Monday, October 16, 2017

"Best places" to live

It was an article on Facebook. So I took a look.  Olathe, KS, Kirkland, WA, Atascocita, TX, Carmel, IN and many others. Diversity is not highly valued or one of the criteria in these "best of" lists no matter who makes them (and there are many). Kirkland has 1.2% black citizens, Olathe 3.7%. Atascocita, TX, which I've never heard of, has 19.2% black citizens. In fact, cities in the south were all pretty good in that category. So I dug a little deeper. 

 Maryland is the wealthiest state in the country. The town with both a good livability rating and a good racial mix is Columbia (wonder how long it will be allowed to keep that name?). It is about 50 years old and was designed by a Christian businessman to be "perfect," with a mix of housing, business, organizations, religions and races, with easy access to DC. In the livability rating, it doesn't rate as high as McLean, VA, also a DC suburb which has only 1.45% black, but an Asian population double the Maryland percentage. It's just a few miles from Columbia. Both McLean and Columbia rate F in affordability, but A or A+ in other categories like crime, schools, etc. McLean has a marriage rate much higher than Maryland or Columbia.

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