So what is the most livable city in the US? Without making a huge study in the methods of measure and what is being defined, it appears as though it just depends on who you ask.
If you ask Forbes Magazine, the good old Paris of Appalachia is indeed number one!
But wait in an answer sure to please the Old Baguette, if you ask CNN/Money Magazine, Eden Prairie MN is number 1, and the Paris of Appalachia doesn't even make the top 100.
If you ask Most Livable.org, it is Denver and no place in Pennsylvania or Minnesota makes the top 13.
If you ask Mercer which ranks world cities, Pittsburgh does not make the top 50 on the quality of living, but ranks 13th in the world for an "eco-city" rating.
"*Eco-City Ranking 2010 includes the following criteria: Water availability, water potability, waste removal, sewage, air pollution and traffic congestion."
I agree on the potability. I have been drinking the Allegheny River for most of my life. I like the taste of the Allegheny. I have stopped at various springs out in the country, stood in line while people filled their jugs, and the water was completely tasteless--hated it, like drinking liquid air. I believe it to be the high levels of mine acid in the Allegheny that provides the distinctive flavor. It is also pleasantly hard and the soap just rinses off with no difficulty. What the Allegheny may be doing to my innards is hard to say, but I do like the taste of it.
So we have tasty water, great working sewers, and surprisingly for the "Smoky City" clean air. According to Forbes the employment prospects are great. So why are we losing population? Why are there no immigrants? Maybe its the pot holes or the lousy baseball team.
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