Some of my coworkers and supervisors know that I dislike the law and hope to find a better fit for me. The reaction of my peers is, of course, that I've put so much of my life into law school that I should stick it out for at least a decade, just to be sure. Some of the partners, on the other hand, believe that because I'm relatively young and unmarried, I should have no trouble moving my life to create a new career.

Part of that view is the idea that, as a person in my 20s, I shouldn't be interested in having a house or ties to a particular geographic area. Instead, I should be willing to explore and risk in the hopes of finding some grand adventure. Settling down, getting married, and having kids is for your 30s, they say.

My bosses do not recognize that I attended engineering school, and later law school, with the expectation that I would never have a grand adventure. I am painfully risk averse, and being unable to call anywhere home has long been an annoyance, not a source of joy. The fact that a number of publications, including the National Post and Wall Street Journal have indicated that I will, essentially, not be able to settle down without becoming independently wealthy, is disappointing verging on upsetting.

"One thing is certain," he says in Chapter One. "[An] emerging way of life, which some already refer to as an impending 'new normal,' will be less oriented around cars, houses and suburbs."

Back to some of those difficulties fitting Toronto into this theory:

1. People still want to own their houses

"Mobility and flexibility are key principles of the modern economy. Home ownership limits both," Mr. Florida writes in a chapter of The Great Reset about a coming "shift toward renting." A labour force attached to its houses is less competitive than an unfettered one, he argues.

He explains that a robust rental market has contributed to the success of cities from San Francisco to Washington and New York. "When 40% to 45% of your housing stock is rental, it enables you to adjust much better to economic changes," Mr. Florida says.

from: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/urban+upset/3145777/story.html#ixzz0s76Y9bkC

Wall Street Journal article (subscription required):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559004575256703021984396.html?KEYWORDS=richard+florida

As I read it, today's recent law grad needs to remain mobile to have any hope of success in the early years of his or her career. At the same time, because of the restrictions imposed on new lawyers by the various state bars, willingness to relocate often is not enough to gain or maintain a new position. According to a 2004 ABA article, it takes three to five years for a firm to break even on a new associate. How are young law graduates supposed to project permenance to hiring partners while maintaining the flexible/mobile living arrangements that may be needed to gain a job in the first place?