Atlanta vs Dallas vs Houston? Salary is equal in all three, and practice group is highly ranked in all 3

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I like Dallas the best. Houston has a bigger biglaw market though--it's just hotter and less ritzy.

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Atlanta all day, it’s much more diversified business wise than Houston or Dallas. It has the busiest airport in the world, the third highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country (behind Houston and New York) with household names like Coke, the largest amount of federal agencies outside of DC, the fastest growing tv & film industry in the country, the largest shopping center space per capita in the country (tied with Chicago), it’s starting a tech boom (there’s a 15% increase in tech jobs in atlanta compared to 10% in Austin). You have many more options in Atlanta.

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Houston or Atlanta. Dallas strip clubs suck.

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OP, maritime, trade, oil

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Atlanta. More Fortune 500 companies headquartered in atlanta, film industry huge, fintech capital of the US, big healthcare industry. Atlanta has been and will continue to explode.

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Houston if this is big law. Atlanta is a really small legal market not really comparable to Houston and Dallas.

Atl’s small size is why I don’t think any top firms are there ( V20). I would go to Miami over Atlanta unless you are looking to work in a small market or have roots there.

But to answer your question: 1. Houston 2. Dallas 3. Atlanta

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Absolutely Miami if you like the area. It’s probably the trendiest new city for Biglaw in the country and has had some large firm entrants recently that are recruiting heavily

Houston

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I think there’s more diversity in Atlanta law firms, as well, if (hopefully) that’s important to you.

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Houston. Big law in Atlanta is smaller than Houston or Dallas. Houston is also an incredibly diverse city and and a great place to live (not to visit, but to live). People also tend to be more down to earth and less pretentious in Houston than in Dallas.

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Agree with A9. The Houston legal market is sophisticated (particularly in biglaw) and the cost of living is better than Dallas and Atlanta. It’s also the most diverse city in the county, which is a nice plus.

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Just started a job in Atlanta. Loving the city so far. Tons to do on weekends and you can fly out of ATL to literally anywhere

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Surprised by the number of Atlantas here. As an Atlanta native, I’m trying to get out lol but I will say there are few natives left. I spent 2 years in Dallas and loved it — all big law. Recommend Dallas over Atlanta. Have a ton of family in Houston so been in and out my whole life. The Houston humid kills 🥵. Based solely on my big law experience: Dallas > Atlanta. And Houston no bc just no

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Atl

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A6 why houston over Dallas?

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Agree!!!! I asked because it seems on every other thread everyone chooses Dallas over Houston.

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1. Atlanta 2. Houston 3. Dallas
I lived in Dallas for a couple years and really hated it.

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I've lived in both Dallas and Houston for over 5 years in each and imo they each have pros and cons. Dallas has some good food, but Houston has better food. Traffic sucks in both cities, but Houston drivers are worse and more aggressive while Dallas drivers tend to just be slow (driving 60 in a 70 in the left lane ugh). The weather in Dallas is slightly less oppressive, but honestly it's still hot af. Houston is more diverse. The legal market in Houston is bigger. I think houses are slightly cheaper in Houston. Dallas doesn't have to worry about hurricanes, whereas Houston kind of shuts down even from bad rainstorms. I was in Houston during hurricane Harvey and parts of freeways were entirely under water. I've enjoyed living in both cities and I think I'm equally happy in either.

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I have to defend my city somewhat. Dallas isn't terrible, although I'll give Houston the W for food. And we don't have hurricanes here. Better pro sports, great suburbs, great trails and parks. Dallas can be pretentious but you're going to get that anywhere in biglaw.

Better pro sports? You playing

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If Houston has so Fortune 500 companies, why does everyone speak about the legal market as though the only way to be successful is in the oil and gas industry?

Thank you! I’m a first year in Houston with no intent to leave, so I try to soak up as much information as possible in re the legal field. I see I’ve been mislead a bit. And I’m happy to hear it!

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Atlanta 100%

Why?

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