Where to go?

Let me preface this post by saying that I, as a post graduate, ended up in Chicago, Illinois, but I almost ended up in New York..and Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando, and possibly somewhere else random out West. Lets just say I explored my options. There is no right way to go about choosing your location. Do you go where your friends go? Where family is? Where a job opportunity is? Back home?

First and foremost, you have to sit down and rank your priorities. I know people that have moved to a city for a job without knowing anyone and been miserable while I also know people that have moved to a city because they knew plenty of people but were still miserable in terms of their career. While attempting to choose a city, I would ask yourself, "Even though I enjoy this city as a great place to visit, could I see myself living here?"

Here are a few things to consider as you are choosing a place to move:

What are the activities that I most enjoy doing? (ie...going to the beach, museums, shows, concerts, shopping, to parks etc...)Does that city offer me those things I listed, or is this city in close proxemity to another place that may offer those those features? Hopefully, you will have a life outside of work, and you NEED to make sure that wherever you live offers you activities that are suitable for your taste of having fun.

What kind of weather am I most willing to live in year round?
It is proven that weather can affect our mood, so I would suggest before shelling out the big bucks and effort to relocate yourself, you ask yourself what kind of weather you are most willing to live through or would most enjoy.

Although I would not necessarily recommend having weather be the be all or end all deciding factor, it would not hurt to go to www.weather.com and check out the average year round forecasts of your potential destination.

Where can I even afford to live?
Here is one of the most important factors in deciding where to move after college. COST OF LIVING. I repeat COST OF LIVING is so important. Sure, I could have moved to New York and lived in a shoe box that may or may not fit a full bed, but I know that I would not have been able to afford doing all of the things that I love about New York (ie...seeing Broadway shows, shopping, going out to eat, etc...)

What fun would that have been to live there yet be confined in my apartment. This is not to say that New York is out of the picture forever. I am just saying that we have to make smart choices in order to be truly happy.

What I would strongly recommend is visiting one of the many sites that offer a cost of living calculator. By using this, one can enter the city they currently live and how much money they live off of. Then you can enter your tentative city and the calculator will tell you how much you need to earn in order to maintain your style of living (based off the figure of money that you gave in your current city).

Now, let's say that it tells you that you would need to make $50,000 in city X, but you know your salary is not going to be that much, then one of two things needs to happen.

1. Cross that city off your list (for now)
2. Reassess your current lifestyle and the ways in which you can
minimize your spending to make your budget work in a city that has
a higher cost of living.

*** Try this calculator http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

How important is it to live near family and friends?
Just remember a few things: If you don't live near the ones you love, will you be able to afford going to visit them. If not, will you be okay with this fact. It is that simple. Yes of course, maybe family and friends will come visit, but you have to be certain if you don't live near family and friends that you will either A. be able to afford going to visit them or B. be okay with a new change of seeing the ones you love just a handful of times a year

If it is important to you, find out in your new city how easy it is for loved ones to come visit. For example, do you live in a city with an international airport, train station, and bus depot, or do you live 2 hours away from the nearest small airport that may or may not have service to where friends or family live. Just some things to think about.....

Finally, will this city offer me the career growth I am looking for?
If the city is more important than the job, please just make sure you CAN find a job that will make you happy in your field or industry! I would not want you to end up in a fantastic, affordable city with great weather, plenty of culture, close to family and friends, yet absolutely no opportunity for a career. That would just be very bad.