Kiplinger.com, a respected personal finance Web site, has named Austin as the 8th best city to live in the United States in 2009. The top 10 cities were chosen because they have strong job markets that offer growth potential. The cities weren't chosen based just on quantity of jobs, but the quality of those jobs and the likelihood that they will still be around when the economy isn't as strong.
Kevin Stolarick, the research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, which studies economic prosperity, is the one who crunched the numbers to create the list. He says, "Although downturns are felt by everyone, our research has shown that the impact is less severe for those in the creative class -- people who are paid to think." Cities with many people employed in science, engineering, architecture and education did better on the list. Austin is well-known for both its successful creative and high-tech industries, which makes it no surprise our city was chosen.
What do you think? Does Austin deserve to be on the list?
Comments
I agree Austin is a wonderful city. We moved here not only for the work but also because it was considered the 3rd safest city. This may become a thing of the past as the Mark Ott, the city manager, is planning on cutting a police cadet class that will begin soon. This means we will not have any new officers for over a year! They are already short 25 officers and 205 are up for retirement. This is very troubling that they would consider cutting our public safety. Email the city council. Go Austin!
I remember seeing Houston as #1 of this same list. Of course, that won’t stop some Austintites from voicing their snide comments on Houston and making it out to be some craphole.