I need some input...I'm expecting offers from very similar jobs in very different places. Regardless of other factors surrounding the job, where would you rather live depending on weather, cost of living, ease of getting around (public transportation and traffic), social/nightlife (especially for mid-20's) etc.

Washington, DC (Maryland-side suburbs)
Santa Barbara, CA
Tucson, AZ
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
Milwaukee, WI
St Paul, MN

5/11/2012 3:13:26 PM

my fran is in Santa Barbara and lurves it

That's my choice

5/11/2012 3:16:50 PM

The first two would be the only ones I'd consider.

5/11/2012 3:18:41 PM

You can go ahead and scratch DC off your list if cost of living is a significant factor for you.

5/11/2012 3:20:44 PM

I'm in Boston now so it could only get better from here.

5/11/2012 3:22:27 PM

I would never live in California unless the rate of pay were at least 1.5-2x what you would make elsewhere. Way too many issues with California's economy, housing, etc.

For me I would go:

Houston
Tucson
San Antonio
DC
Milwaukee
St. Paul
Santa Barbara

5/11/2012 3:22:31 PM

fuck you too Kurtis

Next on my list is Tucson since he pissed on the cake

5/11/2012 3:23:39 PM

Whoa...you are moving again? I guess that is how our generation rolls these days.

5/11/2012 3:24:54 PM

I really, really want to move, probably going to talk to the boss about relocation sometime here this month, but it probably won't happen until January at the earliest, I'm pretty well locked into this position until after the 4th quarter regardless.

Cali might be nice for some people, but I think it has a lot going against it personally.

5/11/2012 3:26:44 PM

I loooooove the company I work for, but I wish we were a little larger for the sake of relocation.

5/11/2012 3:45:08 PM

my ranking based on the cities you listed:


Houston, TX -- if you live in the loop & work close by, traffic is a non issue. tons of single young professionals from all over & everyone is making money. very sheltered from the real world of the current economy. also no income tax & fabulous weather 9 months out of the year

St Paul, MN (can you live in Minneapolis?) -- little to no sales tax, i have tons of friends in minneapolis so i'm biased on this one. tons of lakes & water activities, gorgeous summers but awful winters

Santa Barbara, CA -- i love all things california but the taxes & bullshit are enough to keep it off the top of the list

Washington, DC (Maryland-side suburbs)

Milwaukee, WI

Tucson, AZ

San Antonio, TX -- there is nothing in san antonio. people who think houston is bad have never been to SA. it sucks. the alamo & riverwalk get old after 1 time.

5/11/2012 3:48:47 PM

I, too, hate san antonio. I also get tired of the "everything is bigger in texas, hur hur hur" they are always saying.

5/11/2012 3:52:53 PM

The only places on the list I've seen with my own eyes are Houston and DC, and I think I could be very happy in both.

Milwaukee and St Paul are currently at the bottom of my rankings, the weather experience in Boston has been rough on me and I don't think I could take any more of the cold.

So really the only question marks are Tucson and Santa Barbara. From what I've seen in my google searches so far, Tucson will be a much better $$$ experience, but I don't know if I would be happy socially there. Anyone know much about it?

I should also say that my first choice was to return to North Carolina, but I came in 2nd for both jobs I applied for (one in Raleigh, one in Winston-Salem).

Quote :

"Whoa...you are moving again? I guess that is how our generation rolls these days."

I never intended to stay here long. Just a stepping stone in the experience ladder. But now I'm looking for something a bit more long term, at least 5 years, and then I'll be seeking out something bigger.


[Edited on May 11, 2012 at 4:09 PM. Reason : -]

5/11/2012 4:04:58 PM

sparky just moved to houston, you could move too & we could start up a regular tww happy hour!

i have traveled to tucson a lot for work. seems kind of down trodden to me & there is the proximity of the mexican border to consider as well. i used to visit a gf of mine in phoenix all the time & that seemed cool enough but tucson is another deal, i would rank it below california

5/11/2012 4:14:53 PM

Another job was posted for Charlotte just now...that would be a dream come true...it pays more than all the other jobs I'm up for and would be the lowest cost of living.

I'm at the very minimum of their experience requirements, so I think it is a long shot. But it is worth sending in my resume.

5/11/2012 4:39:03 PM

If the pay was enough, Santa Barbara.

