North Carolina City One Of The Most Desirable Places To Live

When considering or thinking about a desirable place to live, it often depends on what you're looking for. For example, some folks live quiet, rural living so a city isn't the best place for them. For other people, the hustle and bustle of a big city is more their speed. According to a new study, a city in North Carolina is one of the most desirable spots to live.

According to a study by Empower, the top desired city to live in for American workers is Denver, CO. Although I've only been there once, I get it. It's a gorgeous place and even with the snow, it's not too difficult to get around. A very pretty place! San Diego, CA is second on the list and wow! Again, I've only been there once but if I won the lottery, I'd move there in a second! The beaches are stunning, and the food is amazing! New York, NY is third on the list. I've been there numerous times but I'm not sure I'd want to live there. So much to do, so many delicious restaurants, and the vibe is cool. When I was younger, I wanted to live there. Now, I think it's a bit too big for me.

The Queen City ranked 4th on the most desirable cities to live in for working adults according to WSOC. Living in Charlotte and Gastonia most of my life, there's no dispute that the area is growing rapidly. And if you drive in commuter traffic, you have seen the difference in the last 10 years. Outlying areas of Charlotte, like Belmont, Lake Norman, and Monroe are seeing a lot of growth too. It's less expensive to live outside of Charlotte than in the city. Despite insanely growing rental prices, the surrounding areas of Charlotte are still more affordable than living in Charlotte.

When looking at the most affordable U.S. cities for people still in their working years, the study collected data on home prices, average income, cost of living, and employment rates across 113 cities. They then scored each city based on their stats and created a ranking from most to least affordable.

Not only did Empower look at desirable cities for working adults, but they also looked at spots for adults who are retired or planning to retire soon. Charlotte came in 3rd in that category. Of all the 113 cities considered in the study, Charlotte also placed 17th for affordability. Sioux Falls, SD was 1st on the list for affordability. Guessing many folks aren't moving there since it's so cold! Hence, making it more affordable.

You can check out all of the details of the study and see all the different categories here.

The worse the Panthers get, the more fans of the away team that can be seen at Bank of America Stadium on any given Sunday. I went to the Denver Broncos game last year, and to be fair the Broncos were about as bad as the Panthers last year. Even still the stadium was at least half orange. I don't know about you but I haven't met that many people from Denver in Charlotte. So it's safe to assume a portion of these fans traveled to Charlotte for this game. To support the team, that was far from the top of their game. No hate for the Broncos. I'm a Panthers fan but I was there specifically to see Russell Wilson who is one of my favorite players. I was surprised to see that many Broncos fans at the game, but now that I know Charlotte is one of the top cities for visiting NFL fans....it makes more sense.

This data was provided to us by our friends at BonusFinder.com. They compared each of the 30 NFL stadiums and their home cities in nine categories. These ranged from the city’s selection of game day activities to the price of beer and hot dogs at the stadium. All of this in an effort to determine which city is the best for visiting NFL fans to attend a game.

I've actually been to a handful of NFL Stadiums. Though coincidentally Bank of America Stadium is the only one on this list. I've also been for concerts and college football games, no other NFL games other than Panther home games. But I have to say there is one clear stand out of the stadiums I've visited. And I'm SHOCKED it was not included on this list. Because in most of these categories, I'd rank Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta high. The cost of food/drink- unbeatable. It's downtown location is walkable to hotels and restaruants/bars. Not to mention tourist attractions like the College Football Hall of Fame and Georgia Aquarium.

But I'm not here to hype up Atlanta, instead to tell you about what are the best places to attend an away game to support your team. And let you know why Charlotte was named in the top 5 cities for visiting NFL teams. Not mentioned in this study is the ease and affordability of getting tickets since the team is terrible right now. Have you visited any of these stadiums?

Iconic Stadium: 11.9/20

Franchise Prestige: 13.9/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 5.6/10

Distance From Major City Center: 9.1/10

Bars Walking Distance: 8.8/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 3.4/5

Cost of a Beer: 4.2/5

Gambling Opportunities: 8.3/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 7.8/10

When traveling to an event at an NFL Stadium, a dome instantly gets extra points from me. The last think you want is to spend the money to travel and the game/event gets canceled. Lucas Oil Stadium and the Colts have some good history. While Indianapolis isn't at the top of my bucketlist, I wouldn't mind attending something here.

