Best Cities for Relocating Families - 2007

[Arch City]

Worldwide ERC(R) and Primacy Relocation Name 2007's ''Best Cities for Relocating Families''
Wednesday May 16, 9:00 am ET

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Worldwide ERC®, the association for workforce mobility, and Primacy Relocation® announced that Fort Worth - Arlington, Texas; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Provo-Orem, Utah, are 2007's Best Cities for Relocating Families(TM) among large, medium and small U.S. metropolitan areas. The two organizations worked with Bert Sperling of Sperling's BestPlaces to rate cities based on those factors - short-term and long-term - that determine the likelihood of a successful relocation. (complete list at end of document)

"The shrinking labor market and the higher demand to remain competitive when building a mobile workforce demand that companies take a closer look at all of the components that are important to the transferee," said Worldwide ERC Executive Vice President H. Cris Collie, CAE. "The qualities of the destination location are critical factors in the success of the relocation for employees and their families."

The ease with which a family can relocate to a new city is impacted by a variety of measurable factors. Traditional variables such as an area's cost of living, crime rates, education and climate are combined with more abstract factors such as a city's arts and culture scene, focus on diversity, and number of physicians per capita.

Conducted each spring, this is the third year Primacy and Worldwide ERC have partnered on the list. This year's city size categories of large, medium and small were adjusted to reflect the larger population areas to which families are most likely to relocate, to 1.25 million and above, 575,000 - 1.25 million, and 350,000 - 575,000, respectively. Additionally, the 2007 study placed a special emphasis on the housing market, which has significantly impacted the relocation industry and an employer's ability to transfer employees. The variables which weigh heavily in this category include home price, home affordability index, appreciation rates, and property tax.

"Without a doubt, the state of the housing market is having a huge impact on relocation decisions of both employers and the families who are being transferred," said Michelle Vallejo, SCRP, GMS, President of Primacy, The Americas. "The cities on this list represent some of the stronger real estate markets and places that are most conducive to a successful family relocation."

Several new categories were added to this year's rankings, including recreation and leisure, arts and culture, air quality, watershed quality, sales tax, unemployment rate, job growth, high school and higher education index, school expenditures per student, students in public school, SAT/ACT percentile, and population growth. These new categories allow for a more robust range of variables which impact not only a family's decision of where to move, but their ability to get settled once they arrive.

ERC and Primacy announced the results of the survey at the National Relocation Conference in Las Vegas. Full results of the survey are available at www.primacy.com and will be published in Worldwide ERC's MOBILITY magazine this summer.

Worldwide ERC® networks workforce mobility professionals and HR innovators, and is the recognized industry authority on relocation and international assignments in the U.S. and major global traffic areas. Worldwide ERC is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Belgium, Brussels and Shanghai, China.

Primacy Relocation is one of the top third-party employee relocation providers in the world, and is the largest to focus all technology and resources solely on relocation and global assignment (expatriate) management. Primacy administers programs for employers throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia regions. Core services include home sales, destination services, household goods move management, and overall program administration. In addition to its Memphis headquarters, Primacy has offices in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Omaha, Sacramento and Washington D.C. (Government Services), as well as Amsterdam, Basel, Geneva, Hong Kong, Lausanne, London, Montreal, Munich, Paris, Shanghai and Zurich. Primacy is online, in nine languages, at primacy.com.

2007 Best Cities for Relocating Families - Worldwide ERC & Primacy
Relocation

Large Metro Areas Pop. 1,250,000+

1. Fort Worth-Arlington TX
2. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro TN
3. Kansas City MO-KS
4. Indianapolis-Carmel IN
5. Austin-Round Rock TX
6. Pittsburgh PA
7. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI
8. Cambridge-Newton-Framingham MA
9. St. Louis MO-IL
10. Cincinnati-Middletown OH-KY-IN
11. Columbus OH
12. San Antonio TX
13. Dallas-Plano-Irving TX
14. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn MI
15. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News NA-NC
16. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta GA
17. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale AZ
18. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown TX
19. Memphis TN-MS-AR
20. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord NC-SC
21. Denver-Aurora CO
22. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor OH
23. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills MI
24. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton OR-WA
25. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner LA
26. Las Vegas-Paradise NV
27. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City CA
28. Boston-Quincy MA
29. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA
30. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater FL
31. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett WA
32. Edison NJ
33. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine CA
34. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis WI
35. Nassau-Suffolk NY
36. Orlando-Kissimmee FL
37. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos CA
38. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV
39. Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA
40. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville CA
41. Baltimore-Towson MD
42. Newark-Union NJ-PA
43. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA
44. Providence-New Bedford-Fall River RI-MA
45. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale CA
46. Philadelphia PA
47. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield FL
48. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet IL
49. New York-White Plains-Wayne NY-NJ
50. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall FL

