The Wall Street Journal asked six experts which 10 cities will emerge as the hottest, hippest destinations for highly mobile, educated workers in their 20s when the U.S. economy gets moving again, and Seattle has tied for the No. 1 spot.

Their panelists—demographers, economists, geographers and authors on urban issues—picked their cities based on the criteria they deem most important, from economic diversity to lifestyle.

Big cities dominate the panelists' forecasts. Where trendy smaller cities might have captivated youth in the past, today's recession-scarred young people are more pragmatic, placing "greater emphasis on where high-quality, high-paying jobs are created," said Ross DeVol, director of regional economics for the nonprofit Milken Institute. Northeastern and West Coast cities are ascendant, eclipsing former Sunbelt favorites such as Atlanta.

Which cities are likely to be the hottest post-economic downturn destinations for young, brilliant, and highly mobile workers? The Wall Street Journal surveyed six trend-spotting experts and they chose cities based on economic diversity, lifestyle and their own personal prejudices.

Here’s the top-10 list:

1. Washington, D.C. (tie)
1. Seattle (tie)
2. New York
3. Portland, Ore.
4. Austin, Texas
5. San Jose, Calif.
6. Denver, Colo.
7. Durham, N.C.
8. Dallas, Texas
9. Chicago, Ill.
10. Boston, Mas.

Seattle and Washington D.C. tied in first place. Washington D.C. is attracting youth because of the job growth in government jobs. However, future predictions reveal that the government may soon have to start looking at job cuts.

In the panelists’ eyes, none could match Seattle's combination of a diverse high-tech sector, cultural life, access to rugged natural terrain and a strong university presence. A region of corporate innovators, from Amazon.com, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Boeing, Seattle is a high-tech and lifestyle mecca.

The city's high-tech sector is just slightly smaller than Silicon Valley's with 226,300 workers. Joblessness remains relatively low at 7.7 percent. Furthermore, city officials predict rapid growth in biotech.

In addition, Seattle also has tens of thousands of jobs in music and interactive media.

James Tibbetts is an associate broker at West Seattle Windermere 206-932-2550.

Full disclosure: James Tibbetts is an advertiser with the West Seattle Herald.