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Millennials flocking to 10 US cities to get a job, buy a home, and start a life
- NTDF9 9y agoRaleigh is a hidden treasure. Educated populace with good schools, pretty decent jobs, yet peaceful and green. Their only drawback is isolation from west coast hubs.
- cblock811 9y agoI grew up in Charlotte and a lot of my engineer friends have settled and started families in Raleigh. It's made me consider moving there when I finally burn out on the Bay Area scene.
- junkcollector 9y agoI can personally attest that every place on that list is pretty damn nice except for Grand Rapids which is to damn cold! They all have low cost of living and a solid tech scene as well.
- RightMillennial 9y agoDon't forget cloudy too. You can go for close to a month without any sunshine around February in Grand Rapids.
- sf_rob 9y agoCharlotte itself has gotten quite popular among my white collar Atlanta friends who are looking for a smaller town feel. The job market is soft but the city is very nice.
- psychometry 9y agoI'd say its main drawback is that its enclosing state looks like a right-wing hellscape compared to, say, Massachusetts. I know they have a Democrat in charge at the moment, but the non-urban residents of NC horrify me.
- JBlue42 9y agoYeah, I'm in LA but from NC and many of my close friends are still there. I've heard Durham has also exploded. Not sure what you mean by isolation from west coast hubs. Is it because service from RDU still has to hop over to CLT sometimes? Because that does suck. Even flying home though, I have to connect via Atlanta to then hop to CLT sometimes. Travel was way easier when it was LAX/BUR -> DFW -> CLT.
- santaclaus 9y agoI fly SFO -> RDU direct pretty cheaply a few times a year.
- NTDF9 9y agoI mean RDU has fewer direct flights to the west coast. That's where tech is, investors are, initial customers are. NY has an advantage that there are flights to SF, SEA all day every day.
- JBlue42 9y agoGotcha. Depends on what sort of work people are looking for. If you're trying to do a hyper-growth startup, then yes, unfortunately you still have to be near the VCs in SF. Though maybe that's also changing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15849795 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15849795 RTP has plenty of well-known companies that provide a solid base for employment in the area. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to have created the same sort of money flowing into startups as happened in SV back in the day.
- santaclaus 9y ago> Raleigh is a hidden treasure. Durham is way cooler than Raleigh!
- navbaker 9y agoSeconded. It's got most of the amenities of a big city without the traffic problems or horrendous cost of living. I really miss the greenway bike paths from my college days living there!
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- nugget 9y agoI could not have been more wrong in my predictions of this trend. At Y2K I looked at a future where better technology would allow people to spread out around the country and still tap into meaningful cultural and job opportunities. Lower cost of living and higher quality of life. Instead, it's like the opposite has happened, and we're increasingly roped together by a noose that tightens more every year.
- mnm1 9y agoHow can you tap into meaningful cultural opportunities when you live in the middle of nowhere? Cultural opportunities involve two or more people. Jobs sure, remote work is getting easier to find.
- hkmurakami 9y agoSimulcast opera type stuff is pretty useful.
- LeoJiWoo 9y agoIt's not really technology pushing people into cities is it ? I assumed its really due to a lack of well paying jobs, combined with an increased debt burden from college. I guess one could argue technology has lead to increased automation and reduction of jobs typically found outside of cities.
- sushisource 9y agoI suspect this is almost more of a "marketing" (for lack of a better word) problem than anything else. It's this negative feedback loop where no one thinks non-costal cities are cool, so they don't move there, so they don't become cool, etc, etc.
- lbotos 9y agoI grew up on the East Coast so that may also bias me a bit, but I'm planning on being in NYC for at least the next 10 years seeing how the "second coming" of tech plays out. I feel a lot better about job prospects in NYC in an economic downturn vs basically anywhere else. Sure, rent is high in the abstract but roommates bring it way down.
- byandyphillips 9y agoColumbus, Ohio (#8 on the list) native here working in User Experience Design making an average tech salary. At the end of every month I'm always amazed at how much I can put in savings and travel because of the low cost of living. I live downtown and my rent is only $750. There also seems to be high demand for jobs, but not enough talent to fill those jobs.
