West Linn, Lake Oswego among 'best places to live' (Tualatin: crime rates, homes)

[123ZZZ]

by Abby Spegman, OregonLive.com
Wednesday July 15, 2009, 10:15 AM

West Linn came in 64th on Money magazine's annual list of best places to live, which weighs local economy, schools, home values and crime rates.

Lake Oswego, the only other Oregon town on the list, placed 79th.

The magazine loved West Linn's easy access to the Willamette and Tualatin rivers and, more importantly, its tax rate, one of the lowest in the metro area. (There are, of course, other reasons to love West Linn.)
City-Data.comLake Oswego's lake front homes helped the town onto Money's top 100 list.

As for Lake Oswego, Money noted its distance from I-5 and system of local governance (yes, a stretch). Lake Oswego also ranked 17th on Money's list of 6 figure towns, boasting a median family income of $119,630 and median home price of $456,250.

Money's favorite small town? Louisville, CO, situated between Denver and Boulder. The magazine praised the town's schools, affordable housing and locale at the foot of the Rockies. The area is also weathering the recession thanks to its high tech, energy, and health care industries.

While Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Ohio had the most towns on the list, Washington snuck three Seattle-area towns into the top 25: Mukilteo, Sammamish and Newcastle.

Money's page on CNN is a treasure trove for ranking-lovers: Pendleton and The Dalles made the list of towns with the shortest average commute -- both just over 10 minutes -- but Oregon towns missed out on rankings of cleanest air (dominated by Hawaii, California and, more surprisingly, New Jersey) youngest populations (mostly college towns) and "rich and single" (no. 1 Hermosa Beach, Calif.).

Oregon was also missing on the list of counties with the highest job-growth rate. Cooper-mining Pinal County, AZ led this pack with 95.9 percent from 2000 to 2008.

Source: West Linn, Lake Oswego among 'best places to live' – OregonLive.com

I can't believe Lake Oswego is ranked as the 17th most wealthy town on this list. That's insane! Also, the average price for a home in Lake Oswego is astronomical given the economy.

Neither West Linn or Lake Oswego were ranked in 2008, but in 2007 Lake Oswego came in at #32.

Congrats to both cities for being on this years list! I wonder where they will rank next year.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by 123ZZZ

I can't believe Lake Oswego is ranked as the 17th most wealthy town on this list. That's insane!

If you go to the original article read the note at the bottom:
Best Places to Live 2009 - Top 100: 76-100 - from MONEY Magazine

If I understand the note correctly, it says the list is limited to places "where income is below 200% of the state median..." That would seem to limit the number of towns with high incomes. It would also seem to disqualify Lake Oswego from the list because its income is easily more than double the Oregon median.

The note also says "and that are no more than 95% white." I wonder how they came up with that figure? If it's 94%, a town can qualify as one of the best places to live, but if it's 1% more, it can't.