The short list ...

[Dan]

... of places I'd seek out employment, if in five or so years I'm not married, I've accomplished everything that I needed to do at my current position, and there's really no "ladder to climb" in the Orlando area.

• Bend, Oregon
• Portland, Oregon
• Eugene, Oregon
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Eureka, California
• Grand Junction, Colorado
• Austin, Texas
• Asheville, North Carolina
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Bellingham, Washington
• Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas
• Lawrence, Kansas
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Columbus, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Mesilla, New Mexico (not Las Cruces!)
• St. Augustine, Florida
• Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Buffalo, New York (academia only, not local government)

Everyone has a short list. What's yours?

 

[Wannaplan?]

Huh? That's a short list?!!! Looks pretty thorough to me!

My short list for employment after I graduate is:

San Diego, CA
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Portland, OR
Los Angeles, CA
New York City, NY

But of course, I'd take a good job anywhere at this point in my career.

 

[Andy Dobson]

I'd go along with Madison, because it is beautiful and liberal, Louisville for the horses and bourbon, Buffalo because I'm a Bills fan, and Cincinnati for the beautiful setting and potential.

I looked for jobs in Madison, Louisville and Cincy, and landed here in the Queen City. Not a bad turn of events, all told.

I've wondered, to rise up a planning career path, do you have to move around constantly? Some old-timers I know say it's so. But maybe that's no more true for planning than it is for other professions.

 

[NHPlanner]

"The List"

In no particular order (staying in my region...as I am getting married next year...):

Concord, NH
Hanover, NH
Burlington, VT
Bar Harbor, ME

Others if I can convince my familty to move:

Portland, OR
Seattle, WA

 

[Richmond Jake]

Bend is a high-altitude, mid-latitude desert (but great golfing down in Sun River), Eureka is nice if you don't mind the constant smell of the pulp mill, Phoenix is OK provided you hang in the Scottsdale area (another great area for golf), and Austin, well it's in Texas. I recommend moving them to the end of your list.

 

[Linden Smith]

You can strike Asheville, I've been there and was glad to get out. I can't say much for Cincy either, although Louisville is a nice old city.

I'd like to try something outside the borders for awhile, maybe it's bush, but I remember seeing an ad for a job in St. Thomas. I keep thinking about that as the one that got away. The UAE would also be really interesting, but only in short bursts. Any place where I can get by language wise would be nice to try.

Costal California would be worth a try, but it would have to be north of LA, I don't like driving enough to spend 2 hours a day in my car.

I think there is a distinct difference between places I want to work and places I want to live. I take things personally in my work, and it would be difficult to live in a hell, or even a heaven, of my own making.

 

[Planderella]

Coming from a G.R.I.T.S. - Girl Raised in the South, I'm accustomed to warm (well, maybe hellish hot) weather and cannot conceive of spending long, endless months in cold snowy weather. With that in mind, my list is mighty short:

1. Stay where I am and continue to be miserable.
2. Dallas, TX
3. Houston, TX
4. Savannah, GA
5. Atlanta, GA

None of these cities are ideal, but the redneck factor is relatively low.

 

[Plannibelle]

List of citie outside of Us

Toronto, Ontario
Vancouver BC
Hong Kong
Cairo
San Juan, Pr
Cancun, Mexico
Anywhere in Monte Carlo
Anywhere in Bora, Bora
Syndney Austrailia
Oxford, England
Glasgo, Scotland

 

[Tranplanner]

aerdona, you'd be more than welcome in Toronto!

I've always wanted to try planning in the UK for a while...

As for the U.S., I'd probably want something in the NE. Seattle or Portland would be interesting too.

 

[poncho]

Short List

Austin is great even though it is in Texas, beyond that I believe I would have to stay in the Southwest, one of the best things is the tech bust has hit and the housing prices are falling.

Las Vegas, New Mexico
Flagstaff
Los Alamos, Co
Austin

 

[Downtown]

Working my way up the east coast:
Sanibel/Captiva, FL
Savannah, GA
Charleston, SC
Raleigh/Durham, NC
Charlottesville, VA
Philly
Naranganset, RI
Portland, ME


Even though you have the interminable winters where you're stuck inside in the north, you've got the interminable summers where you're stuck inside the A.C. for the south.

