Chicago IL vs Newark NJ vs Boston MA (living, best, better)

[Ellbu]

For an interntional student, what city would be my best options?
I am looking for awesome public transportation and a large financial feeling/ corporate culture.

[Syncmaster414]

I can comment on why Chicago may make sense for you, since I live there:
* Very diverse
* Rich culture and history
* Many great schools with hoards of students
* Large financial base in the downtown area
* Massive city center with heavy "corporate influence" - whatever that means
* Really nice public transit systems when headed in/out of the downtown area "loop"

However there are also many negatives associated with it, such as gloomy winter weather, high crime, high taxes, and political corruption to name a several.

Being 29 and educated, if I could move my job to any of the areas you listed I would choose Boston hands down. I recently visited there and it is absolutely gorgeous, with so much history and a European feel. Although I have never lived there...

New Jersey? IMO that isn't even an option - no offense to anyone, just my opinion.

[Kevin J]

As you probably know, Newark is very close to New York City. Beyond that fact of its geography, there is not much to recommend it as a place to live. It is a poor, high-crime city that does not attract many people who have a choice on where to live. It's public transportation connections to New York City are excellent, however. I couldn't speak to how good the public transportation is within the city itself.

Boston and Chicago both have excellent public transportation by American standards. Each city also has major corporate headquarters and offices, in both their downtowns and their suburbs. The consolidation of major banks in the US has left both cities without the headquarters of a major bank. But Chase Bank still has its commercial banking headquarters here and most of the major US banks have significant operations here. I imagine that the banking situation in Boston is similar.

Chicago's financial industry is bolstered by the presence of several options and futures exchanges (Chicago Board Of Trade; Chicago Board Options Exchange; Chicago Mercantile Exchange). I don't know that much about the financial industry in Boston, but I do know that it is the headquarters of Fidelity, one of the largest investment firms in the country.

Also, Chicago and Boston are both known for the presence of world-class universities in each city. Whether you already have offers at universities in or near each of these cities or are shopping for a city in which to apply to schools, Chicago and Boston will offer much better choices than Newark.

[eskercurve]

Chicago definitely has a much more institutional feel in the finance and business areas. If that's what you're after, and you don't mind living downtown or the near north or south sides, that'd be the best.

[66nexus]

Meh, wouldn't recommend Newark on its own. Newark is more law/insurance center than it is financial so don't expect a large presence in the city itself. Based on sheer size alone Chicago and/or Boston would be your better bet.

BUT:

The GOOD thing about Newark for an international student such as yourself is that you don't have to live in the city limits to be able to access/experience it and NY. You can live anywhere in Newark's metro division and access downtown Newark/Hudson county/NY

To sum it all up, if you choose NJ you don't have to limit yourself in NJ, b/c practically all of NorthNJ (including Newark/JC-Hudson) has access to NY's large financial presence w/o having to live there. But if you truly want to live within city limits Chicago or Boston is certainly the better option.