Excelle

Moving from #not-on-the-list to #6! Hopefully that means good things!

Dallas didn't make this list, but the hard number statistics would put Dallas, TX close to the top. Unemployment is a big concern now and Dallas ranks on the lower end of unemployment. Housing forclosers are a concern and Dallas ranks at the low end here also. Fortune 100s are relocating to Dallas, TX so job oppertunties are increasing. Now I can't say we have the best beach nor (my criteria) the the best hiking trails (also my critieria), but if you are concerned about career growth & opportunity, minimum taxes and retaining the value on your home (the things we are most concerned with in 2009)....Dallas, TX should be somewhere on the list.

Pete1967 you are correct - this article is not based on reality. I live in Charlotte (#15 on the list) and the housing cost in a decent area is no different than the national average, but the cost of living is more - utilities, groceries, gas (one of the highest taxed in the country), etc are all above the national average. When I talk to friends and family in other metro cities they are paying less (sometimes half) for cost of living items than we pay here. The road systems here are horrible - it can take 1-2 hours for my drive to work during rush-hour and it's a 25 minute drive otherwise. Thousands of new homes are approved and built each year with zero improvements to the two lane road systems that thousands of new residence now occupy - hence miles of backups each day. Roads are the number one complaint in this area and our city does next to nothing to improve them. Folks move into Charlotte by the thousands each year only to move out to the surrounding counties within a couple years because the tax rates increase annually. (Our local government's answer to all the problems here is to raise taxes.) Oh, and did you see the special on cable TV about the rise of gangs in the Charlotte region? Our police department denied that we had a gang problem for more than 10 years only to finally admit it when they could no longer conceal it. Yes, the crime rate here is pretty high and most of the criminals are let back out on the street repeatedly. Rather than dealing with criminals according to the law, the NC government has a policy in place that they release a certain percentage of criminals each year because of overcrowding in prisons. Those released include those with rap sheets of one to two dozen incidences. Often when a murder is committed here it is by someone who has been in and out of jail at least 12+ times. We have a lot of folks move into Charlotte from other larger cities like New York City, Atlanta... and they consider the problems here to be minimal compare to where they came from and understandably so. But I've lived here for nearly 20 years and have watched Charlotte change from a nice city to a larger metro city that is no different than all the other large metro cities in the country - we've got the same problems and in some cases more - in large part because of our city/county/state government. They cover-up (and a lot of times create) the problems we have here because they want to keep the image clean to attract more businesses and residents to the area. It's really sad because Charlotte and North Carolina are beautiful places to live, but what they have and are becoming makes them a less desireable location.

Oh, and Rochester (#3 on the list)!? New Yorkers are vacating Rochester and other NY cities in droves because they can't afford the taxes and cost of living up there. (The majority of them are coming down here to NC.) Come on - you must have been dreaming when you created this list!

I know Tracy! I'm from New York and I live in San Francisco...and I've flip flopped between the two my whole life!

Great snapshots of each city from a career-seeking standpoint. Useful info! Thanks!

I think in times like now, this is GREAT information. Thanks excelle!

Very interesting! Thanks! I live in Michigan, so moving away may be an option I will have to look at in the near future - this was informative and very helpful!

What great news for all those in Texas! Even though we have MORE than enough new folk coming every day - it still feels good to welcome those who want to give Texas a chance - especially Austin and San Antonio's slice of CENTRAL Texas. Thanks so much for publishing this list

- Sherry Lowry in Austin Texas USA