Media reports are filled with headlines about the miseries endured by residents of high-cost-of-living Cities. The struggle is certainly real, but those cities must appeal to the masses for a reason. Some people must be finding success there. Maybe you can get ahead by moving to a major metro area. But you’ll want to know is moving to a big city worth it?
Maybe.
Crucial variables that determine if moving to a big city is worth it:
- Career goals
- Career type
- Educational goals
- Lifestyle preferences
- Lifestyle goals
Financial Benefits of Living in a Big City
Big cities cost more to live in because demand is high and most residents have money. Large metropolitan areas create abundant opportunities to find jobs and sometimes develop lucrative careers. Big companies, nonprofits, and government agencies cluster in cities, and this forms an ecosystem of talent that produces innovations and a big customer base for housing, goods, and services.
For this reason, you can expect to earn more in a big city, but the trick will be keeping your income ahead of your big city bills.
If you are low income in a big city, you won’t reap any financial benefits. You’ll work hard and financially spin your wheels while being surrounded by successful people.
It’s an established fact that people earn more in urban areas, but a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface concluded that big city residents in the lowest income brackets gained no financial benefits from living in a big city. Higher-income workers and entrepreneurs, however, usually benefited from the economic dynamism of cites and grew their incomes while living in urban areas.
On top of the chance to get a job with better pay and benefits in a big city, you can benefit in other ways from moving to a big city.
In select cities, the public transportation and bicycling infrastructure is sufficient for some residents to forgo car ownership. This produces enormous savings of thousands of dollars a year. If you can avoid car ownership, you can come out ahead even if your rent is high.
Meeting Your Career Goals in a Big City
Moving to a big city is worth it for many types of careers. This is particularly the case in the financial, science and technology, communications, and entertainment industries.
As a rule of thumb, a career path associated with high salaries will have higher salaries in large cities. You will have access to more organizations willing to compete for your talent and skills, and you will have more opportunities to learn new skills over the years compared to smaller cities.
Rural and small city markets simply do not have as many employers where people can build their careers and become high earners.
However, career paths known for modest salaries lead to few rewards in big cities. You’ll be in the lower-earning segment of society with big city prices.
Teachers and social workers are the classic examples of educated professionals with inadequate salaries that price them out of big city living. Law enforcement and other public service jobs face salary challenges in big cities too.
You would do better as a teacher or social worker to find a job in a rural or small city setting where the mismatch between your salary and living expenses will not be extreme.
Educational Goals
Although many colleges and universities are located in small towns and cities, others are found in big cities. If a big-city school offers the degree that you desire, or is a prestigious choice for your degree, then you may need to live in a big city to achieve your educational dreams.
Medical schools in particular tend to be located in major cities or metropolitan areas. These medical universities form hubs of expertise where patients come from all over for specialized care not available at smaller hospitals.
Beyond attending a university, big cities offer educational opportunities in the form of workplace experience and exposure to high-level companies. An internship at a company in a big city could promote your career in ways that you cannot hope for working in smaller cities.
Lifestyle Goals
You might decide that moving to a big city is worth it for more than strictly financial success. Many people enjoy urban living for the diverse people, entertainment, and cultural features.
It can be exciting to live in a city where things happen, where you can eat great food, and feel culturally enriched.
Some people love living in a big city because they feel free to be themselves. Even if you have friends and family in the city, you can go about your business in relative anonymity.
This can feel liberating to be people who grew up in small communities where everyone knows your name and who your parents are and who you used to date and where you work. You always feel that you’re under some kind of social surveillance.
I can attest to how great moving to a big city can feel. I grew up in a small town, and then I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. It was amazing to just be myself and form new relationships without everyone knowing my backstory.
Is Moving to a Big City Worth It?
Cites have attracted people for thousands of years. The cultural and economic masses generated by large populations, on the whole, produce more prosperity for the residents compared to lower population areas.
Life in a big city can reward you in many ways:
- Reach full income potential in your career
- Develop new skills
- Meet new people
- Increase your perspective on the world
You may want to consider that people come and go from big cities. There is population churn.
You could extract value from the big city environment even if you don’t live your entire life there. At some point, you may wish to cash in your chips and move to a smaller town, but you will be wealthier for the experience of living in the big city.
Five or 10 years down the road, you will have gained valuable work experience and built an impressive resume. You’re now in a position to get a higher-level job somewhere else. You could move to a place with a lower cost of living or nicer environment and get a good salary bump. You could go from being a small fish in a big pond to being a big fish in a small pond.
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