Australian Graduate Wanting to Pursue an Internship in The USA - Is NYC or LA the place to be? Or Avoid US Entirely?
Hi all,

I'm about to graduate from my Commerce- Property degree in Australia and am very motivated to broaden my horizons and spend a year or two in the US to pursue a job or intern-ship opportunity in the US.  

I have never visited the US and have always thought NYC would be the place to go, however upon discussion with a close friend I realised I never considered the west coast - specifically California LA.  After a quick google it seems like the Commercial Property Development Industry in LA is picking up and somewhat booming at the moment - and will continue till around 2016/17.  

I am also very much also attracted to the social/lifestyle/cultural aspect of moving to one of those two cities in the US which is another major reason for me wanting to go.  

I would greatly appreciate your opinions on where I may be best suited!  

A couple other Americans said to simply avoid the US and pursue somewhere like Hong Kong or the BRIC Economies, but my heart isn't quite there - Again, I'd really appreciate any frank advice on the matter :) 

Thanks Again.. Aussie Graduate
[{"id": "cde7vel", "text": "I'm an American CRE broker living in Chicago. I also spent a year in Melbourne and am not sure why you would want to leave your incredible country! That being said, an Aussie just started working in our office as a recent graduate, so it is possible. She worked for our firm in Australia though, so she had some experience.\n\nWhen coming to the US, many Aussies I've spoken to always mention NY or LA as the places they want to go, which is understandable. I've lived all over the US, however, and can safely say that Chicago is my favorite spot and should definitely be somewhere you consider.\n\nWhat exactly are you trying to do?", "replies": [{"id": "cde8tvi", "text": "Haha, firstly I'm glad you enjoyed yourself here and I entirely understand your viewpoint on \"why would I want to leave my country.\"  Melbourne is fantastic and I visit there quite often - big city, vibrant, full of culture - and I would potentially like to pursue job opportunities over there in due course.   I'm from Perth (Western Australia) where population is booming and commercial development is everywhere at the moment, so again it's a good question as to why I would want to leave.\n\nIt's largely because I'm 24, in my youth, and would like to broaden my horizons while I'm still young before settling back down in Australia whether it be in Perth or another Australian city like Melbourne.   I haven't done much travel and would love to gain experience in another country with plenty of new experiences - both socially and most importantly professionally.  Aside from having professional aspirations, I am quite attracted to a particular thriving music scene in LA, and New York also seems like a great place to be with so many people and experiences to be had which is why they were on my immediate radar.  I am not however, just looking for a holiday with work on the side - I'm very committed to this as a potential opportunity to further my career, but I want to consider all factors and be happy wherever I move.\n\nI also see overseas experience as something that would give me leverage and differentiate me from other professionals upon my return home.\n\nI have seen documentaries on Chigaco and it seems like a beautiful and vibrant city with fantastic architecture and history so thank you for reminding me - I will definitely seriously consider this also.  \n\nBasically I want to pursue experience within a commercial property development business/firm of some kind, in a city that I can see myself flourishing in both professionally and again socially, because although my primary focus is definitively on my professional commitments, I think the two go hand in hand.  I love aesthetically pleasing architecture and become inspired by commercial space with purpose and meaning and would like to prosper and learn from like-minded people. \n\nThank you kindly for your response and I'd be very grateful for any further advice you have to offer.\n\n**EDIT:** I suppose I'd like to pursue some kind of paid internship which could lead better things within that same commercial development business over the course of a year or so.  Also if you could please upvote this so it is not buried by the person who downvoted, ty.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cdeftea", "text": "Have you considered studying as a way to get here? A Master of Science in Real Estate Finance, or an MBA with a Real Estate focus are both good entries to what is a pretty tough employment market over here right now. Plus getting the US college experience even as a grad student can be pretty cool.\n\nIf you're interested, there is a blog I looked at a bit while making my decision, it's called A Student Of The Real Estate Game, written by an NYU guy, pretty informative and covers most of the colleges with a real estate program.\n\nOtherwise, the E-3 visa makes working here easy if you can find an employer, which makes US a pretty good choice. As far as markets, I would say San Fran and the Bay Area are pretty hot and would be an interesting place to work...think of how Perth has been impacted by the mining boom, the same thing is happening in SF now (maybe not quite as aggressive now though). LA is cool, but I don't see the growth potential there that I would see in SF. NY is always no. 1 for RE here. The most jobs, the most companies, most transactions, etc. \n\nIf you're interested in the job route, check out Select Leaders - it is the main RE job search engine over here.\n", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]