Easy Living

CNN Money Magazine recently released their annual rankings on the "Best Places to Live" for 2006. These lists are always interesting as it is often hard to decipher its author's criteria and biases in ranking places. Nonetheless, they often seem realistically close in their accuracy.

The "Best Places" rankings segment various categories, such as big cities, safest communities, most educated, job growth, etc. In the "Best Big Cities" category, many of the assumed favorites made the top 10--San Diego, Colorado Springs, Austin, New York. But, one in particular caught my eye--the number 8 choice. You guessed it, the one and only, Columbus, OH.

Columbus should feel good for receiving the national recognition. It has worked hard to continuously develop and adapt to regional and economic changes. It is consistently on the forefront in many categories--consumer behavior, service-sector growth, research advancements, and value mindsets of the American majority. The diversity it offers while increasing the economic value to its citizens and maintaining relevancy as compared with its peers is admirable. While the statistics listed in the rankings show clear room for improvement, the task is attainable given the city's continued evolution. Additionally, significant change in fiscal, legislative, and economic policies under new statewide leadership has the opportunity to propel it further ahead.

Admittedly, there are many other places on the list that I would prefer to live at some point (Austin, Colorado, San Diego, Raleigh, Scottsdale, NYC, Chicago, Florida, etc.). However, it is good to know that residency here has its benefits and isn't penalizing one's development. And did you know that half of the U.S. population lives within 600 miles of Columbus? Wow, what great opportunity.

Three cheers for Columbus for continuing to move up in the world!