Yuppier than thou: Forbes' best cities for the upwardly mobile

Updated

One aspect of any really big decision is the degree to which it changes one's identity. The little decisions are things that can be reversed, replaced, or otherwise ignored, while the big ones leave their mark.

For example, my college majors determined a large part of the path that my life has followed. They have influenced my perspective, my group of friends, and all the other decisions that I subsequently made. The same goes for marriage and parenthood, as well as a few other biggies.

Shortly after moving to New York, I realized that this decision would have a monumental effect on my identity. Using Facebook, I reconnected with my buddy Aubin. Once he learned that I had moved to the city, he began referring to me as "Yankee." Having spent all my life in the south, this was a pretty big shift. Still, given that my relatives fought for the north (or, as I always put it, the winners), this made some sense.

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