Jobs and cheap housing give some small cities a big appeal for folks in their 20s and 30s.

Some cities that seem too small to have a cultural cache are doing very well with young professionals. The long-term story of the rust belt may involve many cities in decline, "but the economies of many smaller metros continue to grow and diversify. Louisville added 2,500 new businesses and 70,000 over the last six years, including a 53 percent jump in what the Brookings Institution called “advanced industries jobs,” all while home prices remained relatively affordable (compare the city’s median home value of $153,802 to Chicago’s $226,073)," Patrick Sisson writes for Curbed.
Being able to work remotely can also change the calculous of where people want to live "The changing nature of work, especially toward service and consulting and tech, and the growth of startups in second-tier cities, has altered the equation for younger workers," Stisson writes.
FULL STORY: The new magnetism of mid-size cities

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