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big 4 accounting - jobs are available all over the country. the pay is COL adjusted but it's not a huge difference especially at this point in my career
You're doing pretty good my friend, especially if you get your CPA. I think you'll be fine in any city
Honestly I am very impressed by this neighborhood. Unlike Troy Hill, this place really does remind me of Somerville MA.... except you can get a townhouse in Manayunk for the price of a Somerville parking spot.
Honestly I am very impressed by this neighborhood. Unlike Troy Hill, this place really does remind me of Somerville MA.... except you can get a townhouse in Manayunk for the price of a Somerville parking spot.
Manayunk always reminds me of Lawrenceville in Pittsburgh also.
You make some good points - I will have to take a closer look at the city. That being said I have spent a decent amount of time in Boston's toughest neighborhoods and I don't think they would even make the list in Philly.
I think it's just a matter of perspective. It's highly possible to live in Philly and barely, if ever, interact with its toughest areas. In fact, that's how hundreds of thousands of Philadelphians live, particularly if you're living in or directly adjacent to Center City.
That's not to say that crime should never be a consideration, but for the average upwardly-mobile young person, such as yourself, you'd likely be pretty far removed from the most challenged neighborhoods, where crime is unfortunately very disproportionately concentrated.
I will add that while Boston is of course, overall, the safer city, I think Philly presents an interesting case where there a number of areas that look "worse off" than they actually are, at least with respect to crime. The city is absolutely making impressive strides in revitalization and reinvestment, but there's still significant levels of blight in portions of the city that can make it seem like a place that is far from safe, whereas neighborhood-level crime data may indicate differently.
Well, you're not that far from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia so why not make a quick visit to both? Pittsburgh is in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, so winters there are probably as cold as Boston plus the hilly terrain likely makes for travel difficulties in ice and snow. Philly is warmer than either but it can get very cold here at times during the winter. To get noticeably warmer winter weather you need to go at least as far south (and east) as Tidewater, Virginia. Norfolk is a nice city and worth checking out.
There are unsafe neighborhoods in Philadelphia (as there are in all big cities including Boston and Pittsburgh), but there are many very urban and safe neighborhoods here as well. I've lived in Center City for 16-years and have never been the victim of a crime--in fact I feel quite safe here. There are many other neighborhoods in the city that are equally safe.
I find Philadelphians overall to be personable and down-to-earth, much more so than in Washington, D.C. where I lived previously. I always make an effort to be friendly and civil to people and I find that most here return the favor. There are about 100,000 college students in Philadelphia, and many stay in the city once they graduate. In fact the city has become a very popular place for millennials to live.
Housing in Philly is cheaper than Boston, and a annual income of 65,000 should enable you to afford a nice apartment in most of the city's better neighborhoods. I know nothing about the cost of housing in Pittsburgh.
So come on down and see Philadelphia for yourself. I think you'll like what you find here.
As a Boston guy who spent his college years in PA, and has lived all over the country, and worked in Big 4 advisory/consulting..
...Philly over Pittsburgh, by a mile.
Boston, outside of NYC and San Fran-San Jose, is going to be the most expensive rental market in the US, and probably fourth in North America if you include Vancouver. I considered a move to NYC, and to be completely honest with you, the difference in price p/sqft. was minimal, and the quality of apartment was about the same. Even the Boston suburbs immediately surrounding the city are more expensive than downtown Denver, Austin, Seattle and the likes. Just look at Camridge/Brookline/Somerville MA vs. those cities. The numbers speak for themselves. It's an atrocious situation in Massachusetts, one that I struggled with when I first graduated college.
Moving on, Chicago is a great option. The city is beautiful and full of young finance professionals like yourself. Not taking into consideration any kind of debt, you can afford up to ~$1.4k rent. If you are OK with a studio, you can live right in he heart of the city. A city, mind you, that is always buzzing year around. Just a great quality of life overall. DM me if you seriously consider Chicago as an option, and I'd be happy to talk through the different neighborhoods.
If you're looking for a similar vibe as Boston, Chicago followed by Philly.
If you're looking for something new, consider Austin, Seattle, and Atlanta as potential options. Three very different cities with a lot of young professionals and a solid economic backbone. Seattle will be the priciest, followed by Austin and then Atlanta.
I live in the Denver area and cost of living/renting is expensive and rising. The Denver Post recently posted articles reporting on residents who moved out of Denver/CO to other states due to cost of living.
As an accountant, you can afford to live here, but your income would go further in midwest and southern cities.
Some benefits to Denver and the metro area are: relatively safe, no humidity (everyone's different on this), snow will melt in a day or two, 60 degree days in November/December, Colorado has other nice cities (Fort Collins, ColoSpgs, Evergreen, etc.), sports and concert choices.
But has drawbacks: increasing cost of living, small city if coming from a bigger city (obvious, but still), far from other big cities (closest being Wichita, Albq, Salt Lake City), increasing traffic, and more.
I'm actually at looking at moving out of state currently.
I live in the Denver area and cost of living/renting is expensive and rising. The Denver Post recently posted articles reporting on residents who moved out of Denver/CO to other states due to cost of living.
As an accountant, you can afford to live here, but your income would go further in midwest and southern cities.
Some benefits to Denver and the metro area are: relatively safe, no humidity (everyone's different on this), snow will melt in a day or two, 60 degree days in November/December, Colorado has other nice cities (Fort Collins, ColoSpgs, Evergreen, etc.), sports and concert choices.
But has drawbacks: increasing cost of living, small city if coming from a bigger city (obvious, but still), far from other big cities (closest being Wichita, Albq, Salt Lake City), increasing traffic, and more.
I'm actually at looking at moving out of state currently.
Good input. Denver has its pros, and certainly it's cons, but I do prefer it over many other cities.
That said, the OP is moving from Boston. Expensive is a very relative idea, and I understand that Denver is expensive relative to some other Mountain West cities/compared to its former self. Just understand that the OP is moving from an area where parking spots sell for $400k, and studio rentals start at $2.4k (in desirable young professional neighborhoods downtown).
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