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So to make a long story as short as possible, I had a rough upbringing and never really fit in because my parents moved a bit from state to state, even had to transfer high schools which was a depressing experience for me. Went to a community college afterwards and then transferred to a state school where I made some friends but it was tough to really have any fun.
For the past 5 years I have been working at a career making good money and now I am at a point in my life where I feel like I need to move cities, my company is a world recognized brand (offices in a lot of major cities) and boss and I are good friends too. We have talked about moving me to a different city since at my work, it is somewhat normal after a few years for workers to move to a new city (mainly everyone is in their 20s here).
I've made good friends at work but outside of work, I have not had as much luck. The city itself isn't a big world class city (about 500k population) and while I love my work and coworkers, it doesn't vibe with me as much. People here tend to get married young, it's quite religious, and it can be very cliquish as a result of that if you aren't into the whole church scene.
I love the experiences I have had here but I feel like with what is left of my 20s, I really want to break out. I want to find my tribe, make a lot of friends outside of work also in their 20s, have fun experiences that come with being "young", and really enjoy that part of my 20s that is life. Hope you guys get what I mean.
My coworkers are awesome and my company is amazing but with coworkers, well they are still coworkers.
Some things I would like to do in my 20s are work at a bar or nightclub on the side, occasionally party hard with some friends (once a month at most, maybe once every 2 months), and really just have that sort of a social experience.
My question is, what are some good US cities for people like me?
Things I would like in the city:
1. A decent nightlife scene with a fair number of bars and nightclubs.
2. An influx of people in their 20s.
3. People who on average get married a bit later than the national average and aren't as big on starting a family at 25.
4. Good apartments, preferably ones that attract a younger crowd and occasionally have fun things happening in them.
5. Affordable for someone making in the 80k to 120k range in salary (pre-tax), guess that leaves out NYC.
Chicago and Philadelphia are good answers if your company has its branch offices in or near downtown. These are cities that are large and filled with young people, but also where the salary you mentioned can go a long way.
Chicago and Philadelphia are good answers if your company has its branch offices in or near downtown. These are cities that are large and filled with young people, but also where the salary you mentioned can go a long way.
Actually neither is experiencing an influx in population with Chicago losing population and Philadelphia barely in the plus category (+.02%).
Actually neither is experiencing an influx in population with Chicago losing population and Philadelphia barely in the plus category (+.02%).
That's true, but both are also experiencing an influx of younger college-educated people. Chicago's population loss is massively due to middle class and poor African-Americans on the West and South Side leaving the city in droves, but the reason that the population loss has been nominal is because a huge number of young professionals continue to move to the North Side, Northwest Side, Downtown, and the neighborhoods near downtown.
100k can do it in NYC. But yeah, basically any top 20 metro should work out. Depends what kinda hard partying you intend to do and if you want traveling to be part of it.
Actually neither is experiencing an influx in population with Chicago losing population and Philadelphia barely in the plus category (+.02%).
But the "version" of Chicago this person is moving into, the Chicago of downtown, people in their 20's and professionals is completely booming right now, and has been for well over 20 years. Chicago's population loss is almost entirely wound up in the struggling south and west sides. The near north side through the loop and the south loop is seeing a very historic population influx of many thousands of people per year, most of them young transplants.
From what he's looking for I certainly think Chicago would be a logical choice, along with other large urban centers.
Spent my 20s in Chicago and it had everything you're looking for. And I didn't have nearly that salary. (This was a decade back, but the North Side, anyway, is still bumping.)
With your salary, most big cities would offer what you desire.
If I were you, I would look at cities like Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco.
Or others like Denver, San Diego, Minneapolis, Austin, Portland, Nashville.
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