6. Boston-Quincy (Mass.)
Metro population: 1.8 million
Unemployment rate: 8.7 percent
Cost of living index: 132.8 (100 is average)
Another surprise on the indie circuit, Sperling’s Best Places points out: Boston actually tied Nashville for the No. 2 spot in terms of indie culture. But here, it’s not just music, it’s also innovation and invention, given that there are more than 100 colleges and universities here, including Harvard and MIT. In fact, Boston has such a reputation as an intellectually center, it’s often referred to as “The Athens of America.”
