Relocate-America Announces 2005 'America's Top 100 Places to Live' List

prnewswire ^ | Apr 4, 2004

[11th_VA]

HOWELL, Mich., April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Relocate-America, a web site assisting consumers in finding communities that best fit their family's needs, announces the release of "America's Top 100 Places to Live" for 2005. The list can be found at http://www.Relocate-America.com , which offers consumers an abundance of community information and links to top real estate professionals throughout the U.S. Cities making the list are considered for inclusion on the list by first being nominated by a current or past resident, or other individuals familiar with the community's benefits. They submit a brief description that is reviewed by Relocate-America's editorial team for compelling reasons on what makes the community a special place to live. Such descriptions often include references to a community's:

-- Great people and neighbors -- Serenity, peace and quiet -- Beauty of area -- Great Schools -- Safety for children -- Low crime rates -- Activities, such as museums, theaters and sports -- Economic health, with employment opportunities and affordable housing

"At HomeRoute we are pleased with the continued growth of Relocate- America's Annual 'America's Top 100 Places to Live' List. It gives communities a sense of pride and accomplishment when making the list," says Steve Nickerson, CEO & President of HomeRoute. "As a result we've helped connect 1000s of relocating consumers with their next hometown. It is fun & rewarding to be a part of that." The nominated towns then are put through an editorial process conducted by HomeRoute. Each nominated city is compared against each other in crime rates, employment statistics, housing & economic data for the past year as well as a non-scientific study of what makes the community a great place to live according to its nomination ballots and the total number of consumer inquiries for the area as well. After all is reviewed, the Top 100 cities are selected to make the list. From the Top 100, the Top 10 communities are ranked based on the total number of nominations. The remaining 90 are compiled alphabetically to equally recognize those top communities on the list. Each year thousands of communities across the U.S. are nominated and considered for the list.

Top 10 of Relocate-America's "America's Top 100 Places to Live" in 2005

1. Spencer, IA

2. Long Beach, NY

3. Yuma, AZ

4. Edmond, OK

5. Bartlesville, OK

6. Venice, FL

7. Bonita Springs, FL

8. Montgomery, AL

9. Asheville, NC

10. Jasper, IN

Relocate America's "America's Top 100 Places to Live" in 2005

Asheville, NC

Astoria, OR

Auburn, AL

Bartlesville, OK

Bella Vista, AR

Belton, TX

Bonita Springs, FL

Boulder City, NV

Brunswick, ME

Canyon Lake, TX

Cape Charles, VA

Carlsbad, NM

Celebration, FL

Chandler, AZ

Colorado Springs, CO

Corpus Christi, TX

Crestview, FL

Deltona, FL

Diamondhead, MS

Edmond, OK

Elko, NV

Eureka, CA

Fort Collins, CO

Fort Lewis, WA

Fort Walton Beach, FL

Gardnerville, NV

Georgetown, TX

Green Valley, AZ

Gulf Shores, AL

Gulfport, MS

Harlingen, TX

Harveys Lake, PA

Hastings-On-Hudson, NY

Henderson, NV

Hunters Creek, FL

Indian Lake, OH

Jasper, IN

Kingman, AZ

Kingstowne, VA

Klamath Falls, OR

Laguna Vista, TX

Lake Keowee, SC

Lakeland, FL

Las Cruces, NM

Las Vegas, NV

Lehigh Acres, FL

Long Beach, NY

Madison, WI

Mandeville, LA

Manhattan, KS

Melbourne, FL

Mesquite, NV

Mexico Beach, FL

Montgomery, AL

Mooresville, NC

Mount Charleston, NV

Mountain Home, AR

Murrieta, CA

Naples, FL

New Paltz, NY

Newport News, VA

Ocean Springs, MS

Pahrump, NV

Pawleys Island, SC

Poinciana, FL

Port Isabel, TX

Port St. Lucie, FL

Prescott, AZ

Queen Creek, AZ

Reno, NV

River Hills/Lake Wylie, SC

Roseville, CA

Saddlebrooke, AZ

Sanford, FL

Santa Fe, TX

Seaford, DE

Sebastian, FL

Sedona, AZ

Seneca, SC

Sierra Vista, AZ

Sparks, NV

Spencer, IA

Spring Hill, FL

Springfield, MO

St. Mary's, GA

Stafford County, VA

Summerlin, NV

Surfside Beach, SC

Temecula, CA

Titusville, FL

Vacaville, CA

Valdosta, GA

Venice, FL

Virginia Beach, VA

Weatherford, TX

Weston, FL

Willis, TX

Winter Haven, FL

Yellow Springs, OH

Yuma, AZ

[RightField]

Murrieta, CA and Temecula, CA? I don't think so. I live about 25 miles south of there. That area is rapidly developing into typical Southern California sprawl but without the coastal weather that makes the crowded conditions bearable for so many people. If I wanted to live somewhere with desert like climate, I'd opt for somewhere with reasonable property costs and less freeway congestion.

