- Must be pedestrian friendly
- Must have a good library
- Must have good parks
- Must have a collection of interesting creative people
- Must have real coffeehouses
Let me tell you what I mean by a "real" coffeehouse. A real coffeehouse sells good coffee, has free wireless internet access and electrical sockets, doesn't blast loud music while you're trying to relax, and is open early to late.
The town I'm in has a Starbucks. They don't sell coffee. They do sell some kind of dark strong drink similar to coffee. I'm not sure, but it may be made from burnt rubber.
The town I'm in has several "Christian coffeehouses." I have no problem with Christians, but they need to stay out of the coffee business. They charge people for silly little things like whipped cream, etc., and you have to beg for the password to use their internet.
There used to be one real coffeehouse in town. It's still there, but the owner got tired of fighting the city government and now opens at noon. It turns into a bar at 6pm. That gives me a 6 hour window to get my work done. They also blast music so loud I can't hear myself scream at them to turn it down.
I have taken to driving 70 miles to the nearest real town. What has this country come to?
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Your list very nicely describes Manhattan, or any one of a dozen other cool cities where neither of us could possibly swing the rent. And cheap rent, as Florence King tells us, is the single indispensable requirement of Bohemia.
ReplyDeleteLook for the next great burst of American creativity, if any, to come from places such as Schenectady and, yes, Knoxville.
Say, that reminds me. Have you read Steve Sailer on affordable family formation?