Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As for Indianapolis and North Carolina, not quite sure on those. Honestly, I'm just not as excited about them as the other cities. I need to do more research on Indianapolis, why the silence on Indy?
I considered NC primarily because of the strong financial sector in but it seems the economy is not as strong. Worse than Atlanta, then OH NO!!
I liked Indianapolis. Been there a couple of times, reminded me of Charlotte. However I don't feel like it's made a name for itself and feels like the smallest city on the list.
I'm guessing since you're using the "North Carolina" name, representing the full state, you're referring to the Research Triangle and Charlotte. Based on what you've said so far, I think you'd do great in NC. Either areas. Both have the qualifications you're looking for.
NC's unemployment rate is 9.2% from December. According to reports from two days ago, metro Atlanta's unemployment rate rose from 8.0% to 8.4%. But, you're comparing an entire state to a metro.
All of these cities (except Indy, sorry ) are excellent and all could meet your standards and expectations, it's really up to you. But I recommend North Carolina
Well to be fair. Dallas and Houston is to Texas what Chicago is to Illinois. Neither are that "Texan" anymore. Or should I say, it's been diluted a bit because if the changing and growing demographic. But you disliked the two cities anyway yourself so that's alright. I happen to love them and these are two of the hottest attractions for Black Americans and Africans.
That's somewhat true, but Chicago dominates Illinois in a way that Houston and Dallas don't with Texas. The reason I say its only somewhat true is that Illinois still elects liberals to statewide offices. Chicagoland is more like its' own little state where the suburbs are still pretty moderate/liberal, while Dallas and Houston are both cities in Texas. Their political climate actually reminds me of Indianapolis. The cities of Dallas and Houston are both fairly liberal today, but most of the suburbs and much of the state are extremely conservative. They are both still influenced in someway by traditional Texan values.
I can't help but to recommend Dallas, Houston and DC for a single lady. Charlotte is nice if you are looking for a smaller suburban style city. Dallas and Houston are large suburban type cities. DC has a lot more density and offers more of the sophisticated urban lifestyle than the others but tends to be expensive. All have educated and affluent population that is ethnically diverse you could relate to.
Houston is also minority-majority in a minority-majority state. In fact, I would submit that Houston is even more minority majority than DC thanks to the Latino population. I would not be surprised if Dallas is there by now as well. White alone was jusssst over 50% in 2010. Houston has about 420k Asians and Dallas is just under 400k. I think DC has about 530k or somewhere around that. Not many more but more nonetheless. DC has about 1.5 million blacks. Houston has just under 1.1 million and Dallas has around 1 million as well. The Hispanic pop obviously is much higher in Houston and Dallas.
I was speaking in terms of percentage (although the three metro areas probably do have around the same population). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm probably using outdated data), but the Houston and Dallas metro areas are around 15 - 20% Black and 5 - 6% Asian, while the DC metro area is around 25% Black and 10% Asian (nearly twice as much).
I was speaking in terms of percentage (although the three metro areas probably do have around the same population). Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm probably using outdated data), but the Houston and Dallas metro areas are around 15 - 20% Black and 5 - 6% Asian, while the DC metro area is around 25% Black and 10% Asian (nearly twice as much).
Dallas has the highest White percentage among the three. Slightly over DC.
Houston has the highest Latino percentage among the three.
DC has the highest Black and Asian percentage among the three.
Houston is 7% Asian and DC is just over 10% so not nearly twice. There is no group in Houston that has over 40% of the population but that's likely to change with the growing Latino population.
So far I've narrowed it down to my top two and it came down to strength of the economy especially being that im in the early stages of my career. At this point Houston and DC are basically neck and neck for me. Houston has the cost of living advantage, but my heart is leaning more towards DC because of the lifestyle. I spent a major portion of my childhood in Lagos, and have lived in London and in NYC. After living in Colorado for years for school and now being here in Atlanta, I'm really craving the city environment.
