Measuring Quality Of Life

"Quality-of-life issues are always hard to measure. But economists have begun to put some numbers on the region's bohemian flair. According to a recent study by Richard Florida of Carnegie Mellon University, there is a close correlation between a region's openness to artists and its prosperity. A large and visible population of creative types—and of homosexuals, according to Mr Florida—points to a tolerant and diverse society of the sort that appeals to the wider class of knowledge-workers who drive modern economies. San Francisco, with its hippies, poets and large gay population, topped Mr Florida's rankings of American cities for overall creativity."