If you want a fast read on the health of a city, don’t start with slogans. Start with one number: office vacancy rate. Because vacancy is a vital sign. When offices empty out, the second-order effects hit everything around them: foot traffic drops, small businesses start dying off, costs creep up, and the “normal life” of a downtown quietly erodes. Chicago’s reported around 30%, but anyone paying attention knows the lived reality can feel worse.
And if you’re a veteran, this matters in a different way. You’ve been trained to read environments for stability, risk, and security, and those instincts still apply when you’re choosing where to live and work. Economic decay often comes beforesocial and safety decay, and it rarely happens overnight. The best part is: now you have the freedom to choose with your eyes open. Don’t make it a vibe decision. Make it a facts decision. If you’re seeing the same pattern in your city, drop the city name in the comments.
