City to live in

[Cunninghamew]

My wife is finishing up med-school and soon to be applying to residency programs. We need to find a city that works for both of us. I currently work in finance. The question is what is a cool city where it would be easy to hunt for a related job?

 

The catch - we are small town southern folk (originally from Little Rock, AR) who couldn't handle life in a place like NYC... going there for work is enough

 

We currently live in Dallas

 

 

[Packer16]

You can look at Rochester, NY we have a great med community and finance jobs located in money management firms, corporate finance and specialty firms such as ours.  You have to get used to weather but other than that it is reasonably priced for NY state.

 

Packer

[JBird]

Where do you not want to live?

[Gamecock-YT]

Charlotte. #2 banking city in the US (good luck trying to get an in with BoA or Wells tho) Good hospitals between CMC and Presbyterian.

 

Throw in Nashville, Atlanta, and Raleigh/Research Triangle if you want a similar type city with good options in both fields.

 

 

[thepupil]

Raleigh-Durham area could work. Lots of medicine (obviously), some finance around here. It's a nice mix of the South and progressive/academic environment. 

[watsa_is_a_randian_hero]

Chicago...2nd largest financial center in nation and plenty of hospitals.

 

Cleveland...Decent-sized finance market and large medical market.

 

I'm sure you could both find jobs in LA or san fran if you didn't have too much of a niche and the cost of living didn't turn you off.  Those would be much better to live due to weather in then either of the 2 cities above. 

 

FD: I'm from Cleveland originally and work in Chicago now (in finance).

[JAllen]

The entire Bay Area is insane right now with costs of living because of housing supply constrained by mountains, water, and NIMBY issues.  I would not move here unless you got a dream job or your wife gets into her dream medical school.  That said, other than the cost of living, the Bay Area is fantastic....  There aren't too many uber-dense areas of the Bay Area (I live in SF and also could never stand living in NYC)

[OracleofCarolina]

I second Charlotte..many banking and finance jobs..mostly mild weather..cost of living not bad

 

I used to live there, now in Washington state..Bellevue, Washington is really nice but cost of living somewhat higher

 

[LC]

You can look at Rochester, NY we have a great med community and finance jobs located in money management firms, corporate finance and specialty firms such as ours.  You have to get used to weather but other than that it is reasonably priced for NY state.

 

Packer

 

I might move there just hoping to learn a bit from you via city-wide osmosis.

[Cunninghamew]

Wow thanks everyone..  I will have to check out Charlotte. The research triangle is also a definite possibility for her. They have a good pediatrics program that she is interested in at UNC.

 

J Bird we like the south and we like moderate size cities with character. I have a good job in Dallas and her school is great, but we are not big fans of staying here. Dallas is like LA without a beach. We have been trying to create a short list of cities we like and it is hard to find a good mesh (i.e. high probability of me finding a good job) and being a city we like.

 

Here is the list of cities we like, but our hands are going to be forced based upon where she matches. The goal is to apply to a bunch of programs in cities (that have good prospects for me), decent programs, and fit our preferences. Once we have a good list it will all come down to the match. They apply to a ton of programs, so we need a big list

 

1. Austin - my employer would be a good resource for me finding a job here

2. Little Rock - this is where our family is, but finance jobs are few and far between

3. Dallas - this is status quo for us

4. Charleston, SC - we absolutely love this city, but job prospects are probably bleak here... Def our fav city

5. Nashville

6. Memphis - close to home and decent program. There are a few asset managers in the area

7. Chapell Hill - good program for her, but I don't know about job prospects

8. Bay area - she and I both love San Fran, but the cost of living is what scares me (I would def need to find a good job). They have mutliple programs that are awesome. Long-term CA is a bad place for doctors though

 

New ideas for me to research thanks to y'all

 

1. Charlotte

2.  Atlanta - I don't know why we havent talked about Atlanta

3. Cleveland - I have neer been, so I don't really know what to think about that idea. I know they have the Cleveland Clinic, which is awesome

 

We have both 86ed Chicago and NYC... we are small town folk at our heart. I will have to look into Rochester, but our inclination to move way northeast is prob not high

 

Again, thanks

[Mikenhe]

thought about Tampa - lot of companies adding jobs, fairly easy drive from smaller outlying communities, no snow....

[Packer16]

Just as an FYI.  Rochester is much closer to midwest type of culture and is closer to Cleveland than NYC even though it is in NY.

 

Packer

[rkbabang]

Don't forget New Hampshire.  No income tax, no capital gains tax, no sales tax.  A lot of healthcare in the Manchester/Nashua area, plus a short commute to MA 128 tech region/Boston (from southern NH) as a last resort.  Drive 5 minutes from Manchester and you can live in a rural area, yet have a short drive to Manchester, Nashua, Boston(MA), Worcester(MA).

