What's your dreamtown?
America may be a metropolitan nation, but most of us don't seem very happy about it.
A total of 252 million people — 83.5 percent of all Americans — live in metropolitan areas. That includes 164 million in the 51 biggest metros, the ones with populations above 1 million.
Yet a substantial number of these residents of big cities and inner-ring suburbs don't have their hearts in it. They would prefer to live on the suburban fringe or in small-town America, as repeatedly shown by surveys during the past decade
Comment: Note from the article that for the Midwest, Mankato, Minn. & Stevens Point, Wisc. are considered "dreamtowns". What's the definition of a "dreamtown"?: "well-rounded places with light traffic, healthy economies, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks, strong educational systems, and easy access to big-city attractions".
So my question (to my handful of readers) is this: Do you have a "dreamtown"?
Mine is Owatonna MN. Why:
- It is close to the Twin Cities (where our family is). Just 75 miles South of where I now live
- It has a nice-sized population of 20,000.
- It has all the required shopping including a very nice Cabelas
- It has easy access (an hour's drive) to the MSP airport
- Housing is very reasonable. I could buy "my house" (a house comparable to what I have in Plymouth) for about $ 150,000 less. So I could trade down and cash out at retirement.
- In Minnesota I am also very impressed with Hibbing.
- I don't want to live in Wisconsin, Iowa, or Michigan
So what's (or where is) your "dreamtown" and why?
Have you every checked out Bestplaces.net. It enables you to compare cities. Here is the comparison between Plymouth and Owatonna.
Well, thank you very much. Nancy and I have lived in Owatonna for the last quarter century, and we agree with your assessment. Owatonna has been a great place to live!
ReplyDeleteI hope to move there in 7 years. Of course so many things could change.
ReplyDeleteI like some of the small orchard towns around Traverse City, personally...great cool climate, hills, and great people too.
ReplyDeleteOK, yeah, you'd have to deal with the taxes, but hey--we are in Minnesota already, no? :^)
Re Traverse City and Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI love Michigan (my folks were born and lived in Alto, MI. Just E of Grand Rapids). K and I lived in Michigan when I was in seminary school.
I think Michigan is a beautiful state, but I think the Dems with their taxes have screwed the state up.