If you could live and work anywhere, where would you choose, and why?
I have read a few posts here and it sounds like some people describe Toronto/Canada, London/ the UK, and NYC and LA to be less ideal because of either affordability, competitiveness in finding jobs, or other characteristics
I am unfamiliar with most of the above cities as I am from South Asia, but curious to hear: if you could choose to live and work anywhere, where would you like to be, and why?
Lol to a fellow south asian - if you read this forum too much, your conclusions from the commenters would be something like:
The least ideal cities in the world to live in include: NYC, London, Toronto, LA and SF
Also the least optimal jobs out of college would include: IB, PE, HF
The worst schools are: Harvard, Wharton, LSE, Oxford, Cambridge
Ambition is bad
High earners are unhappy
Degrees from good schools are overrated
If you had a good upbringing you're probably lazy and not intelligent
I think it’s the same person pushing these narratives through different troll logins lol
Sevilla is incredible. Can get a little hot, but I suppose it depends on your preferences. Ibiza is cool, too (whether you like partying or not, there’s something for everyone there).
Lol anything interesting or good in the real world apparently sucks on this subforum
Anyone know of any good areas in Europe that are nice? Spain or Croatia?
Valencia Spain is nice - I lived there for 6 months.
Barcelona is a lovely place, always sunny, easy to get around
Rome has amazing architecture but it smells really bad
I know it's not technically European (or fully European anyway) but Istanbul is lovely too
Always sunny in Barcelona? In winter it certainly wasn't always sunny when I visited.
San Sebastian in Spain is incredible
Agreed, but it’s such a small town that you’d want to go over already knowing someone. I’d imagine it’d be hard meeting lots of new ppl if you just show up cold turkey w plans to live there a long time.
Italy, Japan or South Korea. The US military has bases in these countries so I’d live near one of them so you get a taste of home while living abroad.
Italy would be near Naples (I’d prefer to live in Pompeii or closer to Sorrento). Second choice would be near Pisa in Tuscany area.
Japan would be Tokyo closer to Camp Zama, or in Tokyo is fine, it’s so cosmopolitan. Okinawa might be cool, but I might as well move back home to Hawaii.
South Korea would have been in Seoul near Yongsan (where I used to live for a few years as a kid because my dad worked on base) say like Namsan/Itaewon, but since Yongsan closed maybe Pusan or Daegu.
I would do this now mainly to give my kids international experience, but to still be socially American. The likelihood of me moving abroad is very low unfortunately (what would I do there?) But it’s a fun thought, and I love those countries.
Santorini is beautiful
Anyone familiar with the Tampa area?
If you could live anywhere in the world you would pick...Tampa?
lololol
LOL no - was asking if anyone is familiar with Tampa. I saw a show called selling tampa on netflix so that town came to mind
The main thing I don't like about Tampa is the September weather. I have a pool, which helps considerably. That said, I moved there from the DC area back in 2010 and I'd rather have the heat then the snow, ice, and traffic.
Also roads are congested from traffic, but it’s not even close to the traffic in DC.
The beaches are second to none. I rarely go to Disney and such, but it's so convenient when I do and let's face it, like it or not, Disney is probably one of the best amusement parks. People down here tend to be nicer (imo) than those in the big cities. I actually attribute this to the fact that the vast majority of people here are from other states, and when they move here, they have to kind of be a little nicer to meet people (idk, maybe I'm wrong here). Of all of my neighbors, only two or three are native Floridians. The night-life in St. Pete (a stones throw away) is also fantastic. Although I live in Tampa, I prefer St. Pete for the nightlife. The Airport here is also fantastic; it's super convenient, easy in & out, and since they've upgraded it, there are a lot more direct international flights available. Housing prices are considerably lower compared to most larger northern cities.
I would probably pick Singapore, yes it’s not London or NYC but the lower taxes, security and cleanliness do it for me.
I believe it’s quite difficult to realistically become a resident or citizen of SG. One of the higher economical requirement countries for immigrants
Yeah it’s very difficult , which makes it even better IMO in a hypothetical sense.
Check out Brickell area in Miami
Can I give London better weather or Italy a better economy?
In the states though, the answer is Southern California and I'll be making that happen here in less than a month.
