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I would assume that most NoVa firms require new associates to take the MD bar. I know that most St. Louis firms require new lawyers to take the Illinois bar because, obviously, that broadens potential clientele.
No. There is no reciprocity between Virginia and Maryland, so you can not take one and waive into the other. Most NoVa firms want you to take Virginia and some might also like you to waive into DC afterwards, but not all. I don't believe any NoVa firms care whether you are a member of the Maryland bar unless you do real estate, domestic, or criminal work where your practice is regional and encompasses the entire DC metro area.
In bold are my answers. I'll rank them (in terms of urban cores, not overall metros) from most to least.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WestCoDude
If these were your choices, which one would you pick to live in?
Which would be better for a 20-something law student with the following caveats?
*Fairly conservative Hmmmm...Houston (although many lib enclaves do exist, remember it's a sprawled out place,) Denver, Dallas (which has a lesbian hispanic sheriff, interestingly enough, and she's quite good at her job) Birmingham, St. Louis
*Great access to the outdoors/hiking Denver, Birmingham, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas
*Family friendly Denver, St. Louis, Houston, Birmingham (although immediately bordering Hoover, Vestavia Hills, and Mountain Brook are among America's wealthiest suburbs,) Dallas
*Good suburbs in which to live--a great urban environment matters much less than good schools, safe neighborhoods, etc. Okay, let's go with a tied Birmingham and St. Louis, then a tied Denver, Houston, and Dallas. All of these cities have outstanding burbs.
*Weather doesn't matter much--snow and skiing is awesome but can be sacrificed for an even more awesome city. For skiing, Denver is of course the only choice. Hot and high-moderate humid can be found in St. Louis and Dallas. Hot and sauna-like humid can be found in Birmingham and especially Houston. (Okay, so I didn't "rank" this.)
*Great church-going/faith-minded population Houston, Dallas, Birmingham, St. Louis, Denver
* Affordability isn't a huge concern--but, naturally, one looks for the most bang for one's buck. Bang for the buck! Houston, above all, although the property taxes will eat you in some areas. Look for housing on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis and look at municipal, county, overlapping service districts, and overlapping school dist. taxes. After Houston, I'd elect Birmingham, St. Louis, Dallas, and Denver.
*Good shopping/upscale suburbs and shopping districts, yuppie area Tied Houston and Dallas, then Denver, Birmingham, and St. Louis
*Good law job market (though....any big city is likely to have this in varying degrees) All five cities are great, but Houston and Dallas are your best bets, followed by Denver, St. Louis and Birmingham
* Kid-friendly Houston, Denver, and St. Louis above and beyond. Dallas and Birmingham lack in this department. Keep in mind, it's pretty easy to venture into the bad 'hoods in all these cities, and Houston, STL, Dallas, and B'ham have some notoriously dangerous areas!
*Great sports town Dallas, Houston, Denver, St. Louis (the most spirit by far,) Birmingham
*Lots of parks/green spaces Houston, Denver, Birmingham, St. Louis and Dallas (tie)
*Great cultural ammenities (museums, zoos, theatre, etc.) Houston...there is absolutely no comparison!!! Then, it falls off...Denver, Dallas, St. Louis, and Birmingham. The latter four all have great urban perks, but nothing like Houston.
The most important thing here is a faith/family-centered town with great hiking/parks. These are the cities with the law schools in consideration and, from the looks of things, rather robust law job markets. But.....church, family, parks, suburbs....you get the drift. What would be the best sort of town with that emphasis? Do either of the above cities match up well?
Thanks for your input!
Go with Houston! I'm sure the Houstonians would like somebody of your mindset, determination, and values, and you too would become a Houstonian in no time. There are about eight cities that really interest me, but I'm leaning more toward Houston more than any other. Best of luck!
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WestCoDude
What sort of outdoors/hiking activities are available in Houston? Is it even possible with the summer heat and humidity to be outside?
Houstonians hibernate during summer, not unlike they do up north in winter, or they vacation elsewhere. I'm exaggerrating, of course, but only by a bit.
In bold are my answers. I'll rank them (in terms of urban cores, not overall metros) from most to least.
Go with Houston! I'm sure the Houstonians would like somebody of your mindset, determination, and values, and you too would become a Houstonian in no time. There are about eight cities that really interest me, but I'm leaning more toward Houston more than any other. Best of luck!
Hey thanks, JCM. I appreciate you going through that list. I really like Houston, actually. I hear mixed things about it...but I think your assessment is right on.
Well as stated, DFW is pretty conservative. Dallas City proper is pretty liberal though.
The area is between East Texas and The rolling hills and plains...
You can easily access a nice lake or forest from Dallas but Mountains (real mountains, as we do have some tinee tiny 'hills' ...nothing even close to west Texan mountains...but sometimes designated as mountains...sort of southwest of Fort Worth.
Denver is best for Out doors,
St. Louis cause of the river and proximity to mountains
Dallas next, but there is a huge gap between St. Louis and Dallas
Houston followed closely behind as they do have some interesting Swamps and stuff, you can see alligators...:O
Birmingham would come last but they probably have some recreational bog type of thing..heh...
I really think any of these cities would suit you, if your looking for Exposure to different cultural amenities but still want to stay in a primarily conservative area I would go with Houston or DFW, which are both very conservative for their size,but yet open minded and diverse.
if you want your concervative vote to make a larger difference I would go with dfW, Houston, for Denver.
Probably Denver...
I think I would go with Denver now...although I would live in any of those if in you position.
Hey thanks, JCM. I appreciate you going through that list. I really like Houston, actually. I hear mixed things about it...but I think your assessment is right on.
You're welcome.
By the way, while I am not a huge fan of Dallas and like the Houston metro area much better, still consider the other side of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex: Tarrant County. Tarrant is home to cities like, well, Fort Worth, plus Arlington, Crowley, Euless, and North Richland Hills. The housing stock is cheaper there than in the eastern half of the 'plex, the people are more laid back, and there are still a lot of jobs to be had. Plus, Texas Wesleyan Law School is in Downtown Fort Worth and, while it's not well known outside of Texas, I've looked into it consideraly. It does not look like a bad school at all.
I have lived in Denver, Dallas and Houston. Its actually rather difficult to say which is "more awesome". They are 3 different cities, with a lot going for them. If I absolutely had to choose I would go for Denver. Large city but not too large, close to the mountains, and its got a laid back attitude. Houston would be my last choice, not because its a bad city, which it isn't, it just wasn't for me. I just moved from Dallas, and honestly I just grew tired of it. I still have a love for Dallas, just don't wanna live there anymore.
As far as the other two cities, never really experienced them other than drive throughs. So I wont comment.
I have lived in Denver, Dallas and Houston. Its actually rather difficult to say which is "more awesome". They are 3 different cities, with a lot going for them. If I absolutely had to choose I would go for Denver. Large city but not too large, close to the mountains, and its got a laid back attitude. Houston would be my last choice, not because its a bad city, which it isn't, it just wasn't for me. I just moved from Dallas, and honestly I just grew tired of it. I still have a love for Dallas, just don't wanna live there anymore.
As far as the other two cities, never really experienced them other than drive throughs. So I wont comment.
I will vote DENVER!!!!
Thanks JV!
How would you compare the three cities--especially with my criteria in mind? Would you say Denver still comes out on top?
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