Houston is the nation's fourth largest city (and soon to be third), but in terms of the "cool" factor, the Bayou City ranks a paltry 20th in the nation among cities where young professionals want to live.

San Francisco ranks No. 1 and Austin is No. 6. But Dallas isn't on the list at all.

Lists like these are always debatable— does anyone really believe Milwaukee, Jacksonville and Charlotte are hipper than Houston? Even so, highly educated, highly mobile young professionals can find a lot to like here.

Being recognized as an attractive, cool city makes a huge difference to the potential of a city’s economy and its real estate market.

“We could simply call these ‘cool’ cities, and this cool factor will be very important for future growth, especially for high-tech, high-finance, international, and other industries with high-paying jobs,” says Jeanette Rice, vice president of investment and market research at Verde Realty.

What makes a city cool? For starters, walkable neighborhoods, bustling downtowns, an active music and arts scene; and diverse job opportunities, according to Next Generation Consulting, a Madison, Wis.-based firm.
The consulting firm specializes in evaluating cities based on “the characteristics that matter to young talent.”

The young professional generation – aka “the creative class” or “the knowledge worker” – is also looking at the city’s cost of living and the potential for career advancement in the chosen city.

Mobility/traffic and the after-hours fun potential are also critical items for the young crowd, says Next Generation Consulting. And a city’s green/health attributes are a high priority. When Houston shows up on the list of most obese citizenry, it certainly doesn't help.

COOL RANKINGS
1. San Francisco
2. Seattle
3. Boston
4. Washington DC
5. Denver
6. Austin
7. Baltimore
8. Portland
9. New York City
10. Columbus
11. Milwaukee
12. Charlotte
13. Chicago
14. Nashville
15. Jacksonville
16. Tucson
17. San Antonio
18. Los Angeles
19. San Diego
20. Houston

Source: Next Generation Consulting’s rankings of Next Cities with a population of 500,000 or more.

The epicenter of cool

OK – here’s the cheat sheet for newcomers.

If you are a young professional moving to Houston, you can spend a lot of time scouting the Inner Loop (near downtown) looking for a cool neighborhood. You might be able to find something good in the Montrose area, a garage apartment in The Heights or a place near Rice University.

But in my judgment, the coolest place to live is Post Midtown Square, a mid-rise apartment project at 302 Gray Avenue at Bagby. It has a significant collection of restaurants with sidewalk dining on both sides of the street. Its wide brick sidewalks give it plenty of room to stroll and mingle.

The Midtown project is within walking distance of a CVS drug store and a Randall’s grocery. You’re on the edge of downtown, not far from Metro rail.
If there’s any place you could live in Houston without a car, this would be it.

Dallas isn't very cool, but you already knew that

For those of you who hate Dallas, you may now gloat. The “Big D” did not make the Top 20 of cool places to live.

What’s wrong with Dallas? For one thing, Dallas does not have a cool downtown. The Adolphus and the Magnolia hotels are outstanding downtown hostelries and there is some night life around Charlie Palmer restaurant on Main Street. But for the most part, downtown Dallas is dull.

Fort Worth, on the other hand, has a cool downtown. It has great-looking brick streets, plenty of people enjoying its nightlife and the Reata restaurant, one of the best rooftop dining spots anywhere.

But it's not on the cool list either. It's hard to make a list like that when you bill yourself as a "cowtown."

Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is editor-in-chief of RealtyNewsReport.com.