From the Kansas City Star, in an article entitled "As much as downtown KC has down, similar cities have done more.":

"That’s what The Kansas City Star found when it analyzed, as much as statistically possible, downtown changes in similar-sized cities. For all that has happened here, Kansas City’s downtown progress often hasn’t kept pace or produced results on par with downtowns such as Indianapolis and St. Louis, Charlotte and Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City and Denver."

www.kansascity.com | 05/18/2008 | As much as downtown KC has down, similar cities have done more (http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/625615.html)

From the Kansas City Star, in an article entitled "As much as downtown KC has down, similar cities have done more.":

"That’s what The Kansas City Star found when it analyzed, as much as statistically possible, downtown changes in similar-sized cities. For all that has happened here, Kansas City’s downtown progress often hasn’t kept pace or produced results on par with downtowns such as Indianapolis and St. Louis, Charlotte and Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City and Denver."

www.kansascity.com | 05/18/2008 | As much as downtown KC has down, similar cities have done more (http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/625615.html)In other good news/bad news. Relocate-America.com has posted it's Top 100 Citys. OKC and Tulsa both made it into the top 100. Tulsa came in at #5 of the "Top Ten" list, while OKC made the list at #75.

The Top Ten
1. Charlotte, N.C.
2. San Antonio, Tx.
3. Chattanooga, TN.
4. Greenville, S.C.
5. Tulsa, OK.
6. Stevens Point, Wis.
7. Asheville, N.C.
8. Albuquerque, N.M.
9. Huntsville, Al.
10. Seattle, Wa.

Tulsa.. I can see why Tulsa... Tulsa is very diverse. Most of Tulsa looks like NNW OKC, but with hills and a LARGE river. Lots of tall buildings, diverse landscapes... I like it up there, but there is not central focal point. I was up there for the LPGA about three weeks ago.

Anyways, 75 isn't that bad.

//Edit//

Look at all the titles listed in Red on that page, it has a lot of talk about what we talk about.

I'm curious about the substance of these listings, especially from web sites that the averge person has never heard of. How much weight should one put into such a listing? Is it a pure listing, or can it be swayed by a city's willingness to advertise?

.oO(is there anything which can not be swayed by advertising?)Oo.

Tulsa in the past has paid over $20,000 to ensure they were at the top of some of the lists. They are not alone. I know Jacksonville, FL paid $50,000 to be rated as the best place to live a few years ago. The cost was split between the Jax Chamber of Commerce and Gate Development.

How much weight should one put into such a listing?
ZERO.


Is it a pure listing, or can it be swayed by a city's willingness to advertise?
Increasingly the Internet is moving in the direction of more conventional media. My best guess is that sites such as these emphasize content that is interesting to an audience interested in certain things. Giving that audience a way to participate with the site is a good technique but apply the results more generally is a way long stretch.

Jacksonville is not a good place to live. I'd explain why, but my memories of the place are so bad I don't even want to discuss them!

Real Estate and Home Buying Site- Relocate-America's™ 2008 Top 100 Places to Live (http://top100.relocate-america.com/)

This site gets it ratings from people/residents nominating their cities on their website.

The more nominations, the higher the city is on the list.

If you really want to see OKC on this list, go Nominate it for 2009.

can it be swayed by a city's willingness to advertise?

I'm sure it could be. Just like when we see coverage "swayed" by politics of the publications' owners and/or their economic relationship to the topics being covered.

You always have to consider the source and the criteria. In this case, the list is judged by an editorial team. One would have to first understand their priorities to see if they match your own, and it seems that's kind of a mystery.

All that being said, it certainly doesn't hurt to be in the top ten of any list that is ranking best places to live. However, I sincerely doubt any individual or company would move based on that list alone.