Living large in small cities
White Plains just missed being listed among the 50 best small cities in which to live, as ranked by CNNMoney.com.
White Plains was rated 53rd on the list of 100 cities, with New Rochelle the lone other Westchester County city to make the list at 82nd.
The magazine lauded White Plains both for its proximity to New York City while retaining a small-town feel, as well as for its growing corporate muscle in its own right. New Rochelle won plaudits for being situated on Long Island Sound and close to Manhattan, and for its ethnic and religious diversity.
Clarkstown in Rockland County led all New York entries at 41st, followed by Amherst outside Buffalo at 42nd and Ramapo in Rockland County at 88th.
In Fairfield County, Conn., Stamford ranked 78th and Norwalk 90th.
Eden Prairie, Minn. was deemed the best small city in which to live, while Newton, Mass., led all cities in the Northeast while ranking third overall behind Colombia, Md., and adjacent Ellicott City.
Tracking lost business
Between 2007 and 2008 when the recession began, Westchester County lost 330 business establishments, a 1 percent drop according to new estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Other counties in the lower Hudson Valley similarly saw their business count drop 1 percent, while Fairfield County, Conn., saw a 1.1 percent decline.
Statewide in New York, the Census Bureau estimated a 0.2 percent decline in businesses overall, compared to a 1.1 percent decline in Connecticut and a 2 percent drop in New Jersey.
Florida suffered the steepest plunge with a 3 percent drop in business establishments, while Texas led the nation with a 0.2 percent gain.
