May marks the beginning of the end for seniors ready to graduate college. As they prepare to get their diploma and move into the real world, they also have to start planning their career and where they want to live. I went to school in Chicago and was living in apartment starting my Sophomore year of college but I had many friends who lived in dorms, campus housing, or sorority/fraternity houses for all four years of their college life and upon graduation, had to quickly figure out where to live and how to be a renter. It’s not an easy process! Especially when you are moving to a new city for a job. According to statistics, 51 percent of post-grads planned on moving to a new apartment after graduation. Of those planning on moving, almost 75 percent planned to settle in a new location, outside of their college town. The reason? 80 percent of college grads move to a new city to pursue a job. Here’s a look at the top cities post grads are moving to, presumably based on job opportunities based on the statistics.
The top 10 cities in America for post-grads are:
- New York, New York
- Washington, DC
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Seattle, Washington
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- San Francisco, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Portland, Oregon
- Denver, Colorado
It’s relatively easy to choose a city to live in, especially if you’re following a job. It’s what comes next that’s the hard part. From apartment hunting to finding a roommate to suddenly having to deal with living on your own, it can be an overwhelming process. I quickly had to learn how to pay my bills on time, how to build credit history, what renters insurance was and all those fun things that come with renting an apartment and living in the real world.
Personally, my biggest concern was finding an apartment in a nice neighborhood of Chicago that fit my post-grad budget. In fact, 42 percent of people say finding an apartment in the “right” neighborhood is their biggest concern, 27 percent say it’s living on their own, 24 percent say it’s learning their way around, and 8 percent say it’s finding a roommate.
If you’re a recent college grad, what’s your biggest concern about renting an apartment in a new city?
