> they all sort of know there's something going pretty right in these coastal cities [..] and yet > given how dysfunctional a lot of the coastal cities have b

> they all sort of know there's something going pretty right in these coastal cities [..] and yet > given how dysfunctional a lot of the coastal cities have become [...] (Genuine) Q: Are you saying other places should, or shouldn't, attempt to copy the coastal cities? EDIT: For full disclosure, should add that we happen to live in a small town with abnormally high tax revenue compared to the rest of this region - and indeed this country - due to the taxation arrangements in this part of the world. Lots of money to go round, sounds good? Certainly we have local amenities that other towns nearby would kill for. Yet town local politics sucks, over-engineering is rife, and money is regularly wasted. It's blessing and curse in equal measures.