I was wondering for the DC folks, how much should I expect to spend on a decent 1 bedroom in the city, neat, safe area with predominantly young professionals and night life. I'm guessing apartment sizes are smaller, I don't mind smaller square footages but it can't be the closet space or a fun house type that I tease my New York friends about. I am looking at entry level jobs in my majors (finance and marketing) and I'm guessing salary averages would be $45,000 to $60,000, would I be able to live in the city and not be apartment poor with that kind of salary? Or would I be forced to live out in the suburbs? Also would I need a car in DC or can I use the transit alone?
And if you have any local job search sites for either Houston or DC please feel free to share, thanks! :=)
Indy is a good city, but everyone on City-Data hates it. Don't ask me why, but I assume it largely comes from people who have never been. Indy has a fairly good economy that I would describe as possibly slightly better than most of the country. One problem with Indianapolis is that it lacks the vibrancy of many of the other places you mentioned. Downtown is active, but not compared to Houston, Dallas, DC, or Chicago. You can't expect it to be though, those metro areas are all at least twice the size. It does have the largest African American cultural event in the country, Indiana Black Expo's Summer Celebration, which brings 100,000 people into the city. I've also noticed a good number of African American professionals, so that wouldn't be anything that should hold you back here. It's also only 3 hours from Chicago.
I guess the biggest benefit of Indianapolis is that it is the cheapest area you mentioned. You can get a 1 bedroom Downtown that's around $850/month. Outside of downtown, you could get $600-700 in safe areas. The biggest negative Indianapolis has is that it's in Indiana and the conservative nature of the state holds the city back in a lot of ways (transit, social issues, etc.). I say biggest negative and I really mean it. I'm moving as soon as I'm done with school because I can't take all of the conservative views from people outside of Indianapolis. The city itself is moderate and actually fairly liberal (especially downtown and Broad Ripple), but the suburbs and the rest of the state just annoy the hell out of me. If you're considering Texas and North Carolina, you'll have that same problem. I just wanted to give you some information on Indy since no one else had.
For you, I would recommend Chicago. It's cheaper (and better) than DC, and who really wants to live in Texas? I didn't really like Dallas or Houston enough to make me tolerate living in Texas (sorry to those who that offends). I can't comment on North Carolina because I haven't spent a much time there at all. I just know that Chicago definitely has one of the greatest downtown's in North America and is the most vibrant of the cities mentioned. Not to mention all of the excellent neighborhoods the city is home to.
Thank you, I found your post really helpful. I like Chicago but I'm concerned about the economy and job prospects. I have kept it second on my list and will be applying to jobs there as well. May I ask what you dislike so much about Texas especially Houston?
Those aren't the latest figures (which are from November of last year), which have metro Charlotte at 9% and metro Atlanta at 8%.
You keep mentioning the finance sector in NC; do you have a background or job experience in finance? I ask because it wasn't mentioned explicitly as part of your criteria. Right now, generally the Triangle is faring the best in NC but its fortes are biotech, higher ed, and government.
Hi Mutiny,
Finance was one of my majors in school. I have a few internships but that's about it.
I would seriously look into Minneapolis, as it fits pretty much everything you are looking for and around 15% of the Black community is African there and the Africans are of various backgrounds. Home | African News Journal
Hmmm...this is interesting I'll have to do more research on Minneapolis. Would you say it's sort of like Indianapolis in terms of pace, culture, economy and diversity? How is the cost of living there and what are the biggest industries? Thanks!
Last edited by livingontheedge; 01-29-2013 at 12:56 AM..
Hmmm...this is interesting I'll have to do more research on Minneapolis. Would you say it's sort of like Indianapolis in terms of pace, culture, economy and diversity? How is the cost of living there and what are the biggest industries? Thanks!
Minneapolis has quite a few corporate HQ's like 3M, General Mills and Target, to name a few. I'm not sure about pace, but it is a bigger metro than Indianapolis(around 3.4 million and 16th biggest in the US). Its unemployment rate is 5% right now and it is the 10th most educated metro out of the 100 biggest metros in the US(37.9% of those 25 and older have a Bachelor's degree or higher). It is an area that has become increasingly more diverse in recent decades and even had a Black female as mayor from 1994-2001: Sharon Sayles Belton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
So, you can find some communities with diversity within the metro area as well.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) are excellent and all could meet your standards and expectations, it's really up to you. But I recommend North Carolina 
