Portland 16th Best City for Fresh Starts

A new study rates Portland as the 16th Best City for Fresh Starts.

Relocation.com examined factors that "would appeal to someone looking for a fresh start: city ‘popularity’ based on consumer requests for moving quotes to move to that city; economic-growth prospects; home affordability; and the strength of a community as reflected by volunteerism rates."

Here are the top five cities:

1. Austin
2. Dallas
3. Charlotte
4. Denver
5. Columbus, Ohio
16. Portland

From the study:

Popular cities: Relocation.com’s moving request data was used to determine the cities that people want to move to, based on the per-capita number of quotes for moving services requested to particular communities in 2008 and year-to-date 2009. Although an influx of people can put pressure on local resources, these newcomers also bring new ideas, skills and outlooks that can spark economic development and strengthen communal ties. A ‘churn’ of newcomers is vital for a community.

Economic prospects: Forbes.com’s list of the Best Places for Businesses and Careers was used to determine the cities with the greatest job growth prospects over the next three years. The list was published in March 2009.

Affordable housing: Figures from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index were used to determine the best housing opportunities. This report looks at more than 200 of the country’s largest metropolitan areas and determines the percentage of homes sold in the latest quarter that were affordable to the median average family in that area - the higher the percentage, the more affordable housing is to the greatest number of people.

High volunteerism rates: Relocation.com looked at volunteerism rates from the Corporation of National Community and Service, an independent federal agency whose board of directors and CEO are appointed by the president. Communities with high volunteerism rates tend to be stronger with lower crime rates, and greater volunteerism rates can mean less need for government spending on providing those services. It is healthier too: people who volunteer have lower mortality rates and lower rates of depression than the general population, according to the Corporation.