This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

With its generous green spaces, walking-distance shopping and array of local eateries, Salt Lake City's East Central neighborhood is among the nation's best for Millennials, according to education analyst Niche Ink.

In related news, there is a neighborhood in Salt Lake City called "East Central."

According to Google Maps, it's about two and a half square miles surrounding 9th and 9th, stretching between Liberty Park, the Avenues, the U and Westminster College. According to the East Central Community Council, it's the northern half of that. I'll let others duke that out. If you can travel to Tower Theater without finding a single place to buy chicken nuggets from your car, you might be in East Central.

Among cities, Niche Ink ranked Salt Lake No. 20 in the nation for Millennials, right after New Orleans and right before Houston. At the top of Niche Ink's list is New York City, whose spotlighted Greenpoint neighborhood was home to HBO's "Girls." Rankings reflect economic, crime and survey data.

East Central is described as SLC's place to be, with nearly half of its population 18 to 34 years old, generally well-educated and enjoying low rents but high home values.

So basically, you can be an indebted recent graduate but smell whiffs of Slightly- to Somewhat-Fancy Adult Life. You can walk to public transit to reach your place of marginal employment, and then on pay day splurge on an appetizer at Pago before filling up on ramen from Smith's. You can blast through Groupons at Centered City Yoga. You can treat your X-Wife's Place hangover with Finn's julekake french toast and pretend to pronounce it right. You can abuse fine cheese samples at Liberty Heights Fresh. You can catch a motorist tapping his steering wheel to the same song you're listening to on KRCL, which you'll maybe donate to whenever your philanthropy budget isn't tied up in student loans and not being homeless.

Congratulations, East Central, wherever you are, for allowing at least some in our most-economically-screwed generation to enjoy a bit of the good life.

—Erin Alberty

Twitter: @erinalberty