Do you want the good news or the bad news first?
From my experience — or perhaps it is my personal preference — most people will take the bad news first so they have something to look forward to. Others, I’ve found, just want to hear the good news and then ignore the bad news.
Studies and rankings abound. So far this year, I’ve received emails alerting me that Indiana has the 10th fastest growing economy in the U.S., but we also have the 4th highest number of bankruptcies per capita. Good news, bad news. I also now have the critical knowledge that Indiana ranks in the top 10 states in pay for woodworkers. As the annual awards-show season approached I learned there have been only three Hoosier natives who have won an Oscar or an Emmy. We’re on the bottom part of that spectrum.
However, I had not heard that Bluffton ranks in the top 20 nationwide in a “best” quality-of-life category. A friend alerted me to this revelation. Does it matter that the ranking comes from a website you’ve likely never heard of? Certainly not when they are so kind and complimentary.
“Smartasset.com” is a New York City-based financial tech firm specializing in personal finance. They compared data from almost 500 communities across the country that met certain requirements. They measured 13 metrics across three categories: jobs, affordability and livability. The metrics ranged from income growth, home value, cost of living, dining and entertainment to crime.
We came in 17th — 17th out of 494!! My math says that puts us in the top 4th percentile. Our metrics were led with a 4th-place national finish in the “affordability” category.
“So what’s the bad news?” I hear you asking.
Well, it seems that the rankings is for “America’s best suburbs.” Here we thought we were a small, rural, county-seat community that is located conveniently close to (according to the conditions set by the study, 15-30 miles) “a city with a population of 250,000 or more.” I don’t mind telling people that Bluffton is located “just south of Fort Wayne” but have you ever told someone that Bluffton is a “suburb of Fort Wayne”?
Just doesn’t sound right.
While I guess it may not fall fully into the category of “bad news.” We are a community with a number of positive attributes that happens to fall within this “Smartasset” company’s definition of a “suburb.” There could certainly be worse things to be accused of.
miller@news-banner.com
