Cap and gown season is nearly upon us. And for many new college graduates, the next step after accepting a diploma is to accept a new job in a new city. And that, inevitable, means moving.
Moving to a new city can be overwhelming, particularly finding an affordable apartment in a neighborhood you love.
New data out from the rental website HotPads can help new graduates moving to new cities and starting new jobs find the most affordable neighborhoods in which to start their rental search.
Say you are graduating from Purdue University with a degree in civil engineering and you’ve just accepted a job in Chicago. How much can you afford to spend on rent on your salary? And what areas does that mean you can rent in?
Civil engineers between the ages of 22 and 30 make an annual salary of $70,000 in the Windy City. That means neighborhoods close to Chicago’s downtown and Loop areas are fairly affordable. Such graduates will spend about 21 percent – $1,250 per month – on rent in Lincoln Park and an estimated 28 percent – $1,625 per month – in the Lake View neighborhood.
Law school graduates, who plan to move to Los Angeles, will start in careers earning an estimated $50,000 per year. Those individuals wanting to live in the beach towns of Malibu and Santa Monica, however, will have to spend 66 percent and 54 percent of their respective salaries on rent to live in those areas. Law school graduates will spend 32 percent of t
heir salary – or $1,316 per month – in the popular Silver Lake neighborhood.
Those who are looking to move to New York City and want to move into an affordable flat would be wise to steer clear of the pricey Manhattan neighborhoods, particularly Greenwich Village and the Upper West Side. These areas could eat up more than 75 percent of a new grads gross salary, depending on their profession.
A teacher moving to New York may want to head to the neighborhood of Astoria in Queens where they will spend 34 percent of their gross salary on rent as opposed to 80 percent renting in Midtown Manhattan.
Soon-to-be college grads can search interactive maps in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC to find information on some of the most affordable neighborhoods in those cities.
HotPads also compiled a Rent Here Not There “cheat sheet” for new grads moving to cities throughout the US.
Explore all of the cities by profession, by clicking here.
