Ausitn - 10 best Cities to Stay Young - CBS News

Visit Boston and one of the first things you're sure to hear is that, for a big city, the population is among the youngest in the country. Jam-packed with universities, such as Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern and Tufts, a whopping 72 percent of the population is under the age of 44.


But when it comes to staying young, Boston ranks No. 7 -- well behind San Francisco, where the average age has shot up to 38.5, according to RealAge.com, a website that seeks to gauge your age based on a different yardstick.

To be sure, your chronological age is something that doesn't vary. But it takes nothing more than a glancing knowledge of different 50-year-olds to know that how well you age can vary markedly. The results of RealAge web-based tests, compiled by zip code, allowed the company to compile listings of the metropolitan areas that are most supportive of good health and those that are least so. 

The 10 cities that ranked top in helping residents say young were:
1. San Francisco, Calif.
2. Salt Lake City, Utah
3. San Diego, Calif.
4. Minneapolis-St Paul, Minn.
5. Denver, Colo.
6. Raleigh, N.C.
7. Boston, Mass.
8. Austin, Texas
9. Washington, D.C/Baltimore, Md.
10. Los Angeles, Calif.

Notably, the reasons each city ranked where it did varied markedly. Boston is one of the best cities for lower cholesterol and health insurance. Austin made the grade for high optimism and low stress. Salt Lake City was notable for the happiest marriages and lowest rates of smoking. Want to see how you city ranks? You can check out RealAge's Top Cities for Staying Young here.
And see our related post on cities that make you old before your time -- Cities that make you age too fast.

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

Austin 4th -Cities Where Real Estate Is Ripe For A Rebound

Cities Where Real Estate Is Ripe For A Rebound

The folks at Local Market Monitor, a Cary, N.C.-based real estate research firm, helped us compile this list. They sorted through a plethora of housing and economic data for the 100 most populous cities and their surrounding suburbs, defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Metropolitan Divisions (MSADs) by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 

They assessed home prices over the past 12 months, unemployment rates, 12-month job growth projections, population increases from 2006 through 2009 (the most recent data available from the U.S.Census) and new-home construction rates for the third quarter of 2011 as compared to the same quarter in 2010. Home price changes over the past three years were also taken into account, as markets that lost less value in the downturn have the potential to recover and appreciate that much faster.  

Austin Metro Area

Home Prices, past 12 months: 2% decrease

Home Prices, past 3 years: 2% decrease

New Construction: 20%

Population Growth: 11%

Job Growth: 1.5%

Unemployment: 6.6%

All Ranking Cities:

1 - San Jose, CA

2 - Houston, TX

3 - Raleigh, NC

4 - Austin, TX

5 - Boston, MA

6 - Pittsburg, PA

7 - Fort Worth, TX

8 - Oklahoma City, OK

9 - New Orleans, LA

10 -Rochester, NY

 
Full List: The 10 Cities Where Real Estate Is Ripe For A Rebound

Credit: Jeff Gardner/istockphoto Date: January 11, 2012