- Ro93 9y agosounds pretty cool, but then I'd have to live in Ohio.... more of Michigan person myself
- nextstep 9y agoWhat’s the difference? (honest question)
- exclusiv 9y agoI can't speak to the parent's reasons, but I do know that Ohio and Michigan are rivals for a variety of reasons, one from the early indoctrination of their public universities (Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines) into the general populace, even those that never attend either. Those two states have an allegiance/pride instilled into their citizens early that most places don't (apart from maybe Texas and NYC). Some of my friends that I went to college with that grew up in Michigan actually rooted for the Wolverines to beat us haha.
- qbrass 9y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War
- bretthoerner 9y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_difference...
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- rambleraptor 9y agoWith how much talent the coasts seem to suck in, there needs to be a better conversation about how the rest of the country attracts talent. It's becoming more and more obvious that economic growth is predicated on solid jobs requiring a college education.
- make3 9y agoyour republican government deciding to tax study grants as regular income will surely not help this. american capitocracy (plutocracy) at it's finest
- ravar 9y agoAs someone who will be personally negatively impacted by this tax raise I just want to say that there is more to the tax raise than just plutocracy. Conservatives are raising complaints about what is happening in the academy, and if members of the academy do not want to be personally hurt maybe we should try to understand the kernel of truth in their complaints. At the very least members of the academy could selfishly try to come to some harmony with the people who control our budgets rather than blindly lash out against them.
- make3 9y agothe people who control the budgets are corrupted by the requests of their billionaire donors and of the anti intellectual thoughts these billionaires promote in the poor population. I'm not in academia; we all benefit from having research being accessible, instead of more money going to the billionaires.
- ravar 9y agoI partially agree with this assessment, industry for whatever shortsighted reason sometimes implements bad academic policy, as was seen in the Harper administration in Canada. However it is fully well possible that in a complex world such as ours that there could be more than one serious threat to the very large set of institutions which is academia. It is also possible that one of the threats, lets say the internal threat, could be used as a smokescreen by a second threat, lets say these nebulous billionaires. We do not need to be worried about either threat at the exclusion of the other.
- hkmurakami 9y agoAdded bonus of a cheaper state income tax at any of these places vs CA or NY (expect WA which wins out for the time being, though they seem to be facing pressure to change)
- nimbius 9y agoAs a Californian millennial articles like these make me frustrated. my one bedroom apartment is ~2200 a month and came without a refrigerator. home prices start at a million dollars, traffic is horrid and the city i live in is currently on fire. That having been said, im not sure id trade California for Ohio or other so called "flyover" states. The only time they end up on the nightly news is when they violate marriage laws (Kentucky) for gay couples, stage a massive white supremacy rally (Virginia) or pass some arcane law that either wipes out womens healthcare or edifies teaching autonomous ignorance in place of biology in school. Is there an independent perspective on these cities? Something that cuts to the point of what living in Tennessee is actually like? can I still get bulgogi and ramen? how does healthcare work? I know these states would get quite a few more transplants if they or someone just explained what it was to be a part of them.
- stevenj 9y agoThere are other options out there besides deciding between SV and the flyover states, such as Portland, Oregon or Austin, Texas.
- Erik816 9y agoWhy are you basing your opinion of places you have never been on the nightly news? They have zero interest in giving you a balanced sense of a location. If your main goal is just to be surrounded by fellow liberals, then I guess just stay put and don't explore. I really don't think lack of information is driving population. If you really want to move somewhere, visit it first and see if you like it. No one else can tell you if you will like it, or if the trade-offs you will inevitably have to make will be worth it. If you can't be bothered to do that, then your high rent and home prices probably don't bother you as much as you think they do.
- hkmurakami 9y agoAlso reach out to any friends of friends who may be there. Tennessee is one of the healthcare capitals of this country. Many people in your network will be medical residents / fellows / etc there.
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- mulletbum 9y agoWithout even clicking I guessed Grand Rapids would be close to the top of this list. The job market here has been fantastic, there is a great metro life to be had, housing is decent, plus the country and small towns around it are easy to commute from. 20-25 minutes to a Great Lake, fantastic beaches, even better beer. Grand Rapids is a fantastic place to call home.
