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PROVO -- If you're looking for a fresh start with the coming of the new year, look no farther than your own backyard.
The Daily Beast recently released a list of the 30 best cities for starting over, based on factors such as cost of living and unemployment figures. Provo placed eighth on the list, and Ogden scored spot number five.
The placement came as no surprise to Provo Mayor John Curtis.
"We do fairly well in rankings," he said, referencing the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index that named the Provo- Orem metropolitan area the most optimistic in the country in 2010. "Our quality of life and prospects of a job are very high here. There is a momentum and a good feeling in Provo right now that is contagious."
Curtis pointed to the opening of the Provo airport to limited commercial flights, the announcement of a new LDS temple to open in the city and the recent opening of eight new businesses along University Avenue, a main thoroughfare in the city.
"It really is a fun time in Provo right now," he said.
There is a momentum and a good feeling in Provo right now that is contagious.
–Mayor John Curtis
The city expects current projects to bring increased traffic to downtown Provo once completed, said Dave Oka, city analyst with the Mayor's Office of Economic Development.
In anticipation of the completion of the Utah Valley Convention Center in March 2012, the city is trying to "bring Center Street back" by enticing restaurants and retailers to set up shop on a street that, to many, represents the heart and soul of Provo.
"There are a lot of cities that have established an identity with their downtown -- that is who they are," Oka said. "Provo is not yet like that 100-percent, but there are a lot of residents who see downtown Provo as an important piece of our identity, and they would love nothing more than to be able to come downtown and do some shopping and dining."
- Median income: $70,600
- Cost-of-living score (average=100): 90.5
- Independent business score (average=100): 99.2
- Unemployment: 6.9 percent
- Median income: $66,200
- Cost-of-living score (average=100): 90.2
- Independent business score (average=100): 101.3
- Unemployment: 6.6 percent
"I'm very pleased we ranked so high, and hopefully we will see the results of these projects in future rankings," he continued.
Also pleased with his city's ranking was Ogden City Mayor Matthew Godfrey.
Godfrey said healthcare and job creation are two of Ogden's strengths that may have led to the ranking. The city has the lowest healthcare costs in the country, and has recruited nearly 9,000 jobs in the past decade, leading to a 6.9-percent unemployment rate that is nearly 2 percent lower than the national average.
"Job creation is something we're really focused on as a city," Godfrey said. "Right now, that is what is important to people. Low healthcare costs also matter to people, as well as a low cost of living in general."
Ogden has become an attractive city to those with a college education. The Wall Street Journal ranked the city as one of the top ten "brain gain" cities in the country for the amount of people with an advanced degree who are moving to the city.
Godfrey credited the city's relatively low cost of living, compared to a median income of $70,600.
"It is an inexpensive place to live, and our salaries are rising," he said. "These trends create an environment where there will be continued opportunities and continued prosperity for our people. We are flattered by the ranking and grateful for the recognition."
Email: sgrimes@ksl.com
