<p>I’m surprised New York is on this list. I live in New York as a graduate student and my grad student salary is about the same as my friends’ salaries who have entry level job. First of all, I’m laughing at the median monthly rent of $1,025 including utilities. Maybe if you live in Harlem, Washington Heights, or Inwood, or one of the less popular neighborhoods in the outer boroughs. But in general, I think a young professional should expect to pay around $1200 in rent for a really decent place. I don’t know if I’d say that New York is great for a young professional unless than young professional is making around $50,000 or higher per year.</p>
<p>Austin, Charlotte, Portland, and D.C. are all on my list of places I’d like to live after I finish my graduate degree. Seattle’s on their list of best cities for the next decade, and I think that’d be cool, too. I love New York but I need to live someplace less intense than this city.</p>