- mingmecca 9y agoTrue. Except! The bone chilling winters and lake effect snow that accumulates into multiple feet. I remember one winter years ago where, when visiting my girlfriend, the wind-chill temp was 45 below zero and our cars were encased in ice an inch thick. That being said, I'm from Detroit but if I had to live in Michigan again I'd be in GR.
- feistypharit 9y agoIndeed. Grew up around grand rapids, spent 15 years in Ann arbor, a year or so in Boston, and now back in GR. Once you get past the winters and the fact that there are a lot of very religious people around (sometimes good, sometimes bad), it's a good place to be.
- pkamb 9y agoThe cities in this list in no way represent the top 10 cities that millennials are "flocking" to. Headline: > millennials are flocking to 10 US cities to get a job, buy a home, and start a life Data: > 10 US housing markets Trulia expects will grow next year while remaining affordable and attracting young buyers.
- b3b0p 9y agoIt's strange to see Austin on this list. It says it takes nearly 50% of your income to buy a home. While all the other cities are nearly half that. Most of the other cities are also Midwest/North and have seasons / snow except for all the other Texas cities. I'm in Austin, I like it, I don't see myself ever buying a home, but I'm happy renting. I've owned homes in the past and I honestly didn't like it.
- hkmurakami 9y agoOne thing Austin has going for it vs more developed coastal cities is the capacity for additional sprawl, if that's the kind of arrangement you're looking for.
- swozey 9y agoSprawl is awful in Austin because of our lake and highway system. "South Austin" (South of Town Lake/1st st) is 12 miles from my house but going there is basically like driving to another city. 30-45 minutes. What happens is people will live in Central/North Austin and will only take jobs in Central/North. Vice versa if you live South.
- hkmurakami 9y agoGuess it's kind of like the Peninsula / East Bay divide in SV? Crossing any of the bridges is a nightmare. Hilariously, growing up 880 was known to be the worst highway wrt traffic but with increased employment in the peninsula, 101 has legitimately overtaken it I think.
- b3b0p 9y agoOnly 30-45 minutes? That seems like a good day. I have a 4 mile commute South (from South Congress/Barton Springs straight up South Congress) on my bike. I easily can beat traffic often times. Even without traffic it takes just a few minutes longer (lights, speed limits).
- swozey 9y ago
- AcerbicZero 9y agoHaving recently escaped Columbus, Ohio after an extended accidental stop there, it would take a lot more than just the ability to buy a shitty house to get me to go back. The job market is deceptively weak, going anywhere requires getting in a car, and worst of all you share the state with Cincinatti, which is like Columbus, but somehow worse in every way. Seriously though, of course houses are cheap in Ohio. The 3 major Ohio cities are all giant sprawling semi-urban areas, with very limited public transit, while the rest of the state is in varying states of rust belt recovery (or collapse). The few walkable, connected neighborhoods in Columbus (Upper Arlington, the nice part of Grandview, etc) command prices that would be tough to afford on a west coast salary, let alone the 60k-90k you'd make in Ohio.
- mcknz 9y agoI would take exception to a lot of this, but you're right about needing a car. Columbus is extremely lacking in public transportation. Traffic is not too bad overall, but if growth continues eventually the increasing number of cars will create even more problems.
- nategri 9y agoI know I was living in a bit of a special enclave of Columbus (Clintonville), but I I'm finding a car to be much more mandatory in the South Bay. In Columbus I would only drive about once a week when I needed to go out to the suburbs. EDIT: However I do agree that public transportation sucks there. BUT it can be far, far more pedestrian-friendly than my current environs.
- handbanana 9y agoFor those also using an ad blocker like myself: 10 cincinnati, 9 madison, 8 columbus, 7 austin, 6 fort worth, 5 san antonio, 4 el paso, 3 raleigh, 2 nashville, 1 grand rapids
- pwinnski 9y agoI briefly debated turning off my ad-blocker to see this list. Decided instead to check HN in a couple of hours, so thank you!