All Locations?

[judgegal]

Housing costs are high compared to many other places, but 8 million people manage to live here. You save money on other things, for example, you don't need a car. I managed to raise two children through college on an income similar to the ALJ salary.

But don't worry about being selected for NY. There are so many lawyers here that competition for the ALJ slots from people who already live here is so high that you'll probably be picked for some other place long before. This probably applies to other big cities, too.

[aljsouth]

judgegal said:

Housing costs are high compared to many other places, but 8 million people manage to live here. You save money on other things, for example, you don't need a car. I managed to raise two children through college on an income similar to the ALJ salary.

But don't worry about being selected for NY. There are so many lawyers here that competition for the ALJ slots from people who already live here is so high that you'll probably be picked for some other place long before. This probably applies to other big cities, too.

It is a national list. No preference is given to someone already from an area. If someone from Kansas scores well and is on the NY list, then they do get selected. Granted if there are lots of applicants that have selected NY then the competition for the three top slots that OPM will send to the agency will be more fierce than more rural areas. They probably will all three be vets. This is why everyone tells applicants to put down as many sites as you can.