Which is the best east cost city? DC, Boston, Philly (insurance, how much)
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Philly doesn't really have high rent. Not compared to DC, and I don't think compared to Boston either. It definitely has more of a blue-collar feel than DC, I can't say much about Boston, but if movies are any indication () then Boston has a fair bit of blue-collar too. IMO Philly is largely an ugly, gritty city outside of its immediate downtown area. Unlike the show's name, for some reason it always feels grey and depressing when I visit. It does have some really nice, really upscale suburbs though. Also, if you like history, Philly is packed with it. Of course, so are DC and Boston.
There are lots of white-collar workers (banking, insurance, health care) in Boston and Philly; the difference is that there was (and is) a substantial white blue-collar working class in those cities, but not in DC.
Would definitely say that there are more job opportunities for someone moving from the West Coast in DC than in Boston. It's not just that some Harvard/MIT grads stay in the area competing for jobs; there are other big schools in the area (BU, BC, Tufts, Northeastern, Wellesley, Babson, etc.) and family/local connections are more important than in DC.
Philly's the one major East Coast city I don't know well - and one that I'd say someone moving from the West Coast should only consider if he or she has spent time there first checking it out.
You have some vivid points about all the cities, and it seems like to me that the real competition is between DC and Boston?
All big cities are going to have high rent, I already know that. I'm just trying to prepare myself for after college. So I can tell the people at the University I want to go to that "I know, where I want to live and where I want to work." So they can help me get there. And is something everybody has/should do before college.
Let me say this, some have already answered this and say DC for sure. So for anyone that reads this that wants to try and help me let me ask you this? What city has better opportunities for someone who wants to be an event planner?
NYC, LA, and Vegas come to mind. I know that New Orleans does a lot too, and I think Nashville is surprisingly an up-and-coming event city. This website claims that Boston and Philly are actually better for event planners than DC. I'm not sure what their criteria is though.
NYC, LA, and Vegas come to mind. I know that New Orleans does a lot too, and I think Nashville is surprisingly an up-and-coming event city. This website claims that Boston and Philly are actually better for event planners than DC. I'm not sure what their criteria is though.
I know, those cities are big on event planning but everybody who wants to be event planners go there which makes it even harder to find jobs in those cities that you mentioned. Also, I don't want to live in the West anymore because I've lived on this side of the country my whole life. And I'm really not a fan of hot places!
Yes, I saw that site too I was trying to find others but that is like the only one. I also found an article on yahoo, for cities for recent grads to live in and it also mentioned what industries are best in those cities. Boston is the only one that has Tourism as one of the top industries. Also, on the list was DC but doesn't have Tourism as one of the top industries.
I know, those cities are big on event planning but everybody who wants to be event planners go there which makes it even harder to find jobs in those cities that you mentioned. Also, I don't want to live in the West anymore because I've lived on this side of the country my whole life. And I'm really not a fan of hot places!
That's interesting that you mention that about West Coast cities. Actually, same thought I had, that West Coast cities just seem more popular for 'event planners'.
But, than when I thought it out more, people out on the East Coast just don't think about 'event planners'. They think about finance, gov't, medical, and just about everything else. Which means, you might have a great niche with the East Coast.
Another city I was thinking of recommending is Baltimore. Great sports town, and right in the vicinity of DC and everywhere else, but with lower cost of living. On the other hand, I don't readily associate Baltimore with event planning though.
I don't know if event planners can work from home a lot or not, but if they can, Baltimore could work. It's a lot cheaper than the other cities and it's about 60 - 90 minutes from both Philly and DC. That would potentially allow you to do events in both of those cities.
Personally, I don't like Baltimore all that much, but I know several people that live there that love it. I don't think the city itself has a lot of events though. I don't think the city itself has many events though.
Also, does anyone have any idea when or how these articles were done / what criteria they use? My guess is that the tourism one did it using the % of the gdp, workforce, wages or something like that. Most cities in the north east will not have tourism very high in that scenario because there are so many other booming industries in this region including government, healthcare, law, tech, construction, military, defense contracting, finance, science / research, etc. There's simply no room for tourism.
However, living in DC the past 12+ years, I can definitely tell you that there is a lot of tourism here. It's actually a giant pain in the butt during summer if you work in the city. Everything is crowded with tourists that don't know how to use the metro system, don't know where they're going, etc. and it makes it difficult to get to / from work or any other events in the city.
Also, if the event planning article used the city proper instead of the metro area, or was written more than 3 or 4 years ago that could make a big difference for DC too. One of the biggest event hosting spots in the DC area is in National Harbor which was just built about 5 years ago and is technically in MD. In fact, many things in DC are like that, so you always need to double-check any study to see if they're including northern VA, and the surrounding parts of MD. If not, then it's not really a valid study for this region for most purposes.
@Tiger Beer- I just wanted to add something to what you said, because I've been doing a lot of research on this field and I found out that even those finance, medical, gov't companies need event planners for their meetings, conferences, and conventions they have?
