Where Should I Move To, Part Deux

Its time to continue with Part Deux of Where Should I Move To?

This has been fun to write and I’ve learned a tremendous amount about each city. Once again, here’s the criteria and the question that I posed to myself on Sunday:

“Is it time for me to move away from Nashville? I’m not married, don’t have a girlfriend, completely single, no children and no major commitments here besides some friends. Should this be a time for me to move away from here. Atlanta would be the easy solution, especially with my mother, brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephews, aunts, uncles, you get the idea living there. However, if I’m going to make a major move, this is the time.”

Even several days later, I still feel this way.Here’s the criteria for the potential city of choice:

a) I would prefer that it’s not in the Northeast. Grew up there, love it, need something different.

b) At least two professional teams and/or solid college sports scene. I do work in sports management after all.

c) The majority of my family lives in New York City, Atlanta, Dallas and South Carolina. I love my family and would like to be near them but I’m also a loner so moving across the country away from them doesn’t concern me greatly.

d) I’ve never been to any of the places that are going to be listed accept Baltimore and San Antonio, so I have no personal experiences with any of them.

e) Grew up in New York but that was too big, like the size of Nashville even though it feels too small at times and Atlanta is slightly too condensed.

f) I want it to be a known place but not cliché. That’s why you won’t see Dallas, LA, Miami, Chicago, Detroit, etc. on the list. Those are nice cities but I want to go with something different.

g) I don’t like the Eastern Time Zone. I have my reasons so that going to be a factor.

Now, here are the ratings so far of cities that I’ve done so far:

Vancouver- 2 out of 10
Toronto- 6 out of 10
Denver- 7 out of 10
Baltimore- 7 out of 10

Some places didn’t make the cut but will definitely be considered in the future. Those are:

-Milwaukee
-Minneapolis
-Omaha
-Portland, Ore.
-Salt Lake City
-Charlotte
-Tampa
-Oklahoma City

Ok, time to get to the rest of the cities:

1) Oakland

Sports scene: For professional sports, they have the A’s, Warriors and Raiders, so three out of the four major North American sports leagues are here.

You also have to remember that San Francisco is right there as well, so I could theoretically include the Giants and 49ers as well to the professional sports. If I stretch it out a little further, San Jose is a little bit of a drive, but not impossible, so that gives me the Earthquakes of MLS and the Sharks of the NHL.

I would have strong college sports representation from Stanford and Cal as well as some other mid-major schools in the WAC and Big West. Excellent sports scene.

Nickname: Its an OK list. “Oaktown” is catchy. “O-Town” confuses me with Orlando, so that’s out. “The Town” doesn’t make sense. And according to the Wiki, “The moniker ‘Oaksterdam’ sprang up in 2003 in association with the opening of several medical marijuana clubs in Uptown and on the north side of Downtown.” I don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign.

City Motto: It’s “There’s No There There.” That makes no sense.

Cultural scene: I like the makeup of the city. There is some solid cultural diversity there and I have plenty of options for activities.

Weather: I don’t have to bring my winter coat but a light jacket will do.

Odd fact: Oakland is considered a major port city and is home to Keiser Permanente, Clorox, Dreyer’s and Cost Plus World Markets. So if I want to get some fruit or clean my dirty white shirt, I know the city to move to.

Eye candy/celebrity factor/food: The music scene is solid. I can listen to some En Vogue, dabble in some MC Hammer or get down with the Hyphy movement or even go old school with some Too Short. Let’s take a look at who I can kick with in the Bay Area…

First, RIP to Bruce Lee, respect. Mark Curry, Clint Eastwood, Mark Hamill, Tom Hanks, Drew Gooden, Ricky Henderson, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Jimmy Rollins, Angela Davis, Sly Stone, and finally, I can kick it with the musical group, the Lovemakers. Never heard a song of theirs but the name alone gets my approval.

Keyshia Cole gets some love from the eye candy side.

Population: The city itself has around 400,000 people, however, the Metro population is around 7 million, which is a big jump. I don’t know which one is more accurate.

Likelihood of moving here: I’m going to say 8 out of 10. There are no weaknesses on paper accept for it being far away from my family and maybe being too big, so it gets docked at least one point for that.