Mid-Sized Metro Areas Pop. 575,000 - 1,250,000

1. Knoxville TN
2. Wichita KS
3. Raleigh-Cary NC
4. Salt Lake City UT
5. Oklahoma City OK
6. Richmond VA
7. El Paso TX
8. Little Rock-North Little Rock AR
9. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission TX
10. Tulsa OK
11. Greensboro-High Point NC
12. Columbia SC
13. Omaha-Council Bluffs NE-IA
14. Tucson AZ
15. Birmingham-Hoover AL
16. Syracuse NY
17. Buffalo-Niagara Falls NY
18. Rochester NY
19. New Haven-Milford CT
20. Albuquerque NM
21. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick MD
22. Greenville SC
23. Tacoma WA
24. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA
25. Camden NJ
26. Akron OH
27. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman OH-PA
28. Louisville-Jefferson County KY-IN
29. Essex County MA
30. Dayton OH
31. Lake County-Kenosha County IL-WI
32. Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice FL
33. Springfield MA
34. Baton Rouge LA
35. Wilmington DE-MD-NJ
36. Grand Rapids-Wyoming MI
37. Harford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT
38. Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY
39. Jacksonville FL
40. Worcester MA
41. Gary IN
42. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk CT
43. Toledo OH
44. Honolulu HI
45. Bakersfield CA
46. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA-NJ
47. Fresno CA
48. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach FL
49. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown NY
50. Stockton CA

Small Metro Areas Pop. 350,000 - 575,000

1. Provo-Orem UT
2. Ogden-Clearfield UT
3. Durham NC
4. Colorado Springs CO
5. Corpus Christi TX
6. Madison WI
7. Shreveport-Bossier City LA
8. Des Moines-West Des Moines IA
9. Spokane WA
10. Rockingham County-Strafford County NH
11. Springfield MO
12. Winston-Salem NC
13. Augusta-Richmond County GA-SC
14. Boise City-Nampa ID
15. Mobile AL
16. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers AR-MO
17. Beaumont-Port Arthur TX
18. Fort Wayne IN
19. Jackson MS
20. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island IA-IL
21. Trenton-Ewing NJ
22. Vallejo-Fairfield CA
23. Asheville NC
24. Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL
25. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria CA
26. Charleston-North Charleston SC
27. Manchester-Nashua NH
28. Lexington-Fayette KY
29. Brownsville-Harlingen TX
30. Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA
31. Harrisburg-Carlisle PA
32. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach FL
33. Peoria IL
34. Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent FL
35. Chattanooga TN-GA
36. Lansing-East Lansing MI
37. Portland-South Portland-Biddeford ME
38. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville FL
39. Reno-Sparks NV
40. Lakeland FL
41. Salinas CA
42. Salem OR
43. Canton-Massillon OH
44. Flint MI
45. Visalia-Porterville CA
46. Lancaster PA
47. Modesto CA
48. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre PA
49. Reading PA
50. York-Hanover PA

Source

[Crawford]

So the "worst" cities for relocation are actually the largest, most desirable and most expensive cities.

Five of the bottom six are basically a short list of the best cities in America. They must have accidentally miscalculated the SF and Boston rankings...

If Fort Worth is really the "best city" then why is it so cheap? Wouldn't a desirable city have high prices and strong appreciation. I'd like to see the appreciation in Miami and NYC and then Fort Worth over the last five years.

[crisp444]

Another conservative list that hates on the dense places in favor of cheap suburbs.

[BnaBreaker]

I am a Nashvillian and I love my home town, but I don't see what makes it so wonderful for families. We have a higher than average crime rate, terrible traffic which in most areas of town you are forced to deal with due to poor (but rapidly improving) public transit, and we don't exactly have the best schools in the world either. I mean, 40% of the city is made up of those damned coloreds for gods sake! THE HORROR!!!

