Through some of my sourcing efforts this past week I came across several lists for the top cities for relocating. The Employee Relocation Council (ERC) and Primacy Relocation have been conducting these survey’s for a few years. From what I found, they publish a yearly list of the top 50 cities for Families by market size and the top 100 cities for singles.
Our home state of Minnesota did not place any cities in the top 50 for families, but Minneapolis/St. Paul came in at 77 on the list of top 100 cities for singles. Here is the criteria used for each of the lists:
Families
Tax Rates
Average House Prices & Appreciation
Cost of Living
Ability to Qualify for In-State Tuition
Service Quality of Local Utilities
Auto Taxes
Per-Capita Volunteerism
Quantity of Fun
Family-Friendly Events and Venues
Fee and Occupancy Rates for Temporary Housing and Mini-Storage
Quality and Availability of Elder-Care
Commute Times
Singles
Local Percentage and Growth Trends of Unmarried Residents Aged 25-34
Male-Female Ratios
The Number of Newcomers to the Area
Diversity and Density of Population
Job Growth vs. Unemployment Rates
Apartment Rental Costs
Fee and Occupancy Rates for Temporary Housing and Mini-Storage
Higher Education Costs
Service Quality of Local Utilities
Auto Taxes
Per-Capita Volunteerism
Quality and Quantity of Collegiate and Professional Sports with Fun, Fan-Friendly Venues
Number of Starbucks and Other Coffee Shops
Quality or Popularity of Restaurants, Nightspots, Health Clubs, and Online Dating
Moderate Climates
It suprised me that the list of criteria for singles was larger than that of families. For anyone that has kids (especially teenagers), you know that there are many items missing off this list. In observing my twin teenage boys, malls and movie theaters come to mind. Perhaps for the purpose of the survey those two were lumped into the category of “family-friendly events and venues.” (try hanging out with your teenager at the mall – they would rather die)
In all seriousness, the Twin Cities are extremely family friendly. Our burdensome tax rate must be dragging us down in the rankings.