The Best Places to Live After College

Soon, you'll be moving past those walls.

You're about to graduate with a bachelor's degree and take a step from the familiar college town where you've spent the past few years to a new city or town. It's an intimidating time, and, in many ways, the decision on where to live after college is as important a decision as choosing a college was. You want to find the right balance of income, social opportunities, affordable standard of living and recreation. The answer is different for each individual, but there are plenty of resources to help you arrive at it.

Moving Back Home

One of the first choices facing many college graduates is whether to temporarily move back home with their parents or strike out on their own. While moving back into your parents' home may seem like a step in the wrong direction, if they are open to it, it can help you get financially stable, save for a security deposit or mortgage down payment, and allow you to find a good, steady job in your field without the stress of making ends meet. In other words, it's a good move if you're not quite financially independent or aren't sure if you'll be able to find a job and afford living on your own.

Knowing you're not alone may take out the sting of moving back in with the parents. According to entry-level job site CollegeGrad.com, the percentage of graduates moving back in with their parents has been steadily rising over the past several years, reaching 80 percent in 2009.

Choosing a Destination

If you've decided to live on your own after college, you'll need to choose a destination. One of the biggest factors that will affect where you live not only now, but for the rest of your life, is the job market. Research cities and large companies that specialize in jobs in your field. Research the average costs of rent, utilities, food, gasoline and other necessary living expenses, as well as the average salary for your field in towns you'd like to move to. Also consider the town or city's potential for social and recreational opportunities. You can find a lot of data about geographical regions and financial considerations from the U.S. Census Bureau and from financial publications like Forbes, Kiplinger and Businessweek. Look to more specific publications for personal considerations such as outdoor recreation, sports, arts and culture, dining and nightlife.

Good Big Cities

While deciding where to live is a personal choice, journalists from publications like Businessweek and Huffington Post regularly weigh in on the best cities for recent grads, taking things like average rent, job market and quality of life into consideration. In 2010, the Huffington Post named cities including Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Austin, and Denver among its best cities for new graduates. Businessweek's 2010 list included some of the same choices and a few different ones, with Houston, Washington, Dallas, Atlanta, and Austin rounding out the top five.

Big Cities To Avoid

Though New York City is one of the most romanticized cities in the world and will appeal to many graduates for its incomparable size and cultural offerings, the Huffington Post called it one of the worst cities for the newly graduated, stating "The average rent for a Manhattan studio apartment is more than $2,400, and the city is only expected to see a 5 percent increase in jobs over the next 20 years." Likewise, Detroit, L.A. and Cleveland were voted among the worst cities for graduates due to stagnant economic growth, high unemployment, pricey living costs, or a combination thereof.

References

• CollegeGrad.com: 2009 College Graduates Moving Back Home in Larger Numbers
• Huffington Post: The BEST and WORST Cities for the Newly Graduated (2010)
• Bloomberg Businessweek: Top Cities For New College Grads (2010)

Resources

• CNNMoney.com: Best Places to Live: Top 100
• Kiplinger: Best Cities: It's All About Jobs (2009)
• U.S. Census Bureau: American FactFinder