Who’s YOUR City? Blog

Another reason some cities are becoming spiky (I believe) is that the cities need to become more densely populated but further apart for the next wave of transportation. The magnetic levitation train will take people from one end of the country to the other much faster than airplanes, and with less vulnerability to weather. They will not be powered by oil.

Consider this:

• the average speed of a person walking is 3 mph
• the average speed of a car driven is 30 mph
• the average speed of an airplane flying 300 mph

The next “link” is the magnetic levitation train, and will eventually travel at about 3,000 mph!!

Therefore, subconsciously people are migrating for their own selfish reasons, but the result serves the trend.

Sent by Jim

Your city is the city that you can change. Is the place that becomes your territory In which you find your temples. The space that is not confining you. The board for your somersault. The environment you fight for. This is my universal city. The dot where the world start to develop. My city doesn’t look like anyone else. It’s all what I have, i.e. me. And wherever I am I will transform that city in me, who am the city I am changing in. www.myspace.com/mcbett

Sent by eli from Roma/Dublin/Barcelona

I’ve lived in Fayetteville, AR, all my life. It’s a wonderful town – it’s listed in the top five for several categories in the “small markets” category. What I love about it: Lots of parks and greenspace, vibrant culture and diversity, lots of community events and the surrounding natural beauty.

But my problem is that I just can’t get ahead here. There aren’t many good jobs – most jobs are in the service sector, which don’t pay. The state laws are really biased against employees and tenants – we have no rights.

I have a master’s degree in journalism and I can’t find a job. So I’m thinking of relocating. I’ve always been attracted to San Fran, but I simply can’t afford it. Any suggestions for similar cities that have good economies?

Sent by DeLani from Fayetteville, AR

Dear Gang,

I love Mr. Florida’s site! I just bought his recent book and am still trying to decide where to live. I have lived in over 7 other cities in 5 countries and traveled to 20 others. I also have lived in over 11 cities in the United States. I am an instructor, motivational and teacher trainer, musician, songwriter, traveler, and adventurer. I have also assisted personal motivators through a friend of mine who runs a seminar company in Detroit. I am leaning towards Toronto, San Francisco Area (where I lived), L.A. (never lived), San Diego (my parents live there currently), or Miami/ Ft. Lauderdale. My current employment with several universities dictates that I reside within the U.S. Where would you go if you wanted great beaches, easy access to major attractions, lots of bars, clubs, and venues to play in a band, wonderful multicultural communities, artsy communities, coffeehouses, etc.? I also love Holland’s Interest Inventory because using it can help in addition to r reading Mr. Florida’s work I love Cincinnati because it has a low cost-of-living. It is not very ethnically-diverse and the music scene is not very vibrant. I am hearing from a lot of people that it okay to live wherever and post your music on the internet, but maybe I’m old-fashioned, I want it all! Any advice? I see that Mr. Florida loves Toronto and I hear that there was a new man-made beach that was created on one of the lakeshores recently… San Francisco is gorgeous but does it have a major music scene? Also, isn’t the high-cost of living and real-estate astronomical? Any advice? Just let me know!!! I would love to hear from you! Thanks, S. Paul

Sent in by Paul S. from Cincinnati

I grew up in southern Ohio, moved to Minneapolis/St.Paul for college and stayed for 15 years. My chronic health issues worsened while living so far north. I didn’t mind the cold, but the short days really began to wear me down over the years. I loved the progressive nature of the city, politics, community, etc. It was so easy to meet people there. I am also openly gay and I work in non-profit administration. So I need a city where there is a reasonable amount of sunshine, lower cost of living, and somewhat progressive. 8 years ago I moved to Tucson, just to get my health back, While I love the slower pace, it is very difficult to meet people here. The city is more liberal than Phoenix but still somewhat isolating. I am considering, Tampa, Ft.Lauderdale (much higher cost of living),and Miami. Houston and Atlanta have similiar cost of living stats but I am soo confused as to what my next move should be. Any suggestions? (nothing north of St. Louis please) You can email me at Toddtucson@msn.com

Sent by Geoffery from Tucson AZ

I’ll be honest… TORONTO IS THE REASON I LOVE CANADA. Everything that Canada is all about – diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance, acceptance, and inclusiveness. When I was a kid in the old Calgary I felt like I was an outsider and would never be welcomed. This was a long time ago but emotional memories can be very strong. Toronto and Torontonians healed my heartbreak of my childhood and early youth being spent dealing with rejection for something I co uld never change. Now everyone has a different experience. I’ve met people who were minorities in my age group and grew up down the street from me during that same time and they have noting but positive memories. Needless to say … Toronto is not perfect but it is an ideal destination for new immigrants given the variety of settlement services in the city.

Richard Florida himself on Toronto

Sent by Aralar from Toronto

I was born in Columbus, OH and lived in a total of 5 States (WA, OH, NY, AZ & CA). I knew as a little kid that Columbus was NOT the place for me personally. It is a nice place to be from and it is a very nice, clean town. It just didn’t have the energy and diversity that I personally needed. It also lacked that real urban feel that I was looking for. In retrospect it is funny that I knew that even when I was young. Anyway, we mov ed to New York and I hit paydirt. I loved everything about the city except the dirtiness (in the late 70’s) but I was willing to deal with that. It had an energy that made me feel alive. I was young and ate the city up. I moved away to the Phoenix area in my mid-twenties (escapism years) and stayed there for 11 years. It was a change from NY. It was new clean, bright and shiny but over time I realized that at my core I was empty. I had good friends but I really missed the energy and culture of an urban city. I left and moved to Southern California. I lived in the LA area and for the most part got the energy, good weather and beautiful geography but it was not NY. I really got tired of the traffic and having to drive great distances to do anything. I sold my possessions and took a job in Seattle. Seattle is probably one of the most esthetically beautiful cities in the U.S, HOWEVER…well let’s just say that this article http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2005/0213/cover.html can sum up better than I can what I think of Seattle. While I was there I did a lot of soul searching and realized that deep down San Francisco had EVERYTHING that I wanted in a city. I had visited there a few times before and loved the city but I always let family and friends talk me out of moving there because of THEIR fears of the city. I decided I was going to move and did. The only thing I will say is ” I am home and I have exhaled”!

Sent by Cristobal from San Francisco