5/11/2012 4:44:33 PM

I'm officially taking Milwaukee and St Paul off the list, and Tucson is hanging by a thread.

It is mainly between DC (Kensington to be specific if anyone knows that area) and Santa Barbara

5/12/2012 2:50:31 PM

My vote goes for Houston or DC. DC has a lot to do for anyone but I couldn't deal with traffic for more than a few years no matter where you live around there. Houston has the right balances for everyone as well and coworkers who have been reassigned there love it. Twin Cities isn't bad in terms of cost of living/social scene/crime but if you're tired of snow I can understand that. Everywhere else other than the NC locations you talked about I've never been to.

5/12/2012 3:16:11 PM

I just moved to the DC Metro area (Alexandria) at the end of January

I love it so far ... although I haven't really been into Maryland any except for a couple trips to Bojangles across the Wilson bridge (I-95) and National Harber, also just across the bridge

[Edited on May 12, 2012 at 3:20 PM. Reason : ]

5/12/2012 3:19:00 PM

DC because of the ease of access to the cities of the northeast

5/12/2012 4:25:11 PM

My vote would be for DC, CA, or NC.

5/12/2012 4:29:39 PM

^ yep

5/12/2012 4:32:51 PM

I heard Iran is pretty nice this time of year, have you considered looking at jobs there?

5/12/2012 4:39:07 PM

Quote :

"I haven't really been into Maryland any except for a couple trips to Bojangles across the Wilson bridge"

Well, that's enough for me.

5/12/2012 11:44:29 PM

Baltimore is a neat town

5/12/2012 11:55:24 PM

Maryland isn't bad. The traffic is, better do the metro thing.

5/13/2012 12:03:11 AM

i'd stay east coast as it will be further away from the nuclear waste that's floating across the pacific ocean that will begin hitting the cali shores next year

5/13/2012 12:03:15 AM

Quote :

"Washington, DC -super hot Santa Barbara, CA- Tucson, AZ- super hot Houston, TX- super hot San Antonio, TX- super hot Milwaukee, WI- super cold St Paul, MN- super cold"

This can't be serious?

One of these places is on the coast.
One of these places is a "small town"
One of these places is surrounded by natural beauty.
One of these places is surrounded by outdoor activities.
One of these places is near skiing.
One of these places is near surfing.
One of these places is driving distance from two of Americas best cities.
One of these places is perfect weather all year.



[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 12:15 AM. Reason : Nah, this is a troll thread.]

5/13/2012 12:13:21 AM

Quote :

"One of these places is on the coast."

Does "the coast" mean specifically the west coast or just has a beach? Because I count 3 that fit the latter.

5/13/2012 1:55:16 AM

Im in the DC area, cost of living is way high, but good for the career (moving up) when you work for the feds.

[Edited on May 13, 2012 at 9:06 PM. Reason : w]

5/13/2012 9:05:30 PM

Out of those id pick CA then San Antonio if that's where SWSX is.

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

5/13/2012 9:28:38 PM

Quote :

"I just moved to the DC Metro area (Alexandria) at the end of January I love it so far ... although I haven't really been into Maryland any except for a couple trips to Bojangles across the Wilson bridge (I-95) and National Harber, also just across the bridge "

I am jelly.

5/13/2012 10:36:35 PM

Maryland side of DC is pretty ghetto. I'd do St Paul, but I understand the i-wanna-get-outta-the-cold attitude

5/13/2012 11:32:15 PM

SWSX is in Austin & I'd move to Austin in about a millisecond

San Antonio is a shit hole

5/13/2012 11:35:46 PM

I just moved to DC after spending 3 months living in San Antonio.

Don't move to San Antonio. It sucks.

DC (I'm in Arlington rather than DC proper) is awesome by comparison.

Quote :

"Out of those id pick CA then San Antonio if that's where SWSX is."

SXSW is in Austin (which is awesome).

San Antonio sucks. They're trying to make it a good place, but it's a long way off.

5/14/2012 12:28:03 AM

San Antonio is a lot of fun for a weekend...don't think I'd care much to live there.

SoCal is just about my favorite place on earth, but has heinous cost of living...and you're subject to a long list of California bullshit (henceforth referred as CA-BS). I love it there, but I'd have to do some thinking and research before I'd move there.

Never been to Houston.

