By Curmudgeon
CNN Money has up this morning a list of the 100 best places [mostly small to mid-sized cities] to live in America. Ogden is not on the list. Four Utah cities are [South Jordan and Orem in the top fifty, West Jordan and St. George in the next fifty.]
• 100 Best Places to Live in America, 2010 editionNow I grant you, the standards for selection seem a little suspect [Orem in the top fifty, Ogden not on the top 100 list?]. But since Hizzonah likes to tout Ogden's making these little lists of "best places" whenever it does, thought it might be interesting to highlight this one. I'm sure the City won't.
3 comments:
Curm..cut the city some slack..you can't win them all. This list is HIGHLY suspect..Eden Prarie #1???.."Long cold winters" is an understatement...not sure what the formula was for the ranking but apparently winters didn't weigh heavily in it. Having spent some successive number of years on the "High-Line" in temps of -25+ and honest windchills in excess of -75+ I can tell you I laughed out loud when I saw number one. And as for Bellevue...all I remember is constant stop and go traffic in and around the city...and that was years ago...One mans Heaven is anothers H...
AWM:
Most of these lists are doubtful for the reasons you gave: the loosy-goosey standards applied. [As I noted above, "the standards for selection seem a little suspect [Orem in the top fifty, Ogden not on the top 100 list?]."]
Raised my eyebrows at some of the inclusions as well, as you did. And if weather mattered, no way in hell would I ever put that six month outdoor sauna called St. George, Utah on any list of mine. [I kind of like places where the seasons come in fours --- like Ogden. I still think the city is missing a bet not promoting Ogden hard as a retirement destination. Low cost of living, relatively moderate four season climate, easy access to large city by public transit, lots of outdoor opportunities in all seasons, in-town university, two hospitals, etc.]
But, since the City issues a press release whenever we make any of these sorts of lists, I didn't think noting that we didn't make this one was too far out of line.
OK, maybe a little snarky. But not much.
Curm...I think sometimes we lose sight of all the good things Ogden and the general area surrounding it has going for it...Our open public lands on the benches and the trails above and the mostly unfettered access to them. No matter where you stand in the city the views in almost all directions are downright spectacular and change dramatically from one season to the next. I'm actually OK with Ogden "NOT" making these lists because it puts increased demand on the resources and environment we have with the influx of new people...the constant pressure on developing the benchlands...trading local Nat Forest Land to well heeled/connected developers for land elsewhere. I've stopped taking the boat to Pineview on the weekends as its become an unmitigated fiasco. Wait until Snow Basin gets building and PowderVille gets even a portion of what they want. This is "the" major bone of contention for me with the current city administration...it's refusal to state in public that the undeveloped public lands (to include the golf course) are not for sale, at ANY price. Once it's gone, it's gone. Mind you...I have other issues with the way the city is run but this one is at the fore front.
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