2008’s Best Cities for Relocating Families

Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation announced on Thursday the findings of their fourth annual study which determines the best cities to move to for a successful relocation based on certain criteria for quality of life.  This year new categories were added :

” ……including recent job growth for 2007, percentage of nearby top-ranked colleges, average in-state tuition for four-year public colleges, percentage of population growth since 2000, amount of pediatricians per 100,000 population, and separate sales and income tax categories. Another new category is the green living index, which measures environmental incentives and policies, the availability of biofuel, wind power generation, and the amount of energy-efficient buildings.”

Interestingly, the metropolitan area of San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara which falls under the category of over 1,300,000 population (the largest of 3 categories), comes quite far down the chart at 40th, meaning that there are 39 cities more favorable to a successful relocation than Silicon Valley. Top of the list in order are Pittsburgh, Indianapolis/Carmel, Austin/Round Rock and Fort Worth/Arlington. So chances are, if you relocate to any of these places, you’ll stay put. Who’d have thought?

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve been under the impression for a long while (pretty much all of the 12+ years I’ve lived here in Silicon Valley) that once you move here, you won’t want to leave either. But it seems that’s not always the case and I guess it can depend on how you move here.

Being in the relocation business, I’m constantly studying and re-evaluating what makes a successful relocation – it benefits our clients and the companies transferring them if the families we relocate here, stay here. But although I’m biased there is no doubt in my mind that using the expertise of a well-established relocation company considerably raises the odds of a successful relocation. Consider the issues that we take care of with your average relocation ( well documented on our website) :

Personal Profile Development (we find out all about you and your family before you visit)

Area orientation tour (we drive you round the communities which we think would best suit your living requirements and answer ALL your questions about living here)

Finding a home (rentals or purchase – we put you in touch with realty experts to find your perfect home)

School visits (kids need to see where they’re going to school, let’s go visit the principal and get a tour)

Banking, shopping, drivers license (we get you situated with all that paperwork)

Spousal assistance (your spouse wants to work as well or take an adult education class? – we help you find those opportunities)

Networking (finding your home from home – that truly is one of the key elements in relocation – getting involved with other families like yourself, making friends with the same interests – we help you connect)

Cross Cultural Training (coming from a different country and culture can be very daunting – we take you step by step through the integration process to help you feel comfortable and knowledgeable in your new community)

Ongoing Assistance (we stay in touch with you for the first six months after you’ve moved here so you’ll always have a friendly and helpful voice at the end of the phone)

Because we look after our clients with such a personalized service and don’t let go of them until we’re sure they’re well settled into their new community, our relocation success rate is veryhigh.

And I do know, that not getting the relocation service treatment when I moved here with my family in 1995, made it much harder and took much longer for me to feel happy in my new home.

How about you?  Have you relocated to where you are now?  Did you use a relocation service?  Or did you have to settle here, find a home and schools, friends and community, by yourself?  What made the relocation successful or not, for you?

I’d love to hear your stories.