Austin named best place to live in America by U.S. News and World Report

[TexasTowelie]

U.S. News and World Report has confirmed what we Austinites have known all along (and have tried to keep secret, TBH): Austin is the best place to live in America.

The publication ranked the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas based on affordability, job prospects and quality of life. Austin bumped Denver, Colo., from the top spot it held last year to No. 2.

Rounding out the top five are San Jose, Calif. (up from No. 10), Washington, D.C. (up from No. 8), and Fayetteville, Ark.

Austin earned an overall score of 7.8 out of 10. The ranking was the culmination of scores in desirability, value, job market, quality of life and net migration.

Read more: http://austin.blog.statesman.com/2017/02/07/austin-named-best-place-to-live-in-america-by-u-s-news-and-world-report/

[Warpy]

1. They're a little late

House prices have skyrocketed and a lot of the people who made Austin a great place to live have been priced out.

I have a feeling "net migration" might have been weighted just a little too heavily. It's being yuppied to death.

[TexasTowelie]

4. i lived there from 1987 to 2000 and was in the area

when I went to college in Georgetown from 1983-1987. I loved the time that I spent there, but there is no way that I could afford to live there anymore. A single person needs to bring home at least $30,000 per year to afford an apartment there and I actually believe $40,000 is more on target if you are going to enjoy any of the benefits that make it a great place to live.

[Jane Austin]

2. We have such wonderful arts, restaurants, and everything you can think of.

It's just that traffic has gotten so bad, it's kind of hard to get to any of it.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Austin is quite a nice place,

but those sorts of listings have built in biases that not all of us buy into.

Austin might be quite nice, but it's still Texas.

More to the point, those things always assume that not having to shovel snow off your cars in winters is more important than almost anything else. And while I agree, not having to shovel snow off your car in winter is quite nice, it's not the only thing and not even the most important thing (at least for me) in determining where I want to live.

For me, public transportation is huge. Also, a college or university or two is nice because of the cultural stuff they bring in. Climate is nice, but I don't care if there's snow in the winter, so long as there's reasonable snow removal. I also want to be in a state with reasonably liberal attitudes. I want good public schools. So what if I don't have children in school at this point in my life. I know that good public schools underpin all sorts of things I care about.

I always take these listings with a huge grain of salt.

[Skittles]

5. it was (I lived there 17 years)

but last time I was there it felt like a mini-Dallas

[Hangingon]

6. I lived in Austin for 20 years,

I remember the time in the 60's that Austin was named best place to live. It started down hill then and look where it has gone. I don't enjoy going there any more. It is LA East.

[Paladin]

7. That's what I tell people who think present-day Austin is the coolest place ever:

You should have been around, 50 years ago, when it really was honest-to-God cool. We didn't know just how good we had it, back then.

I grew up there, went to school there, have lots of friends there, and now live not all that far from there. And I avoid the place like the plague. What Austin has become is just too damn depressing for an old-timer like me. This new rating will just make an awful situation worse.

[Hangingon]

8. Absolutely agree!