2) St. Louis

Sports scene: Its decent. The main team is the Cardinals, which I’m not a fan of because of my loyalty to the Mets. I’m still old school and remember growing up despising the Cards in the NL East. Granted, I dislike Philly more but I can’t root for the Cardinals. I do like that it’s an excellent baseball town, so that’s a plus. The Blues are OK. Having the Rams there is nice from a football prospective.

It lacking somewhat in the college department with St. Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis.

Nickname: I like both “Gateway City” and “Gateway to the West.” I don’t like “Mound City” and “The Lou.”

Motto: I couldn’t find one

Cultural scene: Seems like there a lot of churches there, which can be both a good and bad thing. I do like that there are a lot of parks and walking areas, this is something that I miss from being in New York.

Weather: It is the Midwest so cold winters are probably to be expected. However, when doing my research, the average temperatures are surprisingly high, even in January where the highs are usually at 40 and the lows are at 20, which isn’t great, but not awful.

Odd Fact: Before the city was founded, it was an open forest area maintained by Native Americans through burning. Currently, you may find an urbanized coyote or whitetail deer roaming the streets. Sign me up for that.

Another odd fact, it’s a border city so do I live on the Missouri or Illinois side. This may be a factor in my decision.

One more for the road, literally, the Greyhound Bus Lines offer more than six national routes from St. Louis. Valuable information.

Eye candy/celebrity factor/food: While listening to my Nelly or Wilco CD (ney to Nelly and yea to Wilco), I can kick it with the following people...

Chuck F’n Berry, Bob Costas, John Goodman, Ryan Howard, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Randy Orton Jr. and Sr. They lack some in this department.

Kimora Lee Simmons is the best eye candy that I could come with and she’s not bad but there’s always been something not completely right with her.

Population: Actual city population is around 400,000 and metro population is around 3 million, good number.

Likelihood of moving here: 5 out of 10. It seems like a nice town and being able to attend Cardinals games constantly is an attractive feature. It would be fun to be a part of a solid baseball town.

3) Houston

Sports scene: Its solid but you would expect that from the fourth most populated city in the USA. I was surprised by that fact. Anyway, you have the Astros, Texans and Rockets representing three of the major North American sports leagues. There’s also the Dynamo of the MLS, something that I enjoy.

For the college scene, there is Rice and the University of Houston, so if I need my fill of college athletics, I can do that. Furthermore, I’m in Big 12 country, so all of the Texas schools may be accessible at moments for me.

Nickname: “H-Town” is the most popular one but we can do better. I like “Bayou City” and “Space City” better. This place has a lot of nicknames. Here’s a partial list:

-Magnolia City
-Capital of the Sunbelt
-Hustletown
-City of Syrup

Motto: I couldn’t find one.

Cultural Scene: A city of that size has to be a fun time. It has a theatre district, places to see a show or a concert, etc. The thing that I would look forward to the most is the Houston Livestock and Show and Rodeo. I’ve never been to a rodeo before and this would be an excellent chance. Its held over 20 days in February and March.

Weather: It’s a warm climate so the winter coat can stay in the closet.

Odd fact: Houston is the largest city in the U.S. without formal zoning regulations. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

Eye candy/celebrity factor/food: While listening to my Geto Boys, Paul Wall and ZZ Top CDs, I can kick it with the following people…

A.J. Foyt, Craig James, Debbie Allen, Mark Callaway aka The Undertaker, Walter Cronkite, all of Destiny’s Child, the Quaid brothers, both Randy and Dennis, King Booker T. and Joel Osteen.

I show both Brooke Valentine and Jaclyn Smith as eye candy because its deserved.

Population: The city itself is around 3 million and the metro population is near six million. That may be a little too big for me.

Likelihood of moving here: 6 out of 10. Everything is a positive for this place accept for the size. That may be a little too much for me.

4) Seattle

Sports scene: Excellent. We have the Seahawks and Mariners, solid institutions in that part of the country. Hopefully they get an NBA team back there, I’m still pissed about the Sonics moving to Oklahoma City. Stuff like that makes me not want to work in sports. The sleeper pro team there is the Sounders FC of the MLS. That area loves soccer and that can be a strong franchise. On the collegiate side, its all about U. of Washington with the Pac-10 action.

