MSNBC has listed the 10 best places to live in America, based on similar lists from Forbes, Kiplinger, Money magazine, and other listmakers.
Portland isn’t on the list.
Houston is number 4.
Only one of the cities on the list (other than Houston, whose “wham-bam tram” is a joke) has light rail (Charlotte), and its light-rail line is so new that it didn’t play any role in the selection.
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Three of the cities are in Texas, two are in the Midwest, two in North Carolina, two in Colorado, and one in Idaho. None (except possibly Boise and Ft. Collins) have done much to attract the “creative class.” None (except possibly Ft. Collins) have done much “smart growth.”
Okay, these lists are pretty meaningless. But at least some reporters seem to have figured out that housing affordability, freedom, and mobility count for more than having streetcars and coffee shops in high-density apartment buildings.
And not just journalists. Here is a story of a company that Oregon was trying to attract to Portland, but it chose Houston instead.
Ft. Collins may have done stuff for smarth growth but it’s restricted to the city itself. I like to say that liberal hippies without trust funds move to Ft. Collins (they’d move to Boulder but can’t afford it without the trust fund). Anything the city itself does about growth hasn’t affected Loveland, Windsor, Greeley, Berthoud, Wellington and other cities surrounding it.
The American Dream Coalition had their 2008 conference in Houston last month where housing and transportation were reviewed. Their average home price is $158,000 with many new homes for sale at $150,000 and new condos as low as $80,000. They have large housing projects (viewed one of 10,000 acres) very beautiful with lots of trees, lakes providing outstanding livability unmatched in Silicon Valley/San Jose.
In 1974 San Jose passed an Urban Growth Boundary at which time housing costs in Houston were similar. The UGB has never been expanded, and is directly responsible for the cost of land and resulting housing costs. The UGB can only be expanded in conjunction with a new General Plan done every 10 years. It appears the present planning group is not going even to consider its expansion and so we can expect average home prices over one million in the future continuing to remove the minorities, reducing livability and bring valley growth to a stop.
Expand the UGB NOW and forget Smart Gowth.
And Vancouver, a heavily planned city in BC, Canada has consistently been rated as the most livable city in the world by the economist intelligence unit.
Seattle, in a Growth Management state, can’t keep up with all the growth.
DS
“Okay, these lists are pretty meaningless.”
That’s all you need to know. What makes a place a candidate for “best place to live?”
For me, it’s no snow and no hot/humid summers. For others it’s housing prices or job availibility. All are valid considerations. Bottom line is that lists like this one are a pointless wanking exercise by journalists who have nothing better to do.
I cannot figure out for the life of me why Des Moines, IA is on the list.
The arguments listed by MSNBC boil down to:
1) Other polls thought it was good (and who are we to question them?).
2) Good schools and affordability. This describes Sioux Falls, SD and many other mid-size Midwestern cities. In fact it describes dozens of similar cities around the country. How are we to differentiate?
I cannot figure out for the life of me why Des Moines, IA is on the list.
Well, GE doesn’t like the coasts, apparently. Or maybe their land holdings are depressed so they are trying to puff them up. Or maybe they are trying to divest from MS.
What is clear, though, is that certain cities on the list who are growing well – Raleigh, Boise, Austin, Charlotte – are going after knowledge workers and are providing and investing in amenities to attract them. This surely will drive up their land rents if this continues. We see this here in the west in the Treasure Valley’s price increases.
DS
Seattle, in a Growth Management state, can’t keep up with all the growth.
DS
I just got back from Seattle and there were lots of mid rise condos and back to back duplexes, triplexes, and many other interesting housing forms popping up just about everywhere. Not to mention the numerous neighbourhood commercial areas that were booming with activity and businesses and lots and lots of coffee shops! Somehow I didnt get the impression that I was in communist Russia, as this blog would have people believe.
I used to live in Wallingford, just uphill from the most in-demand K-6 school in the city, and families would scratch and claw to get on a waiting list to get a house within walking distance of the school. Maybe .43% of these houses were on a lot greater than 6000sf, about the same % below $500K. Walkable to Adobe, ~125 restaurants, Trader Joe’s, QFC, Lake Union etc., bikeable/busable to thousands of jobs.
The correlation between property values and nearby amenities is glaringly obvious – lots of knowledge jobs, benign climate (if you can stand the grey) and amenities drive the Ricardian rents there and elsewhere. Nothing is more obvious. And watch the small cadre of antiplanners claim that cities seeking knowledge jobs drove up land rents because of planning, instead of wanting to maintain or enhance quality of life.
DS
Boise has amenities? So TGI Fridays and a community pool does count, eh?
So TGI Fridays and a community pool does count, eh?
…
You forgot the 3 7 Denny’s and the 2.9 bowling alleys/1000.
It’s not really for me, as I don’t like the Spokane-Boise axis, but over the years I’ve run into an awful lot of people who like that sort of thing, evidenced by their growth…
DS
This is a test.
