Sperling’s Best Places

I was playing around on the internet the other day and happened upon Sperling’s Best Places. There is a test on this site where one can answer a few questions to determine their “best place” to live. My best place for major metropolitan city is San Francisco, California. My best smaller city (less than 300,000) is Boulder, Colorado. I’ve never been to San Francisco, but it is a place I’d very much like to see. I’m not sure about living there since it’s so big. I’d probably prefer to live just outside the city. Boulder is a place I’ve actually visited. I have to admit to being a little disappointed because the city, at least what little of it I saw, didn’t live up to the hype. Boulder is actually very flat, and I didn’t see one mountain the entire time I was there. There’s also a lot of traffic in Boulder. I was amazed at all the congestion. The city bike paths were also congested with roller skaters, people walking, joggers, and the occasional cyclist. This is all based on a visit of about half a day, though.

San Francisco, California
As of 2007, San Francisco’s population is 744,041 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of -4.21 percent. The median home cost in San Francisco is $958,700. Home appreciation the last year has been 1.53 percent. Compared to the rest of the country, San Francisco’s cost of living is 87.23% Higher than the U.S. average. San Francisco public schools spend $5,874 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 18 students per teacher in San Francisco. The unemployment rate in San Francisco is 4.00 percent (U.S. avg. I (4.60%). Recent job growth is Positive. San Francisco jobs have increased by 2.31 percent. People live in San Francisco because they are passionate about the city, willing to work two jobs and sacrifice while developing other creative or artistic pursuits. Quality of life is paramount in this environmentally conscious city, ranked among the top five cleanest in the US in 2005. Perpetually on the brink of the next wave, change is both embraced and inevitable, be it political upheaval, earthquakes, or a new social or spiritual movement. Tolerance for all ways of life is perhaps the city’s keynote, and people are constantly reinventing themselves. A city of cultural diversity ever since the Gold Rush days, San Francisco is not a melting pot, but a salad bowl. Her irresistible charm that captivates all who visit is perfectly echoed in the words of the song ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’. One would be hard pressed to name another city positioned so glamorously, between the ocean and Sierra Nevada mountains to the east and west and redwood forests and the California desert to the north and south. Alistair Cooke, the British-born commentator, summed up this most beautiful and breathtaking of American cities as a ‘fortuitous mating of marine grandeur and terrestrial snugness’. It remains the best summation on record, of this city, perched precipitously at the edge of the world.

Boulder, Colorado.
As of 2007, Boulder’s population is 91,481 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of -3.37 percent. The median home cost in Boulder is $660,600. Home appreciation the last year has been 1.75 percent. Compared to the rest of the country, Boulder’s cost of living is 40.21% Higher than the U.S. average. Boulder public schools spend $5,161 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 17 students per teacher in Boulder. The unemployment rate in Boulder is 3.30 percent (U.S. avg. is 4.60%). Recent job growth is Positive. Boulder jobs have increased by 3.24 percent. Boulder is a very unique city located on the footsteps of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder County. Boulder is located virtually in the middle of Colorado, only 28.6 miles from Denver. With a modest population at nearly 95,000 residents, Boulder is one of the largest cities in the state.