In LA but considering a smaller market to start in. Does a major market have that much more of an advantage?
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[{"id": "i905lyv", "text": "You need to answer that yourself. Do some analysis and determine if it is worth it. There are a lot of brokers here already, it means you will have a lot of competition.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i90atf7", "text": "I think most people would agree that LA and SD are the most difficult markets to make money in any commercial real estate field.  This is mostly cost of living related, though even that is due to rather restrictive zoning and geographic limitations.  It wasn't always that way. I really regret not moving there after college - it was far cheaper than the NYC metro area.  \n\nThe main thing I can tell you is connections are everything, and they are harder to make the older you get.  Even when I graduated in 2000, it was a pretty needless luxury to live alone.  If you're under 30 and not rich, it seems pretty silly to live alone. \n\nAnd for a reality check - in NYC and LA, you can be 30 living in a shit studio and score hot girls. I had a rent stabilized apartment for most of my adult life in Chelsea in Manhattan. Probably 100 girls including a few models were brought back there, and none ever complained. Memphis? You'll have to spend that much just for a seat at the table.  \n\nSmaller markets tend to be harder for outsiders to break into, while class and intelligence is huge.  \n\nWhile you should be researching these markets, if you're like 24 - my advice is to either move home if your family is from a major metro area and bank money, or get roommates and bank money.  We're at a very uncertain point in the economic cycle and for a wide variety of reasons, and it is foolish to move someplace like Memphis with zero contacts.  If you think Austin is any better than LA, you really need to do your research.  If you like LA and commit to living their for the rest of your life, it's a city you can slum it your entire 20s.  Do so.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i90fhbq", "text": "step 1 is finding a great mentor you can learn under. LA has that you just need to go look for them. \n\nStep 2. CRE is all in brokerage, it\u2019s more than a job it\u2019s a life style. If your not ready to put in a minimum of 40-50 hours per work truly just don\u2019t do it. It\u2019s not as much related to intelligence as work ethic. \n\nStep 3. Unless you want to leave for personal reasons. I wouldn\u2019t leave LA from a business perspective. You know the city well, there\u2019s a massive amount of buildings of all types, meaning, a ton of opportunity. Additionally, deals are bigger on average in large cities so you will make more money. \n\nUnless you have money saved minimum wage is minimum wage so you\u2019ll be broke relatively to the cost of living equally where you go.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i90sfm2", "text": "Just an FYI\u2026 Austin is as expensive as some of the coastal cities now. Make sure you do some good research.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i912ec0", "text": "What people don't tell you about CRE is the opportunity cost is much higher than many other professions. You have to realize starting out that you are going to likely wind up at a brokerage house where there are partners divvying out properties, meaning you're going to get the hard stuff and/or small cuts on deals, even if you do all the leg work, the broker/firm is going to take most of it. Add this to the classes required, professional memberships, specialization and CEs, etc. its going to be tough out there. Someone said 40-50 hours a week, but I find that doesn't explain it as much as you have to be prepared to work at any time, in addition to the normal 40-50 hours of office/face time. Its 9:49 PM my time and I put the kids to bed and fired up my laptop to keep grinding. Then again, I'm only a lowly commercial appraiser and am speaking from my years of dealing with agents/broker.\n\nThis being said, I work in New Orleans, the Metropolitan Area is considered a medium market in terms of volume. What they don't tell you is that scarcity makes it an extremely dynamic market. There simply isn't any developable land in the primary areas anymore, leading to an incredible amount heterogeneity that you can only wrap your head around with experience. \n\nHonestly, who you get on with makes a big difference, and also market volume. The benefit of a big market is the sheer volume of transactions, but getting a piece of the pie takes years.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]