I always enjoy the lists that Forbes produces, except for the ones that exclude me, such as Top Models and World’s Richest. But I digress – let’s check out Forbes’ Best Cities for Jobs report.

As you might expect, Forbes’ research was a domestic exercise and out of 100 metropolitan markets, 25 were deemed “best.” I have no qualms with their top choice, Raleigh, North Carolina. The key to Raleigh’s pole position is its proximity to Research Triangle Park, a 7,000 acre sprawl of offices, pines and parking lots, packed with R&D, high-tech and biotech global career opportunities. Raleigh-Cary deserves raves for its scenic beauty, affordable housing, and fine universities such as Duke, NC State and UNC.

Let’s not quibble too much about Forbes’ list, because it wasn’t intended to be global in its scope (or use). But if you’re evaluating your next career move would you give an “equal” weighting to these five categories: “Unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median household income, and cost of living”?  Sounds reasonable (if you have the data), but the formula yields curious choices such as Jacksonville, Florida, at No. 3 or Oklahoma City at No. 21 (true, it has multinational oil firms). Maybe it’s my big-city bias, but unless your priorities are low-cost housing, Oklahoma Sooner football or petrochemicals, why would you choose to live in Oklahoma City over New York City at No. 75, Pittsburgh at No. 76, Chicago at No. 82, Boston at No. 83, and last, but definitely not least, San Francisco/Silicon Valley at No. 86?

As they say, your results will vary. How would you choose the world’s best cities for global work? Let us know if it’s a project we should pursue.