Raleigh: No Houston, but better than Boise

Submitted by dbracken on 06/19/2008 - 15:13

Those esteemed judges of city life over at Kiplinger have announced their 2008 top 10 cities in the U.S. to live, work and play. At first glance, the list appears to be a validation for Raleigh, which ranks second behind the no-zoning utopia of Houston. On closer inspection, however, the list puts Raleigh with some strange company. Among the other cities making the list are Omaha, Provo, Fayetteville, DeMoines, Colorado Springs and Boise.

While we have long ago given up attempting to understand the logic of these rankings, this list seems particularly arbitrary. (Raleigh's ranking isn't all that surprising because the people who make these lists absolutely love Raleigh for some reason. If there was a top 10 list of the best cities located next to rivers, we're quite certain Raleigh would make it.) But some of these other places are not exactly synonymous with playing and partying. A few of them even seem like places that people might try to get away from for various reasons.

We're also highly suspicious of any rankings that rely heavily on this concept of "The Creative Class," which really just seems like an attempt to turn the world into a giant advertising agency where people are either creatives or noncreatives. What we really want to know is do people actually decide where to move based on these lists? Are there lots of recently arrived families in Raleigh that could have just as easily ended up in Boisie or Omaha?

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Comments

It's the Taxes.....

Fri, 06/20/2008 - 10:34 — Wuptdo

I saw a survey about three years asking New York types why they are leaving, especially the well educated. The biggest response was HIGH taxes, both property and income. That is why I think we should stop calling these folks "newcomers" and call them what they really are -- "tax refugees." Of course, calling them "carpetbaggers" works just as well.

I was just out in the Mountains this weekend, and the biggest complaints from the locals were about the "half-backs." "Half-Backs" are New Yorkers/NorEasters that have moved to Florida, decided they didn't like it and moved "half-way" back to the NC Mountains or the Coast.

What you say that

Thu, 06/19/2008 - 21:45 — Anonymous (not verified)

What you say that Fayettville, what do you mean? You do realize they are talking about Fayettville, Arkansas and NOT Fayettville, NC don't you?

It's No NY

Thu, 06/19/2008 - 16:23 — ERD IN NYC (not verified)

Um, these lists are ridiculous. I've lived in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Atlanta, and now New York, and would easily rank Raleigh last among these. Ask any New Yorker what they think of Raleigh, NC. It's laughable.

And a good thing too...

Thu, 06/19/2008 - 19:28 — Anonymous (not verified)

Clearly there are SOME New Yorkers who prefer Raleigh - and indeed the presence of some of them makes Raleigh a better place. I would also suggest that for many natives of Raleigh, and NC more generally, New York is pretty far from the idea of "best place to live." I personally rank it high on my list of "nice places to visit," but even if I wanted to put down roots there, the housing market makes for extremely inhospitable soil. For any unfortunate New Yorkers who find themselves miserable here, The U-Hauls and Ryder trucks do run both ways. The lines of folks trying to get into Raleigh is a lot longer than the line of people trying to get out .