Where are the Top 10 Best Places to Live? Austin Makes The List
The best cities have affordable housing, low crime, high-quality health care, and lots of cultural amenities. Taking into account these and other factors, Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine created a list of the top cities in the U.S.
Kiplinger teamed up with Bert Sperling, co-author of Cities Ranked & Rated (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2004), to compile a database of potential home towns that meet their criteria for a great place to live. These are their top 10:
1. Nashville, Tenn.
The top pick offers affordable homes, a mild climate, and a phenomenal entertainment scene that goes far beyond country.
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
A great sports town that is hip, progressive, and sensible in the Midwestern sense.
3. Albuquerque, N.M.
This laid-back city offers resort-town ambience, a boomtown economy, and cow-town prices.
4. Atlanta
Vibrant, beautiful, and genteel.
5. Austin, Tex.
A college town that offers a sophisticated salsa of culture, history, and politics.
6. Kansas City
This city offers everything from world-class museums to mouth-watering barbecue.
7. Asheville, N.C.
World-class cuisine, amazing crafts, live music venues and fine arts make this city tucked into the Blue Ridge mountain range one of a kind.
8. Ithaca, N.Y.
An Ivy League outpost with great food, beautiful scenery, and liberal politics.
9. Pittsburgh
Distinctive neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, glittering skyscrapers, upscale shops, and a diversified economy make this a great place to live
10. Iowa City, Iowa
This wholesome middle-American city is bursting with creative and intellectual energy.
Source: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine (05/09/2006)