 

[Brent]

I've been whittling away at my list for years...

Boulder, CO
Asheville, NC
Gainesville, FL
Flagstaff, AZ
Grand Junction, CO

Maybe the SF Bay area if the housing prices drop significantly.

 

[planasaurus]

I have always been torn between my love for Cities and my desire for wide open spaces, so I devide my list into two catagories: urban and rural

Urban:

Totonto, Ontario
Sydney, Australia
Vancouver, BC
Chicago, IL

Rural:

Cairns, Australia
The "UP", Michigan
Smokey Mountians, TN
the Blue Ridge mountians
Alaska (although I have never been there, so perhaps a bit too cold)

 

[pandersen]

Re: List of citie outside of Us

As a Canadian who has worked on both sides of the U.S. border, I can honestly say that both countries seem to have interesting places to work. If I were going to look for work in the U.S. again, I might consider the pacific southwest.

I have worked all over S. Ontario including right in downtown Toronto in the heart of the financial district. I have also worked in a major metro city in the U.S. northeast. Both of these work opportunities provided me with fresh insights and exciting opportunities to work on a wide variey of projects at different scales.

Alas, I must confess however, that like many Canuks who work for a time in the U.S. I became homesick and ended up resigning from my position south of the border to take a position with a provincial planning agency out on the Canadian Prairies. Having grown up in Toronto, I never get tired of looking at the "big sky" out here.

I guess if I had to describe myself, I'd have to say I'm a "jack of all trades and a master of none". To date, I've worked in planning positions at the local municipal, urban, city, regional and provincial levels and have had exposure to both current planning (development control) as well as long range (policy planning). I don't know about the rest of the professionals out there, but I like variety.

I'm happy where I am right now, but if I'm forced to consider other opportunities, I'd like to get some experience planning in a northern context. A policy planning positoin in Nunavut, Northwest Territories or the Yukon might not be beyond the realm of possibility.

 

[LouisvilleSlugger]

I think being in the field in Louisville has gotten tougher with the merged government coming in..there doesn't seem to be that much of an urban initiative other than downtown development. on the east end of town and on the fringes of the county there is run away growth..Hurstborune Pkwy. is a mess..industrial sector is continuing to fade..the policy makers are hidden in the midst of all of this. even though merged government is in place there are so many fractions..there doesn't seem to be a regional approach or even a city wide policy of patching all the different elements of the city together whether its transportation, land use policy, and bringing the city together so that our agendas are on the same page.

 

[Planderella]

Coming from a G.R.I.T.S. - Girl Raised in the South, I'm accustomed to warm (well, maybe hellish hot) weather and cannot conceive of spending long, endless months in cold snowy weather. With that in mind, my list is mighty short:

1. Stay where I am and continue to be miserable.
2. Dallas, TX
3. Houston, TX
4. Savannah, GA
5. Atlanta, GA

None of these cities are ideal, but the redneck factor is relatively low.

I posted this like 2 years ago when I was on a serious job hunt. Since then, all of them, except for maybe Savannah, have been eliminated from my short list.

 

[Repo Man]

I haven't really given this much thought. I like living in Milwaukee. However, I would love to live in Madison, WI if the right opportunity came up. Here is my short list.

Madison, WI
New York, NY
Chicago, IL
Las Vegas - I think it would be fun for a few years. Great weather, no state income tax, loads of stuff to do. It would be kind of fun to work somewhere that has such loose standards (both morally and in the built environment).

 

[nerudite]

I missed this thread the first time.

Now that I have "the family" I would need to stay in the area. I would rather not deal with the City of Edmonton, but that's probably the easiest place to get a job. I know of a few consultants that would probably hire me. I was recruited last week by a headhunter, so I think I'd probably be marketable in this area.

Outside of the area, I would try Victoria or Kelowna, BC... or probably move back down to the states: Portland area, Bellingham or some small town (not rural!) in the Puget Sound (Mukilteo, Port Townsend, Steilacoom). Colorado would be tempting, now that I'm used to being away from the ocean.