[sharktrager]

Carlsbad, NM?

They have got to be kidding.

[Just A Nobody]

In reply to your question regarding speed limits in MT...the answer is yes.

They caved to the federal governments blackmail to withhold highway funds if they did not pass speed limit laws -AND- seat belt laws. Property, if not already owned by the government, was very expensive as was housing. A few "movie stars" moved in & apparently ran prices up on everything except wages, according to the locals. There was a thread here yesterday discussing another law about to take effect- no drinking & driving.

[IowaHawk]

The nominated towns then are put through an editorial process conducted by HomeRoute. Each nominated city is compared against each other in crime rates, employment statistics, housing & economic data for the past year as well as a non-scientific study of what makes the community a great place to live according to its nomination ballots and the total number of consumer inquiries for the area as well. After all is reviewed, the Top 100 cities are selected to make the list. From the Top 100, the Top 10 communities are ranked based on the total number of nominations.

Sorry, but this is stupid; and if you've ever been to Spencer, Iowa, you'd understand exactly how stupid. Nothing against that charming Paris of Clay County, but these ranking criteria means any burg can do well as long as the local booster club is mobilized to crow about its exciting new Hardees.

Want an objective measure of a town's quality of life? Look at the local one-way price of a U-Haul trailer. Cheaper U-Haul = surplus of trailers = people want to move there and don't want to leave.

[uglybiker]

Depends on what part of Montana you're talking about. The (flat, treeless, ohmygawditsfriggincold in winter) eastern half is still affordable.

[The_Reader_David]

Just because we made the stupid list?

I think you have us confused with Lawrence (Pyong-yang on the Kaw).

I mean the 'living wage' movement hasn't made any headway here in cutting of the bottom rungs on the ladder of opportunity.

We suffer more from the veniality of redevelopment advocates than from any actual socialist tendancies.

[ntnychik]

Wait. I'm so confused. I thought the New York Times gave the Republicans the red color in 2000. We're still stuck with it. Pretty crafty the way they did that.

[The_Reader_David]

Maybe the should add the adjective 'Classical' to their city name.

(We liberated red--a fine color--from the left. Now I want 'liberal' back. The can be honest and fess up to being socialists, or communists, or dirigists, or fascists (which is what the left is really most like these days) or adopt the meal mouthed 'progressive', and give us back the word: after all, liberty was what real liberals were for, and that's us now.)

[KarlInOhio]

What is the superliberal womens college in Yellow Springs?

It's Antioch College. It's coed, so superliberal men go there too.

[Richard-SIA]

The good news is that the town I am intent on moving to is not on either list!

The bad news is that the town I live in now is on last years list.
That helps to explain why it is going down hill so fast.

[Plutarch]

Elko, NV

This tells me all I need to know about this list.

[Luke21]

Yuma??? They got to be kidding. Two of my kids and my brother were born there and I lived there four different times since my dad was in the marines. My wife and I escaped to Tucson in 2000. I was just there last Monday and though Yuma has some great restaurants (the only reason to go there) it ain't enough to make us ever want to move back.

It's hot. Red hot. Plus there's winter crops that mean farmers dump massive pesticides that guarantee a huge flu season. Then there's the snowbirds. They come down and quadruple the population there and sit in the middle of the roads with their RV's. You cannot get a meal in a Yuma restaurant excepting fast food between October and April.

Snowbirds think they own the town and nobody is allowed to disagree with that because they bring in so much business. It's absolutely sickening. One time my wife and I saw these two birds congratulating each other in a buffet restaurant for coming in at breakfast, staying through dinner and only paying once. They are a public menace. I hope when I get their age I have something better to do then wreck somebody's town for half the year.

There are also lot of newly built canals near Yuma, meaning humidity with your heat and lots of mosquitos. It ain't dry heat anymore. Can you imagine living somewhere it's 115 degrees with 50 percent humidity? There are months and months of that. Outside of Kingman, Havasu, Death Valley, and Gila Bend, it's the hottest place in the country. Sometimers the air seems on fire there. I remember one time it was 104 degrees at 2 in the morning.

