Same thing here, only I left NYC for DC, then back to the Pittsburgh office. And nor would I raise children there, unless I were filthy rich.

I want to repeat, go to NYC if you can, even if it's for only 6 months or so. The rest of your life, you will better understand so much movies, theatre, the neighborhoods - everything about NYC, and in a sense, the mindset. I don't think that there's any other city in the world that begin to compare.

I miss Atlanta SO BAD ... so obviously that is my biased vote. Little bit of something for everybody, and a good job market plus relatively low cost of living, so what's not to love? Plus lots of new renovation and growth going on. I do love to visit NYC, but I don't think I would want to live there (too much crazy, too much expensive, too much ... everything). Never been to CA, so can't speak to that.

Houston is actually a pretty amazing city. The fine arts scene is one of the best in the country, and there are many large communities with very distinctive character such that just about anyone could move there and find a place much to their liking. The cost of living is also very low, and the job market is amazing.

As for finding out about the market for your profession, I think asking around is the best first step. Talk to professors and graduate students in your field. They will understand what specific areas you are looking at and might have some good input. Also, figure out where the top grad schools are for your chosen line of work. That can help you narrow the scope of your research.

Not knowing anything about your field, my thought process would suggest NYC as a top prospect for two reasons if you want to go into counseling. First, there is a large affluent population and so there would be a good market for counseling services for people who can afford to pay top dollar. In addition, in a city so large there will be a LOT of underprivileged people living in very dire conditions- and you could do pro-bono work on the side (or even work for a government agency) and get exposure to some very tough cases which can be a great experience for your resume and also put you where you can do a lot of good for people who really need every bit of guidance they can get.

However, even if I am right in my assessment (the above is just my guess), there might already be a flood of people in your field in NYC trying to land the cushy private jobs or get into government work.

If you are interested in counseling specifically, another good thing to do would be to look up on monster.com plus city employment sites to see what kinds of jobs are out there, what the pay is, and if you watch regularly you can see how quickly jobs are filled. This will all give you important info on how hard it might be to find a job at a salary you want.

Look also at the experience requirements for those jobs. If most of the better jobs seek 2-5 years experience, you might be better off staying in a place where the market is less competitive, the cost of living lower and you can find a good entry level position that gets you the experience you need to hit a market like NYC with more success. Houston is a big enough city that I think it could be a good prelude to NYC- plus your cost of living will be a lot less. NYC is incredibly expensive- and you have little room for error in your financial planning. You can live in a decent apartment in Houston for 1/3 of what you would pay in NYC.

I know this is a lot to digest, but if you ask these questions- then they will give rise to more questions and suddenly you realize you have a pretty good handle on what you want and need. Most people don't consider the kinds of things I have listed above- they just pick a city and go. So do this and I think you will be ahead of the curve. You won't get any sure answers, but you will feel comfortable moving ahead- and that will make a difference.

Raleigh, NC
Cincinatti, OH/Northern KY area
Louisville, KY
Columbus,OH
Las Vegas, NV

Lol, that's how I got into this mess. Those cities hold my top three choices for my next degree program. :) Overally, it's going to boil down to where I get in, but I'm going to live in one of these places for a few months before my studies begin and maybe even for years afterward, so I'm thinking about it hard. That monster.com thing sounded like a good idea, I'll try that. Right now, I'm a mental health counselor at a psych hospital, so I'm getting pretty good experience already, but it doesn't count toward my practicing license. I'm going to be visiting a lot of places over the next year to see if I like them.

HC: I did want to stay in NY for even just 6 months so I can know what it's like to live there even if it's not permanent and everyone said I was crazy. Glad to see you suggested it, I feel much better about the idea. I just want to live in SO MANY FREAKIN' places while I'm still young and single. Even though I miss my family, I'm a total free spirit like that, I love moving around a lot. When I start my own family, I'll want to stay put so I have this desire to just go everywhere and see everything. *sigh* How is it possibly possible that this is getting easier and harder at the same time? :confused:

If I were younger, weren't married with kids and had enough means so I wasn't living on one cup'o'noodles per day, I would totally live in NYC. I spent a summer in a work-study program in London during college, and even though it was very difficult at times, it was a fabulous experience. I will always have a love for the city despite the fact I will never move out of this state.

Granted, I'm not a single 20-something anymore, but I think I'd slit my wrists before I'd live in NYC, Atlanta or any other big city. The older Ms. MC and I get, the less appeal city-life has. We're both from small towns, and it's becoming clear that sooner or later we'll end up back in a small town -- preferably in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

At this stage of my life, I wouldn't want to live there. But when I was under 25, I loved it; same with DC.

But taking the quiz that Leslie Anne posted, I may someday be the Mystic Cat family's neighbor!

ChristianGirl, If I were you, I would definitely head to NYC for a period of time. I had a few friends who went there after undergrad, and most of them are still there and loving it. the others ended up back in Cali but are so happy that they had that time while they were young. If you end up staying there for grad school, great, but if you get in elswhere, then you had an amazing adventure for a few months. You can always look into subletting a place for a few months just for the experience.

I love California, but I don't really think of Santa Barbara as a young 20 something place. It is really for the college crowd or retired folks.

On a side note, I took that quiz and ended up with 8 cities in Oregon! Maybe I'll have to check it out. And my significant other lives in Sacramento and that popped up as #12 on my list! Crazy!

do ATL!!!!! (of course i'm biased) but Atlanta is very cosmopolitian but you still get that southern hospitality that the South is known for. :)


NYC is ridiculously expensive. I read a stat that said prices are 10.5% higher than in other parts of the country.... .

I <3 San Diego. It's the only place I've ever been to where the beach was even better than where I currently live. It was like visiting magic I loved it so much. I could totally raise some babies there. *sighs*

Ick, why the Valley? Would you want to live there, or do you think you'd just end up there 'cause it's cheaper?

I live in Denver. It's great, no doubt about it.

If I were to move, though, it would be to New York City. Hands down.