| Show 141rLöltgeiMetteilWise What are the top communities for buying a home raising kids finding a job retiring—men looking for a mate? Th ellSo e Best Places Best for young families BY JOHN TEPPER MARLIN THERE ONE "BEST CITY" US? In the 1980s a widely publicized report rated Pittsburgh as the No 1 place to live People were amazed but they apparently weren't convinced More than 54000 moved Out of Pittsburgh during the in the IIS ----- I1 t:' ' ' rrtci ' lil- 111 1: - 1 ---- -- -i P - -- ll - ril j ::iirafr--A:- i "amr :: a city where the odds are your favor: San Mem for example single by going men oubtumber sin& WCOUer but in Piew York City sink women outnumber Magic partner sec - - ''' Best pace for getting ajob be where people live the longest? The best areas are Honolulu Anchorage Denver Charlotte and Bridgeport x your dance of thing a a mate inYou might increase Best for finding In to a Do you want to - 5 N for making the most money possible consider that half of the 4 million highest income earners in America work in metropolitan New York City ---- - --- '71 ir '1A4i IN1 2015—Woods & Poole Economics projects that four of the five fastest-growin- g areas will be in Florida Fort Myers Naples Orlando and Bradenton (the fifth is Laredo Tex) If you want to join the competition - 4410' - —I: 11' areas in six states are 'I:' Honoworkers: for hungriest lulu Hawaii Iowa City and F Sioux City Iowa Lincoln and t i Omaha Neb Grand Forks ND Sioux Falls and Rapid "MIE! City SD and Green Bay and Madison Wis But looking ahead to 2010 lathe sod two decades the most sew jobs will be fond NPA Data Services projects in the Los Angeles Anaheim and Phoenix areas that the most new jobs will be created in these 10 metropolitan areas: Los Angeles Anaheim Phoenix San Taking an even longer view—to - - - - the best test scores are Iowa Lauderdale -- - Ji - Th --- er- 610:111Mo Diego Houston Dallas Seattle Washington DC (including Fairfax County Va) San Jose and Fort 40t iii ce ! 1112 long your view? US Department of Labor unemployment data show that right now metro- - v - Detroit Houston Kansas City St Louis Indianapolis Tampa Rochester NY and Jacksonville Fla Primary and secondary schools vary in teaching quality among cities in a state and among neighborhoods within a city But some states do a better job of getting youngsters ready for college test judging by average college-entranscores (SAT and ACT tests) Those with t- job G have a job lined up) are Louisville people voting by the thousands with their feet to leave? Despite its many advantages the city was not generating jobs! Is there one best city in the country? No Is there a best city for you? Yes but it depends on what you want most Are you most interested in a better job or a place to retire? Are you seeking the best place to raise a family or are 11 4 you most interested in finding a I mate? Want the best city to start 1I 11 11 a business or is cultural diver- A" 1 t sity most important to you? Here are our top choices in these categories: — i ve decade How could a city have S 1 least-expensi- been ranked so high yet have Best for getting a How career is t t For many young couples finding affordable housing and good schools are top priorities Of 40 metropolitan areas with comparable data Oklahoma City has the housing (costing 32 years' average income) Tulsa housing prices are nearly as low Other areas with housing in part because of recent job losses (be sure you Mass- achusetts South Dakota Connecticut Vermont Wisconsin Oregon Mary- land Minnesota and Nebraska Best for entrepreneurs Want to start a business? Central cities always have been hospitable to entrepreneurs because they provide easy access to buyers and producers But in the 1990s hotbeds of entrepreneurial activity also may be found away from central cities The metropolitan area with the greatest international business presence ac- cording to the business-locatio- n spe- cialists Moran Stahl & Boyer is New York followed by Chicago Houston and San Francisco Others rated highly as places to do business in 1992 were Seattle Atlanta Raleigh-DurhaNC Boston Denver and Orlando Of these 10 Raleigh-Durhais rated highest for manufacturing followed by Orlando The 10 metropolitan areas rated most attitude highly for their m m "pro-busines- s" are Charlotte NC Nashville Fort Worth Dallas Salt Lake City Colum- bus Ohio Atlanta Indianapolis Houston and Raleigh-DurhaConsider growth cities where services are badly needed Seven of the 10 m areas of the 1980s were in Florida: Naples Fort Pierce Fort Myers Ocala Orlando West Palm Beach and Melbourne Others on the g list were Riverside Calif Las Vegas and Austin Tex Beat for retirement Strictly fastest-growin- g fastest-growin- from a physical and economic point of view the best bet for retirement living is a place with lots of sunshine and a low cost of living By taking 26 large metropolitan areas and dividing the number of days of sunshine by the cost of living we get the following top 10: Los Angeles Kansas City San Francisco Honolulu San Diego St Louis Cincinnati New York (Surprise! Lots of clear days and the metropolitan area cost of living isn't so bier) Portland Ore and Dallas If health is a factor consider that people appear to live longest (average age taken into account) in Honolulu Anch- orage Denver Charlotte Bridgeport (its metropolitan area is much of southern Connecticut) Washington DC Salt Lake City Seattle Miami and Sacramento But studies have shown that elderly people prefer to live 10 to 15 minutes away PACE 16 APRIL 4 1993 PARADE RUCMIRE |
