As tradition with last years post Best Cities for Singles, we have posted the newest version for all those single folks! These rankings, done by Forbes, are meant to be a guide for young, ambitious singles who can live and work wherever they want.

To determine the best cities out of the 40 largest urbanized areas in America they devised criteria of seven categories:  number of singles, night life, culture, cost of living alone, job growth, online dating activity and coolness (the last criteria being my favorite). In order to determine the coolness of each city, a poll was conducted in which participants were asked “Among the following U.S. cities, which one do you think is the coolest?” It is no surprise that New York was deemed the coolest city overall.

Here are the top 10….

1. Atlanta, GA

2. San Francisco, CA

3. Dallas, TX

4. Minneapolis, MN

5. Washington D.C

6. Seattle, WA

7. Boston, MA

8. New York City, NY

9. Orlando, FL 

10. Phoenix, AZ

Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, tops the Forbes list of the best cities for singles mainly because of its great night life, high number of singles in the area as well as the great job growth market! In the eight years Forbes has been ranking America’s cities for singles, Atlanta has been in the top ten all but one year. Making it one of the friendliest cities!

Want to see if your city made the list?

Check out Forbes.com’s complete list of the Best Cities for Singles 2008 here. You can even sort by top cities for culture, nightlife, singles, job growth, living cost and online.

Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado. Its downtown district is located approximately 15 miles east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Its nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile, or 5,280 feet (1,609 meters) above sea level according to Wikipedia. Denver also has over 200 parks providing some of the most beautiful scenery, which is why we are doing a spotlight on them again!

If you currently reside in the Denver area or if you are relocating there, you should view our Denver apartment community videos as they truly give you a glimpse of the area. Not only do these videos showcase the apartment community features and amenities, but also the surrounding area, such as malls, restaurants, public transportation, interstates, etc.

Our videos include apartments in the many neighborhoods of Denver, such as: Alamo Placita, Baker, Barnum, , Berkeley, Capitol Hill, Central Business District, Chaffee Park, Cherry Creek, City Park, Denver International Airport, East Colfax, Five Points, Fort Logan, Gateway, Globeville, Golden Triangle, Goldsmith, Hampden, Hampden South, Harvey Park, Harvey Park South, Highland, Highlands, Indian Creek, Jefferson Park, Kennedy, Lincoln Park, Mar Lee, Marston, North Capitol Hill, North Park Hill, Northeast Park Hill, Overland, Park Hill, , Rosedale, Ruby Hill, South Park Hill, South Platte, Sun Valley, Sunnyside, Union Station, University, University Hills, University Park, Washington Park, Wellshire, West Colfax, West Highlands and Westwood

Take a look at the location of each of these neighborhoods on the Neighborhoods map for Denver. And view some of the many Denver apartments we are referencing below:

Carriage Place Apartments in Denver, CO

ForRent.com-The Manhattan Apartments in Denver, CO VideoCityGate Apartments in Denver, COThe Breakers ResortThe Apartments at Denver Place

The Estates at Mira Vista Apartments

For more videos in this area, and others, visit our YouTube or MySpace profile.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations

In the United States there are many festivities to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. It goes back to the first celebration in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737 where the first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade took place on March 17th.

From the major cities like Boston or New York to your home town. Here is a brief list of some major festivals, parades and events happening in the U.S. Feel free to add your city’s celebrations to our list!

Savannah, Georgia
Savannah’s Saint Patrick’s Day parade usually takes place on March 17th, regardless if it’s during the work week. However for 2008, the parade will take place on Friday, March 14th to honor Holy week in the Catholic faith. The parade route changes each year but usually travels through Savannah’s Historic Park District and Bay Street. In additional to the parade, Savannah’s Waterfront Association has an annual celebration on Historic River Street which mimics Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street.

New York City, New York
According to Wikipedia, the New York parade has become the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world with more than 150,000 marchers and close to 2 million spectators on the street! The parade marches up 5th Avenue in Manhattan and ends by the U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment.

Seattle, Washington
A unique fact I did not know is that Seattle and Galway, Ireland are sister cities given that Seattle has many Irish residents! The annual Irish Week Festival is enormous and includes activities such as Irish step dancing, food, historical and modern exhibitions and Gaelic lessons. It starts on March 14th and goes through the 17th.

