Time for the results of our Market Madness' Sweet Sixteen round, the third elimination round in our series, featured on RealtyTimes by JustRentToOwn. Find the results of the previous round here.
Safety and quality of life are things most people prioritize over all other factors when choosing where to buy a home. And where you live can have a big effect on your health and overall happiness, both physically with regards to activity as well as mentally. Studies show a direct correlation between the type of neighborhood you live in and home appreciation, upward mobility, educational opportunities, and more. For the sweet sixteen round of our competition, we matched up three quality of life metrics to assess which city came out on top.
Walk score, a popular way of understanding urban design and transit options, is connected to a higher quality of life according to several influential studies. A higher walk score means better neighborhood density and design, which leads to a variety of positive life-quality outcomes--lower obesity rates, higher price appreciation.
We also compared each city using NeighborhoodScout's crime rating, as safety is key to residents quality of life perhaps more so than any other factor. Because health is wealth and happiness is tied to a long, healthy life, we also factored in the CDC data on health outcomes tied to weight. Rather than use obesity rates, a common method of assessing public health, we flipped the script and compared the percentage of citizens in each city who are living at a healthy weight.
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Let's go bracket by bracket and check out the best highlights:
Dallas (3) over Nashville (7): Nashville and Dallas are about equally safe, both coming in at an 8 on NeighborhoodScout's rating system. Both have comparable rates of healthy citizens, but the major difference is in the walkability: on a scale to 100 Dallas came in at a competitive 44, whereas Nashville scores at 26. When considered next to higher wages and lower unemployment, Dallas pulls away in the end--despite Nashville's impressive rate of appreciation.
SF (4) over LA (1): A clash of California's finest. With comparable appreciation rates and higher-than-average median wages, both markets are hot and getting hotter. Comparing quality of life metrics, San Francisco features a considerably higher walk score rating--beating LA by 20 points at 84. Los Angeles is considerably safer according to NeighborhoodScout however, coming in as the safest city listed in the sweet sixteen round. San Francisco's population is on large healthier, giving it the edge over it's SoCal neighbor in the head to head. Whatever, we have better weather here in LA at least . . .
Denver (7) over San Jose (3): San Jose is by far the wealthiest on our list. Denver is the fastest appreciating housing market. In many ways, the two are fairly similar because of one key factor: tech. Denver is attracting the same type of tech startups that made San Jose famous, thanks to a wealth of clean air, natural beauty, and cheaper home prices. Both are safer than most other cities on the list--San Jose's score being double that of Denver. In the end though, Denver's walkability and healthy citizens gave it the win in this round.
Houston (1) over Austin (4): The battle for Texas is upon us in the sixteen! Featuring one of the fastest growing economies and largest cities in Houston against upstart Austin, famed home of SXSW and keeping it weird. The numbers stack up pretty well between the two: high wages, explosive growth, emerging tech sectors. Comparing major quality of life metrics, Houston's meh walk score of 44 edges out Austin's even more meh 35 and barely edges out in the healthy weight metric at 36.9 percent--one point more than Austin. In all, Houston wins for quality of life.
ROUND THREE: Quality of Life (Walk Score, Crime, Health)
Portland (8) over Arlington (13)
Dallas (3) over Nashville (7)
SF (4) over LA (1)
Pittsburgh (15) over Cinci (14)
Chicago (1) over Columbus (4)
Denver (7) over San Jose (3)
Houston (1) over Austin (4)
San Antonio (2) over Indianapolis (3)
| About Nicholas Brown: Based in Los Angeles, CA, Nicholas Brown has been writing since 2008. He holds a Master of Arts in English from Northeastern University. His professional interests include sustainable living, personal finance, real estate and investment trends. He writes for JustRentToOwn.com. |
