Americans Name Nashville and Florida the Most Desirable Places to Live in 2026 Americans know exactly where they’d like to live…they just can’t always afford to get there. More than half of the country, 54%, say they couldn’t actually afford to relocate to a place they consider more desirable, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate. Nashville Holds the Top Spot for a Second Year Among the 50 most populous U.S. metros, Nashville, Tennessee, once again ranks as the most desirable place to live in the country, with 21.4% of Americans naming it a top city, narrowly edging out Denver by 0.4 percentage points. Nashville’s appeal persists even as home prices climb. The typical home in the city now costs $484,252, about 21% above the national median. The 10 most desirable major metros are: Nashville, TN Denver, CO San Diego, CA Charlotte, NC Seattle, WA Tampa, FL Raleigh, NC Austin, TX Boston, MA Orlando, FL Florida Is the Most Desirable State — Again At the state level, Florida holds onto the top ranking for the third year in a row, with nearly a third of Americans (32%) naming it the best place to live. California presents a more complicated picture. It ties with New York for the least desirable state overall, dragged down by high living costs, high taxes, and expensive housing. Yet California also ranks No. 2 among most desirable states; 33% of Americans call it undesirable, while another 24% place it in their top five. The state is, in short, polarizing. What Makes a Place Desirable and What Doesn’t When asked what makes somewhere a good place to live, Americans point to three factors above all: low crime rates (67%), a low cost of living (65%), and good weather (57%). Notably, low crime jumped to the No. 1 spot this year, overtaking good weather, which held the top position in 2025. The reverse is also true. High crime rates (73%), a high cost of living (68%), and high taxes (66%) are the top reasons a place is seen as unappealing. Concerns about infrastructure are creeping into the conversation, too. More than 1 in 4 Americans (27%) named a city’s loose regulations on data center construction as a drawback, which is a sign of growing unease over the energy demands of data centers. Chicago Named Least Desirable City Crime concerns weigh heavily on Chicago’s reputation: more than 1 in 4 Americans (27%) rank it as the least desirable city in the country, even though violent crime there has declined for two consecutive years. The 10 least desirable major metros are: Chicago, IL New York, NY Detroit, MI Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA Birmingham, AL Baltimore, MD Atlanta, GA Washington, DC Tampa, FL Interestingly, Tampa appears on both the most desirable and least desirable lists, landing at No. 6 among the most desirable metros and No. 10 among the least desirable. Are Americans Happy Where They Are? Despite the appeal of other cities

Save, invest, prosper with My Own Advisor. Weekend Reading – Top Canadian Dividend ETFs Hi Folks! Welcome to a new Weekend Reading edition, on the subject of Top Canadian Dividend ETFs along with other Exchange Traded Fund considerations for your portfolio. You can find an updated post on that subject right here and a brand new YouTube video on our channel here… Early retiree thanks to DIY investing in stocks and ETFs. The article Weekend […]

Most of the decisions we make in retirement planning become easier once you understand why you are making them, but that does not mean they always feel intuitive. Investing is a good example. You spend your working years accumulating savings, often with the understanding that accepting some market risk is necessary to grow your money. Once you retire, continuing to expose those savings to market losses can feel much harder to justify. You have spent […]

By Jim Dahle, WCI Founder

Robo-advisors have gone from a niche experiment born during the 2008 financial crisis to a mainstream way to invest, with the industry now managing well over $1 trillion in U.S. assets and projected to keep climbing toward multi-trillion-dollar territory by the end of the decade. Vanguard alone runs the largest platform, with Betterment, Wealthfront, Schwab, and Fidelity Go rounding out the field of high assets under management (AUM) robos. So are they actually worth using, or just a cheaper way to get a mediocre portfolio? Like most things in personal finance, the honest answer is “it depends.” Here’s a breakdown of the real pros and cons. This article may contain affiliate links which means that – at zero cost to you – I might earn a commission if you sign up or buy through the affiliate link. What Is a Robo-Advisor, Exactly? A robo-advisor is a digital platform that builds and manages an investment portfolio for you using algorithms instead of (or alongside) a human. You typically start by answering a short questionnaire about your age, goals, income and risk tolerance. The platform then assigns you a diversified mix of low-cost ETFs or index funds, invests your money automatically, and rebalances the portfolio over time to keep it aligned with your target allocation. Some robo-advisors are purely algorithmic. Others are “hybrid” models that pair the automated portfolio with access to a human advisor, either included in the fee or available as a paid add-on. Many offer additional services such as high-yield cash accounts and ESG portfolios. Wealthfront Cash offers 3.95% interest rate promo (new clients) The Pros of Robo-Advisors 1. Lower fees. This is the single biggest draw. Traditional financial advisors often charge around 1% of assets under management or more. Robo-advisors typically charge a fraction of that. Many automated advisory management fees fall between roughly 0.15% and 0.50%, on top of the low expense ratios of the underlying ETFs. Over decades, that fee gap can significantly change how much wealth you end up with. 2. Low or no account minimums. Robo-advisors made professionally managed portfolios accessible to people who could not have afforded a traditional advisor. Some platforms let you start investing with just $10, which is a big deal for younger investors, people on tight budgets, or anyone just getting started. Wealthfront – Low Fees + Personalized Portfolios 3. Easy to use and available 24/7. You can open an account, answer the risk questionnaire, and be invested within minutes, all from your phone. Unlike a financial planner who might work banker’s hours, a robo-advisor’s app is always there, which suits people with unpredictable schedules or those who simply want to check in on their own time. 4. Professionally built, diversified portfolios. Robo-advisors typically construct portfolios using a handful of broad ETFs spanning stocks, bonds, and sometimes international or alternative assets. For investors who don’t want to research and hand-pick their own funds, this institutional-style diversification can be an upgrade over a self-built, home-brew portfolio. 5.

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On August 6, the first tranche of locked-up SpaceX shares was released. Roughly 911.5 million shares became eligible to trade in a single session. SPCX went up 6%. Then it went up again the next day, closing out a two-day gain of about 11% on the exact event everybody had circled on their calendar as […] The post Everybody Got The SpaceX Lockup Expiration Wrong, And I’m Not Selling appeared first on Financial Samurai.

We compare the returns on Premium Bonds, Saving Accounts and Mutual funds to review which may be the best investment for you. The post Where Should I Put My Money? Premium Bonds vs Savings Accounts vs Index Funds (A 12-Month Test) appeared first on The Financial Wilderness.