Never been to Tucson, but I've been to Phoenix, Yuma, Sedona, and up to the Grand Canyon. Scottsdale and Havasu kick ass by all accounts. Parts of AZ are really nice; others, not so much. Tucson prob wouldn't be on my short list, but I wouldn't rule it out altogether.

It would take several hundred grand per year for me to live in MN or WI.

[Edited on May 14, 2012 at 12:42 AM. Reason : DC is cool in some ways. Cost of living is pretty bad; traffic is a motherfucker.]

5/14/2012 12:40:46 AM

milwaukee is actually a pretty cool city

5/14/2012 12:52:03 AM

then i may visit it sometime, but i'll be damned if i'll live in either of those states, anywhere else in the rust belt, or anywhere else that cold!

[Edited on May 14, 2012 at 12:57 AM. Reason : especially if there are no mountains for skiing.]

5/14/2012 12:56:07 AM

Quote :

"Does "the coast" mean specifically the west coast or just has a beach? Because I count 3 that fit the latter."

Houston is near the coast but it takes at least a good hour to get to galveston. I don't know the 3rd city you are talking about unless you are counting bays as the coast. You can see the ocean from pretty much anywhere in santa barbara.

St Paul and Milwaukee are both pretty cool they just have that winter thing for 6 months of the year.

Quote :

"but has heinous cost of living"

Really you just get what you pay for. If you really look into it, living in nice areas cost a lot everywhere, even in cheap places like Atlanta, you will pay california type prices to live in the nicer areas.

Cheap places aren't even cheap unless you live in the shitty neighborhoods so at the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

Expensive areas like Socal are expensive for a reason and cheap places like non-dallas/austin texas are cheap for a reason. They suck royal booty.

DC is just as expensive as California really. Sure there is more ghetto to find a dirt cheap place in DC than there is in Santa Barbara so that clouds people's views.

Salaries almost always compensate for cost of living differences anyway. This whole "decision" is a no brainer.

5/14/2012 1:49:16 AM

cape cod



[Edited on May 14, 2012 at 1:00 PM. Reason : durrr]

5/14/2012 12:59:15 PM

My wife and I spent a weekend paragliding and camping in the Sierra's. Cali FTW

There are shittier cities that flank all the good ones that cost just slightly more than Raleigh. It may be 1 - 2X more expensive, but you're life will have 10 - 20x the activity and excitement.

5/14/2012 1:08:25 PM

From what I have heard, Houston is a pretty sweet place to live

5/14/2012 1:08:31 PM

Quote :

"milwaukee is actually a pretty cool city "

I've heard this from several people. And if you like cheese it's supposed to be food heaven

5/14/2012 1:10:22 PM

and beer

5/14/2012 1:13:55 PM

I don't want to publicly discuss my finances, but if you set what I'm currently making in Boston (which is a very expensive city) as X, then the Santa Barbara job pays X+3k and the DC job is X-1k.

5/14/2012 2:54:32 PM

i'm sorry but i don't think you made that complicated enough.

can you plot those functions out or something?

5/14/2012 3:32:13 PM

there's a fuck ton of ncsu alums in the houston area, if that matters.

5/14/2012 3:35:46 PM

I though passing pre-algebra was necessary to get into State unless you were on athletic scholarship.

SB is paying $3,000 than what I'm making now, DC is paying $1000 less.

It's a shame because the job in Winston-Salem (that I didn't get an offer for) paid +$5,000 with clearly the lowest cost of living.

5/14/2012 3:53:17 PM

Yeah, but who wants to live in Winston-Salem?

5/14/2012 3:55:40 PM

Washington, DC
Santa Barbara, CA
Tucson, AZ
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
Milwaukee, WI
St Paul, MN

Down to two. Santa Barbara is the leading choice right now.

In order to keep the same standard of living, according to this handy cost of living calculator from CNN (http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html, not sure how accurate), my $35,000 salary in Boston would need to be:

$33,852 in Los Angeles (Santa Barbara wasn't on their list, but I would assume it would be cheaper than LA)
$23,732 in San Antonio

The Santa Barbara offer is $38k, the San Antonio offer is $30k. I have no idea how LA is cheaper than Boston but there it is.

A similar calculator (http://www.bestplaces.net/col/) gave completely different results:
$50,354 Santa Barbara
$18, 942 San Antonio

5/29/2012 11:45:16 PM