would say DC is the best choice.

I know people who got MBAs at Georgetown and UMD-College Park and they could not find jack squat in terms of lucrative corporate management positions in the Washington, DC region. They had to find jobs in Chicago, Atlanta, NYC and so on. The bottom line is that DC has been--and always will have--a public policy and government-oriented professional environment.

Sure, there are many private-sectors businesses headquartered in the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs but many of these businesses rely ONE customer: the federal government. Someone with business management skills and an MBA education would be ill-suited for this scenario. Frankly, you would be bored out of your mind.

My two cents: take the job in Minnesota and endure the harsh winters for a couple of years. In the end, you will get a killer recommendation for a top tier business school and once you get your MBA, you can live anywhere you want in the world.

Excellent advice! You made me read the OP's initial response again, and you nailed it.

I'm particularly interested in the non-business world of DC - the gov't jobs, the NGO's, the contractors.

I hadn't noticed the OP's theme of 'fortune 500 company', 'future business school', 'later MBA program', etc.

Yeah, with those in mind, I'd take Minneapolis as well. Those are pretty much THE jobs in cities like Minneapolis, and for that matter, most of the world. Plus the OP would get paid more, and have a lower cost of living.

I'm now reversing my DC personal bias, in favor for the Minneapolis obvious choice, considering the interests.

DC is additionally quite low on my list if I think of 'MBA', 'business school', 'Fortune 500'. Not that they wouldn't be in DC, but they'd be a distant second fiddle to what DC offers...where almost any other city, they are the cream.

[brooklynborndad]

1. Minneapolis has some quite urban areas, I think

2. DC is generally more expensive, so add that to the salary difference

3. OTOH it will matter where in DC - if you work in the suburbs, you could find cheaper housing - OTOH then you would miss the urban experience

4. If you are really intent on going back to school, its not that big a difference anyway. You might want to focus on which experience is going to be better on your resume long term. Im not sure which that would be these days.

5. If the consulting firm involves lots of travel, that could actually reduce your cost of living - since you would eat on the clients dime much of the time, and being away a lot, you could make do with a smaller living space (traveling consultants are highly valued as roommates, IIUC)

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by coldbliss

I can't speak for the Twin Cities much. But I have to caution you about Washington, DC. Business/Corporations and MBAs don't fly very far in the Nation's Capital. The level of entrepreneurship is no where near as creative or exciting say as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, or NYC. If you were planning to get a law degree or a master's in public administration then I would say DC is the best choice.

I know people who got MBAs at Georgetown and UMD-College Park and they could not find jack squat in terms of lucrative corporate management positions in the Washington, DC region. They had to find jobs in Chicago, Atlanta, NYC and so on. The bottom line is that DC has been--and always will have--a public policy and government-oriented professional environment.

OP HAS a job offer already. The metro DC area in fact has quite a few consulting firms with extensive private sector client bases. Also consultants often deal with clients in other cities. If OP has an offer that makes sense, with a good client base that matches their interests, I don't think they need to worry that their neighbors will in other fields.

[DC Bossman]

Originally Posted by coldbliss

I can't speak for the Twin Cities much. But I have to caution you about Washington, DC. Business/Corporations and MBAs don't fly very far in the Nation's Capital. The level of entrepreneurship is no where near as creative or exciting say as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, or NYC.

Sure, there are many private-sectors businesses headquartered in the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs but many of these businesses rely ONE customer: the federal government. Someone with business management skills and an MBA education would be ill-suited for this scenario. Frankly, you would be bored out of your mind.

Such a big misconception that is not true at all. Silicon Valley is a beast on its own, but DC is on par with most other entrepreneur hubs like Seattle or boston. Livingsocial, SBnation, HelloWallet, etc. Lots of creative types. Do your homework

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/te...tups.html?_r=2

[aiyoweii]

Originally Posted by coldbliss

I can't speak for the Twin Cities much. But I have to caution you about Washington, DC. Business/Corporations and MBAs don't fly very far in the Nation's Capital. The level of entrepreneurship is no where near as creative or exciting say as Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston, or NYC. If you were planning to get a law degree or a master's in public administration then I would say DC is the best choice.

I know people who got MBAs at Georgetown and UMD-College Park and they could not find jack squat in terms of lucrative corporate management positions in the Washington, DC region. They had to find jobs in Chicago, Atlanta, NYC and so on. The bottom line is that DC has been--and always will have--a public policy and government-oriented professional environment.

Sure, there are many private-sectors businesses headquartered in the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs but many of these businesses rely ONE customer: the federal government. Someone with business management skills and an MBA education would be ill-suited for this scenario. Frankly, you would be bored out of your mind.

My two cents: take the job in Minnesota and endure the harsh winters for a couple of years. In the end, you will get a killer recommendation for a top tier business school and once you get your MBA, you can live anywhere you want in the world.

Thank you so much for your reply!! The reason I kinda like the DC job more in spite of its lower pay is because after living in atlanta for 4 year (the 2nd tier city in my mind), it makes me very much want to live in a bigger city that has more young, ambitious people around. In other words, I think my job at the big fortune 500 corp in minneapolis will be rewarding, but slow, whereas the dc consulting job will be underpaid and stressful, (even makes my life miserable time to time), but fulfilling and exciting.

Since my dream business school is in neither dc nor minneapolis, do you mind helping me compare the 2 cities, in terms of:
- top 30 consulting firm vs. top 30 fortune 500 firm for pre-MBA
- make the right connections/networks
- be motivated by the similar minds
- future job opportunities

To be honest, the 10k pay difference/cost of living difference is not the most important factor for me, making the decision. The real question is if the dc experience is worth me giving up a better paid job?

I look forward to your further advice. Thanks again!!!