Iconic Stadium: 9/20

Franchise Prestige: 12/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 8.1/10

Distance From Major City Center: 9.4/10

Bars Walking Distance: 9.1/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 3.65

Cost of a Beer: 4.8/5

Gambling Opportunities: 9.1/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.1/10

I've fully jumped on the Bengals bandwagon. My teams have been terrible the last few years and I need some good to come from Sundays so I'm not ashamed of that. My alma mater has two players on the defense, and have you seen Joe Burrow? I'd love to attend a game here!

Iconic Stadium: 11.9/20

Franchise Prestige: 14.8/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 9.4/10

Distance From Major City Center: 7.5/10

Bars Walking Distance: 5.3/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 3.1/5

Cost of a Beer: 4.2/5

Gambling Opportunities: 8.3/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 9.1/10

Denver is an overall wonderful city to visit, the Broncos have some incredible history as a franchise. No surprise Mile High Stadium is on this list.

Iconic Stadium: 11.9/20

Franchise Prestige: 12.5/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 8.4/10

Distance From Major City Center: 8.1/10

Bars Walking Distance: 8.4/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 4.7/5

Cost of a Beer: 4.4/5

Gambling Opportunities: 8.7/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.1/10

I've been to the other Maryland Stadium (FedEx Field in Landover), but not Baltimore's. Solid, consistent scores across the board seems to be what landed this somewhat of a sleeper (IMO) on the list.

Iconic Stadium: 10.4/20

Franchise Prestige: 15.9/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 10/10

Distance From Major City Center: 5.3/10

Bars Walking Distance: 7.8/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 4.8/5

Cost of a Beer: 3.4/5

Gambling Opportunities: 9.8/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.1

This is what the NFL wanted when putting a stadium in Vegas. You can't ask for a better location to visit for an away game. A stadium on the strip with every bar, restaurant, casino, and tourist attraction imaginable within eyesight seemingly.

Iconic Stadium: 12.5/20

Franchise Prestige: 18.3/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 7.2/10

Distance From Major City Center: 7.8/10

Bars Walking Distance: 6.9/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 2.5/5

Cost of a Beer: 3.4/5

Gambling Opportunities: 8.4/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.8/10

When you think of stadiums and teams with history you have to think of the Steelers and Pittsburg. While I'm far from a fan of the team, a game here is a must-do for any NFL fan.

Iconic Stadium: 13.5/20

Franchise Prestige: 11.7/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 8.8/10

Distance From Major City Center: 9.4/10

Bars Walking Distance: 9.7/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 3.3/5

Cost of a Beer: 3.6/5

Gambling Opportunities: 8.3/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.8/10

A prime stadium location (David Tepper please don't move it out of the city I'm begging you), gave Bank of America Stadium a boost in the rankings. I mean it's a solid stadium, but I am a little surprised it ranked quite this high.

Iconic Stadium: 12.5/20

Franchise Prestige: 13.1/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 8.1/10

Distance From Major City Center: 9.7/10

Bars Walking Distance: 9.4/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 3.1/5

Cost of a Beer: 3/5

Gambling Opportunities: 10/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.1/10

Most likely the next on my NFL Stadium adventure is the Superdome in New Orleans. I mentioned before my love of indoor stadiums when traveling. A prime location in a fun city as well, makes me say yes please!

Iconic Stadium: 17.3/20

Franchise Prestige: 18/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 9.7/10

Distance From Major City Center: 7.2/10

Bars Walking Distance: 5.9/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 1.9/5

Cost of a Beer: 3.1/5

Gambling Opportunities: 9.5/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.8/10

Another team, city, and stadium steeped in history. This one is on my short list as well!

Iconic Stadium: 14.4/20

Franchise Prestige: 15.5/20

Sports Bars Within 5-Mile Radius: 7.8/10

Distance From Major City Center: 9.4/10

Bars Walking Distance: 10/10

Cost of a Hot Dog: 2.8/5

Cost of a Beer: 5/5

Gambling Opportunities: 8.7/10

Sports Related Activities Nearby: 8.1/10

I know you Michiganders have a lot of pride, but Detroit is hardly the most desirable location for me to visit. But the stats in this case gave it the title.

To determine the best NFL cities in the US for visiting fans, we analyzed the 32 teams and their 30 stadiums and home cities in the following factors, which were given different weighting depending on their importance for visiting fans.

 Iconic Stadiums - Score calculated based on the following three categories (Score out of 20)

Prestige of the Club - Score calculated based on the following categories (Score out of 20)

Read the rest of the methodology here. Thanks to our friends at BonusFinder for sharing this research with us.