Allhands: Let's all ride on Mesa's coattails

Mesa is one of five best large cities in Money's annual ranking.

The magazine cited Mesa's affordability and great schools (plus nice golf) as reasons why life there is better than most other places.

And it's true. Mesa is a great place to live.

But so is Chandler. And Gilbert. And Tempe.

The truth is, the entire region has its charms. That's probably why most Valley cities have made the Money rankings at some point.

And though, on paper, the differences between city median incomes and home affordability indexes may seem significant (did you know Gilbert's median income is $80,277, nearly twice Mesa's, which is slightly above the national average?), the things that set us apart actually make us stronger together.

Smart cities will recognize as much and ride on Mesa's Money coattails. Instead of playing the "oh yeah? We're still better than Mesa" game, like we used to do, we'll say that the Phoenix region is diverse (yet fun and affordable) enough to beat the snot out of any other in the Southwest.

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