I found that via this NYT article, "The Best Cities for Minimalists/Few people can toss everything and live off the land, but a new study highlights the cities where principles of simple living are more easily practiced."
Among the categories considered for each locale were the share of smaller homes and the use of public transportation, biking and walking as alternatives to driving a car; commute time; and the share of residents working from home. Nature was valued in the rankings with points for air quality, days of sunshine, milder temperatures, public parks and low energy use. Population density and the preponderance of minimalism-related Google searches were also taken into account. Finally, for minimalists who can’t quite give everything up, the availability and price of self-storage was considered....
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I'm not saying you can't be homeless and live in Austin, because you can and many do. However, I've never known a resident of Austin to have a minimal attitude about anything.
Doesn't a Top 20 sound kinda...large for a list of "minimalism-oriented cities"?
(I'll show myself out, thanks!)
Atlanta is number 5? ATLANTA?
I’m calling BS.
Concur, here, Leland.
Have these people ever been to Austin?
If you want live-off 5he land minimalism wtf are you doing living in a city?!?
I don't think 'minimalism' means what they think it means. (The self-storage was a good twist: how often have I kicked myself for not seeing that coming, back in the '80s?)
There are thousands of little minimalist hamlets all across America.
Have these people ever even been to Austin?
Given that one of the metrics is electricity use, and how a/c requires and consumes electricity, I'm unsurprised at the lack of southern locations.
I would never put 'minimalism' and 'the South' in the same sentence.
Has anyone seen 'Gone with the Wind'?
Number of people working from home was one of the criteria, so of course Arlington, VA, is near the top of the list--all those federal employees still working from home because they live in dread fear of covid!
Minimalism ranking is just opinion. There is no objective standard for measuring minimalism.
If you have been to the south, and particularly plantations, I’d say the slave residences are (were) pretty minimalist.
conservative philosophy
Orlando is a weird city to see in there. Think Atlanta with truly bad traffic. And weather that makes you miss Singapore.
-XC
It's true that SLC has an efficient train system. However, because it's a bowl the air quality is some of the worst in the country on certain days. Seems like random criteria.
It seems that the 'minimalist' towns are nicely spread across the country (even in Hawaii!) -- except the Northeast.
Hm.
Minimalism and Retirement have much in common as do Minimalism and College Town.
I think they've conflated minimalism with the lifestyle of moving to a city as a mercenary careerist. At least in some of these places 'minimalism' means high income with no ties to the community, and no desire to stay. Many live small because costs are high and they are working most of the time anyway, not because they'd reject a McMansion with a pool and four cars. They spend on travel and entertainment while there -- prioritizing experiences over of stuff.
Get in. Get $$$$$. Get out.
They can be the rudest bunch of pr*cks I've ever seen too.
Redknecks are minimalists.
True Minimalism requires self sufficiency.
Public transportation is minimalism for bums and state dependent serfs.
Okay.
Minimalist life pairs with maximalist government?
Let's see
Salt Lake City - totally planned by Mormons originally; Caoital of Utah
Arlington - very close to DC, seat of Federal government and Pentagon so short commutes and heavy use of subway; close to Federal parks
Madison - Seat of Wisconsin government so no manufacturing, good air quality. Like all of Wisconsin it's a nice place to live due to parks and closeness to nature. But it's spread out and you need a car to get to different attractions.
Minneapolis - minimalist police department, absent city government; seat of Minnesota government; Ok minimalist city
Atlanta - I know nothing about it except that its suburbs want to secede. Capital of Georgia.
So the minimalist designation is related to being a state capital in the cities I could see on the map, except Arlington which is close to the Pentagon and the Federal government. Arlington is not minimalist to my mind; it's crowded, expensive and difficult but it would get that designation because it's so close to DC and the Pentagon that huge numbers commute and use bikes.
So I would say that considering the waste of tax payer dollars by all levels of government, none of these cities are minimalist. And several of these cities have frightening levels of crime. Perhaps their white supremacy suburbs are minimalist criminalist but is that a good city to live in?
BJK, you b@st@rd, you owe me a keyboard.
As a former long-term resident of a Salt Lake City suburb, I dispute its characterization as "minimalist". The city sprawls across the valley, making mass transit ineffective, and families invariably own multiple vehicles (not that there's anything wrong with that). Storage centers line the freeway. Knickknack-infested McMansions sprout everywhere. RC Willey furniture stores sell ponderous overstuffed furniture by the shipping container load, all paid for on credit. Along with the cars and trucks, residents stuff their garages and driveways with boats, ATV's, motorcycles, skis, golf clubs, and whatnot.
Near as I can tell, Salt Lake is no more minimalist than anywhere else I've lived or visited.
"The Best Cities for Minimalists"
Alex, I'll take Euphemisms for a $1000!
wildswan said..."Minneapolis - minimalist police department, absent city government; seat of Minnesota government; Ok minimalist city"...
St. Paul is a totally separate city from Minneapolis and has its own city government and police department. It has lots of problems but not like Minneapolis.
"I do not t'ink that word means what you t'ink it means."
Good that I am not a minimalist, though I have lived in both Austin and SLC. In Austin, it was in a 3k’’ house by myself with a huge yard (full of fire ants). SLC had me in a 2k’’ condo, again, by myself. In MT, with my new 2k’’ garage, we have maybe 3500’’. Phoenix house is 3400’’, soon 3600’’. Five vehicles for the two of us (really only one driver). Out and Proud being a maximalist.
My daughter, a Millennial, is appalled. They just bought their first house, and it’s half the size of our PHX house. She reminded me that when we go, she will have to get rid of all our stuff. I reminded her that she was my sole heir, and could afford then to buy a house big enough to store all of our stuff.
>>The city sprawls across the valley, making mass transit ineffective,
My only experience with SLC was in the early 80s, when I met up with a college roommate who was attending some sort of biochemistry thingie there. The biochem meetings were in the morning, so people could go skiing in the pm, and there was one day totally off. One thing I remember was that you could just take a bus for, I don't know, about 50 cents to go to these magnificent ski resorts.
I also went to a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I had previously seen in Boston. There's a line about "Hello to oblivion." There, the audience made it into "Hello to Utah!"
Loads of fun, a long time ago.
--gpm
Hey, my Dad was minimalist before it was cool.
Big Minimalism has its hands in everything.
SLC may be minimalist, but it's airport requires more walking than any other airport I've been in, including O'Hare.
I remember thinking that this must be a place full of young, fit people (which does appear to be the case).
I see New Orleans on the map of "minimalist" cities where folks enjoy "beautiful simplicity, limiting possessions, choosing less-expensive options, switching to smaller, cozier homes, taking public transportation..."
Yes. All true. That's because many people in New Orleans are poor. Many people are very poor, they are dirt poor. If they could afford more possessions, nicer options, a bigger house, and their own car they would leap on it with glad happy cries.
Who writes this stuff?
Tell me when we hit peak minimalism.
Minimal deviation from prevailing narrative.
Another meaningless term developed by leftists trying to be trendy. It really would be impossible to measure. So far, I’ve run across two trendy doctors who claim they are minimalists, and several restaurants. Moreover, St Paul , Minnesota, has the highest crime rate in Minnesota, higher than Minneapolis. Walking to work in most areas of St. Paul, would be dangerous. Maybe the term
minimalist has a more precise meaning in painting and literature. One can say that Hemingway was minimalist in some works
and Raymond Carver is clearly one. If rates of binge drinking are considered, would Madison still make the short list?
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