{"id":371,"date":"2017-02-12T17:56:31","date_gmt":"2017-02-12T17:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/?p=371"},"modified":"2017-02-12T18:03:35","modified_gmt":"2017-02-12T18:03:35","slug":"best-cities-for-young-lawyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/?p=371","title":{"rendered":"Best Cities for Young Lawyers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_375\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5731580765_7618b22272_b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-375\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-375 \" title=\"Austin Texas, by flickr user Ed Schipul, licensed by Creative Commons.\" alt=\"Austin Texas, by flickr user Ed Schipul, licensed by Creative Commons.\" src=\"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5731580765_7618b22272_b-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5731580765_7618b22272_b-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5731580765_7618b22272_b-449x300.jpg 449w, https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/5731580765_7618b22272_b.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">All the right places<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For young lawyers, spring is a time of transitions and new beginnings. Now that you passed the bar, how do you decide where to look for a job?<\/p>\n<p>As with any profession, geographical location is an important factor. Do you want the 24\/7 activity of NYC? Maybe laid-back California, with sun and surf, is more your style. History buffs will do well living and working in Washington, D.C. or Boston. Ski junkies who want to hit the slopes after a long day will be happy to hear that Denver \u2013 which has a sizeable legal community \u2013 welcomes fledgling lawyers.<!--more Read More--><\/p>\n<p>The award for overall \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2012\/10\/what-are-the-20-best-cities-for-young-attorneys\/\">best place to live<\/a>,\u201d which includes wages, buying power index, culture, youthful population, culture, and work\/life balance, goes to Washington, D.C. Dallas placed 2<sup>nd<\/sup> and Boston 3<sup>rd<\/sup>. Seattle and Denver took 4<sup>th<\/sup> and 5<sup>th<\/sup>, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a list of the top locations based on the specific parameters of highest median starting salary, buying power index, young people, culture, and work\/life balance.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Highest Median Starting Salary<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Those wanting to make solid six-figure earnings will find opportunity on the East and West coasts. The seven cities below tie for the highest median annual starting salary: $160,000.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Washington, D.C.<\/li>\n<li>Boston, MA<\/li>\n<li>San Francisco, CA<\/li>\n<li>Los Angeles, CA<\/li>\n<li>Mountain View, CA<\/li>\n<li>Newport Beach, CA<\/li>\n<li>New York, NY<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In contrast, you\u2019ll want to steer clear of Little Rock, AR, Charleston, SC and Oklahoma City, OK. With average earnings of roughly $50,000 per year, they have the lowest average median starting salaries.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Buying Power Index<\/span><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll get your money\u2019s worth in Dallas, TX, which has the highest buying power.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dallas, TX<\/li>\n<li>Atlanta, GA<\/li>\n<li>Houston, TX<\/li>\n<li>Chicago, IL<\/li>\n<li>Boston, MA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Living in NYC or Los Angeles, however, might mean watching your budget.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Younger Communities <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Statistics show that the 20 and 30-somethings flock to Alexandria, VA. California \u2013 especially the cities of Mountain View and San Francisco \u2013 is another hotspot for young people.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the cities with the most youthful crowds. They have the highest percentage of people in the 24-34 age bracket within the overall population:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alexandria, VA (24.4)<\/li>\n<li>Mountain View, CA (21.1)<\/li>\n<li>San Francisco, CA (20.9)<\/li>\n<li>Salt Lake City, UT (20.9)<\/li>\n<li>Seattle, WA (20.8)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In contrast, you\u2019ll find the most mature crowds in Florida, Michigan, upstate New York, and the south.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Culture<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Five-star restaurants on Friday? Broadway shows on Saturday? Museums on Sunday? If you answered \u201cyes\u201d to those questions, here are the places to go. On a scale of 1-10, they have the best cultures.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Los Angeles, CA (10)<\/li>\n<li>New York, NY (10)<\/li>\n<li>Boston, MA (10)<\/li>\n<li>Seattle (9.5)<\/li>\n<li>Chicago (9.5)<\/li>\n<li>San Francisco (9.5)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But if you like constant activity, you might want to pass on a job Charleston, SC, Jackson, MS and Baton Rouge, LA. They rank lowest, with culture scores between 1 and 3.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Work\/Life Balance<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for an 8-hour workday, head to the West coast. With many firms in California, Washington, and Utah averaging a 40-hour work week, you can get out and explore. Firms in Minneapolis, MN, and Alexandria, VA also have lower target billable hours than many other cities.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.yale.edu\/student-life\/career-development\/students\/career-guides-advice\/truth-about-billable-hour\">1800 Billable Hours<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Seattle, WA<\/li>\n<li>Oakland, CA<\/li>\n<li>Salt Lake City, UT<\/li>\n<li>Minneapolis, MN<\/li>\n<li>Alexandria, VA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Working overtime and long hours is likely in Miami, New York, and Chicago, where firms average around 2,000 billable hours annually.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the factors above, there are other things to consider when searching for a job.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do lawyers who practice in your area live in your chosen location? Finance lawyers, for instance, are less common in smaller cities, but you will find opportunities in real estate law, personal injury, and family law.<\/li>\n<li>Where do you want to live five, 10, or 20 years from now? Because it is difficult to switch practice areas once you start practicing, now is the time to think about future goals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are many things to think about as you embark on the next chapter of your life, but a little bit of planning and forecasting goes a long way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For young lawyers, spring is a time of transitions and new beginnings. Now that you passed the bar, how do you decide where to look for a job? As with any profession, geographical location is an important factor. Do you &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/?p=371\">Read More <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-socialmedia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374,"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions\/374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalmarketing.lawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}