Number 5 ain't bad (see what I did there?)

Colorado Springs counts as Denver in these situations, though I can't believe it wasn't included. We're among the highest educated cities. So we're Denver haha.

A smart american wants to be very smart.
A very smart american wants to be very very smart.
A very very smart american wants to be - british.

:-D

Quoted for posterity. ;D

Alex Fryer is full of crap. It is not that dark and rainy here.

Hence the reason why I refuse to raise children in this country, not that I would give the United States the pleasure of my of-springs should I decide to have one...

Perhaps I will pluck an orphan from here and take him/her away...

Srsly... this is what money is wasted on, surveys on the IQ of metropolitan areas?

Fix education, health, etc... then run all f**king surveys you want...

We is 48th-est! We is 48th-est!

WoooHoooo!!!

We is sooooo more smarterer than them there 53rd-est San Antonio peoples!

#50 here!

I'm actually surprised Harrisburg ranked.

Louisville (Loo-ah-vul) came in 52nd, not too shabby considering how many cities there are in the US. (See what I did there?)

when you measure it you can control it. on a personal level it increases competition - oh i can do better in my next test ...
at a macro level academics can study what one set pf schools/ communities are doing better; another is doing badly ... or if something has no correlation.

Whenever I see comments like this, I find myself forced to ask the question: "Have you ever lived in, or even been to another country?" Because a pretty hefty chunk of the time, the answer to both questions is "No."

I've lived outside of the US for a few years, and I've visited a number of other countries as well, and though I don't have kids either, I would much rather raise them here than in many of the alternatives.


Oh, and I was shocked to see my city at #14. I wouldn't have thought it of SLC.

Ms Kero grew up in Venezuela, her husband is French, she's traveled extensively (is currently in the air on her way to Europe, her second trip there this year, in fact).

So...in her case, the answer would most definitely be 'YES'.

As someone who's gone to a wonderful school in Baltimore and was born in New York, it's a joke to see Baltimore ahead of New York. One or two universities full of smart people doesn't make up for the rest of a city plagued by violence and drop outs.

Thank you, Maven! :D

I commend you for having 'lived' outside the US for a 'few years'. May I ask, what a 'few years' are? 1-4 maybe?

I was born, as Maven pointed out, in Venezuela. Lived there until I was 14. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am a US citizen; naturalized in 2002. My husband, French born and raised until 18...

The appeal of America to US... we can do what we want w/o political restrictions (in my case) or lack of job market (my husbands case)

SO YES... I have LIVED outside the US to make the intelligent decision that I do not want to raise children here. If I were to have any which isn't looking like it is... so I am probably opt to adopt or mentor...

Edit to add: I wonder how European cities rank...

In that case, Kero, I can't argue your qualifications to make that decision. My "outside of the US" time has mostly been in Central America, with a little time in India, so I admit that I couldn't weigh in on the merits of anywhere but those places. I'd rather not comment on specific durations, but suffice it to say that you have spent more time outside of the US than I have.

(Why did you put "lived" in quotes, though? Did you think I was making it up? I really did live there. I just don't like being very specific about things on the internet, because the double-edged sword of the web is that people who you don't want to learn more about you have the same access to you as the people who you are trying to share with. Yeah, I'm a little paranoid, but with reason. It's part of the reason I got to level 14 here and more or less disappeared. I'm not usually a jerk.)

Like I said above, I just asked because it seems like everyone who I hear say things like that (as well as most people who I hear say "the US is the greatest country in the world!") have no experience with other countries. I'm glad to know there are exceptions to the rule. Sorry to have offended.


And Kudos to Maven as well for knowing her fellow Plimate far better than I did. :)

Kero is my sister...The kind I get to pick. :)

To answer your question; I put living in quotes for the simple reason that some people like to pretend being 3-6 months in a foreign country is called living in it, when it is far from it. You live in a country; not only do you breathe the air, eat the food and interact with its natives... but you also speak the language (fluently enough to do business), you care about its politics and enjoy its treasures, none of which, IMO, can be accomplished in 3-6 months.

No offense taken, however, please do note the good-old US of A is a country of immigrants. People seeking a new way of life after leaving their home behind for reasons beyond their control or simple because they were tired of the same old crap at home.

I do think that if you haven't at least seen beyond the borders of this continental country enough to notice that there are other wonders in the world (in the way of culture, information, history and the such) then you really haven't lived your life...

However, that is just my opinion. Some people are completely content with just staying within their white picket fence and in turn, I am happy for them... less tourist, I'd say, no?

Yeah... I do love my sister... :D

And if you're like me, you embarrass yourself several times by saying things to old ladies that turn out to be dirty in your new language... In short, couldn't agree more.

True - I forget that my own state's near total lack of melting-pot-ishness does not represent the country well.

HAHA! And I think we can all agree that's a good thing. :)