Once Again Forbes & CNBC Rank Colorado 3rd & 4th-Best State for Business

For the second year in a row, Forbes has once again ranked Colorado the 4th best state for businesses and for fostering economic growth.  CNBC has rated Colorado the 3rd best state two years in a row.


"Even in this tough economy, Colorado has remained aggressive, disciplined and focused when it comes to supporting businesses and encouraging economic growth," Gov. Ritter said. "Today's ranking by Forbes shows that our strategies and investments in emerging and innovative industries like clean energy, healthcare, aerospace, biosciences and technology are working. We still have many challenges ahead, but we are indeed moving forward."


The Forbes ranking puts Colorado first for labor supply, sixth for overall economic climate and growth prospects, and ninth for quality of life.

10 Worst Cities for Real Estate Investing (Denver & CO is not one of them)

These are the ten cities where home prices fell the most over the past year have been plagued by unemployment, and most were in states that had the biggest speculative bubble. In contrast, Colorado and Denver are on almost all of the top 10 GOOD lists.  

These ten worst real estate markets according to Kiplinger are:

1. Detroit – Livonia – Dearborn, Michigan

2. Las Vegas – Paradise, Nevada

3. Phoenix – Mesa – Scottsdale, Arizona

4. Merced, California

5. Miami – Miami Beach – Kendall, Florida

6. Modesto, California

7. Orlando – Kissimmee, Florida

8. Lakeland – Winter Haven, Florida

9. Salinas, California

10. Cape Coral – Fort Myers, Florida

Kiplinger provides detailed information about the housing markets in these cities and CLICK HERE to get more information about these markets

Where to Take Out of Town Visitors in Denver

If you're like me, you're always trying to impress out of town guests with what Denver and Colorado has to offer. Here's a great list you can Googlemap and always come back to so you can make sure you're not saying "Uh, umm, let me think where we can go..." while your guests are rather unimpressed:

Denver Flair:

Larimer Square

Historic Lodo District (take a stroll)

Confluence Park (take a ride down Cherry Creek in a punt)

16th Street Mall

Denver Art Museum

Wash Park (Denver's "Central Park")

Denver Mint

Museum of Nature & Science

Cherry Creek North

Water World

Indoor Sky Diving (super-fun!)

Tattered Cover Bookstore

Mountain Towns:

Grand Lake

Estes Park

Idaho Springs

Ouray

Breckenridge

Steamboat Springs

Vail

Scenery:

Garden of the Gods

Red Rocks

Royal Gorge

Rocky Mountain National Park

Telluride

Unique Tours:

Molly Brown House

Air Force Academy

Wings Over the Rockies

Favorite Drives:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Independence Pass

Mt. Evans Drive

Red Mountain Pass

San Juan Skyway/Million Dollar Highway

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park

Glenwood Canyon

Maroon Bells, Aspen