Chicago, Illinois
The dyeing of the Chicago River has been a tradition for over 40 years. While many cities have tried to mimic it, none can get as true of a St. Patrick’s color as Chicago’s river can. This year the dyeing is to take place on March 15th. Chicago also has a St. Patrick’s Day parade that takes place on the same day.

San Francisco, California
On March 15th, San Francisco will have the 156th anniversary of its Saint Patrick’s Day parade. At the end of the race there will be a family festival with games, music and various other ‘green’ activities!

If you enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, there are many options to choose from! Regardless of where you are, cheers to you having a great time!

Source: Wikipedia.com

How much to you know about the United States’ first President? Did you know that there is actually no proof that he chopped down his father’s cherry tree with a little hatchet? And that contrary to popular belief, while he had several set of teeth made none of the sets were made from wood? There were actually comprised of hippopotamus and elephant ivory. To learn more about this honorable man read on!

George Washington, born in 1732 in present day Colonial Beach, Virginia, was the first President of the United States from 1789-1797. George Washington and Martha Custis married on January 6th,1750 just three weeks after they first met, at her home known as The White House. In 1775 Washington was chosen to be the commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces. As a result of his strategy, revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies — Saratoga & Yorktown - a big victory in the Revolutionary war. In the late 1780s, Washington presided over the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the United States Constitution. Washington became President of the United States in 1789 and established many of the customs and practices of the new government’s executive department. He supported plans to build a strong central government by funding the national debt, implementing an effective tax system, and creating a national bank.
Washington is a powerful symbol to the United States and he has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents. Henry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade and father of the Civil War general Robert E. Lee, said of Washington in his funeral oration that of all Americans, he (Washington) was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Lee’s words set the standard by which Washington’s distinguished reputation was imprinted upon the American memory.

Today we remember a great man. Happy Birthday President Washington!

Source: wikipedia.org

Many of you know today is President’s Day from the various amounts of sales adds or if you are one of the lucky few to have the day off from work. But do you know what the actual history of President’s Day is? Where is stems from and why it’s so important? Allow us to educate you a bit….

This holiday was first celebrated in commemoration of George Washington’s birthday in 1796, which was the last full year of his presidency. By the early 19th century, Washington’s Birthday had become a bona fide national holiday including many celebrated traditions such as speeches, receptions, etc. Then along came Abraham Lincoln who was another revered President also born on February 12th. Following the year after his assassination, Lincoln’s Birthday became a formal observance. Lincoln’s Birthday, however, didn’t actually make it to become a national holiday, although many states made it so.

In 1968, legislation was enacted that affected several federal holidays, one being Washington’s Birthday. It was decided that the observation of his birthday would be on the third Monday in February whether it fell on the 22nd or not (which is actually his birth date). This act was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays and give federal employees some standard three-day weekends in the process.

Even though on record the third Monday in February is known as Washington’s Birthday, it has become popularly known as ‘President’s Day.’ To honor Washington and Lincoln as well as the other men who have served as president.

It is very important to realize how this holiday came to be and to honor the beloved men who have run our country. Given that this year is an election year, you can choose who will be celebrated on the next Presidents day. So be informed and vote in the 2008 election!!

Source: patriotism.org

Everyone has experienced road rage. Whether you’ve been on the receiving end or directing it towards a fellow driver, it’s not fun. Larger metropolitan areas tend to have the majority of traffic therefore they have some of the most aggressive drivers. The number one city that topped the list for most aggressive drivers (for the second year in a row) is……….Miami, followed by New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Washington.

The most courteous cities, regarding hostile drivers, are Portland, Pittsburg, Seattle, St. Louis and Dallas.

Do you live in a city with high road rage?? The AAA website offers a three-step plan to avoid being a victim of aggressive driving.

1. ‘Don’t Offend’ which simply means do not cut off other drivers, don’t drive slowly in the left lane, don’t tailgate and DO NOT gesture to other drivers.

2. ‘Don’t engage’ other drivers, which basically means do not cause trouble. Don’t look the other driver in the eyes (stare them down) and call 911 should you feel that you are in a dangerous situation.

3. ‘Forget Winning’ If someone has done #1 or #2 to you, let it go. Don’t let it frustrate you till you become angry. Try to put yourself in the other driver’s shoes and free yourself from any aggravation.

