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To me Chicago has always been a good quality of life choice. More agencies than anywhere besides NY and a little less expensive than other places. Vibe tends to be nicer and hours tend to be better too. The work is weak though.
A few reasons. The market is more dominated by packaged goods brands. And the Chicago office is often the secondary office for big agencies. Also, style-wise, it’s less competitive, less angsty about making something great. These are all broad strokes of course, there are lots of exceptions. But when I get Chicago books, they tend to be safe and nice. Just one person’s experience.
Two CDs? Chicago probably. Not enough CD roles in those cities these days.
Correct. Thanks!
Surprised SF wasn’t on the list. It’s pricey but you don’t have to be IN the city. Plenty of commutable areas in the bay. Good options for both in agency, startups, tech, AI, or in house-brands.
Terrible schools unless you're wealthy
Depends on what flavor you like too. Austin would be the ideal place for me. But as someone said- not a lot of CD jobs (that I’m aware of).
I hear you. I had hoped Austin was progressive enough to fight back, but I don’t have all the info.
Minneapolis/Saint Paul is great for families. I live in Eagan (suburb of St. Paul) and it was voted #11 for top cities in the U.S. to raise a family. Cost of living is more affordable and there are so many things to do with kids here. We have great parks and outdoor activities year round and the schools are great. As for work, there are a lot of agencies here and in-house opportunities, but like most cities right now the market is just really tough. My husband is an AD for a remote company and I’m an AD in-house locally. For childcare, center-based is expensive but I found great in-home care that was affordable. Now we’re out of daycare and pay $300/week for a Montessori preschool for my 3-yr old and $90 a week for my 5-yr olds after school care. My friends in Chicago pay $3k a month for their one child’s daycare. 😳
I second MPLS. Low key decent agency AND in-house scene. Maybe stronger than Chicago at the moment (Chicago has been demolished with layoffs past few years)
Lots of great agencies in remoter places with great quality of life (Boise, Indianapolis, KC, ...). I'd suggest short listing what you want in a locale vs just listing cities, e.g. long/short/no winters? Let that start the list - unless you reverse it with the top 5 agencies you really want to work at.
Move to Asheville, NC and start your own shop.
Chicago
The “advertising couple moves to Richmond so one can work at Martin and the other at Arts & Letters” move has been popular in recent years.