[Crawford]

I will never understand how relative cost of living makes a municipality a "better" city. Is Waco objectively a "better" city than London because it is much cheaper? Maybe all those swells in expensive cities should move to Ulan Bator or Karachi. Even cheaper than Waco, especially when you factor in the indentured servitude.

Also, why do they always use "N of medical doctors per capita"? How does proportion of MDs correlate with quality of medical care? Does the proportion of lawyers correlate with quality of legal affairs? If so, DC should be the most law-abiding and well-run city on the planet.

[fleonzo]

Originally Posted by crisp444

Another conservative list that hates on the dense places in favor of cheap suburbs.

I agree...it's bascially the conservatives picking the places they like any trashing the big urban areas....typical! That's why the top five largest cities continue to grow larger despite all these so-called "best places to live" lists!

[EtherealMist]

Totally agree with Crisp and Crawford.

Chicago, NYC, LA, Miami, Philly ALL at the bottom. So basically they're telling people to avoid big cities.

shit like this pisses me off.

[BnaBreaker]

The one that surprised me the most was Cambridge at #9. Isn't that the hottest hot bed of the most elite of those damned liberal elitests that there is?

[KB0679]

From the article:

This year’s report puts increased
emphasis on the real estate market,
which is currently one of the most
significant issues in relocation. Key
criteria include:
• Home prices
• Indexed home affordability
• Appreciation rates
• Property taxes
• Rent costs

And let's not forget that the subject here: relocating families. Not all big, established urban centers make it easy for relocating families.

Speaking of which, how many of us that post here have our own families AND live smack dab in the middle of the city, or at least in an in-town neighborhood?

[sprtsluvr8]

Traditional variables such as an area's cost of living, crime rates, education and climate are combined with more abstract factors such as a city's arts and culture scene, focus on diversity, and number of physicians per capita.

The 2007 study placed a special emphasis on the housing market, which has significantly impacted the relocation industry and an employer's ability to transfer employees. The variables which weigh heavily in this category include home price, home affordability index, appreciation rates, and property tax.

Several new categories were added to this year's rankings, including recreation and leisure, arts and culture, air quality, watershed quality, sales tax, unemployment rate, job growth, high school and higher education index, school expenditures per student, students in public school, SAT/ACT percentile, and population growth. These new categories allow for a more robust range of variables which impact not only a family's decision of where to move, but their ability to get settled once they arrive.

Sorry, but it's not just a list of conservatives' favorite cities. There is a formula used to determine the rank of each city. Just because your city or a city you think should be high on the list is low on the list doesn't always mean the list is invalid. It's not the order in which I would rank my favorite cities either, but that doesn't mean the list doesn't have any merit.

[Fusey]

Originally Posted by KB0679

From the article:



And let's not forget that the subject here: relocating families. Not all big, established urban centers make it easy for relocating families.

Speaking of which, how many of us that post here have our own families AND live smack dab in the middle of the city, or at least in an in-town neighborhood?

Looks like it concentrated far too much on real estate. Way too many great cities are near the bottom of the list.

[EtherealMist]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

The one that surprised me the most was Cambridge at #9. Isn't that the hottest hot bed of the most elite of those damned liberal elitests that there is?

Yeah I dont really get it. Also they say Cambridge - Framingham - Newton, all in the Boston metro area, are they saying to move any of these cities or to the area?

Originally Posted by KB0679

And let's not forget that the subject here: relocating families. Not all big, established urban centers make it easy for relocating families.

Speaking of which, how many of us that post here have our own families AND live smack dab in the middle of the city, or at least in an in-town neighborhood?

Yeah true, I kind of ignored the family part with my initial reaction. Its definitely not as easy to raise a family in the middle of a big city.

I still disagree with alot of the list though, why are all the top spots in the Southwest or Kansas?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by KB0679

From the article:



And let's not forget that the subject here: relocating families. Not all big, established urban centers make it easy for relocating families.

Speaking of which, how many of us that post here have our own families AND live smack dab in the middle of the city, or at least in an in-town neighborhood?

You seem to have a pretty narrow definition of family. What you mean to say is that married, heterosexual, conservative, SUV-driving Bushies with small children live in units called "families" and everyone else is just a bunch of worthless, fornicating sinners.

Regardless, my apartment building in Brooklyn has actual living, breathing families with children! Amazing but true...

