A top 10 list worth reading

Clark Behind The Headlines

From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

Kiplinger magazine has done something that is almost like satire. With all these lists that people put out, it's almost trite.  But I saw Kiplinger's list of the ten best cities for the next decade, and I thought the logic behind what they did to choose the cities was excellent.

 The criteria they used was: where would you find the best opportunities moving forward? And maybe even, where are the places that would be the most fun to live? They based it on innovation: cities that seem to have real creativity going on, places where it is encouraged, is part of the culture, where everything is about innovating and creating and imagining new ways and processes to do things.

 By their telling, the number one place in the United States in terms of innovation and creative energy is Austin, Texas.  What a fun town, too. Number two: Seattle. Three: Washington D.C.  I lived in D.C. for five years, and some of the brightest and best-educated people in this country are there. 

 Number four is Boulder, Colorado. Five: Salt Lake City. Six: Rochester Minnesota. That one might surprise some people. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Rochester and it was a very creative and well-educated environment there.

 Number seven is Des Moines, Iowa. Eight: Burlington, Vermont. Ninth place goes to West Hartford Connecticut.  And then, number ten: Topeka, Kansas. 

 You may come up with a different list or a different reason to decide that someplace is a great place to live for your future and your career. But there was a general theme that was common to a lot of the places on Kiplinger’s list: they tend to have a younger work force, more creative, very highly educated. Brain power is what matters so much and where economic growth occurs.  And this list speaks to that.

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