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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Is Austin a better place to live for men than women?
Apparently, Austin’s a better place to live if you’re a man than a woman.
That, according to Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines, which just released its annual ranking of America’s Best & Worst Cities for men and women in the January/February issues of both magazines.
Austin came in 10th place on the men’s list. It didn’t even break the top 10 for women.
The editors factored in 35 criteria when making their lists. Among them? Air quality, employment, life expectancy and commute times. They also looked at death rates from more than a half dozen causes, obesity rates and the ratio of single women to single men (and vice versa).
The best part about these lists is arguing about why they’re wrong.
I think Austin should rank higher. And I’d like to know what brought it down, especially on the women’s list.
Has the economic crash meant an exodus of men employed by the tech industry, making that guy to girl ratio suffer? And what about our fitness scene? The article mentions that Minneapolis, Minn., has the fourth highest number of female joggers. What? That frozen tundra has a better running scene than Austin, with it’s weekend races, crowded downtown running trails and wildly popular marathon? No way!
According to the magazines, Seattle is America’s top city for men and San Jose, Calif. is best for women. Birmingham, Ala. is the worst place to live if you’re a guy, and Philadelphia is worst for women.
I have to laugh at some of the cities that rank above Austin on the women’s list. Particularly Fargo, N.D., which came in at sixth. Really? Would you rather live there than Austin? Even in mid-February, when we’re out running a marathon in shorts?
What do you think?
Here are the lists:
The 10 Best Cities for Men
- 1) Seattle, WA
- 2) Madison, WI
- 3.) San Jose, CA
- 4) Fargo, ND
- 5) Burlington, VT
- 6) Manchester, NH
- 7) Minneapolis, MN
- 8) Salt Lake City, UT
- 9) Lincoln, NE
- 10) Austin, TX
The 10 Worst Cities for Men
- 91) Toledo, OH
- 92) St. Petersburg, FL
- 93) Louisville, KY
- 94) Charleston, WV
- 95) Memphis, TN
- 96) St. Louis, MO
- 97) Detroit, MI
- 98) Jacksonville, FL
- 99) Philadelphia, PA
- 100) Birmingham, AL
The 10 Best Cities for Women
- 1) San Jose, CA
- 2) Madison, WI
- 3) Seattle, WA
- 4) Aurora, CO
- 5) Minneapolis, MN
- 6) Fargo, ND
- 7) San Francisco, CA
- 8) Lincoln, NE
- 9) Salt Lake City, UT
- 10) Colorado Springs, CO
The 10 Worst Cities for Women
- 91) New Orleans, LA
- 92) Baltimore, MD
- 93) Jacksonville, FL
- 94) Oklahoma City, OK
- 95) Toledo, OH
- 96) St. Louis, MO
- 97) Detroit, MI
- 98) Memphis, TN
- 99) Birmingham, AL
- 100) Philadelphia, PA
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