I know on my daily commute to work I sometimes feel the need to bang on the steering wheel to alleviate my frustrations, but what about you? Do you have any constructive methods to help you release your frustrations while you are on the road?

Source: AOL AUTOS, ‘Road Rage and Aggressive Driving’ by Craig Howie

For Rent Media Solutions wants to wish everyone a Happy (and safe) Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble. So here’s a fun Thanksgiving Day Quiz and Fun Facts.

Thanksgiving Day Trivia:

How much do you know about Thanksgiving history? See if you can answer these questions below and check out some fun facts about turkey day too! (The answers to the quiz are at the bottom of the page)

1. In what year did the Pilgrims come to North America?

2. What was the name of the ship the Pilgrims sailed on?

3. What ocean did the Pilgrims sail across to reach North America?

4. Where did the Pilgrims ship land when they reached North America?

5. When was Thanksgiving day named as a ‘real’ holiday?

Fun Facts:

- Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey at Thanksgiving!
- Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.
-The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day! (Now that’s a lot of turkey!)
- A wild turkey has excellent vision and hearing. Their field of vision is about 270 degrees. This is the main reason they continue to elude some hunters.
- A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour! They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds. Domesticated turkeys, however, cannot fly.
-Did you also know that Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey? (It was between a Turkey or an Eagle-aren’t you glad the Eagle won!)

Answers:
1. December 1620
2. The Mayflower
3. The Atlantic Ocean
4. Plymouth-Plymouth Rock
5. George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, but President Lincoln made it official by proclaiming the last Thursday in November as a national day of “Thanksgiving”.

Seattle, Washington made #1!

If you link intelligence with education, then Seattle is the smartest U.S. city! It has over 40 colleges/universities and nearly 20 libraries, which might explain why 52.7% of its residents have an undergraduate degree and 90%, have a high school diploma!

Do you think you are smart? If so, check out ForRent.com for apartments for rent in Seattle or one of the other five cities that made the list!

1. Seattle, WA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Raleigh, NC
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Austin, TX

Source: CNNMoney.com

So you’ve recently graduated. Congratulations! You are now ready to embark on your career, but where should you go? Well, New York isn’t the only location you should consider!

Topping the list for Best Cities for Young Professionals was of course, New York. The home too many of America’s best companies, such as financial giant Goldman Sachs and media conglomerate News Corp as well as a night life to boot, it’s no wonder that this doesn’t come as a surprise to many! Other cities that made the list were San Francisco as #2, Atlanta as #3, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston and Seattle for spots four through seven and Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Denver close out the top 10.

This list was based off the graduates from top universities around the country and their location after 10 years. The list also takes into account where the best business opportunities exist, the amount of young and unmarried people and, of course, which cities paid young professional the best.

The numbers were adjusted to allow for the sizes of some cities in respect to others. Then thrown in the mix was the locations of Forbes list of America’s 400 best big businesses and 200 best small business that would offer opportunities for the young professionals. And finally, the salary-to-cost-of-living ratio was figured into the equations as to whether young professional would want to stay and occupy that area for a certain period of time.

The top 5 cities were:

1. New York
   View Apartments for Rent in New York, NY.
2. San Francisco
   View Apartments for Rent in San Francisco, CA.
3. Atlanta
   View Apartments for Rent in Atlanta, GA
4. Los Angeles
   View Apartments for Rent in Los Angeles, CA.
5. Washington, D.C.
   View Apartments for Rent in Washington, D.C.

   Now that you’ve seen the list, are you ready to make the change? To view apartments for rent in any of the cities mentioned, visit ForRent.com. You can search hundreds of apartment for rent in those areas making your move that much simpler!

    

    

    

   Source: Forbes.com

Are you still Single???

Forbes.com has compiled a list of top ten cities in the U.S. for singles. Taken into account is the census of people for the populated area as well as the number of ‘hang out’ spots for young adults to meet and greet. In addition to bars and restaurants, the cities’ cultural offerings are an important component in the calculation.

Topping off the list is Boston. With their Fine Arts museums and live theater on top of being one of the biggest sports towns in the country, it offers a wide array of opportunity to meet new people.

How does your city compare? Is it on the list?

Source: Forbes.com