Mr. Florida's Neighborhood

Richard Florida writes in the Atlantic about a geographic divide in the effects of our current recession. How will your region be affected? I'm not entirely convinced by his argument, but it's interesting and adds to analysis of the situation.

Before moving across the country, I consulted Richard (via his articles) on whether or not I should move and for confirmation that I was moving to the right place. Richard studies the relationship between cities and the individual people that live in them. He is best known for a theory that a "creative class" drives the economic success of a city. He explores city identity further in analyzing population demographics to rate cities.

Richard is one observer who has identified a trend in young people prioritizing geography over employment. He even advises people to focus on where to live before deciding on what to do, and even before choosing a spouse.

According to demographer Claritas, this is the change in moving from La Joya, TX (78560) to Portland, OR (97211):

La Joya
Bedrock America
Golden Ponds
Kid Country, USA
Old Milltowns
Suburban Pioneers

Portland (97211)
American Dreams
Money & Brains
Multi-culti Mosaic
The Cosmopolitans
Young Digerati

Visit PrizmNE to find out more about your zipcode and an explanation of those categories.

Visit Creative Class for more about Richard Florida's work.