My kid really likes Phoenix. But you have to like it hot in the summers. Cost of living is very reasonable.
I hear great things from recent grads about Austin – even from those who aren’t into Texas/southern culture. It’s said to be a great, young town with lots of jobs and housing that’s affordable by east-coast and west-coast standards. I wouldn’t last the summer there – can’t take heat/humidity – but I understand why a lot of college grads like it.
Denver, Colo is in the top 5-10 (depends on the ranking) destination cities for young college grads. As result, rents in Denver have become very high in comparison to local salaries, which isn’t stopping the hoards of young hipsters descending on the city. In parts of central Denver, it feels like there’s a law you can’t live there if you’re under 40.
I am hearing about lots of young people going to Chicago for their first jobs. A lot of them have graduated from midwestern schools such as UM and Notre Dame, etc. Don’t know about the cost though.
This is one of those “well it depends” threads. When I was getting out of grad school and looking for a job in the film industry the only question I had to answer not where in the US I was going to live but where in LA was I going to live. Since it’s a city of a hundred neighborhoods I had plenty of options.( And though I’ve been to Columbus and I like Columbus , for someone like me “culture” is a relative term.) For D, she had to move to a place where they support opera and actually pay classical musicians. NYC, SF, and LA have opera companies and symphonies but these cities also are full up with musicians and the cost of living does not allow for much spending beyond rent. (take note Yelp girl) So for her the question was “where in the world can I afford to pursue my passion and still maintain a reasonably good lifestyle.” Her parameters allowed for a wider range of options than I had, but those options do not really include any cities here in the USA. Currently makes half of her income with music and the other half working remotely (online) as an independent contractor editing webinars for American companies. She created that job on her own. The world is smaller and flexibility rules.
It’s the “affordable by east-coast and west-coast standards” thinking that is pricing normal people out of the market. We just had a study released today about how the music industry has lost 1,200 jobs because fewer people in the artist community can live here. People today are losing their minds because this morning they’ve closed a lane to construction on a major thoroughfare, and it’s doubling people’s commute times. Today was not a good day to ask about Austin. lol
Forgot my initial question. How many students out there are looking for some sort of generic corporate job? I think that for most students their career goals cannot be met in a “one city fits all option.”
@deega123 , the weather Columbus experienced this past summer was unusual; it rained and was overcast much more than usual! Frustrating for those of us who wish we lived in the tropics… Usually, we are able to enjoy the sun much more than that. (If only we also had a white sand, ocean beach to enjoy, it’d be perfect. 
)
We live in DC (actually close to DC line in MD) and both our boys have expressed the desire to end up here long term. It is home to them and they would like to raise their families here.
But, for now, S1 is in Chicago and loves it!! He has a huge friend network from college there and can afford to live in a very nice area (Lincoln Park), travel a lot, and have a very active social life. It is very affordable - at least compared to DC.
S2 graduates this May and has a job here in DC but plans on living at home for a little bit to save some money. Rent is just so expensive and luckily his commute downtown will be fairly short from our house. It will be interesting to see how long he stays at home before deciding to move out. I know that a lot of his college friends are hoping to end up in DC, NY or places out west.
Madison, Wis, and even Milwaukee. Son’s friend is an engineer near Madison and has already purchased a house.
In my part of the Midwest, lots of new graduates go to Chicago. My D went to school in Chicago, and all of her close friends from college got jobs there after graduation. Vibrant city life, reasonable cost of living, good job prospects for many majors – what’s not to love?
D worked there for three years before moving to Minneapolis. Guess Chicago wasn’t cold enough for her.
LOL, @scout59. Chicago IS fabulous. A friend spent 3 years there before being promoted to NYC, and is now trying to get demoted back to Chicago. Says, it had all the pleasures of NYC, but with a better beach and much, much cheaper housing.
@Youdon’tsay, I hear you about normal people being priced out by the “reasonable by east-coast west-coast standard” housing market. Definitely seeing that in Denver. My daughter is considering a PhD program in Colorado, and was stunned to see the costs of apartments approaching what she’s paying in Brooklyn. (Without salaries to match.)
I see Denver, Austin, Seattle and Portland have been mentioned. I will add the research triangle in NC.
if you want work - NYC, if you want comfy - Boston
Anywhere but where I was - a small town in central Ohio. The most miserable 18 months of my life.
“if you want work - NYC, if you want comfy - Boston”
Are you saying there aren’t jobs in Boston?
San Antonio is very affordable and actually has more college students than Austin – just not known as a college town because the colleges and universities there are not top tier research universities (although UT-San Antonio has that as a goal). The city is affordable with plenty of young people, and there is a lot to see and do. If someone just loves Austin, it’s close enough to visit on the weekends, without having to deal with the higher costs and traffic there.
Another recommendation is Twin Cities. The economy there is stellar, and there are indoor and outdoor activities year-round in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. With public transportation and extensive bike paths, it also wouldn’t be necessary to get a car right away if a recent graduate didn’t have one already.
My son who will be graduating this year would really like to go to California. He went over spring break last year, and we have family there. He just loves the climate and all of the outdoor opportunities. I’m hoping he finds a job pretty much anywhere, and will be willing to go where the job is.
My son and his girlfriend chose CT, about an hour north of NYC and have enjoyed exploring the surrounding areas during the last 2 1/2 years. That said, they are ready to move. In the next two months they are visiting Austin and Nashville. I am surprised because they have always talked about Pittsburgh and I know they really liked Columbus and Chicago. They visited my other son in Phoenix last month, but decided it was “too brown”.
It so depends on the person. I grew up in a surfing culture. I know lots and lots and lots of people – many in my own family – for whom surfing is part of their DNA. These people would never, ever in a million years move anywhere without reasonable access to the ocean and waves. I know that sounds crazy to people on this board but it really does make sense in the context of their lives and priorities.
And, I should say, these are young people, middle aged people, old people at all ends of the ambition and success scale.
Current graduates are forecast to be job hoppers. I think that is due in part to the job market, how corporations view their employees and our mobile society. “Young, professional” areas that attract recent grads seem to be centered around cities, NYC, BOS, DC, SF, Austin, Seattle, etc. Many young grads want to be mobile and are not interested in home ownership. That being said, if I were a new grad, I would want to live in a liberal area with the cultural amenities of a large city. I would also want the flexibility to either live abroad and be based in a similar city.