Is "no state tax" an acceptable answer for "Why Seattle?"

Currently doing banking in NYC and I have an upcoming R1 with a firm in Seattle. Candidly I'm pretty location agnostic as long as it's a major city, and Seattle is a top location for me because my take-home will be materially higher after taxes.

I have no family on the West Coast and would rather just tell the truth than make something up. I'm wondering how this answer would be perceived in an interview? It genuinely is a huge part of the reason why I'm interviewing for this firm.

8 Comments
 

No no, let him dream. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

IMO, no. You don't need to pretend your family lives there but you can make up some reason about the nature, the city, wanting to get out of NY and into a smaller city... any of those are fine and are completely innocuous. 

Taxes are a factor but that's the only answer that could possibly rub someone the wrong way or make you seem like you're pursuing that job for the wrong reasons ($). Don't give someone a reason to reject you on a total softball

 

Absolutely not. Have you ever brought up any aspect of pay in your interviews before? Doing this would be equivalent to saying you're taking the job because you know this firm pays higher bonuses. 

 
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Think about why the firm actually asks...they want to ensure that you're going to complete the entire associate program without jumping ship. AKA they don't want to waste training/mentorship on a flight risk who is going to cry homesick for some other city, burn-out because they have no friends/family, or lateral to a firm in a tier 1 city (claiming social life reasons, girlfriend, whatever.).

Frame your 'why Seattle' accordingly (without lying and agree, the income tax reason is tacky).

If nothing else, you sound like someone keen on exploring new places (if city agnostic), so say just that. You don't have ties to anywhere overly specific, you're excited to live somewhere new, you like being outside, etc.. That's enough.

 

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