 

[donk]

I'm going this week for an interview in one of the areas i would not mind to live in, western mass.

Other areas

Southern Maine
Halifax
Ottawa

My list of must haves in a community are:

1) Seasons (real spring, summer, winter, fall)
2) 2-5 hour drive from a major city (ie just outside commuter shed of a major centre would be perfect)
3) Population 30 000- 100 000 people. Big enought to have real services, small enough that it is friendly.
4) Access to the outdoors.
5) ideally would have a university or college.
6) Tolerable access to medical professionals (sorry NFLD)
7) ideally would have a water feature (lake, river, ocean)

 

[BKM]

Despite the economic crash, I still can't see leaving northern California.

Not really looking right now, The biggest problem is that I hate long commutes. I don't want to rent any more (not with three dogs), so the still outrageous Bay Area house prices mean I don't even look at job openings down there. Not that there ARE any job openings in Northern California right now.

I have to admit, though, that there is something that has always appealed to me about parts of New England. I could probably live in places like Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, NH, Providence Rhode Island. Even Worcester and Springfield, Mass sound interesting.

 

[SGB]

I have to admit, though, that there is something that has always appealed to me about parts of New England. I could probably live in places like Portland, Maine, Portsmouth, NH, Providence Rhode Island. Even Worcester and Springfield, Mass sound interesting.

Having lived in Worcester about 10 years ago, I'd have to recommend removing it from your short list!

(Sorry, Worcester.)

 

[Cardinal]

BKM - You might want to reconsider Springfield, Mass. I did some work there for a private developer a few years back and found it was the worst place I had been to, including the bad parts of Tampa/St. Pete, New Haven, Rockford, El Paso, and even Chicago.

If you like New England you might also consider parts of the Great Lakes, especially Superior and northern Lake Michigan. Traverse City and Soo Saint Marie / Sault Ste. Marie are good choices.

I agree with you about California. I was out there on several job interviews earlier this year and ended up turning them down. Even with a substantial pay raise (which it wasn't) I would have lost ground versus the cost of living.

 

[Seabishop]

These answers assume that I am wealthy enough to live where I want and can afford private schools if necessary. The Planning job market here sucks.

Places I know I’d like: Barcelona/Madrid, Boston, Philly, Toronto,

Places I’ve never been to that seem interesting: Vancouver, San Fran, Charleston/Savannah, Montreal, Halifax, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Paris (without the french – sorry french) and dozens of other European cities.

I “should” like NYC but I don’t – I like big cities, but I’ve found it too overwhelming, maybe I just haven’t spend enough time in the right places.

Places I would never move to under any circumstances: . . . nah, too offensive.

Gook luck Donk.

 

[Mud Princess]

I had a friend from grad school whose first planning job was in Cape Cod, a very nice New England town, just a short walk from the beach. Then he moved to take a planning job in the Cayman Islands. Tuff life!

 

[michaelskis]

My List:

Traverse City, Mi
Detroit (area)
Chicago (area)
Madison, Wi
Millwakee (area)
Green Bay (area)


I am looking for a place with a medium winter, that is by some body of water, and has opprounity to meet people around my age.


OH and anyone who wants to work in the UP of Michigan... Dress warm!!! I was born there, and grew up there. I would like to move back, some day.

 

[Greenescapist]

BKM -

I'll echo Mike Stumpf on Springfield, MA. It's a hell-hole, probably the worst city in Massachusetts and definitely the poorest. There are a lot of nice places in New England, though. I live in the Boston area, although I'm moving to Madison, Wisconsin this summer - Boston's a really nice place to live if you can forget the cost of living is so damn high.

You should visit Portland, ME. I grew up there and will probably move back some day. It's a nice small city, with lots of outdoor opportunities, some nice urban culture and only a two hour train ride/drive to Boston. Portsmouth, NH and Providence, RI are nice, too.

 

[plankton]

Mendocino, CA
Ketchum, ID
Ashland, OR
San Juan Islands, WA
New England (VT, NH, ME)