[Policy Wonk]

Originally Posted by Crawford

If Fort Worth is really the "best city" then why is it so cheap? Wouldn't a desirable city have high prices and strong appreciation. I'd like to see the appreciation in Miami and NYC and then Fort Worth over the last five years.

Because if your a real adult with multiple children the afordability of acceptable housing and the quality of schooling in the areas with afordable housing is priority 1 or 1.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Policy Wonk

Because if your a real adult with multiple children the afordability of acceptable housing and the quality of schooling in the areas with afordable housing is priority 1 or 1.

Fort Worth has stellar schools and housing stock relative to the rest of the nation? Seriously unlikely.

What does "acceptable housing" and "quality of schooling" have to do with affordable housing? If anything, quality of housing stock and schools would negatively affect affordability.

An area with stellar schools will find it almost impossible to be really cheap. The only instance I can think of where stellar schools would be found in cheap surroundings is if the local economy has hit the skids.

[EtherealMist]

Originally Posted by Crawford

You seem to have a pretty narrow definition of family. What you mean to say is that married, heterosexual, conservative, SUV-driving Bushies with small children live in units called "families" and everyone else is just a bunch of worthless, fornicating sinners.

Regardless, my apartment building in Brooklyn has actual living, breathing families with children! Amazing but true...

I think its safe to say if you have a family and your raising young kids, most people would rather do so in the suburbs and you cant really blame them for it.

The building im living in was originally meant for 3 families as well. Now all three units house college kids. Times have changed, people with families can have more space these days and usually opt for more space.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by EtherealMist

I think its safe to say if you have a family and your raising young kids, most people would rather do so in the suburbs and you cant really blame them for it.

The building im living in was originally meant for 3 families as well. Now all three units house college kids. Times have changed, people with families can have more space these days and usually opt for more space.

Not in my neighborhood. There are more families than ever in apartments, with multiple generations often doubled- and tripled-up. Many of them can obviously afford the suburbs as houses (not condos) start at about $700K, yet they want to live in the city.

Most people I know who have moved from my neighborhood to the suburbs left because it is cheap, not because of space, kids, schools or any of that stereotypical crap. When they do move, it's usually to exurbs in Northeast PA.

[Policy Wonk]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Fort Worth has stellar schools and housing stock relative to the rest of the nation? Seriously unlikely.

What does "acceptable housing" and "quality of schooling" have to do with affordable housing? If anything, quality of housing stock and schools would negatively affect affordability.

An area with stellar schools will find it almost impossible to be really cheap. The only instance I can think of where stellar schools would be found in cheap surroundings is if the local economy has hit the skids.

They will be better than any public schooling that can be found in an urban area affordable to an average family. Or at very least devoid of significant social problems found in most urban public schools.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Policy Wonk

They will be better than any public schooling that can be found in an urban area affordable to an average family. Or at very least devoid of significant social problems found in most urban public schools.

But these stereotypical problems are actually worse in the South and South-Central portions of the country (higher crime, lower incomes, lower education levels).

At the same time, these areas dominate the top of the list. Surely "significant social problems" are are at least as prevalent in Fort Worth area schools as in the metros at the bottom of the list.

Sprawling localities have plenty of social problems. Have you been to Phoenix? All the ghettos on the West Side of town are in sprawling suburban subdivisions on the West Side of town. The Nashville ghetto (#2 on the list) is in a newer postwar area north of downtown. At the same time, many of the best schools in the nation are in older suburbs or central cities.

In fact, I would guess that older suburbs, on average, have better schools than the sprawlers. All the "famous, name-brand" suburban high schools (in metro NY- Scarsdale, Greenwich, in metro Chicago- New Trier, in metro LA- Beverly Hills, are in older communities. The sprawling places are typified by inadequate facilities, school overcrowding, transient student population, etc.

As an aside, I know the consistent #1 feeder high school to Harvard is an inner-city high school. It's Stuyvesant in NYC. Other big city high schools are also in the top 10. Imagine that. The rest of the Top 10 are mostly older suburbs. The sprawlers don't send many kids to top colleges.

[blade_bltz]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

The one that surprised me the most was Cambridge at #9. Isn't that the hottest hot bed of the most elite of those damned liberal elitests that there is?

Well, ignoring Cambridge, the region of Greater Boston stretching from Newton to Framingham is extremely affluent and suburban.