Congrats for wanting to move. Too many people just stay where they are at, and stay miserable. Let's face it: The rust belt is never coming back. Jobs are now in tech and marketing, not factories anymore.

I live in Las Vegas. A good friend of mine bailed the West Palm (Delray Beach) area for here and isn't heading back. I'm familiar with Phoenix. I've lived in So Cal, and many of my relatives live there.

So let me take a shot at helping you out:

West Palm:

You won't touch any of those hot chicks unless you are fat ... in the wallet. You have to compete with a truckload of trust fund guys who can go party and live the good life with a different chick every night. Huge disparity between rich and middle class (since the rich are very rich). My understanding is that job situation isn't that great or diverse.


Phoenix:


All of the pros you noted are on the money. About the heat ... co'mon. It is you guys in the cold states that are nuts. Snow, cold, freezing all winter. That sucks. No one in Phoenix or Vegas shovels snow. And let me ask you this: Do you want to see hot chicks dressed in next-to-nothing because of the heat, and be hanging around the pool in your apartment complex? Or dealing with not-hot chicks wearing 3 layers of sweaters in the rust belt?

I'll take the hot summers and very nice spring and fall anytime. Some parts of the country are under a frost advisory as I write this in early October. Today, my air conditioning was running, the high in Vegas was 89, the low will be 65. You know the kind of weather that people in the north call Summer? Phoenix and Vegas get it twice a year for all of spring and fall. You want three months of perfect weather each year or six?.


So Cal:

Dude ... you aren't going to get famous. The cost of living is going to KILL you. People are leaving So Cal by the hundreds of thousands to move to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Utah ... you get the picture.

Businesses are bailing to other states because the cost of doing business is prohibitive. Statistically, the only reason So Cal's population keeps rising is because of immigration and foreign workers (both illegals from Mexico and mostly legal long term visitation and imigration from Asia).


Vegas:

Depends if you are moving here to live or party. Too many people move here thinking that it is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But more than anywhere else, you have to bust your ***. Network big time. Either your friend has no work ethic, lousy people skills, or drinks and gambles too much.

Your club concern is a non-issue. Locals on the club scene don't pay if they are regulars. With SO many clubs, the clubs need locals to "pad the room" so it looks happening to the tourists paying full price.

The cost of living is no longer cheap. It is around the national average.

Because so many people have unusual days off, there is lots of stuff going on every night. And I don't mean just clubs. Plus, snow skiiing is one hour away in the winter at Mt. Charleston (13,000 feet) and that also means hiking and plenty of other outdoor stuff the rest of the year. Plenty of concerts, events, festivals.

If you only know The Strip, you don't know the real Vegas. It is a normal city except you have Sin City and the worlds best dining at your fingertips.

Bottom Line:


From all you have said, I'd go with Phoenix. Sounds like you will party every night in Vegas until you are broke. And you can do well here, but you have to work very hard, and network very well.

Sounds like you don't have the bank account for West Palm. So Cal sucks to live now. Half my relatives have bailed for Vegas or other Western states. Nice thing about So Cal: Very short plane ride from Phoenix or Vegas.

Plus, you can get a job transfer to Phoenix. And when you finish college, you can bail somewhere else if you don't end up liking it there. Plus, while there, I suggest spending a one week vacation in both So Cal and Vegas. But do a "local's" vacation. Get in your car and get out to see neighborhoods. Read the local paper cover-to-cover everyday. Look at apartments and stuff. Shop in some local stores away from the tourist areas.

Whatever you do, I wish you well.