How do we feel about where we live? | Bradenton Herald

What do State College, Pa., Grand Forks, N.D., and Boulder, Colo., have that Bradenton doesn’t?

Let’s see:

A. Joe Pa’s dynastic football program.

B. Bitterly cold winters.

C. The Rockies.

All true, but they weren’t the reasons Bradenton, ranked No. 1 last year in the Soul of the Community Gallup poll, came in fourth this year, albeit out of 26 American cities.

Commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami, the report surveys how citizens of a community feel toward where they live, what it offers them and what they give back.

State College, Grand Forks and Boulder went 1-2-3, though only by hundredths of a point.

According to Katherine Loflin, lead consultant for the Soul of the Community Project, their citizenry identified more strongly with three main factors that emotionally attach them to their community:

n Aesthetics and social offerings -- An area’s physical beauty and fun places to go.

n Openness -- How welcoming a place is to senior citizens and new college graduates.

n Education -- From K-12 to universities.

“It wasn’t that other communities outperformed Bradenton, or that the bottom fell out. It was that other communities ramped up,” Loflin said. “Those citizens were much happier ... and that contributed to their greater attachment to the place they live.

“Bradenton residents think aesthetics is the strength of the community, but they think social offerings and openness can be improved.”

The difference from last year was minimal in some cases.

For instance, of the 402 people polled by the survey, 57 percent rated the area’s aesthetics very high. Last year, it was 56 percent.

This year 56 percent thought the community very welcoming to seniors, down from 60 percent last year.

On the upside, after last year’s poll cited unemployment as the area’s No. 1 issue, this year’s poll showed the perception is the local economy is getting better and so is hiring momentum.

That, said Mayor Wayne Poston, is central to how people feel.

“There are an awful lot of people unhappy about a lot of things, but the economy is the issue,” he said. “This is the worst economy we’ve had in years and a bad economy gets reflected in a lot of ways -- philanthropical giving, cultural venues can’t get done. It impacts a lot of people.

“So we dropped from first to fourth, big deal. I’m not moving to any of those places.”

Neither is John Horne.

The Anna Maria Oyster Bar owner and longtime Bradenton businessman senses a turnaround in the local economy.

“I’m feeling a much better attitude from people lately,” he said. “The community’s business leaders are all working together to make it better. I think our outlook is great, more so than the past. People are hiring again.”

Three other Florida areas surveyed -- Tallahassee, Palm Beach County and Miami -- finished 11, 13 and 21 in the poll, respectively.

20CA3538Vin Mannix, local columnist, can be reached at 745-7055.