I had seen some parts of southern cali during a trip when I was 11. Seemed like everyone had a pool for their house
Damn, leaving the southeast? What's driving the decision?
Time for new adventures
My current plan:
- Stay in Southeast for a few years
- Los Angeles next for school and to find a wife
- Back to NYC after that
What school and what would you be studying?
A late MBA. It has been a long journey for me in considering schools. But, the best fit for me in the T15 category seems to be USC Marshall. I previously applied for an EMBA at a top school a year and a half ago and got the test waiver for the GMAT and although they said I was a very strong applicant and a diversity applicant (not my skin color, my diverse background), I wasn’t the right fit for the program.
I also have a gap on my resume on working in finance and therefore don’t have proper recommendations. For my last recommendation letter, my sister wrote it and although it was glowing, it just wasn’t the right way to apply as I even had to get that letter approved for review. USC Marshall does not accept letters of recommendation. So that solves that.
USC Marshall also has a high test score average. A couple of years ago it was a 732 GMAT average:
https://poetsandquants.com/2022/10/05/wow-usc-marshalls-new-class-repor…
"To put Marshall’s GMAT score in perspective, last year 732 would have placed the school second among all U.S. B-schools, tied with Chicago Booth School of Business and trailing only Stanford Graduate School of Business. And this year, Marshall’s astronomical score is ahead of such peers as Virginia Darden School of Business (720), Chicago Booth (729), Yale School of Management (723), Michigan Ross School of Business (720), Duke Fuqua School of Business (718), and UCLA Anderson School of Management (711) — and just behind NYU Stern School of Business and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, both of which reported averages of 733."
This means USC Marshall adcoms value high test scores. I can use this to my advantage. I am highly intelligent and although I don’t test well, I’m confident I can ace the GMAT/GRE.
Also, I can only attend school in a FT program after my parents pass and I’m going to need to be close to family (siblings) to really deal with life and both my sisters live in CA.
The FT MBA program is really the best option for me. The EMBA program wouldn’t have been as good for putting me back in the recruiting pipeline.
Majoring in how to find a wife perhaps?
Laguna Beach
Perhaps not bad of a place
Newport Beach (think Irvine Terrace, Flower Streets) IMO >>>
183 days in Puerto Rico, then a month in Paris, Rome, and NYC and 3 months to live wherever I want
I think the other places are great, curious why you’d want to be in PR for half a year
Act 60 is pretty damn attractive, both on a W-2 level and a capital gains level.
My dream is to work around the Mediterranean coast, captaining my yacht.
My dream as well
Thailand is such an underrated destination, so cheap and is a great tourist destination. USD can go pretty far there
They have a lot of beach town islands with crazy nice villas that rent for relatively low prices
Any nice places in the Caribbean?
Probably just crazy expensive neighborhoods near the beach
Caribbean seems mostly like islands for short vacations, fairly undeveloped infrastructure outside of the big resorts, mostly driven by seemingly tourism or some form of farming
Cayman Islands or Bermuda (if you count it as Caribbean). Ridiculously expensive but knowing people living in both, by far best in the region in terms of economy (both more reliant on financial sector than hospitality), political stability, quality of living, infrastructure, etc. Plus both tax free.
Santa Barbara
Sarasota
If I was single I would want to live in NYC or Las Vegas.
If I was married with kids I would want to live in Atlanta or Greenwich or Palo Alto.
If I had a family but was worth $15mm+, I think maintaining a residence in a tier 1 city and a nearby affluent suburb would be optimal.
bump
How about Dubai or Singapore?
I’ve heard good things about KL as well
Immigration to SG is difficult.
I believe Uae has slightly lower requirements
Kuala may have the most reasonable ones
Dubai / UAE is a great place to...
...work, as expat salaries will be higher than home. This is especially true for Europeans in good white collar jobs, as they tend to have lower salaries than Americans and higher taxes. It's also true for anyone from a dysfunctional or poor country who is not wealthy enough to live well at home.
...visit, if you live within a reasonable flight radius and have a weak passport, as it's much easier to get a UAE tourist visa than it is to get an EU tourist visa.
