Cool Tool: Who's Your City? Maps

Have you heard about the book Who's Your City: How the Creative Economy is Making the Place Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life?

The book makes the somewhat self-evident case that "place exerts a powerful influence over the jobs and careers we have access to, the people we meet, our 'mating markets,' and our ability to lead happy and fulfilled lives." (Full disclosure: I haven't yet read it myself -- though I have noted its author, demographer Richard Florida, popping up in a number of articles, like the recent New York Times piece on the arty-folks connection between Brooklyn and the Bay Area.)

Anyway, because I'm a total sucker for anything that promises to reveal the most perfect place to live, I was clicking around on the Who's Your City website and came across these interesting maps depicting various spots around the country through the lens of creative population, real estate prices, available singles, average education level, and so on:


Obvious take-home: Go west, young woman. (Though, despite its seeming surfeit of available young men, San Francisco might not be the best place to seek a mate ... )


This one is my absolute favorite. New York City is the neurosis capital of the nation? People are friendly and outgoing in the Midwest and the South? California tends to draw those flaky types who are forever searching for new experiences, and ultimately the true meaning of life itself? I never would've guessed!

Still, I have to admit that it's awfully fun to see your regional stereotypes and suspicions confirmed in a simple visual representation.

Check out the Who's Your City maps right here.