Real Estate and LIfestyles: Money Magazine's 2006 Top Ten Places to Live

We have been talking a lot on Cleveland blogs (OK everyone everywhere is talking!) about what we need in Cuyahoga County and Cleveland in order to feel the economic and Sense of Place vibrancy we all crave. I thought it might be helpful to look at this 'best' list. CNN/Money did a poll and Househunt.com reports the findings. Here is their Top Ten Places To Live List:

1. Fort Collins, Colorado
2. Naperville, Illinois
3. Sugarland, Texas
4. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
5. Carey, NC
6. Overland Park, KS
7. Scottsdale, AZ
8. Boise, ID
9. Fairfield, CT
10. Eden Prairie, MN

There were commonalities and differences, but a few things stood out: all ten economies are vibrant, job growth is up, the population is diverse (including the fact that not everyone is rich or poor) and there is an affordable housing stock as well as a higher priced mix. Most of these places also had a population that averaged around 125,000 residents.

**They all seemed to be just far enough away from metropolitan areas, but yet close enough to get there quickly. For example, Fort Collins is one hour away from Denver or one hour away from Cheyenne Wyoming. And Naperville is only 28 miles West of Chicago (hats off to Naperville, I know two wonderful agents there, Eileen Landau and Angus Woodbury).

**They had 'perks' - a strong educational community, home sale prices going up not down, and a biggie, job growth. Yes, I know I mentioned it twice.

**They all seem to offer a lot of green space, recreational areas, rivers, lakes, mountains, depending on their location. So as the House Hunt Inc. site points out, they have the best of both worlds. Fort Collins boasts an average of 300 days a year of sunshine.

One thing I found odd and I have to put it here. Naperville Illinois was voted most 'kid friendly' city in 2006 by Zero Population Growth. Isn't that sort of an oxymoron??? Maybe my Naperville friends Eileen or Angus can explain it to me :-)

So I guess we don't need much to get on this list! We certainly have the green space; our Emerald Necklace alone is unbeatable. We have the affordable housing stock. We have a diverse population; we were voted one of the most literate cities so we can compete with these ten cities on good library systems. We have the higher education community a lot of people would love to have in their cities. The biggest weak link I see for NE Ohio (besides the sunshine.... does Fort Collins really get 300 days a year? That would be wonderful I have to admit) is jobs.

Peace Out - 3C

Do's And Don'ts: Are Granite Counter Tops So 'Yesterday?'

So I discovered msn.com's real estate section today for the first time. Maybe I'm a tad late to the party on this one. Anyway, they had an article about trends that work and don't work if you are planning on putting your house on the market. I'm re - printing them here verbatim and of course adding my comments in red because I can't help myself lol:

1. Avoid installing bowl-shape, above-the-counter bathroom sinks. They look pretty but have proved to be harder to maintain and keep clean. This is a no-brainer. I could tell by looking at them this would happen! I agree with this one.

2. Use engineered stone compound for kitchen countertops. The material is less expensive than granite and is expected to be the trend this year. Hmm. My buyer clients are still asking for granite - maybe Cleveland is behind the curve on this. I DO however agree, they don't hold up as well as engineered countertops.

3.Don't install too many glass cabinet doors in your kitchen. They look better in magazines than they do in real life, where homeowners must keep their cabinets in perfect order or suffer embarrassment. Yes. One or two for 'accent' but the rest of your cabinets are containers of your life you may not want buyers to see! Or relatives over for dinner, for that matter.

4. Consider replacing a wooden or chain-link fence with a wrought-iron one. Wrought-iron fences portray a look of luxury. Maybe they look luxurious but unless your dog is a mastiff or Burmese mountain dog, they can get through the bars. My experience is that people want fences. And they want them for pets as much as they do kids. Or privacy. Ohio City is a great place for wrought iron. But in general, I don't find it as practical except maybe as a front decorative fence. Just my two cents.

5. When repainting trim for shutters, doors and window frames, go with bold and deep colors. And don't get rid of the trim around interior window openings -- it only looks cheap. People actually take out this trim?

6.If replacing floors, avoid bamboo. This flooring was popular when it debuted, but now users are saying it is easily dented and scratched. It is also more likely to warp due to weather and humidity. I don't think this was ever a big trend in Cleveland.

7.If you're adding new construction, don't employ concrete blocks in exterior walls. They are not attractive and are more likely to leak moisture if not properly installed.

8. If you're redoing a kitchen or bathroom, consider using glass tiles instead of ceramic ones. They're gaining popularity again because of reflective qualities. This is not a bad idea; already popular in places like downtown condominium complexes. But consider your budget and remember that good taste in colors and styles chosen is probably much more important than if they are glass or ceramic.

Personally, I like this list of five projects on Money Magazine's website written by Arianne Cohen. Things like new shower doors, painting kitchen cabinets to freshen them up, these are inexpensive and probably produce as good results as glass tiles instead of ceramic. Just my humble opinion! Peace Out - 3C