According to Business Insider, there are all sorts of reasons why young people are living happily in some of the most unexpected places. From cost of living to the arts scene to walkability, yes, there are statics that show which cities are cut out for young people to thrive.
I met with a young Buff State grad last week who wanted to discuss his opportunities in Buffalo. He had just moved back to Buffalo (not a native) after a short stint in NYC. “I can afford to live comfortably in Buffalo in order to figure out what my future has in store for me,” he told me. “I may end up staying if I find that opportunities open up, or I may go elsewhere down the line. But at this point Buffalo is exactly where I need to be in order to take some time and think about things.”
The young man that I am referring to has found that Buffalo’s cost of living is a great reason to be content while he scopes things out for a while. It’s opportunities (for cities like Buffalo) like this that can often keep people here who never thought about Rust Belt cities as being final destinations. After opening his eyes to the possibilities and the opportunities that Buffalo holds (he was a bit disconnected in regards to post-collegiate Buffalo), he left our sit-down with an attitude that “anything is possible here”, especially when you consider why Buffalo made it onto the list as one of The 20 Most Underrated Cities For 20-Somethings.
*FYI: “Shiftless Millennial City Index (SMCI). This index is based on amount of parkland, number of large music venues per capita, number of bars per capita, how many people are single, access to public transportation, and cost of living.” – Andy Kiersz, Business Insider
*It’s kind of unfortunate that we got stuck with an image of a plate of chicken wings instead of a good shot of the city. Are we really that pigeon holed when it comes to national ranking images?