Find your city

One of the biggest decisions in life is where to live. What’s made you decide to live in the place where you currently are?

You may have given it a lot of consideration or you may not have given it much thought at all. But it is important.

Would an alternative location be more suitable?

This is where a bit of knowledge helps.

Cities

Today more than 54% of the world’s population lives in cities.

Cities drive the economies of countries. People cluster in cities, bringing together talent, innovation and creativity.

It’s where ideas are generated. Productivity increases when people like you and me are forced to locate close to one another.

Cities also require tolerance of others. It is through diversity that great advances are achieved in the arts, culture and technology.

While global cities like London, New York and Toronto are exciting places to live and work, they also have become too expensive for many people, especially those in the service industries and ‘blue collar workers’.

So what’s the alternative? Where else might suit your preferred lifestyle and your budget?

Place Finder tool

The Place Finder is an online tool developed by Richard Florida, professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

This tool is one of those little gems you find online.

First of all you name up to five different places that you would consider. (There is a list that helps you to identify them.)

The Place Finder goes through a series of topics, asking a number of questions on each topic. How you answer the questions helps you to compare your different locations.

The questions help to clarify your thought process. You realise just how much you already know about a place. It also helps to identify your knowledge gaps.

Give Place Finder a shot and find out where you might want to consider moving to.

 

The City and You: Find Your Best Place

To gain a more in depth idea about finding your best place to live, there is a free online course taught by Richard Florida. I highly recommend it.