Best Places to Live 2009

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I relocated to La Crosse after living in three other states and four cities. La Crosse is an amazing family friendly place with many of the luxuries of a big city. We have a great Children's Museum, a new Eco-Park, a Symphony Orchestra, a Community Theater, an art center, countless clubs and organizations, and much more...now if we could only do something about WINTER!

Anne Steuer of WI 5:33PM June 09, 2009

This beautiful town has been highly under rated. Top education, friendly people and a real healthy life style. Not many towns have the rich history, culture and one of the most beautiful beaches around. All of this leads to a great quality of life.

Chris of FL 5:19PM June 09, 2009

Albuquerque,NM - Yes, beautiful skies and great scenery lead to a great quality of life. However, crushing poverty, some of the worst schools in the nation, a relatively high violence gang rate and horrible drunk driving statistics should also be considered in the best places to live. Lived there for ten years and love it - hate it. Had to move when we had kids.

Craig of CA 5:02PM June 09, 2009

To Dorian who made an unfounded comment that Durham is a great place to be robbed, I'm sorry but you are dealing with outdated notions. Durham's violent crime has dropped 30%, homicides has dropped 62% and robberies 38%. On the other hand Raleigh's homicides are up 48% and robberies are up 21% since 2007. In fact Durham has a lower crime rate than Raleigh for homicides and robberies (per 100,000 people).
People are really loving Durham. In the past year Durham has earned numerous national accolades, including #1 Best Place to Retire in the US,#2 Best Green City in US; #3 Best Small US City for Relocating families; #1 MSA for percentage of Creative Class workforce.

McKenzie of NC 4:58PM June 09, 2009

St. Augustine is a great city with an even better college, Flagler College! You have to check out this beautiful campus. The students dinning hall is filled with Tiffany glass and the place was built by Henry Flagler, who built the Florida East Coast Railway which extends to Key West. The women's dorms are the former hotel rooms, which Flagler built to be the first summer resort in Florida for the most wealthy people in the country.
They give great tours of the campus for only a few dollars. This is a great place to visit and live!

Mark of FL 4:38PM June 09, 2009

I was born and raised in Loveland, Love the town. I have to admit that the "art" all over town is rather pretty and very interesting. I had to laugh at the photo they picked.. Loveland pass, is "NOT" in Loveland... However I will admit that Loveland is an Gateway to the Rockies.
I loved being raised there, have sense moved due to military, and very much enjoy my annual visits home.

Cheryl of HI 4:38PM June 09, 2009

Nice picture of Loveland Pass. Too bad it's like 90 miles from the city of Loveland.

Colorado Queen of CO 4:35PM June 09, 2009

i guess t-town didn't make it....pity

caesar chavez of AL 3:54PM June 09, 2009

San Luis Obispo is a great place for folks who like to ride bikes, and you can take the Amtrak train from Los Angeles or San Francisco to withing about 6 blocks of the downtown area. SLO Walking Tours have a great hour long tour to show you the historical sights and local history, and the area is dotted with local wineries producing excellent wines.

Steve of CA 3:40PM June 09, 2009

To be fair, the article does gloss over some of Durham's lesser points. But while I absolutely love Chapel Hill (and Carrboro for that matter), and can find some appreciation for Raleigh (which is exceedingly boring for a city of its size, but with some nice aspects all the same), to consider Cary as a "superior" place to live is ridiculous. Cary is a monstrous wasteland of fake yuppie suburbanhood that feels entirely out of place in the Triangle.

Alyssa of NC 3:34PM June 09, 2009