Financial Times: Downtown Cleveland is "Muscular and Handsome"

The Guardians got a shoutout Credit: Erik Drost/FlickrCC

The Financial Times, in its second annual Nikkei Investing in America list, ranked Cleveland at No. 18 in its “snapshot of the best US cities for foreign multinationals to do business in” and “largely on the back of three criteria: affordability, for both individuals and businesses; quality of life, including culture and leisure; and strong scores for climate resilience.”

Featuring a predictable interview roster — Mayor Justin Bibb, City Club CEO Dan Dan Moulthrop, Cleveland City councilmember Rebecca Maurer — Cleveland is described by them and the FT as a perfect porridge of a city. (“Cleveland is small enough that you can get your arms around it, but big enough to matter,” Moulthrop told the outlet.)

We have the infrastructure of the large city we used to be with far fewer people (no traffic!), the kind of legacy cultural and athletic institutions a city of our size wouldn’t normally have, and we’re a plucky bunch hellbent on trying to change Cleveland for the better despite all the usual headwinds and decades of butt decisions (and butthole quotes).

Speaking of anatomy, the FT gave a special and warm compliment to the center city, noting that, “The city’s downtown is muscular and handsome, as upper Midwestern cities often are.”

Locals, of course, know well the irresistible charms of the city skyline, as we’ve reported before.