Posted February 14, 200916 yr Pretty Vacant, according to Forbes: Call it a modern-day tale of two cities. America's Emptiest Cities Zack O'Malley Greenburg, 02.12.09, 11:20 AM EST Vacancy rates in these spots spell lots of empty neighborhoods. For decades, Las Vegas, ripe with new construction and economic development, burgeoned into a shimmering urban carnival. Detroit, once the fulcrum of American industry, sagged and rusted under its own weight.... more here:America's Emptiest Cities
February 14, 200916 yr well, well, forbe's seems to have forgotten about it's favorite whipping boy, cleveland, for this list. oh but wait -- they made up for it by throwing cincinnati under the bus too this time instead at #15. still waiting on that indepth 'forbes *hearts* ohio' issue....
February 14, 200916 yr Yay! Dayton ties Cincinnati for 15 in housng vacancy. Where r the Queen City Queens ?
February 14, 200916 yr Actually Dayton ties Charlotte and Cincy. Two Queens and a Gem. Is that a str8 or a flush in poker game of ubran one-upmanship?
February 14, 200916 yr What in the hell is going on in this thread?!?!? "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 14, 200916 yr Haven't we by now learned to basically ignore ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING forbes.com has to say about cities?
February 14, 200916 yr Remember in "Roger and Me" when Flint residents* were burning copies of Money Magazine who had put Flint at the bottom of their list? *Flinters? Flintians? Chippers??
February 14, 200916 yr The apex of forbes.com's complete and utter ridiculousness: America's Most And Least Family-Friendly Cities Francesca Levy, 12.02.08, 06:00 PM EST Ten spots where folks have enough money for everyday expenses, and 10 where daily budgets eat up a sizable chunk of incomes. http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/02/cities-ten-budget-forbeslife-cx_fl_1202realestate.html Yardstick: "Ten cities where folks have enough money for everyday expenses, and 10 where daily budgets eat up a sizable chunk of incomes." No, not a measure of a city's parks and rec, libraries, museums, walkability and cultural life; a measure of HOW MUCH MONEY A FAMILY HAS LEFT OVER EACH MONTH TO BUY STUPID SH!T. Oh. And they also branded my beloved Hamtramck one of America's fastest-dying cities.
February 14, 200916 yr No. 15 (Tie): Cincinnati, Ohio/Middletown, Ky. ??? Rental Vacancy Rate: 9.8% (tied, 36th) Home Vacancy Rate: 4.3% (tied, sixth) Average Rank: 21st Source: U.S. Census Bureau http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/12/cities-ten-top-lifestyle-real-estate_0212_cities_slide_3.html?thisSpeed=15000
February 14, 200916 yr Looks like I made a mistake about Dayton tying with Cincy. There is a Middletown Kentucky, it's a suburb of Louisville. Does that mean Cincy is paired with suburban Louisville as a metro area? Sprawl really has gotten out of control....
February 14, 200916 yr No, not a measure of a city's parks and rec, libraries, museums, walkability and cultural life; a measure of HOW MUCH MONEY A FAMILY HAS LEFT OVER EACH MONTH TO BUY STUPID SH!T. ...like kids clothes as they grow up, toys, kids books, little league, museum and cultural things (tickets and entrance fees), daycare. Stupid stuff like that.
February 14, 200916 yr Haven't we by now learned to basically ignore ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING forbes.com has to say about cities? Seriously, I'm begining to wonder why Forbes lists even exist anymore. I can't think of one they've published that's been remotely accurate. If I were doing a measure of "emptiness," I would take the peak population and divide if by the current population. That would put Cairo, IL at the top of the list with Gary, St. Louis, and Detroit up there. That makes more sense to me at least.
February 14, 200916 yr No, not a measure of a city's parks and rec, libraries, museums, walkability and cultural life; a measure of HOW MUCH MONEY A FAMILY HAS LEFT OVER EACH MONTH TO BUY STUPID SH!T. ...like kids clothes as they grow up, toys, kids books, little league, museum and cultural things (tickets and entrance fees), daycare. Stupid stuff like that. In a city like, say Columbus, parks and rec are all within reach from a price point standpoint (practically fee-free), and family membership to COSI (a top ranked science center), Franklin Park Conservatory, the zoo can all be had for under $90/year, and the Museum of Art is free on Sunday. Our (free) libraries are ranked at the top of the heap among cities of our size. There are also scads of random free/sub 5-bucks a head fun things to do (open houses at OSU, stargazing at Perkins Observatory, free festivals aplenty in the warmer months) and the overall cost of living--clothes, groceries and utilities--is quite low. Columbus also has a very manageable footprint, adding to additional savings in time and transportation costs. But you (and Forbes) are absolutely right: a family needs essentials to survive, and in my family we may be exceptionally good at finding free stuff to do (we're total tightwads), but the fact is, all families are adept at stretching a buck. But ranking cities for quality of life solely on income vs. expenses is like reviewing a book based on darkness of the ink versus brightness of the page. Again and again Forbes makes the classic American mistake confusing quality of life and quantity of stuff. But then capitalism needs its foot soldiers, and for that, anything Forbes prints about things that cannot be converted to pure dollars and cents must be taken with an ocean's worth of sodium.
February 16, 200916 yr Here is the list in order No. 1: Las Vegas/Paradise, Nev. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 16% (ninth) Home Vacancy Rate: 4.7% (tied, third) No. 2: Detroit/Warren/Livonia, Mich. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 19.9% (third) Home Vacancy Rate: 4% (tied, 10th) No. 3: Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Marietta, Ga. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 16.1% (eighth) Home Vacancy Rate: 4.3% (tied, sixth) No. 4: Greensboro/High Point, N.C. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 15% (13th) Home Vacancy Rate: (second) No. 5: Dayton, Ohio - Rental Vacancy Rate: 21.7% (second) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.6% (tied, 15th) No. 6: Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 19% (fifth) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.6% (tied, 15th) No. 7: Orlando, Fla. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 12.3% (21st) Home Vacancy Rate: 7.3% (first) No. 8: Kansas City, Mo./Kansas City, Kan. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 15.2% (12th) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.6% (tied, 15th) No. 9 (Tie): Jacksonville, Fla. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 14.7% (tied, 14th) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.6% (tied, 15th) No. 9 (Tie): Indianapolis, Ind. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 17.1% (sixth) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.2% (tied, 23rd) No. 11: Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Miami Beach, Fla. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 13.1% (20th) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.6% (tied, 15th) No. 12: Chicago/Naperville/Joliet, Ill. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 11.8% (22nd) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.7% (14th) No. 13: Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla. -Rental Vacancy Rate: 15.6% (11th) Home Vacancy Rate: 3% (tied, 28th) No. 14: Bakersfield, Calif. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 14.7% (tied, 14th) Home Vacancy Rate: 3.1% (tied, 26th) No. 15 (Tie): Cincinnati, Ohio/Middletown, Ky. - Rental Vacancy Rate: 9.8% (tied, 36th) Home Vacancy Rate: 4.3% (tied, sixth)
February 16, 200916 yr Aren't most on that list silicon valley (or 'new economy') boomtowns? America.... Welcome to the rustbelt! We've been here for years reinventing our whole way of life while you celebrate. I imagine cities like phoenix and las vegas have a lot further to fall before this current economic cycle ends.
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