For Americans who are just starting their careers, as most on this site are, the value prop is weaker unless you have a great job opp.
I think it would be cool to just spend a month or two in every major city. That way you could experience a bunch of different ways of life
bump
I lived in Sydney for five years. I really enjoyed how much of it was there to explore, be it cafes/restaurants/pubs, but then also national parks and beaches. You really don't run out of things to do and there's always at least something open at all hours (or at least there was when I was there!). I know you can't really generalise people from an area but let me try; I have lots of friends from there of all types, but the key similarity between a lot of them was they were very motivated to try and make something of themselves and create things and hustle as oppose to the smaller town mentality of just settling down. Not that there's a right or wrong way for either of those, just an observation - very fast paced, busy, crowded, but at the benefit of there being lots of people to meet and things to experience. Some places that were great to live in included Newtown (great food and culture)/Alexandria (lots of cool lil cafes around, public transport not quite as good)/Randwick (an easy walk to Coogee and shops and transport pretty accessible)/Cammeray (older demographic and much quieter, but beautiful streets and nature). You can't really go too wrong with the surrounding city suburbs (although somewhat expensive), but if you decide to trek out further to save money I would suggest doing some research on which areas are better or more optimal
If you're a digital nomad or entrepreneur type, that may differ from just moving somewhere random to work at a company
bump
thailand, esp. after watching this:
Didn't watch the video but that dude kind of looks like he would be a simp
Franklin Park, Detroit
the highest number of billionaires per square feet in the US
bump
California (not LA) or Spain
weather, organic food, and outdoor activities
Madrid (SPA)
Buenos Aires (ARG)
Palermo (ITA)
My dream would be working for a lean special situations value oriented HF in Santa Barbara.
Middle Market Yemen
I mean, if we're talking money no object I'd probably choose to live in San Diego-ish like Del Mar or Carmel Valley.
I also really loved Croatia. Especially Split.
May 15 - June 15: NYC
June 15 - August 15: Ibiza
August 15 - September 15: London
September 15 - October 31: NYC
November 1 - December 15: Miami
December 15 - January 15: Courchevel
January 15 - April: Miami
April - May 15: the Algarve
bump
home ,free
Tuscany
Bali or Kuala
Excepturi pariatur voluptatem nemo ipsum eius eos. Consequatur quam labore iure laboriosam debitis. Repudiandae accusantium tempore suscipit labore. Eaque quisquam beatae suscipit sapiente.
Aperiam aut et animi dolor. Blanditiis in optio quis in. Est necessitatibus perspiciatis quia et. Est maxime consectetur repudiandae quia dolorem adipisci.
Dolorem quidem similique dolorem rerum. Qui iusto porro minus numquam deleniti iusto rerum. Autem aut quia velit optio ipsa et. Sit omnis rerum numquam quasi. Occaecati repellat non distinctio nostrum.
Nobis quidem enim repellendus perferendis nihil. Ratione unde iste ut cupiditate eum omnis dolorum. Culpa quia voluptatem soluta sint cum quidem. Aperiam at rerum vel sit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Ea odit voluptas quam doloremque non maiores. Quaerat ut vel dolorum et inventore et. Est distinctio labore vitae nulla doloremque consequatur. Placeat ut laborum facere qui aut id non ut.
Inventore ab temporibus saepe quo cumque et ad. Accusamus ea cum fugit. Quis laudantium neque consectetur quaerat dolor soluta non. Animi tempora eius quia eos odit eligendi. Quos perferendis quis eum quibusdam molestiae repellendus quas nam.
Repellat atque et officia veniam. Suscipit nemo laboriosam vero voluptatibus itaque. Sequi ea mollitia laborum nam ipsam architecto.
In placeat magnam ea laudantium fuga alias placeat. A qui molestiae dolore sunt facilis. Suscipit tempore facilis nemo odit. Necessitatibus distinctio reiciendis autem magnam beatae. Sed est facere quidem deleniti beatae. Necessitatibus quis doloremque tempora consequatur alias aperiam libero placeat. Sed minus consequatur voluptas sint.
Quia excepturi quibusdam voluptatem non animi sit. Natus et voluptate quis dolorem. Dignissimos nemo praesentium ipsum.