We may not know what the price will be for gasoline. We may not know where we will find our next job. We may not know how we can afford to send our kids to college. And we may not know as a business where you will be recruiting talented employees as your job hires.
But there is one thing we know for sure. There will always be lists. There are lists for everything. The ten most expensive automobiles, the ten least expensive automobiles. Ten ways to do this. Five ways to do that. Eight ways east of Sunday. And my very own favorite, the top whatever cities to live and/or work in. this list can vary. Some can be a list merely for living, while others can be a list merely for working. Some lists combine the two. And then there is the list for the top ten places where you can retire.
Since Corra is a background checking company, specializing in pre-employment screening, we are always interested in the best places for employment. We are even more interested in the quantity of publications that produce these lists in any single year. The most recent, at least up until five minutes ago, emanates from the sage minds of CNN or more precisely CNNMoney.
Now I don’t know if their list is accurate or more accurate than the last list put out by another media venue or study group. And since each list from each publication may vary in listing their top ten favorite places, it is hard to say who is right and who is wrong. I suppose to compensate for any oversights and so not to slight the cities that may indeed feel slighted, most publications list the top hundred cities. That’s a good idea.
One thing I have noticed, recently. With few exceptions most of the best cities for living and working are either in the Midwest or back East. So what happened to California? Corra is based in California, so it is of concern to me. As for Portland, Seattle, some of the slighted mountain states, they will have to work it out for themselves.
So what happened to California? I realize it is congested, the infrastructure may be falling apart. I realize people have issues with Los Angeles for being too self-obsessed and too materialistic, and people have issues with San Francisco for being…well…San Francisco. Orange County may have lost its cool since the television show went off the air, and San Diego may be in a slump. But this is California.
Each week more people move here. They come from all over the world. You don’t hear a plethora of songs written about other cities, well maybe New York and Chicago, and no one surfs in Indiana. The rest on the list may be wonderful cities in truly good states. I have been to most a number of times. They are unique and pretty terrific in their own special ways. But, hey…dude…this is California. There are few places where you can stand at the ocean in seventy degree weather and look up at the snow covered mountains.
There is a lot of money in California. There is a lot of money in Los Angeles. People come here to realize their dreams. Some achieve the realization, and some don’t. But that’s how it does. Some come to say get into show business and end up founding a cookie or fudge business instead. Could be worse.
We have factories and industries. We make entertainment for the rest of the world. Most of the really cool blue jeans are made here. It’s a good place to live, especially in February when three fourth of the nation is plowing through the rush hour snow. It is a good place to work. Life is casual. There is culture, great food, from gourmet cuisine to pungent ethnic store front fare. People make money here.
So how come we aren’t on any lists? Maybe we were, but the reporter got stuck in rush hour freeway traffic and was never heard from again.
Check them out before you hire.
