First off I have to admit that I was a little puzzled by what exactly a "mid-level professional" is. Is this the same as a young professional? And for that matter what does "professional" mean? Does it mean having your own desk or cube? Business cards? Sensible shoes?

In today’s column I didn’t want to just tout the fact that Portland made another list – the city makes lists for all kinds of reasons all the time. But more importantly I wanted to see if it really is a good place for younger workers – or professionals.

According to the Best Cities criteria on the Kiplinger’s website, a mid-level professional is single or married with no kids, age 30 – 44. This is opposed to the singles group, which is simply anyone between the ages of 25 – 29.

Still confused?

Here’s some of the other criteria: home ownership affordability, average commute time and the growth of wages in the creative class.
With all the cities they also factored in something they called the "bohemian indicator," (which sounds more like a tracking system to target faux-hippies) which gave points for the number of musicians, artists, writers and other creative types in the area.

Kiplinger’s picture of Portland is honest, pointing out that buying a home can be expensive in some parts of the city such as the West end. Here’s a little more of what they had to say about us:

"Despite a soft economy (job growth is projected to stay under 1% this year and next), the Portland area remains a draw for professionals seeking to escape the pace and congestion of big-city life. With Acadia National Park, state parks, lakes and islands to explore, the Portlander's playground is spectacular."

This seemed to raise another question to me, because Portland may be good for mid-level professionals, but what about the young people who’ve tried to reach the professional level but remain one step below?

But despite some of the curious criteria, they do point out some of the things that make Portland great for young professionals such as Salt, taking walks on the Eastern Promenade and restaurants like Duckfat.

Though by their standards I would not qualify as a mid-level professional, I’d say I’m pretty close. And like many young professionals one of the reason’s I came here is because of the job opportunities. But a city needs a lot more than just jobs to keep people. As someone who moved to Maine not knowing anyone, it helped that there are plenty of art and music venues, outdoor adventures, great restaurants and, ah yes...the nightlife.

So what brought you to Portland and what keeps you here? Anyone disagree with Kiplinger’s list?

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