Forbes: America's Most Liveable Cities

[Tex]

OKC and Tulsa cracked the top 15 list. Here is a list where everyone ranked.

1. Portland, Maine
2. Bethesda, Maryland
3. Des Moines, Iowa
4. Stamford, Connecticut
5. Tulsa, Oklahoma
6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7. Cambridge, Massachusetts
8. Baltimore, Maryland
9. Worcester, Massachusetts
10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
11. Denver, Colorado
12. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
13. Madison, Wisconsin
14. Peabody, Massachusetts
15. Little Rock, Arkansas

America's Most Livable Cities - Forbes.com

[okcpulse]

Way to go Tulsa and OKC!

[Tex]

It's interesting that 4 states took up 9 of the 15 spots.

[HSC-Sooner]

It's interesting that 4 states took up 9 of the 15 spots.

No Texas though

All jokes aside, it's great we have two cities in the top.

[betts]

If you look at the pictures of the most liveable cities, they've got a really attractive picture of OKC looking at the CBD from the Myriad Gardens. It certainly negates any dustbowl images people might have of OKC.

[mecarr]

Just curious, how many times does Forbes put a list out like this? Seems like every other week we are talking about a new list that OKC made.

[Pete]

More great PR!

Increasingly, OKC is viewed as one of the up-and-coming-cities in the U.S., much like Charlotte and Austin were a couple of decades ago.


If you look at their criteria, you can see that Oklahoma's somewhat counter-cyclical economy has a lot to do with Tulsa & OKC being on that list:

"We eliminated areas with populations smaller than 500,000 and assigned points to the remaining metro regions across five data sets: Five-year income growth per household and cost of living from Moody's Economy.com, crime data and leisure index from Sperling's Best Places, and annual unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics."

[LakeEffect]

Just curious, how many times does Forbes put a list out like this? Seems like every other week we are talking about a new list that OKC made.

My thoughts exactly. I love the positive publicity, but it makes me wonder who at Forbes is from Oklahoma?

[soonerguru]

Is OKC buying a lot of ads in Forbes or something?

[PennyQuilts]

From the outside looking in, when you count up the numbers and look at the assets/liabilities and without the complex that many have regarding feeling like you can't measure up - Oklahoma looks fabulous. No conspiracy here in touting Oklahoma - I know tons of people in this part of the cournty (east coast) who would dearly love to move to Oklahoma if they had a foot in the door. People around look positively wistful when I talk about moving back home to Oklahoma. Big, congested, high crime areas don't maintain their charm once you get past the novelty of cafes being open at 2:00 in the morning. Get to the point where you'd rather go to sleep before midnight and the notion of having a yard and sunny weather sounds pretty fabulous.

[soonerguru]

Good points, East Coast. However, can't we have cafes open past 2:00 in the morning as well? That seems to be something that would motivate people here.

[metro]

OKC and Tulsa named “most livable” cities

[Midtowner]

Good points, East Coast. However, can't we have cafes open past 2:00 in the morning as well? That seems to be something that would motivate people here.

We have Denny's and IHOP and maybe Waffle House.

[progressiveboy]

I noticed in today's Tulsa World edition in the editoral piece *Easy Street" regarding Tulsa's rating in Forbes magazine,that Tulsa was already bashing OKC. At the very end of the article, it stated that OKC was a crime ridden, uncultured place? These remarks are quite seething. Does envy play a role in this?

[OKCMallen]

I noticed in today's Tulsa World edition in the editoral piece *Easy Street" regarding Tulsa's rating in Forbes magazine,that Tulsa was already bashing OKC. At the very end of the article, it stated that OKC was a crime ridden, uncultured place? These remarks are quite seething. Does envy play a role in this?

Especially when Tulsa, hands-down, destroys OKC in gang-related crime.

[Karried]

Post this for them:

[Karried]

I've definitely noticed many more shooting, murders & meth related stories in Tulsa.

But, who cares? I say focus on our city and the strides we have made and ignore them.

[julieriggs]

We keep an archive of these accolades here: Greater Oklahoma City Chamber - Newsroom - Oklahoma City Accolades

[PennyQuilts]

Good points, East Coast. However, can't we have cafes open past 2:00 in the morning as well? That seems to be something that would motivate people here.

Oh sure, if you can get the farm boys to show up when they have a tractor they need to ride at sunup.

The point is that for many, many people, the lack of that is not a big deal. For some, it is.

Let me also point out that places like DC and NYC are very, very transient. Young people are everywhere and they just love all the excitement. But they generally don't stay. In a matter a short number of years, they move on. Mattress companies and storage facilities are everywhere. It is frequently hard to find locals who were raised in the area who stay to raise their own kids. DC has its government workers and NYC has its business area but after a few years, most of the ones who stay are moving out if they have families. Without a wall street like base or the hub of the government, I am not sure we'd really want a work force that transient.

[MadMonk]

Good points, East Coast. However, can't we have cafes open past 2:00 in the morning as well? That seems to be something that would motivate people here.

As the saying goes, nothing good ever happens after 2:00am.

[Celebrator]

"I am not sure we'd really want a work force that transient."
I can guarantee you don't want a population like that...it is very hard on schools especially. We are teachers here in the Orlando area and the fact that nobody has roots here either really hurts the school districts and cities in Central Florida. There is no investment (financial or otherwise) in the community because either people are retired and have already invested for a lifetime somwhere "up North" or they are just "using" Florida for the weather or the beach. No one is from here or even considers it home...a much-heard phrase from people even who have been here for years is "back home..." Florida is America's rental car...a red, sporty convertible rental car...everyone has a good time using it, but do they take care of it...nope...they just use it and move on. My wife and I have tried our best for the last 7 years to make Orlando home and invest in it to make it a better place. But, we have decided to move to the OKC metro in June and are really looking forward to putting down roots and investing in our community to make it a better place for all of us. From reading these forums for the past year, it really seems that most are interested and excited to do just that. You don't want OKC to become like NYC, DC, or even Orlando. Looking forward to living in one of America's Most Liveable Cities and helping it climb the ranks...without too much publicity of course...shhhhh.

[PennyQuilts]

[I][B] You don't want OKC to become like NYC, DC, or even Orlando. Looking forward to living in one of America's Most Liveable Cities and helping it climb the ranks...without too much publicity of course...shhhhh.

Hahahha! Shhhh, indeed. I hear you loud and clear.

Are you moving back home or are you just moving to make a home?

I'm happy for you that you are making the jump - I bet you'll love it. Can't wait to get back home, myself.

[Celebrator]

Moving to make a new home...we know we'll love it.

[PennyQuilts]

What caused you to pick OKC?

Make sure you have good storm windows and your air conditioner is in good shape!

[bristolscene]

My thoughts exactly. I love the positive publicity, but it makes me wonder who at Forbes is from Oklahoma?

Who knows the connection, but I know Steve Forbes himself was at OSU not too long ago. Here's a video about it: YouTube - Inside OSU interview features Steve Forbes