Hi all, I am thinking of possibly moving back to the US once I am done with the CFA…. But cannot make up my mind on which city!? I know I would love to move to San Diego but not many Finance jobs there. So I think on the west coast; choices are San Fran and LA. On the east coast NYC, Boston, or Chicago. Could some of you that are currently in the above cities share your experiences both on the living expenses and lifestyle and job market in your city? To give you a bit about my background: I am a dual citizen of US and Canada so no problem about work visa. I have lived in West coast of Canada for 15 years now and have about 9 years of experience in Financial Services, Some in accounting and mostly in private client and financial planning. I have all my Canadian industry courses and my CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and a double major degree in finance and accounting. All my experience has been approved for CFA so given I pass Level 3 I will have the designation. Your help in giving me ideas on where to start looking, and how and what to expect is greatly appreciated it. I am thinking of moving around September – October of 2010. Thanks a lot NVC
Boston for CFAs as most of the buy side firms are there.
I’m in Boston, lots of nice buy-side places. Not much if you want to have anything to do with sell-side. Small finance community too. It would be fairly easy to get to know a lot of people through the BSAS.
Chicago is in the middle of the country. If I wasn’t in Boston I would be in Chicago… Cheaper, plenty of financial firms, less college kids but colder and sports teams aren’t as good. Boston… Small-ish city. Financial services here are dominated by custodians (State Street & BoNY) and large money firms, dying mutual funds, smaller firms, and some hedge funds. Some PE, RE, firms thrown in the mix. Healthcare, tech and education are also big here. Plenty of consulting companies have offices here. CFA is big here but its not an end all be all. The job market has started to pick-up imo. AUM rallied with the market so these companies are making more fees again. Bonuses are back and friends have started getting interviews. Rent in a nicer place in the city would set you back about 1400-1800/month for 1br. Need to make 60-80k to live comfortable which should be doable w/CFA. It’s a young city and once your over 30 your kinda over the hill. Boston has more opportunity then SanFran or LA imo.
I work in San Francisco. There is a decent market for financial planning professionals, since there are lots of highly-educated wealthy people in the Bay Area. Most of the major investment banks have sales desks or client-facing operations here. There are also some hedge funds and many VC firms. In my opinion, the Bay Area provides the best lifestyle in the US, provided that you can afford to live here. The weather is beautiful for most of the year. There are fantastic schools surrounding San Francisco, and the people here are friendly and easy-going. If you like outdoor stuff, skiing, mountains and nature parks are all within a couple of hours drives away. However, like I alluded to before, it is very expensive to live here. Home prices are astronomical and taxes are pretty high. The job market for finance people is also not as deep as NYC’s, so if you get a job here, be prepared to stick with the same firm for a while. Also, be prepared to deal with hippies and healthy organic food, both of which could be good or bad depending on what you like.
Hello Mister Walrus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I work in San Francisco. There is a decent market > for financial planning professionals, since there > are lots of highly-educated wealthy people in the > Bay Area. Most of the major investment banks have > sales desks or client-facing operations here. > There are also some hedge funds and many VC > firms. > > In my opinion, the Bay Area provides the best > lifestyle in the US, provided that you can afford > to live here. The weather is beautiful for most of > the year. There are fantastic schools surrounding > San Francisco, and the people here are friendly > and easy-going. If you like outdoor stuff, skiing, > mountains and nature parks are all within a couple > of hours drives away. > > However, like I alluded to before, it is very > expensive to live here. Home prices are > astronomical and taxes are pretty high. The job > market for finance people is also not as deep as > NYC’s, so if you get a job here, be prepared to > stick with the same firm for a while. Also, be > prepared to deal with hippies and healthy organic > food, both of which could be good or bad depending > on what you like. Yah this is very much like Vancouver, BC with exception that Finance Industry in Vancouver is very very small compared to any other city. Retail banking is big in Vancouver.
BiPolarBoyBoston Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Chicago is in the middle of the country. If I > wasn’t in Boston I would be in Chicago… Cheaper, > plenty of financial firms, less college kids but > colder and sports teams aren’t as good. Did you see what the Hawks did to the Bruins last night? LOL. I grew up in Connecticut and moved to Chicago for school. I wanted to be in a big city, and Boston and New York was too cliche given where I’m from. I couldn’t be happier with my decision, I absolutely love Chicago. Plenty of opportunities here, great people, great food, and contrary to what BPBB says, great sports!
when you are making this important life decision, requiring you to carefully assess the career prospects in the financial services that are available at the above mentioned fine locations, please consider the fact that it’s 78 degrees right now outside in LA.
Mobius Striptease Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > when you are making this important life decision, > requiring you to carefully assess the career > prospects in the financial services that are > available at the above mentioned fine locations, > please consider the fact that it’s 78 degrees > right now outside in LA. I know…I was born in LA and lived part of my life in LA and OC. with that 78 degrees comes lots of smog and hell of a traffic specially today (friday afternoon)
i’m taking it easy and working from the satellite office (home) but true, the commute can be quite painful here
Good info Bipolar and Walrus. Thanks, it is much appreciated and duly noted.
I’d rather move to a city that doesn’t have a lot of CFAs … lot less competition. But that also means that job mobility will be far less. I live in Chicago and will probably move to a smaller town in Illinois in a couple of years. As has been said before, “in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king…”
Thanks guys…keep the comments coming…there is nothing like hearing from the people who are currently living and working in those cities to learn about them…
CPierce Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I live in Chicago and will probably move to a > smaller town in Illinois in a couple of years. You mean a Chicago suburb, right? I hope you’re not talking Rockford, Peoria, Moline, Champaign, etc.
Yes to Rockford ++ Being out in the sticks does have advantages.
I’m in SF and while I love living/working in this city, I think Chicago/Boston would offer more opportunities. Plus to reiterate what a previous poster said, this city is way too expensive. Rent in the city is crazy, but with BART you can live just outside the city for much cheaper (just not as fun though).
I thought San Fran housing prices dropped like 30%? How much is a 1br going for in the city? Don’t tell me like 3k/month
CPierce Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yes to Rockford ++ > > Being out in the sticks does have advantages. I respectfully disagree.
I currently live in Chicago. I moved here 5+ years ago from Baltimore. It is a great city for finance and much more laid back than the East coast cities. It is cheaper than Bean town and NYC, though still fairly expensive. It is a great place to live because there is always tons going on - Cubs/Sox, Da Bears, concerts, bars, etc. If you move here I would recommend living within the city because otherwise have fun with the traffic getting to and from work. If you do have to live in the burbs live close to a Metra station to get into the city. I highly recommend Chicago. My time here is about up and I am continuing west to Des Moines. Finding a decent finance gig there should fun…
Maybe in some areas? In terms of renting though, things are still quite high. There were deals (reduced rent, one month free, etc) but I’m not seeing too many of those around now. I’m in a studio on the border of a decent part/crappy part of the city and it’s $1500. The best part is that my lease is up and if I want the cheapest rate (which is another 12 month lease), my rent goes up 9%. I guess it all depends on what area though, you can live near the ocean for fairly cheap (studio ~$1200), but not too much to do out there. BiPolarBoyBoston Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I thought San Fran housing prices dropped like > 30%? > > How much is a 1br going for in the city? Don’t > tell me like 3k/month