Here is an interesting article I cam across. You can guess why it caught my eye:


Best-Cities-to-Live,-Work-and-Play: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

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Fredrick T. Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

I would stay away from Provo. Too many Mormons.

The nick name in Utah for Provo is "Happy Valley", everyones on Prozac.


We had a mission work in Provo for a few years, but had to close it.

There are fewer Christians in Provo Utah then anywhere else in the U.S.

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John J.
Member Christ Prebyterian Church (OPC)
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.christpres.net

Curious that Houston is the only large city (by American standards) on the list. Here in Australia it tends to be the larger cities (Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) which come top in these kinds of surveys.

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T W Hopper
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church
Currently between churches since PRC closed here - attending Crossroads Christian Church.
Canberra, Australia.

You mean to tell me there are actually cities west of the Hudson River? And they are actually livable? Wow, who knew.....

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Mason
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA)
New York, NY

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." - Isaiah 1:18

I read that article, and was amazed that Houston was number one. I have to think it had more to do with the financial reasons than the city.

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http://r9ministries.blogspot.com

Hey, some of us are still trying to process the whole "liveable cities in the Northern Hemisphere" concept.

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T W Hopper
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church
Currently between churches since PRC closed here - attending Crossroads Christian Church.
Canberra, Australia.

Curious that among the criteria they include "Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class". What benefits does that convey? More poets per square mile?

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Brad
PCA Member
Virginia

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Pittsburgh, PA is the highly underrated. This is a great place to live.

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Benjamin P. Glaser
Pittsburgh, PA
Fairmount ARP Church, Sewickley, PA
Student of Theology Pittsburgh Theological Seminary & Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary

“If the Church could be aroused to a deeper sense of the glory that awaits her, she would enter with a warmer spirit into the struggles that are before her.”-- J.H. Thornwell

It's also strange that every single one has a below average cost of living, does an average cost of living automaticaly mean that it is a bad place to live?

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Mike
London City Presbyterian Church
London
England

"Surely, we wish to be orthodox, but we must first learn what real orthodoxy is. Surely, we wish to be progressive, but we must first have a basis to progress from."

Houston happens to be one of the largest cities and the fastest growing city in the U.S. A few years ago a number of statistics indicated that much of the economic growth in the U.S. was in the south, particularly Texas.

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Stephen Welch
PCA Teaching Elder
Nova Scotia :cheers:

Pittsburgh is great! Especially the real estate market. I couldn't believe the price of homes in Pittsburgh.

Yins, got it good!

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John J.
Member Christ Prebyterian Church (OPC)
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.christpres.net

Heh. Fred and my wife are both trying to get me to move to Houston.

Tacoma's not so bad. We have a pulp mill and gangs and bullets just like a real city, but it's only around 200,000 people. On the plus side, there is Commencement Bay and spectacular Mt. Rainier. Plus it's quiet and easy to drive in, not like that big Seattle to the north (in which I unfortunately work).

But I love Texas almost as much as I love Montana. My eyes bugged out when I saw what our modest rambler here could buy in Houston. Some of those $300k homes would pass for a million in our area.

The hard part about Houston is the "city" part. Alas, in my line of work you almost need some kind of city, but I sure miss the 1,500 acres I grew up on.

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R.Vic Bottomly
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

This list is obviously some kind of satire. Sacremento is top ten????

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http://www.villagecommunitychurch.org/

I wonder if Dallas would be in the top 20?

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Josh Hicks, Chloë's Daddy
Member of TRBC, Attending CCRPC. My Blog
The Puritan Pub (Team Blog)
Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

I'm flabbergasted that Houston made that list, although I'll reluctantly acknowledge I've a nephew who lives there and seems tolerably pleased.

When I think of Houston I think of hideously high humidity, no zoning laws, and roaches the size of SUV's.

And traffic.

Austin's gotten so big and chock full of "foreigners" (non-Texans), it's completely changed the character of the city.

Plus the traffic is ghastly.

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Anne Ivy
Christ Chapel Bible Church
Fort Worth, Texas

Married to Don, mother of six, grandmother to an ever-increasing brood.

The Ivy Vine (my blog)

Yeah, but what about Ft. Worth?

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Ivan Schoen, Pastor * Maranatha Baptist Church * Poplar Grove, Illinois USA www.maranatha-sbc.org/
“One of the most important discoveries I have ever made is this truth: God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him. This is the motor that drives my ministry as a pastor. It affects everything I do.” --- Dr. John Piper

From what I remember, the traffic is ghastly, but the roaches are only about the size of an economy car, so's it's a tad more tolerable.

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Brad
PCA Member
Virginia

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Colorado Springs is #5 - woohoo!

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In Essentials Unity, in non-Essentials Liberty, in all things Charity.

Robert Paul Wieland
Springs Reformed Presbyterian Church
Colorado Springs, CO RPCNA
Student at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh PA
B.B. Warfield's definition of Theological Students: "Angels preparing to sound the Trumpets."

I went to college in C-Springs. That it is in the top 5 invalidates the entire list, IMO...

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Mason
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA)
New York, NY

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." - Isaiah 1:18

Traffic wasn't a treat by no means and I suppose it's gotten worse since 1981. I used a pellet gun to bring down the roaches...kidding.

I loved my time in Ft. Worth, but my perspective is colored by being a seminary student the whole time, working full-time and going to school full-time, having our first daughter, fellowshipping with a wonderful group of Christians, etc. It was a wonderful time in our lives.

But these are wonderful times for my wife and I too.

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Ivan Schoen, Pastor * Maranatha Baptist Church * Poplar Grove, Illinois USA www.maranatha-sbc.org/
“One of the most important discoveries I have ever made is this truth: God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him. This is the motor that drives my ministry as a pastor. It affects everything I do.” --- Dr. John Piper

Can any good thing come from Provo?!

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Rae W. | Elder @ Grace Central Presbyterian Church | Columbus, OH
not another blog, v2.0

Interesting list. Having lived in NY and LA, I've grown to appreciate smaller cities. 'Course, according to recent "surveys," I'm living in one of the worst cities in America right now (high unemployment, housing market crash, Scott Peterson, etc.), but for us right now it's perfect.

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BJ Mora
Grace OPC, Modesto, CA
Reformed & Presbyterian Churches & Denominations in North America

I am not surprised that Raleigh is number two. It truly is a wonderful area to "live, work, and play."

Having lived in a very high cost of living area in Philly and New York, the lower cost of living is certainly a plus in addition to the fantastic climate and the nice blend of metro but rural demographics. Raleigh has a best of all worlds flavor.

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--chRis
Psalm 115:1

Christopher Reeder
Husband to Kara, Father to Abigail (7), Caleb (6), Grace (4 1/2), Zoë (3), Elijah (1 1/2) and Hannah (born 8/8/2008)

Member: Pilgrim Presbyterian Church (OPC), Raleigh, NC