Best Cities For Bootstrap Babes

Where's Your Boot Strapped?

I'm feeling pretty smart these days, not only because business is bootstrap-ooming, but because a few years ago, I pulled up stakes and hired a moving company to transport my family from our beloved hometown of Washington, DC to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Why was that so smart? Lots of reasons, but one is because Forbes Small Business (FSB) says Charlotte is among the too 100 best places in the nation to live in and launch a small business.

FSB says it developed its list of 100 cities by comparing economic conditions, local tax rates, existing business start up activities, lifestyle aesthetics, availability of affordable housing and access to cultural activities. Washington, DC is my hometown so I don't have much to say about the cultural activities in Charlotte. But other than that, Forbes is right on.

Here are the Top 10 cities, according to FSB:

1. Bellevue, Wash.
2. Georgetown, Texas
3. Buford, Ga.
4. Marina del Rey, Calif.
5. Bethesda, Md.
6. Portland, Ore.
7. Denver
8. Charlotte
9. Fort Worth
10. Franklin, Mass.

Now that I think of it, Charlotte may be ranked a little low in the scheme of things. I moved from near Bethesda (near Washington, DC), to Union County (just outside Charlotte) in part because housing prices in the DC area are outrageous. Prices are much more affordable in Charlotte. Yesterday, the Charlotte Observer reported that Union County ranked this year as the seventh fastest-growing county in the country, thanks in part to reasonable home priced.

To read the full FSB report and see all 100 cities, click here.