Best place to live in US (Boston, Franklin: best towns, real estate, crime)

[smarty]

This is the newest article for 2007. Haha It is time to argue that the ranking is just crap.

Rank Town Population
1 Middleton, WI 17,400
2 Hanover, NH 8,500
3 Louisville, CO 19,500
4 Lake Mary, FL 13,200
5 Claremont, CA 35,900
6 Papillion, NE 18,800
7 Milton, MA 25,700
8 Chaska, MN 22,500
9 Nether Providence (Wallingford), PA 13,600
10 Suwanee, GA 11,200

Best Places to Live 2007 - Money Magazine

[LeavingMA]

I'm sure all of those towns are nice and have lots of positive aspects to them. I saw that they kept the towns under 50,000 people i think, so nothing larger was considered.

[CaseyB]

It sure is crap. Milton? You wouldn't want to move to Hanover either, unless you were a student.

[smarty]

This one is best small towns in US from Family Circle.

Castle Rock, Colo.
Kennesaw, Ga.
Cooper City, Fla.
Diamond Bar, Calif.
Morton Grove, Ill.
Madison, Miss.
Franklin, Mass.
Cedar Park, Texas
Derby, Kans.
Chanhassen, Minn.

10 Best Towns for Families (http://www.parents.com/parents/story.jsp;jsessionid=NGJWBLV0NBDTRQFIBQSCCAQ?story id=/templatedata/fc/story/data/1183669007726.xml - broken link)


Franklin, Massachusetts
Population: 29,642
Median Income: $81,065
Median Home Value: $355,000
Households with Children: 48%
Student/Teacher Ratio: 14:1

When Benjamin Franklin learned that colonial settlers named this town after him in 1778, he sent 116 of his own books to become the core of the community library -- the first such public collection in the nation. "History is instilled in our kids," says Kathy Sirignano, 45, a stay-at-home mom to Jillian, 9, Kyle, 16, and Michael, 18. "It gives them a real sense of belonging." Not to mention pride. After Jillian and her classmates at Jefferson Elementary School performed a song last year to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth, the third graders were tickled when local officials promptly proclaimed the tune the town's official theme. Dad Andrew, 46, a real estate broker, raves about Franklin's affordable houses (half the cost of those in suburbs closer to Boston and Providence, Rhode Island) and low property taxes. But what he and Kathy appreciate most are good neighbors all around. "You can always count on them to take care of your kids if you have to work late or to help you out in an emergency," Kathy says. "It's that feeling of togetherness that makes living here special."

Family-friendly perk: Locals still gather on the 4-acre common for holidays like the Fourth of July, a six-day spectacular that includes nightly concerts, a carnival, and an eye-popping parade with floats.

[Parsec]

If I remember correctly, the first post was about the best small all-American towns to live in. They even hinted that having too many minorities in one of those towns almost kept it out of the top 10 -- I'm thinking Hanover, NH since that's where Dartmouth is.

[Parsec]

OMG, I just saw Suwanee, GA on that first list. I know several people who lived there -- that's suburban sprawl at its worst. Everytime I drove up there from Atlanta it took over an hour to drive 30 miles even w/"no traffic". If you tried to drive it during rush hour, good luck.

[twixcookie]

You know, I've interviewed for jobs in some of these so-called "nice homey towns" and some of them are really cliquish and boring.
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.
Another thing with some of those smaller towns, some are over 50% Mexicans.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by twixcookie

You know, I've interviewed for jobs in some of these so-called "nice homey towns" and some of them are really cliquish and boring.
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.
Another thing with some of those smaller towns, some are over 50% Mexicans.

What's wrong w/that? I'm not Mexican or White, so from a 3rd party perspective, I've noticed that newly immigrated Mexicans are a lot harder working than most non-college-educated White people I've met. This might spark a debate here, but that's just my opinion. They actually remind me a lot of the 1st generation of Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans who moved here. Look where the kids of those immigrant Asians are now -- at all the top colleges around the nation.

[Yankeecybercraft]

Lake Mary, Forida....that is a joke. The entire area is the pitts....lots of crime and no culture. Expensive and overrated. Jobs don't pay and extreme heat all the time.

[NY'er lost in MA]

Forbes also has a list which is completely different that these- so funny!