Deciding on a career and finding your life partner are high priorities. However, Richard Florida believes that another factor is equally important. In “Who’s Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life,” Florida argues that where you live dictates your success as much as or even more than traditional considerations. Furthermore, your preferences in how and where you will live change as you go through different life stages. This claim runs counter to another widespread belief that the Internet has made almost all places equally ideal for remote workers.

Florida explains how you can use what he calls the “Bohemian-Gay Index” to predict how your home city will evolve in the ensuing years. This index comes from the idea that gay and bohemian populations tend to drive up home values. The effect is due to the open-minded climate that fosters creative people to start companies like Google and YouTube. According to the book, some of the qualities that creative people look for in a city or town are an affordable cost of living, natural traffic patterns, and even specific moods and cultural behaviors. Florida’s book touches on many areas of study, including economics, sociology, and city planning.

The author provides a lot of statistics for you to process, but he also offers some tips on how to find places where you can grow and thrive long term. His “three key ideas” draw from his research to provide the foundation for a 10-step plan that he offers in later pages. There is nothing dry about Florida’s style even with the many facts that he gives. You will find smart observations and compelling stories scattered throughout this writing to keep you engaged. With all things considered, this book can leave you thinking about your life path in a whole new way.