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Contents: Countries | US Cities | US Retirement locataions | Economic Indicators
NEW AMERICAN DREAM TOWNS
August 2005 issue of Outside magazine
Online quize at FindYourSpot.com
"Looking to settle in Shangri-La? Check out ten towns that are
making a strong play for perfection, with eco-smart designs,
adventure-friendly innovations, and plentiful outdoor
playgrounds
- plus a commitment to the good life that really hits home."
Salt Lake City, Utah
Littleton, New Hampshire
Fort Collins, Colorado
Charleston, South Carolina
Davis, California
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Portland, Oregon
Chicago, Illinois
Madison, Wisconsin
Pasadena, California
Portland, Maine.
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BEST PLACES TO LIVE and RETIRE - Several different sources below.
Note: Rankings vary widely depending on the criteria used. In the 3 best cities listings below only Atlanta, Seattle and Washington DC are repeated in the top 10.
BEST PLACES TO LIVE - list from CNN/Money Magazine.
"MONEY magazine and CNN/Money spent months looking for Great American Towns -- where you would want to raise your children and celebrate life's milestones. "
2006 List
| Rnk | Town | Population: | Typical single-family home: |
| 1 | Fort Collins, Colorado | 128,000 | $215,000 |
| 2 | Naperville, Illinois | 141,600 | $360,000 |
| 3 | Sugar Land, Texas | 75,800 | $170,000 |
| 4 | Columbia/Ellicott City, Maryland | 159,200 | $350,000/$550,000 |
| 5 | Cary, North Carolina | 106,400 | $280,000 |
| 6 | Overland Park, Kansas | 164,800 | $250,000 |
| 7 | Scottsdale, Arizona | 226,000 | $500,000 |
| 8 | Boise, Idaho | 193,200 | $215,000 |
| 9 | Fairfield, Connecticut | 57,800 | $545,000 |
| 10. | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 60,600 | $300,000 |
| 11 | Plano, TX | 250,100 |
| 12 | Eagan, MN | 63,700 |
| 13 | Olathe, KS | 112,100 |
| 14 | West Bloomfield , MI | 65,000 |
| 15 | Richardson, TX | 99,200 |
| 16 | Gilbert, AZ | 178,100 |
| 17 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | 51,600 |
| 18 | Santa Clarita, CA | 172,500 |
| 19 | Carrollton, TX | 124,700 |
| 20 | Henderson, NV | 232,100 | $318,000 |
| 21 | Bellevue, WA | 117,100 | |
| 22 | Newton, MA | 83,200 | |
| 23 | Sandy, UT | 89,700 | |
| 24 | Westminster, CO | 105,100 | |
| 25 | Ann Arbor, MI | 113,300 | |
| 28 | Edison, NJ | 100,500 | $355,000 |
| 31 | Livermore, CA | 78,400 | $580,000 |
| 32 | Wayne, NJ | 55,200 | $450,000 |
| 34 | Folsom, CA | 65,600 | $490,000 |
| 50 | Middletown, NJ | 67,800 | $390,750 |
Big Cities
1. Colorado Springs, CO
2. Austin, TX
3. Mesa, AZ
4. Raleigh, N
5. San Diego, CA
6. Virginia Beach, VA
7. Omaha, Ne
8. Columbus, Oh
9. Wichita, KS
10. New York, NY
2005 List
| Rank | Town | Pop | Nearest City |
| 1 | Moorestown, NJ | 20,700 | Philadelphia |
| 2 | Bainbridge Island, WA | 21,600 | Seattle |
| 3 | Naperville, IL | 163,900 | Chicago |
| 4 | Vienna, VA | 61,700 | Washington, DC |
| 5 | Louisville, CO | 32,400 | Boulder |
| 6 | Barrington, RI | 16,800 | Providence |
| 7 | Middleton, WI | 21,400 | Madison |
| 8 | Peachtree City, GA | 35,800 | Atlanta |
| 9 | Chatham, NJ | 17,600 | New York City |
| 10 | Mill Valley, CA | 29,200 | San Francisco |
| 11 | Larchmont, NY | 18,200 | New York City |
| 12 | Greenwich, CT | 62,000 | Stamford |
| 13 | Westwood, MA | 14,500 | Boston |
| 14 | Blue Bell, PA | 19,700 | Philadelphia |
| 15 | Princeton, NJ | 48,700 | Trenton |
| 16 | Chanhassen, MN | 22,100 | Minneapolis |
| 17 | Gaithersburg, MD | 132,500 | Washington, DC |
| 18 | Powell, OH | 30,300 | Columbus |
| 19 | Mequon-Thiensville, WI | 23,400 | Milwaukee |
| 20 | Ellicott City, MD | 72,000 | Baltimore |
| 21 | Yorba Linda, CA | 64,400 | Los Angeles |
| 22 | Delmar, NY | 16,300 | Albany |
| 23 | Papillion, NE | 27,400 | Omaha |
| 24 | Fishers, IN | 48,900 | Indianapolis |
| 25 | Coronado, CA | 23,800 | San Diego |
Where to Retire Magazine published the following chart in their July/Aug. 2005 Issue.
