Wednesday November 4, 2015
By CJ Sinner
A list compiled from other lists decides what we've always known: Minneapolis-St. Paul is the best place to live in the country.
Minneapolis skyline as seen from the east bank of the University of Minnesota.
When it comes to "Best of" lists, Minneapolis-St. Paul have routinely appeared in rankings of things like parks, eats and jobs. Now, website Patch of Earth has combined seven such lists to create what we will happily call a Definitive U.S. City Power Ranking. They call it the "Absolute Top Cities." We'll take it. Because guess who's on top?We are.
The Twin Cities appeared on five of the seven lists considered, making our fair pair of towns the best place to live in the entire country, basically. But you already knew that.Tied for second place were Denver, Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas.
Rounding out the top eight were New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
The website looked at seven previously-ranked criteria, including Greenest Cities (ranking by Wallethub.com), Best Cities for Foodies (by Travel + Leisure magazine), Best Cities for Job Seekers (by Nerdwallet.com), the similar Best Cities to Get a Job list (from Fortune magazine), and Best Cities for Students without a Car (BestColleges.com).
Minneapolis-St. Paul did not appear on rankings for Most Well-Read Cities (Amazon.com) or Best Cities for Retirement (from Bankrate.com).
Patch of Earth says they did not include lists that were tailored to only one gender or one career.
So go ahead. Gloat to your coastal and mountain-dwelling friends and tell them why Midwest is the (definitive, absolute) best.