#1. Talent:
According to GBCC's newly published
Global Talent Index, Greater Boston is the most talented region in the world. The report assessed 30 leading U.S. and international metropolitan areas on the strength of each region’s talent pool and resulting innovation – areas synonymous with economic growth. Their measures included academic performance, educational attainment, and patent generation.
#2. Innovation:
- Boston was recently named 2011's “Most Innovative City in the World” in the Innovation Cities Program & Index. To read more click here!
#3. Education:
- Boston houses some of the best schools in the country –and in the world. Some of these schools have been recognized by having the best academic, athletic, and experiential education records around.
- To go along with the best colleges and universities in the country, Boston has the 4th highest percentage of the population with bachelor’s degrees, and 3rd highest percentage of the population with advanced degrees; the best of any population its size excluding DC.
- Boston ranks higher than any major city in the US for our percentage of high school students that receive a high school diploma.
- Boston has some of the most notable alumni around including, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook- Harvard), Richard Egan and Roger Marino (EMC- Northeastern), Meredith Vieira (Today Show- Tufts), Denise Morrison (Campbell Soup Company- Boston College), Julianne Moore (Emmy Award winner- Boston University), Jay Leno (Late Night- Emerson College), Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia Eagles owner- Brandeis), John Mayer (Musician- Berklee), Ben Bernanke (Federal Reserve Bank- MIT), William Hewlett (HP- MIT), and T. S. Eliot (Nobel Prize winner, poet – Harvard).
#4. Sports
- Boston is home to some of the best sports teams in the country; with the patriots wining three Superbowls in four years, the Red Sox winning two World Series since the turn of the century, the Celtics bringing home another title in 2008, and the Bruins topping off the champions list in 2011, it’s hard to compete with the athletes of Boston.
#5. History
- Aside from being one of the prettiest places in the country- thanks to the Charles, the North End, Beacon Hill, and the likes- Boston is also one of the most historic. Boston was a starting point for the American Revolution -inspiring such events as the Boston Tea Party- and helped America first become a nation.
- Amazing minds call Boston home, including: Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Edgar Allen Poe, and of course, Sam Adams.
#6. Employment
- While it is the 10th most populated city in the country, it has the 5thlowest unemployment ranking, the second best of any population its size, second only to DC.
- Boston is the mainstay for many industry leaders in various fields, several of whom have been named in the “Top 100 best companies to work for” by Fortune Magazine.
#7. Health
Some of the best hospitals in the country and the world are located in and around Boston, including: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital with Dana-Farber, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, McLean Hospital, and more.
Boston has the fourth highest life expectancy of any major city in the US, and the highest in cold weather climates!
#8. Entertainment & The Arts
- "No other city compares to what Boston has to offer in the arts. And it's one of the best kept secrets about why folks love to live, work and innovate here.
From world renowned institutions like the Museum of Fine Arts, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Huntington Theatre Company, and Boston Ballet, to vibrant emerging trend-setters like American Repertory Theater, Institute of Contemporary Art, Company One, and ArtsEmerson, to thriving arts education programs like Berklee College of Music, Emerson College's Master of Arts in Theatre, and Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston has its all."
- Some awesome movies have been filmed here, including: The Town, Good Will Hunting, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, The Departed, and Fever Pitch, to name a few.
#9. Going Green
Between improving alternative energy sources, increasing tax credit incentives for sustainable living initiatives, implementing recylcing campaigns, and the like, Boston is among the top cities in the country for Going Green.
According to Boston Green Tourism, Boston is green in many ways, including the fact that Greater Boston is a leader in providing environmentally-friendly services. According to their website, Boston boasts:
- Three green convention centers that have comprehensive recycling programs, energy efficiency achievements, and other environmentally-friendly practices.
- Twenty-eight green-certified hotels and many other facilities that are advancing towards certification.
- Twenty-nine green-certified restaurants and event centers.
- A compact city layout with a transportation system that allows visitors to leave their cars at home, take mass transit, or ride in hybrid taxis. And, as America’s Walking City, Boston is easy to get around by foot.
Among many other things, Boston recently hosted a Going Green Expo, which showcased many new "green" initatives. Mayor Menino and the City of Boston are also now in their sixth year of giving Boston businesses and community members Green Awards. Coming soon, Boston will be hosting GreenFest 2012, furthering their support of the green endeavors.
To keep up to date with the green in Boston, visit GOING GREEN BOSTON on News Channel 5!
#10. Massachusetts' Economy
According to a new article in EconPost, Massachusetts has been the best state for the new economy for five years running. To read their article, click here! There rationale is quoted below:
"The state of Massachusetts has been able to hold on to first place the last five times this report has been published with its concentration of; software, hardware, and biotech firms, which are ably supported by world-class universities such as MIT and Harvard in the Route 128 region around Boston, according to the [economists'] report.
The 2010 New Economy Index by the Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a technology think tank, looked at many factors that help states compete in the global economy. These factors include managerial, professional and technical jobs, workforce education, foreign direct investment, IPOs, immigration of knowledge workers and a host of others.
Massachusetts survived the early 2000s downturn and was less hard hit than the nation as a whole in the last recession, because it is better equipped to compete in the new economy. Furthermore, the state has continued to thrive, enjoying the fourth-highest increase in per-capita income."
Do you have some other great things about Boston to add to this list? Comment Below!!