States Ranked by the Net Number of Migrants Age 60+, 1995-2000
| Rank | Stae | Number of Migrants | Net |
| In | Out |
| 1 | Florida | 401,052 | 171,300 | 229,752 |
| 2 | Arizona | 134,183 | 52,403 | 81,780 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 77,720 | 42,731 | 34,989 |
| 4 | Nevada | 62,155 | 27,243 | 34,912 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 47,698 | 25,229 | 22,469 |
| 6 | Texas | 101,446 | 79,938 | 21,508 |
| 7 | Georgia | 63,120 | 41,985 | 21,135 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 50,036 | 31,853 | 18,183 |
| 9 | Alabama | 31,155 | 23,307 | 7,848 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 29,876 | 23,138 | 6,738 |
| 11 | New Mexico | 24,893 | 18,503 | 6,390 |
| 12 | Oregon | 40,778 | 35,905 | 4,873 |
| 13 | Mississippi | 19,433 | 14,951 | 4,482 |
| 38 | Washingtonn DC | 4,538 | 11,192 | -6,654 |
| 48 | New Jersey | 54,425 | 97,316 | -42,891 |
| 49 | Illinois | 40,697 | 106,106 | -65,409 |
| 50 | California | 127,693 | 194,085 | -66,392 |
| 51 | New York | 49,640 | 204,826 | -155,186 |
"Cities Ranked and Rated: More than 400 Metropolitan Areas Evaluated in the U.S. and Canada", 2004, by Bert Sperling, Peter Sander
Top 10. See the book for more.
1. Charlottsville, VA
2. Santa Fe, NM
3. San Luis Obispbo - Atascadero -
Passo Robles, CA
4. Santa Barbara - Santa Maria, CA
5. Honolulu, HI
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6. Ann Arbor, MI
7. Atlanta, GA
8. Ashville, NC
9. Reno, NV
10. Corvallis, OR
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Rankings from "Places Rated Almanac: Your Guide to Finding the Best Places to Live in North America,", 2000, David Savageau.
Top 10. See the book for more.
1. Salt Lake City - Ogden, UT
2. Washington DC
3. Seattle - Bellevue, WA
4. Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater, FL
5. Denver, CO
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6. Raleigh - Durham, NC
7. Toronto, Canada
8. Houston, TX
9. Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN
10. Phoenix - Mesa, AZ
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Rankings at CityRatings.com
Atlanta
Cincinnati
Minneapolis - St. Paul
Salt Lake City
Tampa
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Denver
Houston
Raleigh - Durham
Seattle
Washington D.C
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Best Cities For Singles 2005 at Forbes
1. Denver-Boulder
2. Boston
3. San Francisco
4. Raleigh-Durham
5. Washington-Baltimore
6. Atlanta
7. Los Angeles
8. New York
9. Chicago
10. Seattle
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11. Austin
12. Philadelphia
13. Minneapolis-St. Paul
14. Phoenix
15. Sacramento
16. Detroit
17. Houston
18. Columbus
19. Portland
20. Dallas-Ft. Worth
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Links to Yahoo City Guides for above.
"Retirement Places Rated: What You Need to Know to Plan the Retirement You Deserve", Sixth Edition, 2004, by David Savageau
More than 200 places rated on Ambiance, Cost of Living, Climate, Personal Safety, Services and Economy.
Note: Only 6% of people between the ages of 55 and 65 move and many of them move to be near their children. Take this into account before you speculate in property in these areas.
The regional ranks below are my own. See the book (above) for more detailed regional listings and other cities.
[Rank]
Southwest: [1]
Scottsdale, AZ [2], Tuscon, AZ [6], Sedona, AZ [13], Mission-McAllen-Alamo, TX [19], Wickenburg, AZ [23], Mesa, AZ [26], Victorville - Apple Vly, CA [31], Palm Springs - Coachella Vly, CA [33], Yuma, AZ [37], Santa Fe, NM [38], Silver City, NM [71]
GA, AR, FL (central and Atlantic): [2]
Melbourne-Palm Beach, FL [4], Daytona Beach, FL [9], Fayetteville, AR [10], Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL [14], Savannah, GA [22], Gainsville, FL [31], Thomasville, GA [69], ... St Simons - Jekyll Isl., GA [157]
California Coast and Costal Range: [3]
North County San Diego [5], Santa Barbara [12], Laguna Beach-Dana Pt. [16], Santa Rosa, CA [21], Carmel-Pebble Beach [45]
Gulf Coast: [4]
Largo, FL [18], Sarasota, FL [24], New Port Richey, FL [28], Pensacola, FL [29], Western St. Tammany Parish, LA [33]
VA, NC, SC, TN: [5]
Charleston, SC [3], Ashville, NC [20], Charlotsville, VA [35], Fredericksburg - Spotsylvania, VA [38], Williamsburg, VA [46], Maryville, TN [83], ... Myrtle Beach, SC [112], Hilton Head Isl., SC [130]
Oregon and Washington: [6]
Florence, OR [1], Medford - Ashland, OR [7], Bellingham, WA [11], Port Angeles - Sequim, WA [44], Grants Pass, OR [57]
Rocky Mountains: [7]
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO [17], Grand Junction, CO [27], Flagstaff, AZ [36], Kalipspell - Flathead Vly., MT [40], Colorado Springs, CO [47], Coeur d'Alene, ID [80], ... Jackson Hole, WY [173]
New England: [8]
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH [8], Hanover, NH [15], Monadrock Reghin, NH [49], Bar Harbor, ME [66], Northampton - Amherst, MA [77], Burlington, VT [81], Litchfield Hills, CT [89]
NY, NJ, PA, MD, DE: [9]
East End Long Island, NY [30], Tom's River-Barnegat Bay, NJ [45], State College, PA [50], Annapolis, MD [107], Lake Placid, NY [154], Rehoboth Bay - Indian R., DE [111]
Tahoe & Sierra Nevada:
Carson City - Carson Vly, NV [51], Reno-Sparks, NV [51], Paradise-Magalia, CA [54], Grass Valley - Nevada Cty [134]
Northern Woods & Midwest:
Traverse City, MI [25], Madison, WI [61]
Best Places to Retire Young, Feb., 2007 Money Mag.
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Places