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I have been researching what cities are best for creative people. I found a top ten list from BusinessWeek.com and Sperling's Best Places. Let me know what you think - any other suggestions for top cities for "creative" people? I have had by eye on Nashville and maybe LA. Interesting that Austin failed to make the list - it seems to magically make every top ten list.
Article:
The top 10 cities were derived from metro areas across the country that has the highest concentration of artistic establishments. Sperling's BestPlaces calculated this by means of the art and culture Index that took into the number and size of artistic resources such as museums, philharmonic orchestras, theater troupes, library resources and college arts.
The selection of cities was also based on a low cost of living although in some metros using the cost of living index that considered the cost of housing, food, transportation, etc. Some cities where the average living cost was above the national average of 100 were included because of the other favorable factors such as number of art establishments and art resources, diversity and age of population. All these three indexes had the maximum score of 100.
The ten best U.S. cities that are ideal for artists which offer ample artistic resources, the presence of a young, diverse population and a relatively of living are:
1. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles tops the list with 56.105 art establishments per 100,000 people and 15.3 % of population age 25-34.
2. Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe has 36.449 art establishments per 100,000 people and 11.85 % of population age 25-34.
3. Carson City, NV: Carson City has 24.701 art establishments per 100,000 people and 12.1 % of population age 25-34.
4. New York City, NY: New York City has 14.852 art establishments per 100,000 people and 15.2 % of population age 25-34.
5. Kingston, NY: Kingston has 13.128 art establishments per 100,000 people and 12.24 % of population age 25-34.
6. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA: Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura has 12.649 art establishments per 100,000 people and 12.89 % of population age 25-34.
7. Nashville, TN: Nashville has 11.443 art establishments per 100,000 people and 14.74 % of population age 25-34.
8. Boulder, CO: Boulder has 11.076 art establishments per 100,000 people and 17.33 % of population age 25-34.
9. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco has 9.682 art establishments per 100,000 people and 15.75 % of population age 25-34.
10. Nassau-Suffolk County, NY: Nassau-Suffolk County has 8.943 art establishments per 100,000 people and 11.52 % of population age 25-34.
Well I haven't read the article yet but am quite shocked to see Miami and Minneapolis not on the list. Miami should 100% be on the list I have first hand experience and most lists I think would verify that, while I've not visited Minneapolis I have a lot of designer friends from there and they speak very highly of it. But then I don't know if Minneapolis should definitely be in the top 10 but I certainly think its up there.
I'll have to read the criteria though and then revise my comments
Ah I see having now read the article my conclusion is its a load of garbage.
There are so many more creative fields it completely ignores. Like Architecture, Advertising/Marketing, Industrial Design, Web Design, Graphic Design, Video Game Creation, CGI in general, Fashion Industry, Poetry, Writing, so on....
What a terrible terrible marketing tool to advertise a few cities. Part of the criteria is libraries - really? Libraries is a major factor in determining how creative people are. I think most creative people would find alternative ways of figuring things out - like say, the internet.
And to end with the tagline:
"If you are an artist, then these U.S. cities offer the best options to start your art profession or career."
Is even more rubbish. The best options are the ones with advertising firms, lots of small business startups, real-estate development, a strong fine arts section, lots of galleries, and a strong it industry. I really can't get over the fact they ignored advertising which is probably the single best way for artists to make rent.
Ah I see having now read the article my conclusion is its a load of garbage.
There are so many more creative fields it completely ignores. Like Architecture, Advertising/Marketing, Industrial Design, Web Design, Graphic Design, Video Game Creation, CGI in general, Fashion Industry, Poetry, Writing, so on....
What a terrible terrible marketing tool to advertise a few cities. Part of the criteria is libraries - really? Libraries is a major factor in determining how creative people are. I think most creative people would find alternative ways of figuring things out - like say, the internet.
And to end with the tagline:
"If you are an artist, then these U.S. cities offer the best options to start your art profession or career."
Is even more rubbish. The best options are the ones with advertising firms, lots of small business startups, real-estate development, a strong fine arts section, lots of galleries, and a strong it industry. I really can't get over the fact they ignored advertising which is probably the single best way for artists to make rent.
I think gauging how the city demands or doesn't demand artistic establishments is helpful. Say these small business start-ups are concentrated in one city but they have no art museums - that says something. Creative people who are interested in fine art will patronize fine art establishments and you can therefore gauge the interest in artistic related venues. I think libraries are very necessary and helpful.
I think gauging how the city demands or doesn't demand artistic establishments is helpful. Say these small business start-ups are concentrated in one city but they have no art museums - that says something. Creative people who are interested in fine art will patronize fine art establishments and you can therefore gauge the interest in artistic related venues. I think libraries are very necessary and helpful.
These lists never make much sense to me, I can see LA, NY, and SF being up there but seriously? Santa Fe? Carson City? Boulder? etc. These lists always seem to pick underdogs.
These lists never make much sense to me, I can see LA, NY, and SF being up there but seriously? Santa Fe? Carson City? Boulder? etc. These lists always seem to pick underdogs.
Santa Fe definitely. If you've been there before your opinion would be way different. It thrives of local artistic expression like crazy. Creative/artsy people are not confined to larger cities.
Ah I see having now read the article my conclusion is its a load of garbage.
There are so many more creative fields it completely ignores. Like Architecture, Advertising/Marketing, Industrial Design, Web Design, Graphic Design, Video Game Creation, CGI in general, Fashion Industry, Poetry, Writing, so on....
What a terrible terrible marketing tool to advertise a few cities. Part of the criteria is libraries - really? Libraries is a major factor in determining how creative people are. I think most creative people would find alternative ways of figuring things out - like say, the internet.
And to end with the tagline:
"If you are an artist, then these U.S. cities offer the best options to start your art profession or career."
Is even more rubbish. The best options are the ones with advertising firms, lots of small business startups, real-estate development, a strong fine arts section, lots of galleries, and a strong it industry. I really can't get over the fact they ignored advertising which is probably the single best way for artists to make rent.
on libraries, the internet is actually pretty low quality for information... library is still the choice du jour b/c of the books and the journal access they are usually subscribed to if you login with their computers... it is also a good setting to get work done.
also not sure how some of the smaller places are on there...there just aren't enough of them there #'s wise...even if percentage wise... big cities generally have the funding to supply artists/writers etc. as well...you know, when you want to be an eating artist, instead of a starving artist..
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