Are you a movie junkie or foodie? Is your IQ higher than your weight? If so, Portland may be the place for you.
Portland ranked number one in Movoto Real Estate Blog’s 2013 Best City in America, as the best City for Movie Lovers, second in Nerdiest, and fourth for Food Lovers, Funniest, and Most Steampunk. Portland tipped the charts with five annual film festivals, multiple film societies, a film museum, and drive-in theater while also earning bonus points for our specialty establishments such as The Kennedy School, which incorporates local micro-brews on tap to be enjoyed while watching the latest indie on the big screen. Portland also excelled in the world of comic book stores, analog gaming, computer shops, and Live-Action-Role-Playing outlets in relation to total population estimates.
While some of these criteria might seem to be more than a bit eccentric or arbitrary, we’ll take the recognition. After all, as numerous studies
have shown, cities’ distinctive characteristics are an important factor leading people and businesses to move to and stay in various regions. While such research may not always be scientifically rigorous or statistically valid, Leland Consulting Group has found that, when coupled with more traditional demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau, nontraditional “psychographic” research can help paint a fuller picture of a community, its culture, and most importantly, its economic potential.
In Movoto’s analysis, Portland was followed by Atlanta, Georgia and Seattle, Washington as the best cities in America. The Movoto Real Estate Blog’s ranking system consisted of their 15 “Big Deal Lists” by establishing a specific criteria for the top 50 most populous cities across the U.S. Each city was then ranked on a scale of one (being the best) through a hundred (being the worst). The results were then totaled, averaged, ranked and weighed in order to conclude their findings.