Chicago vs ATL vs Houston for single, young female (living, cost, better)
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Alright, wondering what people's opinions would be for a Chicago vs ATL vs Houston showdown when it comes to a single, white, young female. I am currently living in Houston, lived in Atlanta for an internship, and grew up living two hours away from Chicago. I'm familiar with all cities, obviously, but I honestly have never gotten the opportunity to get out and explore the areas as a resident. Reason for this post is because I am going to pick a place and try to stay there for a few years instead of hopping around so much like us millennials do
No, I currently work here in Houston. Some pretty personal, borderline traumatic things happened to me here that is making me look elsewhere. I will obviously start a job search/ideally have a job before I move. Just trying to narrow down where to dedicate my job hunt to.
More information necessary about your preferences re: career, weather, cost-of-living, walkability versus driveability, plus anything else you want to throw out there.
Career: I work in media/web/creative. I'm clearly aware of how wonderful Houston's economy is as I snagged a full-time job with benefits two weeks upon my college graduation date. But I've noticed Houston's companies are run and filled with a lot of older people, for example I work with all men in their 40's. I would prefer working for a company with a younger crowd.
Weather: Isn't a huge deal. I'm from the Midwest so I've experienced every extreme from hot to brutally cold.
Cost of Living: One reason why I am hesitant about leaving Houston. I'm a recent college grad so I'm assuming the positions I'll be interviewing for will still be entry level. I'm willing to cut spending here and there but I'd still like to be able to live comfortably in a safe area.
Walkability vs Driveability: I don't mind walking, don't mind driving. I like the idea of not having to use a car, but I am very unfamiliar with how public transit works so that would be an adjustment in Chicago. But I also like the independence a car gives me so if I want to run and grab a gallon of milk quick, I can with no issues.
Crime: The reason I pointed out specifically that I was a young, single female is because I will most likely be doing things alone for awhile in the beginning so I'd prefer a city where I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder or can go to movie by myself and not be followed to my car. (Yes, I'm fully aware this could happen in any city, but where would a girl like me feel most comfortable you think?)
Quality of Life: I'm 23. I'm still young so I'd like to go grab a few drinks on a Friday night or go see a show. Sure such exists in Houston, but there doesn't seem to be any vibrancy or even young people period. I'd like to be in a place where young professionals are able to thrive and are easy to find instead of me having to search near and far to find them.
Career: I work in media/web/creative. I'm clearly aware of how wonderful Houston's economy is as I snagged a full-time job with benefits two weeks upon my college graduation date. But I've noticed Houston's companies are run and filled with a lot of older people, for example I work with all men in their 40's. I would prefer working for a company with a younger crowd.
Weather: Isn't a huge deal. I'm from the Midwest so I've experienced every extreme from hot to brutally cold.
Cost of Living: One reason why I am hesitant about leaving Houston. I'm a recent college grad so I'm assuming the positions I'll be interviewing for will still be entry level. I'm willing to cut spending here and there but I'd still like to be able to live comfortably in a safe area.
Walkability vs Driveability: I don't mind walking, don't mind driving. I like the idea of not having to use a car, but I am very unfamiliar with how public transit works so that would be an adjustment in Chicago. But I also like the independence a car gives me so if I want to run and grab a gallon of milk quick, I can with no issues.
Crime: The reason I pointed out specifically that I was a young, single female is because I will most likely be doing things alone for awhile in the beginning so I'd prefer a city where I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder or can go to movie by myself and not be followed to my car. (Yes, I'm fully aware this could happen in any city, but where would a girl like me feel most comfortable you think?)
Quality of Life: I'm 23. I'm still young so I'd like to go grab a few drinks on a Friday night or go see a show. Sure such exists in Houston, but there doesn't seem to be any vibrancy or even young people period. I'd like to be in a place where young professionals are able to thrive and are easy to find instead of me having to search near and far to find them.
I'm male and in my 40s. I grew up in the south and left as soon as possible and would never go back. So there are my biases up front. I can't advise you on your career, other than to say that there seems to be a sizeable (not NYC or SF size, but still pretty big) web-based economy in Chicago. Pretty much all of that is based in a one or two square mile area just north of downtown Chicago. Groupon is the big one, but there's lots of others here as well. Many of the 20 and 30 somethings I run into work for these companies. There seems to be a lot of youth and energy in the field here.
Weather you already know about. I don't like hot, sticky weather, so its one of the reasons I left Dixie.
Cost of living is higher than the other two cities, but if you go car-free that can save you several hundred dollars and month in expenses.
Obviously going car-free is much easier and more socially acceptable in Chicago compared to the other two. Not saying you can't do it there, but its fairly common here, even for people who can afford to own a car. Live one block from a grocery store and you don't need to worry about driving to get a gallon of milk. Walking is better for your health, your pocketbook, and the environment, so there's that as well.
Crime: (To vastly simplify) Chicago is a tale of two cities. Part of the city is as safe as Manhattan or Toronto. This Chicago is mostly white, college-educated and white collar. The other Chicago is mostly minority, poor, undereducated, underemployed, and suffers from crime rates mind-bogglingly high. For better or worse, the two Chicagos don't cross paths very much.
QOL: The advantage of high-density walkable neighborhoods is that you literally bump into people all the time when you are out walking around. Hard to do that when you're always driving. Young, college grads in Chicago tend to congregate in a handful of very dense neighborhoods (part of that two Chicago dichotomy), so you've got massive concentration and high population density working in your favor.
Again, personally, I think the South sucks, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
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