[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

at that range, things can vary quite a bit from my experiences.

Rockford, IL and Ann Arbor, MI are both in that 350K MSA zone, but because Ann Arbor is home to one of the largest and most prestigious public universities around, it is an entire level above Rockford in terms of vibrancy, cultural offerings, and general urban feel.

in smaller and medium size metros, the presence of a large university can really elevate one place above another in terms of urban feel, especially when the university is located in/adjacent to the core of the city.

when i'm strolling around the isthmus of Madison, WI, i definitely feel like i'm in a much bigger metro area than a typical midwestern MSA of ~600K. i think that most people here would agree that Madison is an entire level above a place like Toledo, OH in terms of urban vibrancy and life, despite both being roughly the same size at the MSA level. the 45,000 college kids walking, biking, skate-boarding and generally crawling around all over the core without cars helps IMMENSELY with creating that bigger city feel. being a state capital, and all of the gravity that comes with that, certainly doesn't hurt either.

Yeah, a place like Santa Fe or Monterey, CA (both ~100k) is a pretty small in population but certainly has tons of interesting things going on. Whereas a place like Ft. Myers/Cape Coral or Fresno (both ~500k) has a ton more people but...