Money Magazine Best Places To Live List 2009

Money Magazine has just released their much anticipated annual rankings of the best places to live in the U.S., which appears in the August issue. This year's list focused on best small towns, and the top ranking went to Louisville, Colorado (sorry Louisville, Kentucky, you're not a small town), while Oviedo, Florida sneaked onto the list at number 100. Louisville, CO ranked 3rd on the 2007 list.

Why should you want to move to Louisville? Here's the top reason, according to the magazine:

The great outdoors. Louisville is laced with nearly 30 miles of trails, Rocky Mountain National Park is less than an hour away, and eight world-class ski resorts are within two hours. The town's schools are highly rated as well.

Add in dry, clear weather, little crime, good health care, and low taxes, and Louisville is pretty tough to beat.

See the full list for 2009. Also check out this great interactive map of the all the places on the list.

Comments

[Paul Berry]

eugene oregon is the best place actually

[blak n lovingamerica]

they have really good weed there. I don't smoke anymore, just saying.

[MyGoodMojo]

"...just saying." Cute. Maybe I'll put Eugene on my bucket list.

[Unrepentant]

I'm just happy they didn't include my town. I would prefer we remained "under the radar."

[Token12ga]

Middleton Wis. is #4. I worked there from time to time in a union job, as a man of color I can say it's not a great place to live or work, it's even safe to say Wisconsin sucks period.

[babyboomerorig]

Been just north of you for 10 years and wholeheartedly agree.

[blak n lovingamerica]

you gotta bear in mind, brother, that people make these lists without people like you and I in mind, unless it's referencing a lack of our presence decent or otherwise.

[jennyjen]

Louisville is 10 minutes from Boulder and 20 minutes from Denver. Small but not isolated.

[BlackBuddha]

Why would I want to live in a small town?

This is some type of promotion for small towns, isn't it?

[FreelanceMinion]

I'm from Nebraska and if Papillion is #3 on the list...

there may be a problem with the list.

[HGfromOmaha]

I'll admit right now that I haven't read all of the comments on this post so I don't know if I'm the first to post but I'll speak up about City #3. I live in Papillion, NE. It's a great place to live. I'm originally from OH but the Marine Corps sent me to Omaha and I decided to stay here after my service.

While I like living here as far as the safety of the city, it doesn't accurately reflect the surrounding situation. We do have a new shopping center but it's more for those who like to mall shop. There is simply no entertainment value here. To see movies or events, I have to go to crime-ridden Omaha and deal with the trash up there.

My property tax is out of this world. Just so some won't think I'm an "elitist", I won't list the price of my home but I will say that I'm paying almost $7k annually just in property tax. That's no bargain. It's a safe place to live but the taxes and winters are awful.

[oakley9]

If you like everyone knowing your business.....these are all great places to live.

[irstyno]

This list must have been compiled by a computer program that only looked at the statistics. Data can of course be misleading. I live near Suwanee, GA and the site fails to mention that the median income is inflated because of the proximity of the Sugarloaf Country Club; home to professional athletes and rich pop stars.

I also don't get the feeling that Suwanee is the most um...progressive place. I especially like the restaurant on the main road that features in the window, a caricature of a man in blackface smiling and eating watermelon. Seriously.

[RRonin]

I live near Mukilteo, WA and the setting certainly is beautiful (right on Puget Sound) but it's only industry is a ferry terminal and everything in town revolves around the ferry traffic. It's a great place to have a seafood dinner, and that's about it!

[anthead]

Probably being situated next to the Giant Boeing Everett plant could count as industry don't you think?

[sagcat]

how is a dry climate a boost? I prefer a place that has a natural source of drinking water and where things turn green.

[hegdehog]

This is the most insane list I have ever seen. Farmington, Utah? Have these people ever been there? Or was this list compiled from data only? Chaska, Minnesota? Yeah, right. If you're a white trash family that loves the idea of having an amusement park in your back yard, I guess this would be the perfect place. Here's Money magazine's description of Chaska:

"Families gather for summer concerts in the 19th-century downtown; the Chaska Community Center offers a wide variety of activities for residents."

I guarantee you, as a Minnesotan, that is the complete list of things to do in Chaska. I'd rather live in Hell.

[hegdehog]

OK, I live in Minnesota, and I can tell you for sure that Chanhassen is NOT one of the best places to live in America. Not by a long shot. So if that gets the number two slot, then Money magazine is on crack.

[jpehrlich]

Please...Please ...Please..
Ignore the listings for Lake St.Louis, MO and Ellisville, MO.
I was forced out of the greater Atlanta area by the uncontrolled growth after the '96 Olympics and returned for the first time in decades to where I had grown up here in MO.
Friends who came to visit me have since moved here AND LOVE IT. One had relatives from London, UK visit and now they are looking to re-locate in their retirement (selling their home in Spain). They loved the wine region just up the road and the miles of biking trails plus the 2 opera companies and the Art Museum within a reasonable drive.
I am scared silly that history will repeat itself if the word gets out.

[Beau Roland]

What about culture, diversity, public green spaces, walkability, public services, bike-friendliness, etc. etc.? Why this kneejerk reaction that you have to have low taxes to be happy? A Republican must have come up with this absurd list.

[yourstruly]

Totally agree. The people who draw up these lists should be required to live in these soulless places for at least a year. Edgy they aren't.