Nickname: “Emerald City” is good. “Seatown” and the “206” are not good in my opinion. I like three others, “Rain City,” “Gateway to the Pacific” and “The City in the Clouds.”

Motto: “The City of Goodwill.” It’s a little too positive for me but it works I guess.

Cultural Scene: It’s a culturally diverse area, especially in the music and arts side of things. Slam poetry is also popular in this area. However, the music scene is big here.

I first truly starting getting into music in the early 1990’s and that was a big period for Seattle music. Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, even Sir Mix a Lot were huge at that time. Even now, Band of Horses, the Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie reside from this area. If you want to go a little older, I can throw at you Nevermore, Queensryche, Heart, Jimi Hendrix and even Quincy Jones.

Weather: Its all about the rain. I will definitely need to get a rain coat and a winter coat.

Odd fact: Of the city’s population over 25, more than 51% have a bachelor’s degree or higher and 93% have a high school diploma or the equivalent of it.

Also, here are the following shows/movies based on the city…Frasier, Grey’s Anatomy, Dead Like Me (awesome show), The Ring, Say Anything…, Singles, Mad Love, WarGames and Dark Angel. That’s a stout list.

Eye candy/celebrity factor/food: While listening to any of the excellent music choices that I mentioned above, here’s who I could kick it with in the city…

Paul Allen, Josie Bissett, Carol Channing, Erica Christensen, Bill Gates, John Olerud, Rainn Wilson, Anna Faris, Brendan Frazier, Kenny G (yeah, I said it), Gary Lawson and Joel McHale.

Bianca Kajlich is sadly underrated. Plus, she’s married to Landon Donovan so you know she’s down with soccer.

Population: Around 3 million, perfect.

Likelihood of moving here: 9 out of 10. This move is happening at some point in my life.

6) Cincinnati

Sports scene: Solid. You have the Reds and the Bengals representing the major sports leagues. You have the Cyclones of the East Coast Hockey League as well.

For college, you have Cincinnati, Xavier and even Miami of Ohio to fulfill those desires.

Nicknames: Two excellent ones. You have “Queen City” and “the Natti.”

Motto: Juncta Juvant, which means Strength in Unity in Latin. I like that.

Cultural Scene: The Fountain Square area seems to be the hot spot for the cultural scene in the Natti. They seem to have a lot of festivals there as well.

Weather: Its Ohio, time to get the warm clothing.

Odd fact: I have three of them:

1) In 2008 Cincinnati was ranked the 10th most walkable city in the United States, and the most walkable in Ohio.

2) There were some race riots in 2001. That’s not good for all parties involved.

3) In 2008, Forbes magazine named the Natti tenth in a list of America’s Hard-Drinking Cities.
Eye candy/celebrity factor/food: While blasting my 3 Doors Down, Bootsy Collins and Isley Brothers CDs and paying my respects to Brian Pillman, RIP Flyin Brian, these are the people I could kick it with…

Jerry Springer, Thom Brennaman, George Clooney, Dan Patrick, Woody Harrelson, Steven Spielberg, Amy Yasbeck, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Barry Larkin, Oscar Robertson, Tom Jackson and Rich Franklin

Carmen Electra, big fan.

Population: The actual city has over 400,000 and the metro population is just over two million. Nice number.

Likelihood of moving here: Six out of ten. Race riots aside, tts in a convenient location for me, there are job opportunities and it fits a lot of my requirements. The race riots aren't a good thing but hey, what's a little infighting amoung the locals? All kidding aside, that wouldn't be the reason for me to not move to a city.

Conclusion: OK, lets look at the ratings of all of the cities profiled.

Vancouver- 2 out of 10
St. Louis- 5 out of 10
Toronto- 6 out of 10
Houston- 6 out of 10
Cincinnati- 6 out of 10
Denver- 7 out of 10
Baltimore- 7 out of 10
Oakland- 8 out of 10
Seattle: 9 out of 10

Well, it looks like I’m either heading out west or to Baltimore. That’s what I expected before I did the breakdown. This has been a fun process and I learned a lot about each city. I know that in the end, my job will determine where I will go.

What are your thoughts on my analysis? I would love to get your opinions.