I'm Worried

I live in Nashville, and have been to plenty of cities in the SE including Charlotte. Charlotte is fine, you will find things to do. I like Nashville better just because there is a lot to do for such a "mid-size" city (nightlife here is really fun especially if you like music other than "club" music.) Lots of outdoor things to do as well and winters aren't miserable. 

The COL here is way cheaper than the NE (no state income tax and we bought a 4br house in the burbs for $350k last year). So the savings are not "marginal." Go try and find a house in/around NYC for $350k that isn't old and dilapidated. Charlotte housing is pretty close to here too I think. I'm not as familiar with the nightlife in Charlotte, but it's a city of 2.1mil which makes it slightly bigger than Nashville, so I'm sure there are clubs/bars/breweries etc. And you can always find groups of younger single people to do things with/party via online. 

Personally, I just don't like NYC. Too crowded, expensive, and I like the culture here so much better (I grew up in the South though so biased). People in the SE are just nicer and not as stuck up. Whenever I moved back to the US from China in 2018, Nashville, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas and Charlotte were my 6 choices and Nashville won, but Charlotte was a contender for sure. 

Is Charlotte NYC, no. Will you have fun in Charlotte, yes. Congrats and enjoy the bbq. 

Currently in undergrad in the region, also incoming IB SA at an MM in Charlotte here. While I haven’t personally lived in the city, we have a ton of alum who end up there including multiple close friends of mine who are a couple years older than myself, so have had opportunity to hear about life there from various perspectives. I was initially shooting for BBs/EBs in NYC (who isn’t), and was quite disappointed when networking/applications/interviews were fizzling out there. Was happy to get an offer at all, but had similar worries about settling for an MM in a satellite, “low tier” city like Charlotte. In the coming months since, however, I’ve had a complete change in perspective and am actually extremely excited for this path. My thoughts behind this:

1. Things to do: I too have seen Charlotte called things like “sleepy” here on WSO, but I can genuinely say that I have heard nothing but good things about the night life from people who live there. Great brewery/microbrewery scene, bars and clubs span both Uptown and Southend giving you tons of variety (classy vs. sports bar, cheaper vs. expensive, etc.). I also couldn’t have the crazy college fun that I wanted (and felt like everybody else had) due to various family/legal/mental health issues, so I understand at least somewhat your situation. Despite this, I’m confident that CLT has options to fill that “missing” part of life. If not, there’s probably some other bigger issues going on.

Life goes beyond just night life too, which is where CLT thrives - it is actually in a phenomenal geographic location. Just 1-2 hours from both the beach and the mountains. Driveable distance to bigger cities like ATL, Nashville, DC, Raleigh, as well as to smaller (but cool) cities like Charleston, Asheville, Savannah. Big enough airport to have decent flight options to anywhere else.

Also, the food scene is allegedly good (plenty of cuisine options, high quality options available, etc.) Southern barbecue is also a thing of beauty.

Quite good weather year round - good if you don’t love the cold.

2. Cost of living: savings. Yes, it may seem like I am limiting the maximum potential for fun in my 20s to have “marginal” savings, but I (like you) am also just a more frugal person in general (grew up without money, also have debt, the works). Even though I’d be able to afford to live in a more expensive city thanks to IB, I wouldn’t feel as comfortable in spending so much on anything until I’ve got sufficient savings. Maybe I’d have a bit more fun/excitement, but in general, I wouldn’t feel as settled in day-to-day life. There’s enough discomfort coming from numerous other perspectives at this time - I don’t want to add financial stress to it when I’m actually being paid handsomely for my age.

3. Cost of living: spending. Obvious, but when you do live in a LCOL city, your spending goes so much further. Maybe I am naïve, but I can’t imagine that spending $200 on a night out in NYC is any more fun than spending $200 on a night out in CLT. This obviously connects back to Things to Do as well. Maybe there is less diversity in the options for “fun” things to do in a smaller city like CLT, but at least when you do those things in CLT, you can regularly do it first-class.

4. Long-term: The city is widely known in the south to be on a phenomenal growth trajectory (heard this repeatedly from both CLT and non-CLT people while recruiting throughout COVID, so I am assuming this has not changed much since I stopped networking 5-6 months ago) in overall size, business, infrastructure, etc. I regularly hear that CLT will soon surpass ATL as the Finance capital of the south (if not already). I don’t know what firm/group you will be in - but there is even buzz about future growth around small MM shops like the one I will be at. Personally, I am already looking at options for investing in real estate in the area for the super-long-term (which is much more possible thanks to savings from living in CLT).

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All of this to say - I do not see myself staying in CLT for the long-term. Definitely my analyst years in banking, maybe a small PE or HF shop for a couple years, but then I will likely move. Ultimately, the South is not where I want to end up, I will likely want to be closer to my family in the Midwest, I’d still like to see other cities while relatively young, yadda yadda. If this is your thought too, I understand the hesitation behind the future hurdle of getting your new target firms in top-tier cities to give a shit about your experience in little old Charlotte. While maybe partially true, I am confident in my (and most people’s) ability to network to such goals. I landed an IB spot coming from a complete non-target, and will put in the same (if not more) effort in recruiting for that next step out of CLT. I also go back to numerous conversations with alumni who have made the transfer. If they can do it, I can do it. There’s some quite decent MBA programs in the area if that’s your preferred route too. And, if absolutely nothing works out - hey, at least you have significant savings to take time off and figure it out.

All in all, don’t knock it before you try it. There was likely a reason it stuck out to you in the first place. Learn how to kick the FOMO on wherever else and focus on exploring that reason once you’re there. Happy to shed more light if you’d like, shoot me a DM.

If you are at B of A or WF, you will be working on big "NY" deals, and just covering them from Charlotte. The only thing that is harder is networking and interviewing. Both of those banks should let you transfer to NYC after a year or two. I have friends at B of A who did that and know of a kid from Wells as well who said it was not that hard. If you want to go clubbing, that won't be much of an option in Charlotte, I don't think. However, there are many other ways of making up for lost time. Just see what Charlotte is like and then transfer to NYC if you don't like it. 

Take a deep breath. Charlotte is a wonderful city and it sounds like you were able to find a great job. Work your tail off and see where it takes you -- if you find yourself wanting to move to NYC after a year, go for it.

Comparison is the thief of joy my friend. Congratulations on the opportunity and hope you make the most of your time there.

Personally I think you made a mistake. There is definitely an "experience" piece of it (living in NYC for the first time, first job, getting crushed as an analyst, going out etc)..plus easier to move from big city to small city than vice versa IMO.

All that said, I think Charlotte will be cool and that you will still enjoy it. Once you get there you'll probably stop thinking about NYC.

You're a FT analyst in IB. There's nothing you should be worried about. Are there better career moves? Sure, one could argue that but what's the point?

Your starting point is better than 97% of people out there. No point in obsessing whether you should have chosen another path that would have started you better than 99% of people your age.

My advice is this... living in a new place is what you make it. I don’t want to sound like a dick but I think I’ve lived in some really cool places as well as some less cool places and what I’ve learned is you can really enjoy pretty much anywhere you live (obviously there are some exceptions). Go in with an open mind, positive attitude, and surround yourself with good people. Lastly, don’t try to make it somewhere it’s not - don’t move there expecting an experience like you would get in NYC. Embrace it for what it is and you can find that you can be very happy there

Best of luck