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March 10, 2008

Who's Your City? by Richard Florida

Who's Your City? by Richard Florida discusses the importance of location in the value of our daily lives. It's an important consideration, and something that most people don't evaluate carefully enough.

That said, although this was a book that I wanted to love (any book that starts out with a discussion of the author's appearance on The Colbert Report will automatically hook me), I found it to be of limited value. While the core concept is a valid one, I felt that this would have been more appropriate as an article rather than as a full-blown book. Adding to my frustration with the book was its lack of an academic tone - even though it has many footnotes, the author's use of the first-person tense and his reliance on anecdotal information makes it hard to take seriously.

On the other hand, the practical advice from this book is helpful food for thought. Where you should be depends a lot on your priorities. If you're looking for a job, then the job market is important. If you're a single woman searching for a spouse, you want to be somewhere where single men outnumber single women. If you have kids, schools are a priority. And no matter what stage of your life you're in, you want to live in a place that feels right for you.

Thus, Who's Your City? is not without value. However, I just feel as if it takes a lot of time to say what could be summarized much more efficiently.

Posted by In Repair at March 10, 2008 09:28 PM

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