We’ve already heard that Philadelphia didn’t capitalize on the wave immigration that helped revitalized and grow population in other “more successful” cities nationwide, but now I’m wondering if we’re also missing out on the newest indicator of success, which was noticed by a blogger at The 13th Floor on a recent trip to Baltimore:

I awoke late, went downstairs, and ask the doorman where in the Monument Square area I could get a bagel and a cup of good coffee. She directed me to the charming City Cafe, basically your classic urban hipster-writer hangout except for one thing: No one there had an Apple laptop.

This was strange. At similar places in Santa Monica or Brooklyn, Macbooks are everywhere. But not here. I’d seen the same Mac absence in Cleveland last fall. That’s when it hit me: Cities such as Baltimore and Cleveland are struggling because people there don’t use Macs.

At this point, you’re probably thinking: He’s crazy! Macs don’t make cities richer; it’s just that creative types in wealthy communities like (and are willing to pay more for) Macs.

Economists have a term for this error — endogeneity. As much as I (a Mac user) hate to say it, Macs probably aren’t the variable that has made West Hollywood rich. They’re a byproduct of success, not the cause.

For sure, it wasn’t a huge sample size - one coffee shop in one spot in Baltimore, but it is an observation worth exploring, if for no other reason than I am a fan of Macs and am a wannabe creative type who would love nothing more than to sit in a coffee shop all day and pen the great American novel on my Macbook.

I am happy to report that I’ve seen plenty of Macbooks and Macbook Pros in the various Starbucks and other neighborhood coffee shops of Philadelphia (especially at my two favorite such shops).  So maybe we are doing OK after all.