ISO The Unicorn City

So, what is it that I’m looking for?

It’s a great question. For those of you who haven’t visited our About Us page, Arthur, Estella, and I are on the search for our Unicorn City. I took some time to figure out a way to determine what will constitute the particular unicorn we’re looking for.

Here’s my Unicorn City List

• Mid-sized city. Not really looking to live in a big city or a small town. I’m ok with some high rise buildings, but I’d prefer to be in a city/town under 150,000 people.
• College town. There’s a lot of pull for me, with my background in academia, to be in or near a college/university town.
• Good library. I think a community with a good library says a lot about that community. I like to stop at local libraries when I’m in a town and checking out what kinds of events they offer to the local folks and buy used books.
• Close to a major airport. Just because we settle down, I don’t expect my desire to travel will abate, so I’d like to be close (within an hour to an hour-and-a-half) to a decent airport.
• Nice people/ Good vibes. When I visit the different cities, I’m trying not to just do touristy things. I want to see how people live in that community.
• Home Improvement Stores. I’m likely gonna need to do some home improvements and, when getting supplies, convenience is important.
• Decent housing prices. I’m not getting any younger, and I want to be able to travel, so I gotta find a place where I can rent or buy and not go into retirement as a pauper. I also recognize that I may be with Estella for a bit longer than the year I anticipated.
• Climate plays a big factor in my decision. You know those people who are always cold? That’s never been me. I need to be somewhere with cooler temperatures.
• Well-rated hospitals/clinics. I think this is also a sign of a strong community. Healthcare, especially as I age, is important. Good healthcare is even more valuable.
• Diversity. For me, it’s not that the area has a lot of different folks around but that those groups are integrated together – not separate – or at least the community is really working on neighbors being neighborly no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you do.

I’m going to give each city a rating from 0-1 in each category. The cities that are the highest rated will get a closer examination. I’m not 100% sure this is the best methodology yet, so stay tuned.

Cities We Visited

• Topeka, KS: 8
• Albuquerque, NM: 8.5
• Gilbert, AZ: 7
• Camp Verde, AZ: 5
• Flagstaff, AZ: 8
• Winslow, AZ: 3.5
• Sedona, AZ: 3.5
• Prescott, AZ: 9
• Morro Bay, CA: 5
• Corvallis, OR: 8
• Salem, OR: 8.5
• Portland, OR: 7
• Missoula, MT: 8
• Jackson, WY: 5.5
• Fort Collins, CO: 7
• Colorado Springs, CO: 8
• Manhattan, KS: not info to rate…although I was not a fan of being in KS during tornado season
• Minneapolis, MN: 7.5
• Wheeler, WI: 4.5
• Springfield, IL: 8
• Chicagoland, IL: 8
• Grand Rapids, MI: 8.5
• Ann Arbor, MI: 9
• Syracuse, NY: 7
• Buffalo, NY: 9
• Shelburne, VT: 4
• Bethlehem, NH: 4
• Bangor, ME: 6.5
• Prince Edward Island, Canada: 9
• Baltimore, MD: 8
• Greensboro / High Point, NC: 7.5
• Myrtle Beach, SC: 6 (although the number of pancake-centric restaurants was inspirational)
• Hilton Head Island, SC: 5.5
• Gainesville, GA: I don’t think I explored enough to rate this one.
• Houston, TX: 7
• Austin, TX: 8

Over time, I did make some adjustments to my list, but the finalists are the greater Chicagoland area in IL, Grand Rapids / Ann Arbor, MI, Buffalo, NY area, and Prince Edward Island in Canada. Since I can’t work in Canada, I can only hope to visit it more often and maybe spend my retirement years there.