In today’s rough economic times many people wonder where are the best places to live in the country. There are a lot of resources out there that will focus on job potential, current market salaries, and many other aspects of life. So what are the results of these surveys and investigations by the media and other resources?
According to Money Magazine in 2010 the following cities were the top places to live in the country:
- Eden Prairie, MN
- Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
- Newton, MA
- Bellevue, WA
- McKinney, TX
- Fort Collins, CO
- Overland Park, KS
- Fishers, IN
- Ames, IA
- Rogers, AR
These top ten cities were determined based on higher levels of employment, high ranked schools, low crime, beauty, availability of entertainment, and many other factors. Of course other lists will vary in their results. Parenting.com listed Arlington, VA as the number one city in their research which was based on a nationwide survey. This survey was based on the best places to raise a family. Many of the criteria was similar to that used in the Money Magazine research, but yielded different results. Obviously one cannot go by polls and articles alone.
When considering moving to another city is is a good idea to research the crime rates through the local police. You can get information on the various schools and a great deal of information about a city through local government resources and even civic associations. The important aspect is to conduct your own investigation into the city instead of solely relying on the research of others. Not everyone will have the same focus on a city and may miss information that you may discover. Some research will be geared toward families and others may be for the single person who is not very concerned about school districts. So, each person’s lifestyle will yield different results when trying to determine which is the best city to call home.