I’m at that point where I’m seriously considering leaving NYC for a smaller market...maybe somewhere like Philly, Denver, or Raleigh. I know the work won’t be as flashy and the salary might drop from $240k to closer to $160k, but the idea of owning a house, having a yard, and not spending half my paycheck on rent is starting to sound like real wealth. I love the energy of NYC, but I’m also tired. Has anyone made the jump from big-city law to a smaller market? Did you regret it, or was it the best decision you ever made?

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Do it. Prestige doesn’t pay your mortgage, and burnout in a luxury high-rise is still burnout. Small markets = better life, fewer egos.

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Chicago has 80% of what New York has to offer, at about half the price (of housing, at least). Highly recommend.

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And have the temperature

Same egos. More opportunity to tell them to pound street

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I moved from Boston to Raleigh but work remotely in house for a Bay Area company. I love it. I have a wife and kid, and it’s great if you want to raise a family.

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Come to Pittsburgh. The weather sucks, but there's lots to do, the pay is still quite good and cost of living is surprisingly low.

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Or you could come to Delaware, do the same high level work, make close to the same amount of money, and spend less than half what you do now on living expenses. A fair number of associates at my firm buy houses in their first three years, and I'm staffed on some of the biggest deals in the country at any given time. Plus we're 20 movies from Philly and an hour train ride from Penn Station.

Feel free to message me if you're interested. I'm always looking for opportunities to snag a referral bonus.

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NYC literally sucks. The only people who don’t understand this are people who still live in NYC.

- Former NYC resident

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Why not do a someplace that you can make market that also has a good cost of living? Houston and Dallas are the most obvious choices

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Politics? Turn off the tv.

Houston is quite purple, extremely diverse and we are very pleased with the move from nyc. Great decision.

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I did this, and don’t necessarily regret the move, but went to a city with virtually no other big law firms and my firm canned me when a partner left. Now I’m either looking at remote jobs or moving again. I definitely recommend looking at cities with 10+ BL firms.

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Denver housing most expensive not on a coast. Salaries in Denver don’t match up with cost of living. Chicago Dallas Houston are a much better bang for buck.

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It’s still more affordable when you consider what you can get with 500k in NYC vs Denver. Houston is definitely cheaper that both of those cities but you have to deal with hurricanes, tornados, and high heat, meaning property insurance could be more expensive.

Moved from NYC to Long Island and got a house. 1 hour + commute but I only go into the office 1-3 days a week so it isn't bad. Worth it to own a house. Check out property in long island and NJ if you want to stay in NY. Some decent paying firms in Long Island and NJ too.

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If you go to a lockstep firm then you will make just as much anywhere you move, for the most part.

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