Best Places To Live? Big Roundup of Major Top 10 Lists
Where are the best places to consider relocating to? I knew that almost every major financial media outlet had their own “best places to live” list, and my plan was to see which cities popped up most amongst them. Well, that was a bust as every list seemed to be so different; The top city on one list might not even be on the next list at all. Why? There is no one best place to live, it all depends on what criteria is important to you.
Instead, I’m just going to give you the direct links to all the major Top 10 lists (alphabetical-ish), and let you peruse at your leisure over the weekend. I listed the top city pick for each one – all in different spots across America!
- Businessweek: Raleigh, NC
- CNN Money / Money magazine: Louisville, Colorado
- Kiplinger’s Personal Finance: Omaha, Nebraska
- Marketwatch / Wall Street Journal based on RelocateAmerica: Austin, Texas
- US News & World Report: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Let me know if I missed one, but be careful since many other smaller lists are actually based on those above. In the end, choosing where to live is just one factor in your life, and you may already be happiest where you are right now. But why not make sure it’s a conscious decision? A good place for additional research is BestPlaces.net which I believe used to work with CNN Money on their list.
This post is part of my Expense Reduction Guide: Housing.
By Jonathan Ping | Frugal Living, Real Estate | 2/10/12, 12:21am
February 10th, 2012 at 3:48 am
The number one city in the world for the quality of life was by most publications in the last few years Vienna, Austria. I lived there for 6 years. It is really beautiful, has wonderful infrastructure and comfort, however, the important things for me were missing. So I fired that city from my life.
Of course it depends on subjective criteria, however, there are common things we all need: family, friends and money (the importance varies). The city that scores the highest on your most important categories, even if it’s in a desert, will be the best for you.
February 10th, 2012 at 4:09 am
Thanks for the post.. but hey, there is life outside America as well! “Best places to live” are definitely somewhere else.
February 10th, 2012 at 4:17 am
I guess the lists just go to show to what degree money and economic survival skew decisions about where and what is desirable.
February 10th, 2012 at 5:52 am
Do the colors of the States in the map represent anything? I wasn’t sure why some States are linked to other States by the same color.
February 10th, 2012 at 7:00 am
@InACents: I think they just didn’t want two states next to each other the same color.
February 10th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Interesting that they vary so much. Its important to look at their criteria for these lists to see what they’re actually measuring.
February 10th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
This kind of discussion is a *bit* academic. I suppose it makes sense if you are coming from another country and had the *entire* US as your set of choices.
The reality is that you probably already live in the US, have family here, have friends, have a type of job that greatly favors a particular location, etc. What is really needed is a weighted average discussion, that pulls in personal preferences as well as your current situation.
For example, for me, Alabama might come out on top until I factor in the distance from my current home and friends and family. Or until I factor in some intangibles, like the local Tea Party militants.
I particularly found one of the previous posts about tax rates and the effects it has on where you live to be kind of silly. Even though some people wrote in to say that an area’s high taxes compelled them to move, I had a hard time believing that someone would move for that reason. I think it’s all the heated talk about “high taxes” these days that makes this a bigger issue than it is. (???)
February 10th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Jonathon, are *you* personally considering relocating? If so, maybe share with us some of your thinking about why and where…
February 10th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
I wonder how cities would score if diversity was considered.
February 10th, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Nothing significant about the color of states, that I know of. I just picked a generic map and put stars on where the cities were.
I am not personally considering relocating, primarily due to the wishes of Mrs. MMB to be near her big family. Where I am living now is already a great place to live anyway, so I am not unhappy at all. The major negative is the expense of living here. Honestly, we would own a house mortgage-free by now in many other places.
However, in my experience people can get used to living anywhere and once you are there for a few years (even if not by choice) you start to appreciate the positives of any city. I didn’t think I’d like living in Minnesota, but it’s nice there. I didn’t think I’d like living in Oregon initially, but I love it there too. I don’t think I would have moved to Texas on my own otherwise, but I spent several years there as a kid and love it there as well.
Sure, I like some places more than others but I think I could really live almost anywhere, so if I was struggling financially and could make more money and spend less on housing, I would definitely consider moving.
February 10th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Ooooh, I’ve lived in Omaha (by chance) and Austin (by choice). I’m a little concerned I may now have been city spoiled!
February 12th, 2012 at 12:19 am
@bluecat:
“For example, for me, Alabama might come out on top…. Or until I factor in some intangibles, like the local Tea Party militants.”
Funny, many of us Red Staters feel the same way about the waves of economic refugees from the Blue States, many — not all, but many — of whom want to bring the same policies that failed them originally to their new homes.
That’s one of the reasons I am a big fan of a small and limited federal government. Let the states duke it out over standards of living, welfare levels, amount of regulations, etc. Vermont and Alabama may be about as opposite as two states in the same country could be, but there are people that love each one!
February 12th, 2012 at 9:01 am
“I could really live almost anywhere” You may be more adaptable or easily pleased than other people. I know people who have moved to other states for work for a while and moved back because they simply didn’t like living there.
February 12th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
This info seems to vary so much from site to site but it’s great that Colorado is on this one!
February 13th, 2012 at 10:43 am
@bluecat
“Funny, many of us Red Staters feel the same way about the waves of economic refugees from the Blue States, many — not all, but many — of whom want to bring the same policies that failed them originally to their new homes.”
zwuh? bring their policies that failed them? did the red states not have a housing-bubble bursting economic collapse as well?