What about your city do you love? I know why I love Toronto, but I’d probably take up the entire length of the main page to go into details, so I’ll sit this discussion out.
Seriously, is there something in your city that makes you feel like it’s the best city to live in? Or is there another city you’ve been to that you think is much better?
I’m asking these questions because it says something about a person as to what they value most in a city. What that something is I have no clue, Sean is the pretend doctor for BME, not me (he is a shrink right?). Think about some of the commercials for cities you’ve seen on TV. They’re out there, although most are state driven, I can assure you that every major city has a department dedicated to promoting their city as the best place to live. The reason for that is simple, more people = more tax dollars for the city. While the people in the streets may be shouting to the rooftops about how overcrowded the city is, to a bureaucrat behind a desk, all he hears are the potential revenue dollars brought in by new arrivals.
All those reasons you thought of when determining if your city was a great place to live? Well some ad agency has already gone over those and prioritized them to which demographic would be suited best by hearing specific points, while downplaying others. Lots of schools is a great incentive to young families, but would be something that could potentially drive away singles and older couples. It’s a delicate balancing act completely focused on one goal, making the city money.
So where do we fall into the equation? Us modded types fall into every demographic. Young/old, male/female, straight/queer, single/married, seniors/small children, and so many more. What could possibly be a single point that could attract us to one city over another?
I’m going to guess most city planning departments don’t take us into account, or at least just lump us into a generic demographic without realizing that while we may be members of every possible demographic, we also consist of one of our own. The one we choose. The one that says to the world, we’re in control of ourselves. So who is going to look out for us? Make sure our needs are satisfied when deciding to relocate? Well, for the most part, we have each other. Part of what makes this community so strong is that we’re open with each other, we’re honest about most things (I’m talking generalities, not specific interpersonal dynamics).
Well, it looks like someone over at MSNBC decided to take a look to see if there was something that they could do to show (at least a portion of) the modded community that there are cities that could possibly be appealing.
Whether you approve of tattoos or not, some of the world’s sexiest men and women — from Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox to Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt — sport ink. This made us wonder — where in the world do most of the tattooed bods in America live? To figure out which U.S. cities were the most tattoo-friendly, we perused chat forums and looked up every state in several public directories, including Yellow Pages, Google listings, Tattoo Yellow Pages and AAA Tattoo Directory, to find those with the most listed tattoo and permanent makeup shops. Then we looked up which cities in those states had the most shops listed per capita with populations based on latest U.S. Census numbers. We also took into consideration the city’s demographics and whether or not it hosted tattoo conventions, remembering that not all tattoo parlors were listed in the directories.
Now of course you’re wondering which cities made the top ten. I could make you go read the full article, but instead I’ll give you just the listing of the cities. If you’re curious as to why these cities made the top ten, head on over to MSNBC to read up on it.
So without further ado, “The Top Ten Most Tattooed Cities in America”.
- 10. Los Angeles, CA
- 9. Kansas City, MO
- 8. Honolulu, Hawaii
- 7. San Francisco, CA
- 6. Austin, TX
- 5. Portland, OR
- 4. Flint, MI
- 3. Richmond, VA
- 2. Las Vegas, NV
And finally, in the number one position… Miami Beach, FL!
Did your city make the list?
Actually, forget that last question. What I am really curious to know is, now that you know these rankings, would they impact your decision to move to any of those cities?
Personally, I’m staying in Toronto. We are the center of the universe after all.
BME/News and Modblog highlight only a small fraction of what
Interesting. I lived in Miami Beach for over 10 years and would never have guessed it. There a ton of shops crowded into South Beach, yes, but they are mostly for tourists who pick some flash off of the wall and go back home the next weekend.
I’m not surprised by most of those cities. Though I would have thought new york would have been on there. Philly didn’t make it. But I ain’t moving.
Is tattooing still banned in NYC? If so that alone could impact their standing on the list. I would have expected LA to be ahead of SF and Both to be higher on the list though.
I never really gave any thought to the amount of tattooed people I see in Kansas City. I guess there are quite a few. There are a ton of shops here too. There are three tattoo shops within two blocks of my house.
wheres chicago at. lol
I’m a born and raised Richmond girl, and I told my father that Richmond made slot #3 and he shook his head and said “Well, that explains everything.” Haha.
I live in Portland, Oregon and I feel like it is the most amazing place to be. I’ve never really been judged by my modifications and although I have 2 1/2 inch plugs and many tattoo’s it has never been hard for me to find a job. Its beautiful, and if you get the time you should come check it out.
I’m proud to see KCMO on there.
Yeah, really surprised Philly didn’t make the cut.
I’m only a couple hours away from Kansas City!
Seattle is not on there, wow… Im surprised!!!
That whole thing seems a little…..off.
but, if MSNBC reports it, it must be true.
this is a big reason portland,or has been my dream home. every time i’ve visited i feel completely “normal” and accepted. growing up in the south, i’m used to getting a lot of unwanted attention, so it’s nice to go somewhere where you don’t constantly get second glances or awkward stares.
#4! Representin’ Flint, MI!
Hm. Doesn’t really impact anything for me, but I plan to move to Cali at some point of time, and its the only state that made the list twice.. Soo, huzzah? 😛
The survey is flawed: It said tattoo-friendly, and it only used shops as it’s guide. I think a better way of surveying it would be to actually ask the shops how many tattoos on average they do per month. then find out how many of them were for actual residents of the area. Just my 2 cents.
Oh, and I’m perfectly happy where I am (The South Bay area of Los Angeles) The weather is nice, the people aren’t too high strung, and I live within walking distance (3 miles) to the beach. The only “bad” thing is that there are no tattoo parlors allowed in my city, but there are quite a few within 5 miles of me
what a crap study based on nothing valid with no useful conclusion.
sorry if i hurt yr feelings msnbc.
so this is just going on how many studios there are? Well, there are way too many here in Vegas. From recent travel experience, San DIego is much more “tattoo friendly” than Las Vegas, and it didn’t even make the list…
I live in Maui, HI (different island than Honolulu) and the town of Kihei (population about 16,000) has at least 5 or 6 tattoo shops. Very tattoo-friendly island!
wooooooo go richmond!
I’m surprised that Portland, OR is as high as it is.
I live in Austin, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that it made the list. We have so many amazing tattoo shops here, many of them famous to more than just the area.
I’ve even been tattooed at two shops who have had an artist or two featured on Modblog before. I was tattooed by Johnny Johno from Amillion, who had an autumn leaves piece featured a couple years ago. And who can forget Pineapple! He works at Shaman, where I’ve been tattooed as well.