Are HCOL cities (NYC/Boston/DC/Philly) worth it if you’re not in IB?
I’m currently living in a city that I think is a dump, in terms of population think Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, or Cleveland. I moved here from the Northeast for my first job out of college and it’s been 5 years but it’s time to go now. My family mainly lives in NYC, NJ, and PA, so I’m looking into NYC, DC, Boston, and Philly as potential cities to move to so I’m close by. Only problem is I work in FP&A and it’ll be a long time before I crack $200K to afford these cities, if I ever do.
Right now I work fully remote as a senior analyst making $95K + bonus. I have almost 5.5 years of experience so whichever city I pick I’m going to start gunning for manager positions there, hopefully bringing me to $120K+ base.
Assuming it all goes to plan and I get a manager position, pick a city, etc. I’m just not sure if it’d be worth the money or what city I’d pick.
My main reasons for moving: Closer to family, I feel stagnant in my career so I want to be in an environment that’ll push and advance me, I’ve fell out of touch with most of my friends so I’d like to meet new people, and new dating opportunities.
I obviously want a city that has a lot of HQ’s or large corporate presence for FP&A, along with a lot of social clubs and groups to meet people. But for the more mundane stuff: I like to golf, not much of a clubber I’m more into breweries or low key bars nowadays, fan of NY sports, yoga, beaches.
NYC and Boston turn me off only because they’re disgustingly expensive. Philly turns me off because of the crime. Washington DC turns me off because I’m not into politics and it’d probably get super old listening to people bitch about politics 24/7.
So I guess my questions are… Are these cities worth it if you’re late 20’s and not making $200K? Which one would you pick? Is there one that I should absolutely cross off my list? Any I should add to my list?
NYC can still be a lot of fun, you'll just have to have some roommates, but that is common in your 20s.
personally I'm trying to leave DC for a trajectory change in the next few years, but tbh it's a decent area that has a lot of the things you mentioned: architecturally it's nice, there's a decent blend of neighborhoods, food is pretty good, you don't have to be plugged into politics all that much thankfully and it's easily avoidable, and it's not a far drive from fun outdoors things (e.g., the Shenandoah valley and national park [great hiking, rafting, fishing, etc.], beaches in Delaware and Maryland, great bike trails, etc.). There are a good amount of firms based here and a ton of FP&A roles, Amazon just opened the first phase of HQ2, and there's a growing tech scene.
lol you do not need to make 200k to live comfortably in philadelphia, that is definitely a solidly MCOL city.
wtf is Philly doing on this list lmao
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