Despite what Syracusans say about their city…
Lonnie August 8th, 2007
Syracuse is a great city that is in transition from an era of manufacturing to one of science, technology and education. We’ve always had the latter three, but they’re becoming much more of a focus. During an era of transition, there are losses. Real people are affected in very real ways by those losses. But those who continue to badmouth Syracuse are missing the larger picture. An outsider’s view of Syracuse, carefully measured against criteria set for a large number of cities, may surprise a few of us.
“Expansion Management Magazine” helps companies evaluate future locations. They recently released their 2007 “Quality of Life Quotient” Rankings, Evaluating Affordability of Middle Class Lifestyle. Lo and behold, Syracuse is in the top ten mid-sized cities for overall quality of life. Before you “…click here for a list of the Top 10 overall rankings for Midsize Metro Areas,” (a .pdf file) think of three mid-sized cities you think are better than Syracuse for middle-class living. Then check to see where they fall on the above list.
By the way, this great ranking of a “rust belt” city is not an anomaly. You might be surprised to find cities like Binghamton, Pittsburgh, Albany, and Burlington on the lists. Guess which city ranked #1 for large cities? Our neighbor, Rochester, NY.
So, next time you’re tempted to get all negative on us again about Syracuse, or upstate New York for that matter, consider what others have concluded. Maybe it’s time we Syracusans shut up and listened.