That’s the opinion of John Sanphillippo of San Francisco, in this recent article from newgeography.com about how acquaintances from there who, upon finding that city too expensive, moved to Cincinnati and discovered a similar environment, only affordable.

His point is very provocative — young people who want but can’t afford the progressive, stimulating urban life that is such a lure for cities like San Francisco, Brooklyn, N.Y., Seattle or Boston aren’t giving up on their dreams and retreating to the familiar dullness of Great American Suburbia.

Instead, they’re finding that all cities now — and especially what he calls “Rust Belt” cities — are alive with examples of progressive New Urbanism. And he singles out Cincinnati as a choice example.

The photos aren’t marked, but you can see Shake It Records, the Suspension Bridge, East Walnut Hills, Vine Street. And the author doesn’t even mention the streetcar.

This article ran Saturday on the New Geography site, a joint venture of author Joel Kotkin (The City: A Global History) and Praxis Strategy Group devoted to “analyzing and discussing the places where we live and work.”

According to his bio, Sanphillippo “lives in San Francisco and blogs about urbanism, adaptation, and resilience at granolashotgun.com. He's a member of the Congress for New Urbanism, films videos for faircompanies.com, and is a regular contributor to strongtowns.org. He earns his living by buying, renovating, and renting undervalued properties in places that have good long- term prospects.”