And we haven't even got to the best part; flying, two inch long cockroaches. The only people who think Yuma is a great place to move belong to the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, who is always producing stuff like this. Ask anybody who lived there and escaped before you believe this stuff and move there.

[FreeKeys]

See my profile page. I've ALWAYS been a trouble-making mischief and nonconformist. Notice I hung out at the DeWine's house in Yellow Springs. Also I worked in Fairborn and Xenia. One of my fellow YAFers used to call Strom Thurmond from campus; he'd always answer the phone and say, "Stom Thuhmon heeya!"

[FreeKeys]

Wait. I'm so confused. I thought the New York Times gave the Republicans the red color in 2000. We're still stuck with it. Pretty crafty the way they did that.

Hey! I've got an idea: Let's start with whole NEW colors; Orange (as in Ukrainian rebels) for Republicans and YELLA for Democrats! Wuddya'll think?

[FreeKeys]

More road runner parodies, please.
Thanks David!

[Eska]

I live in alaska. No state income, sales, or many of the various nuisance taxes. We also don't have prop taxes where I live and everyone gets 1000-1500 pfd welfare check from state every oct ;(not that I don't enjoy that pfd like the nx guy).

The lack of prop taxes combined with state cutbacks have gutted most of the infrastructure you all would take for granted. Now I hate taxes as much as nx guy but as long as prop taxes can be controlled; I don't mind paying them one bit; no joke.

The alternative leads to a dying community; something I never realized until not having to pay prop taxes.

[streetpreacher]

Bella Vista, AR

Moved to Fayetteville in Sept. 04, just south of Bella Vista. Northwest Arkansas is truly beautiful country; makes the rest of Arkansas look like an eyesore (no offense to the flat-landers).

The Milken Institute ranked the Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area as the nation's top performer in 2003 for job growth.

AARP The Magazine compiled its list of highly livable towns according to a range of criteria – from affordability to community life to the quality of public high schools to access to outdoor recreation. These 15 cities were selected "dream towns – the best places to reinvent your life."

5. Fayetteville, Arkansas: Bright fall foliage, fishing in clear mountain lakes and one of the lowest costs of living in the nation make Fayetteville a gem. Unemployment is a low 2 percent, thanks to an economy driven by retail, government and industry (Wal-Mart's headquarters, J.B. Hunt transport, and Tyson Foods). Dickson Street near the university is a lively strip of bistros and live-music venues.

U-Haul Ranks Fayetteville, Ark. and Boise, Idaho

Top 2004 Growth Cities

PHOENIX (Feb. 21, 2005) — The results of the U-Haul National Migration Trend Report

reflecting the nation’s top growth areas for families who moved during 2004 were released

today. The 2004 Top Growth Cities Report indicates that for cities with more than 10,000

families moving, Fayetteville, Ark., has the highest percentage of growth, with 10.3 percent

more families moving into the area than out. For cities with 5,000 -10,000 families moving,

Boise, Idaho had the highest percentage of growth, with 22.6 percent.

“The report, reflective of growth patterns of the United States during 2004, was compiled

based on nationwide trends in cities of all sizes and reflects communities with more than

5,000 families moving in or out of the area,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul executive vice

president. “Growth cities were then determined by calculating the percentage of inbound

moves vs. outbound moves for each area.”

Fayetteville was Number 33 on U-Haul's Top 50 U.S. Destination cities for January - December 2004

FORBES BEST SMALL PLACES FOR BUSINESS AND CAREERS

3. Fayetteville, AR

Here are some nice shots of Northwest Arkansas:

 

We're moving to Springdale, just a few minutes away, in the Fall to get away from the hustle of Fayetteville.  Bella Vista would be top on our list for buying a home though.

[Just A Nobody]

LOL I entered MT from Idaho, so I was in the NW corner. I really loved it, but... Went to Big Fork & thought I had died & gone to Massachusetts. Went to Great Falls, but did not think it was great, so, went to Livingston & Bozeman. Decided I had had enough so left for Wyoming.

I was told the eastern sector was more affordable, but also everything you said about it. Didn't see the point in going there.

[ccmay]

YUMA?? Give me a break

I agree, how on Earth could Yuma be on this list, much less #3. It's usually at least ten degrees hotter than Phoenix in the summer. Temperatures over 120 are quite common. Filled with illegal aliens.

Now, Prescott, I can understand, probably belongs on the top 10 of any such list. Sierra Vista and Chandler are tolerably good. But hells bells, Yuma?

-ccm