Seattle #2 Best City for Next Decade

10 best cities for the next decade

In researching our 2010 Best Cities, it became clear that there are three elements to the innovation factor. Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington, put his finger on two of them: Smart people and great ideas. But we'd argue that it's the third element -- collaboration -- that really supercharges a city's economic engine.

When governments, universities and business communities work together, the economic vitality is impressive.

And it's no coincidence that economic vitality and livability go hand in hand. Creativity in music, arts and culture -- plus neighborhoods and recreational facilities that rank high for "coolness" -- attract like-minded professionals who go on to cultivate a region's business scene.

The 10 cities on our 2010 Best Cities are not just great places to live, they're also great places to start a business or find a job.

Here's a closer look at Seattle, the #2 city:

#2. Seattle

Rain City? We say Brain City. It's home to a well-educated work force, a world-class research university and such über-innovators as Microsoft (MSFT, news, msgs), Amazon.com (AMZN, news, msgs) and Boeing's (BA, news, msgs) main aircraft production facility. (Microsoft owns MSN Money.)

Seattle boasts a host of risk-taking, garage-tinkering entrepreneurs, and the city crackles with creative energy. "We only have two products here: smart people and great ideas," says Emmert.