Tempting as it may be to launch your career in Boston, New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco, you may find it just as rewarding -- and a heck of a lot cheaper -- to look beyond the bright lights and high rents of those meccas for twentysomethings. We found seven locations that are perfect for young professionals. These cities all have a healthy head count of people under 30 and a solid or improving job market. Each city's cost of living is at or near the national average for students and young wage earners, based on numbers from the Economic Research Institute. For neighborhood and rental information, we culled local resources and Craigslist.org; recent listings are under "what you just missed." As a bonus, we asked relocation experts at Salary.com to calculate the extra money you'd pocket if you left a job that paid $35,000 in New York City and found a comparable position in one of our hip havens.

Athens, Ga. The town that gave the world R.E.M., the B-52's and Widespread Panic boasts 400 bands and more than a dozen recording studios. It also offers free Wi-Fi downtown, a thriving arts community and a college football team -- the Bulldogs -- that even the rockers root for. The University of Georgia and two regional hospitals help keep the city's unemployment rate impressively low.

Where to rent: Five Points, West Side, downtown
What you'll pay: $650-$750 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, or $750-$850 for a two-bedroom unit
What you just missed: a one-bedroom stone cottage with fireplace in Five Points, $750
Where to be at 11 p.m.: 40 Watt Club, Georgia Theatre Not-in-NYC bonus: $8,752

Atlanta. Southern hospitality here means serving up free Wi-Fi: Atlanta ranks fourth among U.S. cities for wireless hot spots, according to MetroFreeFi.com. A magnet for college-educated young people, the area has lost jobs in technology but added them in the fields of education, hospitality and government. The city's serious side includes Emory University and the Carter Center. Scene hoppers hit Buckhead for the clubs and Little Five Points for the coffeehouses, bars and restaurants.

Where to rent: Midtown, Virginia Highlands, East Atlanta
What you'll pay: $600-$900 a month for a one-bedroom, $800-$1,350 for a two-bedroom
What you just missed: a three-bedroom house with a fireplace and front porch in Virginia Highlands, $1,650
Where to be at 11 p.m.: Django, Bazzaar, Compound
Not-in-NYC bonus: $10,735

Austin. After paying $800 a month for her share of a shoebox in Brooklyn's outer reaches, Nicole Cloutier, 24, deserted New York City and moved to the land of Dixie (Chicks, that is). Also home to the University of Texas, "Austin is a great college town filled with musicians, margaritas, swimming holes, cute neighborhoods, laid-back people and cheap rents," says Cloutier. Although she had to settle for a job waiting tables, Cloutier and her boyfriend pay $900 a month for a two-bedroom duplex with a big yard for their dog, Darby. Austin ranks fifth for free Wi-Fi; hot nightspots include South Congress, the Sixth Street music corridor and the Warehouse District.

Where to rent: South Austin, downtown
What you'll pay: $500-$800 a month for a one-bedroom, $700-$1,200 for a two-bedroom (one-bedrooms start at $800 downtown)
What you just missed: a two-bedroom with a patio in South Austin, $725
Where to be at 11 p.m.: Continental Club, Stubb's Bar-B-Q, Cedar Street Courtyard
Not-in-NYC bonus: $10,395

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