Hey everyone, after a few months of being graduated and yet unemployed, I was recently offered a very impressive job offer as a software consultant. The trick is that I'll have to relocate to one of their client sites. That being said, some of their sites seem like cool places to live. I won't get a say in the location I am assigned, but I'm trying to work on that. So, if you have any experience with the following locations, please let me know and help me out so I can decide how to rank where I would like to be placed: Montgomery, AL Arlington, VA Baton Rouge, LA Bismarck, ND Salt Lake City, UT Madison, WI Little Rock, AR Denver, CO Atlanta, GA Springfield, IL St. Paul, MN Santa Fe, NM Scottsdale, AZ Charleston, WV I think that I'd prefer Denver or Madison right now, but am open to many of locations. I'm 23 and would certainly enjoy a decent nightlife scene and will probably look to live downtown, so good public transportation (light rail, etc.) is always a plus.
Yeah, I was just looking up some information on Scottsdale and it seems pretty happening. I'm not a fan of incredibly hot weather, but I know that I'll be able to handle it, especially given the salary I'll be paid to be there. Denver seems like it would be pretty cool also, and I like that Madison has such a large student population. Right now I think I'd prefer: Tier 1: Scottsdale, Madison, Denver Tier 2: St. Paul, Baton Rouge, Arlington Tier 3: Everywhere else (Atlanta, Montgomery, Bismark, Little Rock, Salt Lake City, Springfield, Santa Fe, Charleston) Anyways, I know that a lot of you guys live all over the place. ABM, for example, I know just moved from Atlanta back to PDX. So if you have any insight on what it's like to live in one of these spots (do you love it, hate it?) please let me know. Much appreciated.
Doesn't the company work in any nice places? Probably just make the newbies go where nobody else wants to. I vote for Santa Fe, in memory of Tony Hillerman.
Arlington. It's a suburb of D.C. Lots of colleges/college aged people, and suitable nightlife. Frankly, all those cities but Denver wouldn't seem too exciting to me.
A young buck with money would go nutso in midtown Atlanta. Plus, there's nothing quite like the girls from the south. That is, if that's important to you. Anyway, here's a real nice city forum. A great place to post and get a feel for most, if not all, of the cities you're alluding to: http://www.city-data.com/forum/
Arlington, VA and Denver, CO would be my preferences, as the most urban environments. Scottsdale I've heard is nice, so I'd probably drop it into the third slot, if it were my decision.
True about Arlington. I have a little bit of family in the area, so that would help. And despite the economy hurting across the country, there always seems to be a plethora of opportunities in the D.C. area. I could see that working well. For me, I'm young and like a decent night life. I think that having a large college in the area would be important...you know, for the girls certainly.
Mostly State Capitols. So in the future that could mean additional places like Honolulu, Austin...or mighty Salem.
Scottsdale is by far the most appealing choice. Awesome winters but the summers are hellish. Though, the heat is dry with no humidity. The other drawback, if you're not into golf or spa's, Scottsdale is incredibly boring. Santa Fe is a very artsy little city. High desert climate. One day it could be 70 and the next it'll snow.
Scottsdale. Girls are hot as fuck and you can buy a house or a sweet condo for not too much. Quick shots to vegas or anywhere on the west coast.
Yeah, I've been thinking that too. My mom was like "it's so hot there", but I think it might be pretty fun. That's why it's definitely among the top of my list I think.
yeah, probably gets annoying..but hot weather means pool parties and women with less clothes on. probably a bunch of roided douchebags which might get annoying too. don't know...i'd go crazy in a po-dunk hick town..or even the east coast...they would annoy me pretty quick. denver would be cool too.
Either lots of women w/ less clothes on or lots of women staying in the air conditioning Arizona has good weather year round and is pretty cheap to live in, plus you could see your beloved Blazers play LIVE! more than any of the other towns unless you really want to go to Salt Lake w/ all the mormons & no alcohol
I'm hoping for Scottsdale or Denver at this point, although I think Madison would be about as good as it gets for a "smaller" city. I've seen all three on "best places to live" lists. Some other areas wouldn't be nearly so bad either. But then again I'd rather not be in Montana or Alabama (or Arkansas or West Virginia or Utah) unless it was necessary. But then again, what's the price you're willing to go somewhere you don't particularly like. I'm going to be earning a package that will probably be close to $70k a year as my first job after getting my undergraduate degree. It's over $20k more than other jobs I'm currently looking at. Feels good to have an offer on the table.
If you live in a little shithole, at least you'll be making decent coin....you'll be able to travel on the weekends if there's a decent airport nearby. congrats on the job offer, hopefully everything works out for the best. I'd imagine that you'd probably do some travelling with a job like this anyways, for training and what not.
some of the cities I probably couldn't stand to live in though unless there was some upward mobility and a chance within two years to transfer to another city. but in this economy, getting a job and experience is pretty important.
Some day I'd like to get a winter place in Scottsdale. If you haven't been there the city does have a rep of uptight people/snobs. Thus the nickname: Snobbsdale. But that shit doesn't bother me. Oh, the black widows and bark scorpions that are common in that region are also something to take note of as well.
