Leeds is a highly-rated city among students with a vibrant nightlife, busy shopping areas ranging from the cheap to the premium and offering an escape to the countryside in the form of the Yorkshire Dales. As such, it’s also a popular city to settle in and graduate jobs in Leeds are plentiful for the highest paid careers: the city is the UK's second largest financial and legal centre. Leeds is seen as the financial capital of the north making it an excellent choice of location if you are looking to make a mark in banking, accounting or professional services. It was also one of the first British cities to have full broadband and digital coverage during the dot-com bubble, helping it become a hub for new media business.
There is a strong retail sector and the Yorkshire city offers support to small businesses: in 2011 it was announced that Leeds will become an enterprise zone, which will help small businesses in the region to increase economic growth. Once a major manufacturing city, there are still opportunities in the industry, but it has been overtaken by the service sector.