And being a meeting/conference/convention planner is the number one way people get into event planning field because thats where they get there experience from. Also, this type of planning also has the best job perks because you get to travel to many different destinations with the company plus other perks too.
Thank you, I believe so too. Baltimore is a nice city but like you said not a lot of event planning that goes on there.
@Wsamon- I don't believe so, because you have to be at the destination where the event is, and visualize what the company wants and create it with what they requested in the event itself. Then you also have to be at the event at the time it starts to make sure nothing bad happens.
The article I shared with you is from May of this year, but I don't know their criteria. I don't believe anybody does, they keep that to themselves I think. Thats true, and because of all those different career fields a lot of people don't go into Tourism or Hospitality. Thats why this field is so big and open, and why they say its going to be getting bigger especially when the recession ends, which I believe it will.
I believe you, because I hear that a lot from a lot of different people.
Also, the National Harbor is one of the many things I want to see if/when I go there. Really? I thought it was there longer then that. Yea, I looked that up and I was kinda surprised when I found that out. Because I thought it was in DC. Thats true, because Northern VA and MD are kinda attached to DC which makes it one big city.
@Wsamon- I don't believe so, because you have to be at the destination where the event is, and visualize what the company wants and create it with what they requested in the event itself. Then you also have to be at the event at the time it starts to make sure nothing bad happens.
Definitely. But how much of the time you spend planning the event does that really take up? I admittedly don't know much about the field, but I figure that if you spend a month working on an event, you'll be there for the week of the event, maybe 2 or 3 days beforehand to set up, and maybe 2 or 3 days earlier in the process to check out the space, do the visualization, etc. that you talked about. So out of a month of work, you're spending 2 weeks onsite. Most of the rest of the stuff seems like it could be done from home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hikari616
Also, the National Harbor is one of the many things I want to see if/when I go there. Really? I thought it was there longer then that. Yea, I looked that up and I was kinda surprised when I found that out. Because I thought it was in DC. Thats true, because Northern VA and MD are kinda attached to DC which makes it one big city.
The National Harbor isn't all that great IMO. It's not bad, but it's got no good public transportation and is kind of a yuppie oasis in the middle of a relatively bad area of DC. It's got some expensive apartments / condos, some expensive hotels / event spaces, some expensive chain restaurants (McCormick & Schmidt's, Cadillac Ranch, etc.) or things that might as well be chain restaurants, and some expensive shopping. It's clean and pretty. It holds a few cool events in the summer (free jazz concerts, bourbon and barbecue festival), but otherwise feels rather sterile and dead to me. Personally, I much prefer the other side of the river in Old Town Alexandria to hang out, etc.
BTW, you might have been thinking of the Baltimore Harbor which is both older and substantially better. It has a lot of the expensive chain restaurants too, but also a submarine tour, the national aquarium (very good), and is walking distance to Powerplant Live which has a bunch of bars and music venues.
The thing with DC is that the "city" is restricted to the city limits set down by the federal government in the 1700s. There are many parts of Maryland (Bethesda, Rockville, Silver Spring, Hyattesville, College Park, Suitland, Anacostia) and Virginia (Pentagon / Crystal City, Old Town Alexandria, Arlington, Ballston, Clarendon, Rosslyn) that would be considered part of the city in just about any other part of the country
Location: YOU are NOT a Washingtonian. YOU are a GENTRIFIER from the CVS, Whole Foods, Starbucks & Condos era.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wsamon
However, living in DC the past 12+ years, I can definitely tell you that there is a lot of tourism here. It's actually a giant pain in the butt during summer if you work in the city. Everything is crowded with tourists that don't know how to use the metro system, don't know where they're going, etc. and it makes it difficult to get to / from work or any other events in the city.
12 years?
There are some people here who would consider you as being a tourist.
I am a DC native and I enjoy seeing all of the tourists wearing their Washington DC hats and t shirts.
[quote=JEB77;24560442]There are lots of white-collar workers (banking, insurance, health care) in Boston and Philly; the difference is that there was (and is) a substantial white blue-collar working class in those cities, but not in DC.
Years ago, many, many years ago, I went to college in DC from Philadelphia. One of the things I missed about Philly was its blue collar edge , which DC definitely lacked. Maybe it is an acquired taste, but I think the edginess and grit that comes from the working class neighborhoods helps to give the cty an interesting side that was sorely missing to me in DC. In Philly it results in the Mummers Parade, Italian Market, great neighborhood school rivalries, (which I think are fading today), and an earthiness and a realness that I found missing in DC then and I dare say today. After all, politicians, federal workers and lobbyists are not likely to be very edgy. As I said, maybe an acquired taste but one that makes me appreciate Boston and NYC more than DC. To me DC is great to visit as a tourist attraction but lacking in the diversity that makes a city real.
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) then Boston has a fair bit of blue-collar too. IMO Philly is largely an ugly, gritty city outside of its immediate downtown area. Unlike the show's name, for some reason it always feels grey and depressing when I visit. It does have some really nice, really upscale suburbs though. Also, if you like history, Philly is packed with it. Of course, so are DC and Boston.
