One offer, two cities

[PhantomTollbooth]

:Situation:
I received an offer for a summer internship at a company for two of their offices. Specifically Charlotte NC, and Washington DC. The only additional information about the company that seems relevant is that DC is the home office and Charlotte is a bit smaller.

:Question:
Where should I work? Answer this question based on any criteria you like, personal experience, impersonal experience, rumors, stats... etc...

While I'd love to hear quality of life comparisons between the two cities, I am more interested in hearing contrasts between the job market in the two cities. I have many people with differing opinions on the former, but you, the public on this forum, are in a unique position to answer the latter.

As always, thank you everyone for your time, there is no better resource out there that I've found.

[Doc Holiday]

Pick the city where you'd like to eventually end up in. If you're still indifferent, I'd chose DC to gain more exposure since it is the home office.

Besides the exposure issue, the next biggest issue for me is the cost of living. One the most expensive cities (DC) compared to one of the cheapest (Charlotte). I'd pick Charlotte. I highly doubt whatever salary difference they offer truly makes up for the COL.

[banpeikun]

Depending on the particular company's structure and culture, the pros and cons of the different work environments could be vastly different. The smaller office may be less rigid and have more opportunity to work on a different projects. On the flip side, it's possible the headquarters has better opportunities because of its centralized nature. I'd recommend asking to speak to some newer hires at each office with a couple years of experience and see what their experience has been like.

As far as the cities go, Washington is going to have much more of an urban feel with the big city cultural attractions and activites.

[uncafe]

Watson Wyatt? If so, then I think DC is kind of better because it's bigger and dealing with larger corporate clients.

[MountainGirl]

it's just an internship... it does not tie you to the city. you could do the internship in NC, then go to DC later, or vice versa, or go elsewhere. I'd go where ever you want to go NOW. you can always go elsewhere later, and you likely will go elsewhere later anyway.

[DudeMan]

If you're into Southern culture and NASCAR, then Charlotte is the correct choice. If you don't mind spending a significant amount of time in traffic and pay out the butt for an apartment, then DC is the correct choice.

[Ginormous76]

Originally Posted by GraffixMan

If you're into Southern culture and NASCAR, then Charlotte is the correct choice. If you don't mind spending a significant amount of time in traffic and pay out the butt for an apartment, then DC is the correct choice.

Does your internship give you housing or do you have to find your own? If they put you up in a building, go to DC and enjoy the experience. If you have to pay for housing, go to Charlotte.

[Maine-iac]

While I can't confirm this from personal experience, I have heard that because of the government influence, firms located in DC are much less likely to have a "business casual" orientation than those in other towns. Even when they are ostensibly "business casual" it is interpreted much less liberally than other locales.

This may or may not be important to you.

[Dr. John Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by Ginormous76

Does your internship give you housing or do you have to find your own? If they put you up in a building, go to DC and enjoy the experience. If you have to pay for housing, go to Charlotte.

While the experience of DC will be much cooler/more fun/offer more exposure than Charlotte, I don't see how you accept an internship in DC unless they're helping out somewhat with the housing.

man, the thread title reminds me of a video on the internet.