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Making the decision to go to grad school is hard enough itself, but that verdict marks only the beginning of the decision making process. Suddenly, a series of lengthy considerations will begin to unravel; what program is the right investment for my career? How do I finance these next few years? What schools speak to the journey I want to take? What resources am I looking for in these schools? The list goes on, and they are all very valid considerations, but one major decision that might just determine all these other considerations;: what city is right for me?

By no means a hard and fast rule, but at the same time probably a safe enough assumption to make: if you like Vegas, you more than likely enjoy the odd poker & whiskey night. Portland, by all accounts, is hipster HQ. Generally, people in Paris smoke cigarettes and drink wine. Like you and me, cities have identities. Some of my favorite things about Chicago include the Midwestern friendliness and rural sensibilities like those that you’d find in Ireland, the juxtaposition of the beaches and the adjoining lakeside skyscrapers, and of course, there’s Oprah. But perhaps most relevant to the career I am forging for myself, Chicago is the latest great haven for filmmakers.

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In their recently published Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2014, Moviemaker.com listed Chicago as #1, beating Los Angeles, New York and Austin to the top spot. ‘It may be bitterly cold off the shores of Lake Michigan this time of year, but when it comes to moviemaking, Chicago is as red-hot as they get, setting a city record in 2012 with 235 projects filmed there and $184 million in budgetary spending. And the city is projected to have eclipsed that in 2013’. And with a tax rebate of up to 30% on approved spending, it’s no wonder that 2013 saw major productions come to town including Divergent, Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, the Wachowski’s Jupiter Ascending, and the most recent Tom Clancy adaptation Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

ReelChicago.com estimate Chicago’s 2013 revenues at a whopping $358 million. ‘It’s the busiest year we’ve ever seen. Overall production was up 20%, nearly 40% growth over the previous record set in 2011’, says Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal. ‘Not only do the numbers reflect record high production volume, the scale and duration of these projects was just extraordinary: six simultaneous full-time TV series; three blockbuster features back-to-back; unprecedented commercial levels’, he added.

Columbia’s producing program finishes with eight weeks of classes in Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles, so fourteen of us producers are California bound in a mere matter of weeks. Much as I’m looking forward to that adventure and shifting into the LA film industry, I can say that without a shadow of a doubt, Chicago has been the best place for my graduate education. But, is it the right city for you? Well, that’s for you to decide, but rest assured if you want to be immersed in a city steeped in culture and exposed to major film & television productions along the way, then just maybe this city that has clawed its way to the top is the place for you. It doesn’t hurt that Columbia is the highest climber in The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 25 Film Schools of 2013 either.

I leave you with behind-the-scenes of Jupiter Ascending filming on Chicago’s Lake Street bridge, courtesy of michaeldurr.com. Fast forward to 0:50 for the money shot.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8p6-aqM3BQ[/youtube]