Even at the beginning of my senior year, my friends and I were starting to discuss where we would end up after school.

It was a given that I would be around New York City because that is the place to go for my future career. Not to mention the fact that I absolutely love the place and had the time of my life interning over the course of two different summers. Lucky for me, a good amount of people from my school also head down there to start “realâ€? lives.

My experience was similar to a new trend that has really started with our generation. That new fad being putting priority on WHERE you will be living, instead of WHAT you will be doing. Recent grads tend to decide what city they want to live in, and then the job comes secondary.

The job tends to be something figured out once you have moved to the chosen location, as was my experience, which made for many stressful unemployed days filled with cupcakes and wondering just how I was going to get by. Eventually things worked out and I can officially say I am employed in my chosen field and have my own apartment.

But, this ballsiness (is that even a word?) is something that our parents are not used to. Long gone are the days of sending out resumes to every viable city or town in America and seeing where you get a bite. We refuse to live in a horrible town just to have a job, which I think is a great philosophy.

The New York Times had a recent article commenting on this trend of placing quality of life above purely being employed:

“Sixty-five percent of 1,000 respondents aged 24 to 35 who were asked by the Segmentation Company, a division of the marketing consultant Yankelovich, said they preferred to look for a job in the place that I would like to live, rather than look for the best job I can find, the place where it is located is secondary.â€?

I personally think this is a great thing because now cities are trying to become more attractive to young adults and college graduates. “Urban leaders are increasingly courting young workers, because as baby boomers retire, Gen Y will have to fill the gap. Across the country, cities are scrambling to become the place that recent grads want to be.â€?

My hope is that what will eventually happen, if this keeps up, is cities will continue to improve and graduates will literally have their pick of amazing places to live. Instead of us fighting to get a place anywhere we can, they will be courting us. A role reversal of sorts, and I think it’s fabulous.

So, current college students, you can start doing your research now into what places or cities seem attractive to you. By the time you graduate, it just may be the new hot spot.