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I've lived in New York City my entire life and my boyfriend and I have decided to move after I finish my degree this year. Our main reasons for moving are the cost of living and the amount of stress we both deal with. My boyfriend makes about 115,000 a year and I work part time and make another 25-30,000 a year and we still hardly have money left over after bills. Basically we're looking at Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Toronto and San Francisco. Can anyone help me out as to which location will give us the best quality of life? We like live music, biking, hiking, fun bars (especially outdoor in the summer), good food, and sports. Thank you!
Edit: I should've mentioned Boston as well. Slipped my mind.
Last edited by aalvarado317; 07-19-2010 at 10:04 AM..
I'm not a fan of Atlanta, but I think your money will go the farthest there. If you google "cost of living calculator", you will find more info about that.
Well, money isn't the only factor in our decision. To be honest, Atlanta isn't at the top of my list either but my boyfriend went to grad school there and he thinks it would be a good place for a couple to live. I love San Francisco I'm just worried that I might have the same complaints there as I do in New York.
I did a cost of living comparison based on your boyfriend's salary. Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed. My guess is that you will end up with the same issues in that city. My husband was going to take a job there, but needed to double his salary for us to have a similar lifestyle hence our present location in TN.
Also I should mention that I have a small french bulldog and one of my favorite things about my current neighbrhood is that I can bring my dog to so many places. He comes to bars with us, on errands, and even out to eat sometimes. If anyone knows if these places are particularly dog friendly or unfriendly it would be appreciated.
It has everything you mentioned you liked and dogs are welcome almost everywhere. It is a city with everything (great services,stores,bars,restaurants,sports scene,etc.) and very pet-friendly.
Austin has developed tremendously in the last few years, but I have no idea what your boyfriend's job is, and obviously this is the first thing one must consider as we all have bills to pay.
In this case, I suggest San Francisco. I like it a lot and think it is the best option among the ones you mentioned.
Ultimately you have to choose somewhere where you can make a decent living, but imo quality of life plays a huge role when deciding to relocate. I would prefer to live somewhere where my buck may not go too far but quality of life is something I will not compromise. It all comes down to personal choices.
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