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Originally Posted by cody109
I have been thinking of moving out of state but I am a little torn on where I want to go. The cities I’m considering are LA, Chicago, Charlotte NC, and Raleigh NC. I’m coming from Rochester NY and looking to find a place where I can build my life around after recently graduating college. Here are some of the more important things I’m looking for in a city:
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It would be better to know more about what your expectations are in regards to cities. Like everything else in the world, cities also come in different classes of size and the extent of size controls how much you get out of a place and how much you can experience all in one place, but also has the drawbacks that come with it like congestion, over-crowding, traffic, a really busy life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cody109
Solid music scene. This is an important factor to me. I am an extremely musical person and I look to start a band wherever I go. I would like to be in a city that has a scene conducive to growing a band and playing out locally.
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I would narrow it down to just two of the four for this if you're serious into music as more than just a side-hobby, Chicago and Los Angeles, just these two.
It is hard to beat Los Angeles in music, it is a center of talent and a lot of, if not most of the production and development companies are based there.
Chicago would be a bit more scaled back in that sense but the music scene is also very large there. In the case of both cities you would have a very diverse range of sounds, probably could build a niche of interests around yourself in either city. You would have all the associated amenities that come from having a strong contingent of music followers in a community there: schools, programs, events, sponsorships, scouts, so on.
If transitioning into the music industry itself is your primary concern then go with Los Angeles. Needless to say the opportunities for you there would be more abundant. Chicago second.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cody109
Somewhere that will be conducive to growing my career. I just graduated college with a Bachelor’s in New Media Marketing. Right now, I freelance and would like to continue that/build my own web marketing company. I look to target midsize companies.
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You could go either way on this one. Terms like media and marketing would be more affiliated with Los Angeles' arena of expertise. Like I mentioned before, you would have a lot of agents and consultants in that area to help promote whatever it is that you are doing.
Freelance and any sort of career off writing would be a bit stronger in Chicago, not to say Los Angeles is lacking in it either, obviously a huge city would have this sort of thing. Chicago is a more strategic area for business interaction, the city maintains a larger corporate presence than does Los Angeles and mid-size to large-sized companies would fall into this category. However, that goes without saying for general companies, if you're specifically looking for mid-size media marketing companies then that changes the ball game altogether back to Los Angeles.
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Originally Posted by cody109
Warmer climate. Coming from Rochester I’m looking to go somewhere that has a warmer or more mild climate. I’m fairly sick of long, cold, snowy winters like Rochester has.
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Well you're in luck, practically everywhere in the Lower 48s would be warmer than Rochester, New York/Minnesota (whichever one you are in).
Los Angeles would be the warmest, as Winter is the coldest season and three of these four cities have an actual Winter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cody109
Low Rent. I’m looking to keep my rent down as cheap as possible for now until I get acquainted with the city and build my income. I would like to keep the rent under the $800 mark either for a 1 bedroom or studio apartment. But preferably closer to $600. Really, the cheaper the better.
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For one this would depend a lot on the type of neighborhood you would be open to living in, because $600 a month, even with roommate(s) in Los Angeles wouldn't get you a long list of suitable places to live in. It would be easier in Chicago but still, $600, even with roommate(s) there would be asking for a lot of things to work your way to get an ideal place in an ideal location that works to your daily activities.
Both of the North Carolina cities would be better for you if cost of living really is a concern to you. You'll be able to find more places in those two cities (in North Carolina) for $600 a month (roommate or no roommate) there than either Chicago and especially Los Angeles.
This is average by metropolitan area for the most recent year data is available for.
Average Studio Rent per Month, 2015:
1. Los Angeles: $913 per month
2. Chicago: $812 per month
3. Raleigh: $663 per month
4. Charlotte: $636 per month
Average One Bedroom Rent per Month, 2015:
1. Los Angeles: $1,103 per month
2. Chicago: $922 per month
3. Raleigh: $774 per month
4. Charlotte: $701 per month
Average Two Bedroom Rent per Month, 2015:
1. Los Angeles: $1,424 per month
2. Chicago: $1,093 per month
3. Raleigh: $918 per month
4. Charlotte: $831 per month
Average Three Bedroom Rent per Month, 2015:
1. Los Angeles: $1,926 per month
2. Chicago: $1,393 per month
3. Raleigh: $1,189 per month
4. Charlotte: $1,120 per month
Average Four Bedroom Rent per Month, 2015:
1. Los Angeles: $2,145 per month
2. Chicago: $1,624 per month
3. Raleigh: $1,477 per month
4. Charlotte: $1,389 per month
FY 2015 Fair Market Rent Documentation System — Calculation for
Keep in mind how much you pay in rent depends on which part of each city you want to live in. In most cases, if not the grand majority of cases, every city's top neighborhoods, you know the fun and exciting ones are near the city core and those are typically higher if not much higher than the average rent for the entire metropolitan area. So you're going to have to be specific for what sort of neighborhood and living environment and how close to what segment of each city you want to be in.
Going strictly off just the averages though, metropolitan area wide, the two North Carolina cities are more up your alley in regards to cost of living, rent, and likely other expenses.
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Originally Posted by cody109
Large young population 20-30 (I’m 24)
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1. Pretty much every major city is going to have a segment of pockets, if not entire neighborhoods and areas altogether that largely cater to the "young professionals" age group. So there is that, none of these four would be the exception to that, but would think Chicago and Los Angeles would be the frontrunners on this.
2. Or we can approach this question the median age route, this boosts cities where families are more common with larger households but numbers only measure what is actually there.
1. Los Angeles: 36.1 years
2. Chicago: 35 years
3. Charlotte: 33.4 years
4. Raleigh: 32 years
Quote:
Originally Posted by cody109
I picked the listed cities because they meet some of the criteria listed above. LA and Chicago both have good music scenes and there’s lot of opportunity there music wise. However, both have their negatives. LA has very high cost of living/rent and Chicago has cold winters which I’m looking to avoid. As far as landing on Raleigh and Charlotte, I have thought about moving there before. I thought about going to college in Raleigh but ended up going to a local university. I like the warmer climate of North Carolina and both cities seem to be on the up and up. Both cities seem to have solid job markets, lower cost of living, and a young, growing population. However, my biggest concern with these two cities would be their music scene and opportunity to grow a band locally.
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Yes, but none of them seem to quite meet all of the criteria, do they?
You're more than likely going to have to sit down and carefully think about what you want out of a place the most and you're definitely going to have to give some things up. You're asking for a top city for music lovers (in ways that you haven't specified yet), warm climate, friendly business climate with media, marketing, mid-size businesses, really low rent, and a young population.
No such ideal place exists and you'll have to choose from what you prioritize more. The easier thing to do is shorten the list, drop two of the places and narrow it down to two and then take a more thorough and closer look into where you want to spend the next several years or so of your life.
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Originally Posted by cody109
Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated. Maybe someone has an opinion on which would be best? Or for those that live or have lived in any of the listed cities can you touch on a few of the points? Thanks in advance!
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No, you're going to have to make life decisions on your own.
From a non-biased point of view, you need more specifics. What is more important to you, an environment with top shelf music networks and connections, or an environment where you can professionally grow in your field, or a lower cost of living, or escaping dreadful Rochester weather? Because depending on what is absolute most important to you, you could go any of the four ways, as these places are loosely similar to one another.
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