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rmardel's review
4.0
The book was interesting and a pretty quick read. I enjoyed Florida's "take" on cities and populations and the idea that actually thinking about where you are can play a role in your happiness and success in life, as well as how places and the populations they attract or detract from innovation or growth. He brings up points worth pondering and I would like to read more of his works.
jyotidshrestha's review
4.0
This is a good reason especially for those looking for clarity on where they are and where they want to be. Giving great aspects on all the thing to consider in each level of your life and its needs.
bookish_wanderer's review against another edition
4.0
That's a really interesting book about the relations between work and location, or how talented people working in the same field tend to cluster more and more in the same area (which he calls mega-regions), and how this was affecting the economy, housing prices, etc...
Some parts are a little too academic for me, and others didn't really interest me (such as where to live once the kids are gone aha), but overall I quite enjoyed it, especially since I used to study him in grade school.
Some parts are a little too academic for me, and others didn't really interest me (such as where to live once the kids are gone aha), but overall I quite enjoyed it, especially since I used to study him in grade school.
bookish_danielle's review
4.0
This is a great book that gives data and research results for all kinds of information about cities and regions in the U.S. and whether those places are family-friendly, have more extroverts, are considered creative and artistic hubs, etc. If you're planning on relocating and moving to a totally different place, this is the book for you! OR if you're just interested in what parts of the country are specific to certain values, ideals, tendencies, etc. this would be an informative book!
CONS: it could be viewed as totally all over the map, as I've seen in some others' reviews of this book. While it gives lots of research data, it also delves into the psychology of people quite a bit in correlation to choosing their city. And the author does tend to gives lots of personal life experiences giving it a memoir vibe.
CONS: it could be viewed as totally all over the map, as I've seen in some others' reviews of this book. While it gives lots of research data, it also delves into the psychology of people quite a bit in correlation to choosing their city. And the author does tend to gives lots of personal life experiences giving it a memoir vibe.
annebogel's review
3.0
Florida challenges the assumption that in this internet age, it doesn't matter where we live, since so many of us can work from anywhere. He says that simply isn't true, because the synergistic effects of likeminded people coming together to live, work, and play are huge and have far-reaching implications.
3 crucial decisions we all have to make are what we're going to do with our lives, who we're going to do it with, and where we're going to do it. Florida says we don't devote nearly enough energy to this this third decision of "where" and seeks to give us the reasons we should pay more attention to our place, and the factors we should consider when deciding which location we're going to choose to reside in.
I thought the topic sounded fascinating, but I found the book to be dry and a little disjointed.
3 crucial decisions we all have to make are what we're going to do with our lives, who we're going to do it with, and where we're going to do it. Florida says we don't devote nearly enough energy to this this third decision of "where" and seeks to give us the reasons we should pay more attention to our place, and the factors we should consider when deciding which location we're going to choose to reside in.
I thought the topic sounded fascinating, but I found the book to be dry and a little disjointed.
writesdave's review
4.0
Odd that I would give my endorsement to a book I didn't finish. It was awful thick -- obviously I'm not an academic -- but terribly interesting. I already think too much about where I'm going and where I'd rather be other than where I am now, and Dr. Florida justifies my obsession with a mountain of stats.
Over the summer I wasn't really in a place where I could do a whole lot of this kind of reading so I have every intention of picking it up again.
If you don't think where you live matters, Florida will make you think about it.
Over the summer I wasn't really in a place where I could do a whole lot of this kind of reading so I have every intention of picking it up again.
If you don't think where you live matters, Florida will make you think about it.
moosegurl's review
3.0
"With his classic pin factory example, in which he illustrated how ten workers each specializing in his own task can produce a far greater number of pins than could ten workers working independently, Smith captured how firms need specialization to become more efficient."
"... a doubling of population resulted in more than two times the creative and economic output. Unlike biological organisms, all of which slow down as they grow larger, cities become wealthier and more creative the bigger they get. "
"What the mobile understand is that the pursuit of economic opportunity often requires them to move."
"What matters most today isn't where most people settle, but where the greatest number of the most skilled people locate. ... The most successful cities and regions in the United States and around the world may increasingly be inhabited by a core of wealthy and highly mobile workers leading highly privileged lives, catered to by an underclass of service workers living farther and farther away."
"Many people presume that wealth generates and sustains arts and entertainment, not the other way around. But what if arts and entertainment occupations actually contribute to regional wealth as well?"
"The place we live in is more important to our happiness than education or even how much we earn."
"We can, if we choose, recreate our identities based on the things that matter to us: work, lifestyle, personal interests, or activities. It might not be conscious, but we seek out places that fit our psychological needs in order to establish ownership over our lives."
"... a doubling of population resulted in more than two times the creative and economic output. Unlike biological organisms, all of which slow down as they grow larger, cities become wealthier and more creative the bigger they get. "
"What the mobile understand is that the pursuit of economic opportunity often requires them to move."
"What matters most today isn't where most people settle, but where the greatest number of the most skilled people locate. ... The most successful cities and regions in the United States and around the world may increasingly be inhabited by a core of wealthy and highly mobile workers leading highly privileged lives, catered to by an underclass of service workers living farther and farther away."
"Many people presume that wealth generates and sustains arts and entertainment, not the other way around. But what if arts and entertainment occupations actually contribute to regional wealth as well?"
"The place we live in is more important to our happiness than education or even how much we earn."
"We can, if we choose, recreate our identities based on the things that matter to us: work, lifestyle, personal interests, or activities. It might not be conscious, but we seek out places that fit our psychological needs in order to establish ownership over our lives."
athst's review
3.0
I think it's worth a read, especially if you're thinking of moving to a new city.