A Search For The Perfect Home

A Washington, D.C. couple searches across 350 metro areas for the perfect community -- and finds it in Tampa, Florida.

1 minute read

November 24, 2002, 1:00 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"For years, Betsy and I moved based on our careers, living in Washington, London, Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago," said Leigh, 41. "We finally decided we were long overdue in putting down roots in a city that we wanted to be in, by our own choice. "We started with a list of the 350 largest U.S. cities and looked at everything, including weather, education, cultural life, cost of living, job outlook, crime, health care, transportation, recreation and livability. In the end, we were able to narrow it down to two finalists, Tampa and Austin, Texas... As tried and true urbanites, both would have chosen to live in downtown Tampa or the Channel District if either area had offered a sufficiently developed neighborhood: grocery stores, other retail, a residential community of decent size."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Saturday, November 23, 2002 in The St. Petersburg Times

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