[Kraven]

You may want to also consider the Washington DC area.  From a job standpoint for you and your wife, there is plenty of opportunity.  Lots of hospitals and finance jobs.  The DC area is one of those places where there are lots of people from various places.  While it wouldn't be thought of as a small town, and it isn't, you will almost certainly be able to find groups of like minded people who also have transplanted to the area.  It's not cheap, but then again if you don't have to live in the District there are plenty of outlying areas that are more reasonable.  Traffic is terrible, but that goes with the big city aspect of it.  And you get enough of (what I consider to be) that awful, humid southern weather to make it feel like home to you!  Just something to add to the list.

[txlaw]

1. Austin - my employer would be a good resource for me finding a job here

2. Little Rock - this is where our family is, but finance jobs are few and far between

3. Dallas - this is status quo for us

4. Charleston, SC - we absolutely love this city, but job prospects are probably bleak here... Def our fav city

5. Nashville

6. Memphis - close to home and decent program. There are a few asset managers in the area

7. Chapell Hill - good program for her, but I don't know about job prospects

8. Bay area - she and I both love San Fran, but the cost of living is what scares me (I would def need to find a good job). They have mutliple programs that are awesome. Long-term CA is a bad place for doctors though

 

New ideas for me to research thanks to y'all

 

1. Charlotte

2.  Atlanta - I don't know why we havent talked about Atlanta

3. Cleveland - I have neer been, so I don't really know what to think about that idea. I know they have the Cleveland Clinic, which is awesome

 

 

Based on your list, I'd also suggest looking at Houston or DC. 

 

Being in Dallas, you might pooh pooh the idea of Houston, but I actually like Houston better than Dallas.  There are some fantastic areas inside the loop, and I'm sure you guys know all about how big healthcare is there.  I'm sure there are a lot of finance jobs there too, although maybe they are more focused on the energy sector.  Housing is cheap, and the food is amazing.  It's very diverse as well.  Traffic and the weather sucks, though. 

 

The DC area is one of my favorite places in the country.  It's got everything, and it skews towards the younger end, I believe.  And it's a very livable city compared to most of the other big cities.  It might be just enough city for my taste.  And you could live in either Maryland or Northern Virginia, though I think NV is more likely to have finance jobs.

[Mikenhe]

Don't forget New Hampshire.  No income tax, no capital gains tax, no sales tax.  A lot of healthcare in the Manchester/Nashua area, plus a short commute to MA 128 tech region/Boston (from southern NH) as a last resort.  Drive 5 minutes from Manchester and you can live in a rural area, yet have a short drive to Manchester, Nashua, Boston(MA), Worcester(MA).

 

Hi property taxes to make up for what you don't pay elsewhere...

 

Maybe I'm biased - I lived there for years and I'd take florida anytime - I like Manchester though (except for winter). In fact I'll be flying there later today..

[locatevalue]

My wife is finishing up med-school and soon to be applying to residency programs. We need to find a city that works for both of us. I currently work in finance. The question is what is a cool city where it would be easy to hunt for a related job?

 

The catch - we are small town southern folk (originally from Little Rock, AR) who couldn't handle life in a place like NYC... going there for work is enough

 

We currently live in Dallas

 

I live in Dallas suburb and love this city, I have a nice work from home setup and great neighbourhood. I lived in Jersey City and LA. I missed CA weather when i moved here but not for long as this city provided more time for my investing and other activities. I would travel to Florida or LA whenever i would like to take a vacation. On top of that cost of living is no where compared of other cities i lived in and no state tax is a plus.

[rkbabang]

Don't forget New Hampshire.  No income tax, no capital gains tax, no sales tax.  A lot of healthcare in the Manchester/Nashua area, plus a short commute to MA 128 tech region/Boston (from southern NH) as a last resort.  Drive 5 minutes from Manchester and you can live in a rural area, yet have a short drive to Manchester, Nashua, Boston(MA), Worcester(MA).

 

Hi property taxes to make up for what you don't pay elsewhere...

 

Maybe I'm biased - I lived there for years and I'd take florida anytime - I like Manchester though (except for winter). In fact I'll be flying there later today..

 

It depends on what you call high and what town you are moving to.  The rates vary from $0/$K to about $29/K depending on the town (yes there are towns with no property tax. 

 

New Hampshire 2012 Property Tax Rates by town

 

I moved to NH 2 years ago from MA and the property taxes were almost the same between the town in MA I moved from and the town in NH that I moved to, but I no longer pay all of those other state taxes, nor a huge water bill, my car insurance is less than half of what it was.  I only moved about 70 miles, yet the cost of living is much lower here.

 

Florida? No way.  I'm not a big fan of heat, humidity, insects, or old people on the roads, all of which is why winter is my favorite season in NH.