Forbes.com released its list of the best cities for couples in the U.S., and I wasn't surprised to see Texas placing really well on the list, with the top two spots going to Dallas and Houston, respectively.  Austin placed #5 on the list, and San Antonio placed 7th.

There are always a lot of lists like this floating around, like the most affordable places to live, or the "fittest cities", and so on.  This particular list struck me as interesting, partially because of the criteria they used to put it together:

1. Marriage rates per 1,000 people
2. Divorce rates per 1,000 people
   
3. Housing affordability - the specific focus here was on starter homes in each area, which may be why Texas fared so well overall
   
4. Income disparity - For this piece of data, they analyzed male vs. female income levels, with the thinking that greater disparity might also indicate big disparities in education and experience, which could lead to a mismatch.
5. Access to couple's counseling - Frankly, I'm not sure how helpful this particular item would be in forming a list like this one, but there you have it.  I suppose if there were no counseling available at all, that could certainly affect things!

If you are interested in reading the entire article, please visit:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/03/cities-couples-best-forbeslife-lovebiz08-cx_rr_0204couples.html

If you are looking to make a move to the Austin area, or if you need more information, please feel free to contact me anytime.  I would love the chance to help.  I can be reached anytime at 512-796-7653 (cell) or by email at jason@austintexashomes.com.

I have also gathered some previous posts of mine which you may find helpful as you are making decisions:

Austin Texas Relocation Package

My primary Austin real estate website is www.austintexashomes.com. Thanks for checking out this post - I hope to hear from you soon!

Photo above is courtesy of wattsbw2004 from Flickr.com.