I am an M.Arch 2 graduate (specializing in Urban Design) and have been thinking to which city is most promising these days in terms of future development and employment.
This may seem to be a lazy question but I have done my research, I just wanted to know what you think....
My primary consideration are a. jobs, b. housing $$$ , c. frequency of seminars/ workshops/ conferences on various topics ( from sustainability to computer software)
Chicago has: great housing (lower prices overall + a good variety of price-points at a better overall quality level than NYC); tons of seminars/workshops/conferences on tons of topics (extremely active arch/urban design educational environment (fairly competitive with NYC although of course NYC probably has more of all of these things than any other city in US) - there are so many things going on in a given week that I never get time to go to even a small fraction of them; as for licensure, currently Illinois remains one of the few states in which you can get licensed with only a 4 year degree, but it does need to be... I think a B.Sc in Arch or something like that, you'd have to look it up; but, there are NO jobs. There used to be LOTS of jobs, like so many that I had multiple offers to choose from when I moved here, so my hope is that the economy will recover some day........ but it definitely hasn't yet. In fact it appears to be lingering behind other cities in terms of building industry rebound.
Id echo what manta is saying... based on your rubric, chicago does really well in all but the most important category. Jobs...
There doesn't seem to be a ton of job activity these days, and getting your foot in the door at an office without a direct connection would be really really tough at this point. That being said, if you have some money saved up and can make it a while without work, all the other aspects of your search can be well met here.
To me, chicago's largest selling point is its livability. Its urban amenity/quality vs cost of living ratio is really high. In other words Chicago is an actual, you know,city... With density, decent public transit, lots of bars, lots of restaurants, lots of galleries, lots of whatever you're into. All that being said, rents here are still really low compared to its rivals on either coast. If you can find yourself a room mate you can live in a nice apartment in a decent neighborhood for like 600$ a person... try doing that in nyc...
You can get a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood for $600 without a roommate. Well ok actually rent has gone up a bit in the recession... a nice studio in my nice 'hood runs about $700 or so now. 1 beds run $800-1000 in my neighborhood, cheaper else-where. Anyway, digression!
Theres plenty of jobs in Chicago right now, just not in Architecture. The economy seems to be doing as well as it ever has for finance, sales, consulting etc. which means architectural demand should rebound after a couple years of growth in other sectors. Im sure the situation is similar in most big cities.
NY vs Chi vs Mia/Atl- which city is better?
I am an M.Arch 2 graduate (specializing in Urban Design) and have been thinking to which city is most promising these days in terms of future development and employment.
This may seem to be a lazy question but I have done my research, I just wanted to know what you think....
My primary consideration are a. jobs, b. housing $$$ , c. frequency of seminars/ workshops/ conferences on various topics ( from sustainability to computer software)
d. licensure (from a non- naab accredited degree)
Chicago has: great housing (lower prices overall + a good variety of price-points at a better overall quality level than NYC); tons of seminars/workshops/conferences on tons of topics (extremely active arch/urban design educational environment (fairly competitive with NYC although of course NYC probably has more of all of these things than any other city in US) - there are so many things going on in a given week that I never get time to go to even a small fraction of them; as for licensure, currently Illinois remains one of the few states in which you can get licensed with only a 4 year degree, but it does need to be... I think a B.Sc in Arch or something like that, you'd have to look it up; but, there are NO jobs. There used to be LOTS of jobs, like so many that I had multiple offers to choose from when I moved here, so my hope is that the economy will recover some day........ but it definitely hasn't yet. In fact it appears to be lingering behind other cities in terms of building industry rebound.
thanks, i know little about chicago, but ill probably go there this august, visit friends...
atlanta's going to be rough, jobs wise, for the next few years. only growth will be in firms not doing work exclusively in the city.
it'll probably have the lowest cost of living, of those 4 cities. miami has more sports titles though...
Id echo what manta is saying... based on your rubric, chicago does really well in all but the most important category. Jobs...
There doesn't seem to be a ton of job activity these days, and getting your foot in the door at an office without a direct connection would be really really tough at this point. That being said, if you have some money saved up and can make it a while without work, all the other aspects of your search can be well met here.
To me, chicago's largest selling point is its livability. Its urban amenity/quality vs cost of living ratio is really high. In other words Chicago is an actual, you know,city... With density, decent public transit, lots of bars, lots of restaurants, lots of galleries, lots of whatever you're into. All that being said, rents here are still really low compared to its rivals on either coast. If you can find yourself a room mate you can live in a nice apartment in a decent neighborhood for like 600$ a person... try doing that in nyc...
You can get a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood for $600 without a roommate. Well ok actually rent has gone up a bit in the recession... a nice studio in my nice 'hood runs about $700 or so now. 1 beds run $800-1000 in my neighborhood, cheaper else-where. Anyway, digression!
Theres plenty of jobs in Chicago right now, just not in Architecture. The economy seems to be doing as well as it ever has for finance, sales, consulting etc. which means architectural demand should rebound after a couple years of growth in other sectors. Im sure the situation is similar in most big cities.
seems Chicago is gainin lots of momentum right now.. awesome
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