If you were to rattle off a bunch of words to describe Edmond, the first to come to mind would be the three common stereotypes – rich, suburban and white. They would be followed by a barrage of descriptors ranging from basic and boring to clean and friendly to tired and slutty. Remember, the city is home to PNS Massage.
One word that would probably be farther down on the list is "successful." It's not that Edmond isn't a success – the city has done a great job capitalizing on white flight and suburban sprawl – but "successful?" That seems a bit out there, which is why I thought this tweet was a bit odd:
Wow. Take that Norman, Owasso, Beaver and Wayne (or Payne). Edmond is the most successful city in Oklahoma. It has the highest ACT scores, best grades and richest relatives. It's achieved more in the the last five years than most semi-affluent suburbs do in a lifetime.
That being said, what makes a city successful? I sent the following tweet to the City of Edmond asking for a clarification.
Give the City of Edmond's social media bandit some credit. They provided a prompt, professional and blunt reply:
They're correct. Success is a relative term. But for a lot of people, a fair portion of their success revolves around never living in Edmond. I guess that's why I found Edmond's "most successful" distinction to be a bit curious.
Anyway, you can read more about the rankings here. If you think your city is more successful than Edmond, let us know in the comments.
