My area was 11th about two years ago. That's a great thing. You're almost top ten, but you don't have to deal with the snobbery/prices of being a top ten.

It's a pain as people don't recognize you, like the last few years when I've been listed as the #104th Hottest Man in America by People Magazine.

And now I kn ow why I'm stuck at 105@2DaysTillTheState_GitEmSteveDave:

Curse you number 104...love, number 105

What I can't figure out is why do the top 10 change every year? Does publishing these places attract the sort of social vermin that drop them on the list?

I don't know about the rest of the places on the list, but Chanhassen, MN and Middleton, WI are the very definition of suburbia; aka nearly everything that's wrong with America. If you want to live in a cookie-cutter McMansion and drive everywhere, I guess they're good places to live.

@DefineStatutory:

I can not haz edit button. :(

Sure as heck isn't Louisville, KENTUCKY. The government(s) charge you almost 9% income tax between state and city taxes. People are very nice, but the area is tax hungry. And 6% sales tax. You would think we're in the northeast with these taxes. Electricity is cheap though.

New Jersey? You couldn't pay me to live in New Jersey.

@justinph: Yeah, which is why Cary, NC and Apex, NC are almost always on these lists. If McMansions and strip malls are the "best places to live" then I don't want what's best.

@justinph:

As is Louisville, Colorado. At one point it was a nice small town between Denver and Boulder, but now it's been swallowed up by sprawl and big boxes.

Not on my list either...

@jeffjohnvol: As a Californian, I scoff at your 6% sales tax. I wish we had only 6% sales tax.

There are jobs in Middleton, WI? Really. And housing is cheap? Huh.

Live in Madison, WI (Middleton is a 'burb) for 12 years, and was chased out by high housing prices, high state income taxes, and the inability to get a job anywhere. Now I live between Austin and San Antonio, making the most money I have ever made in my life, in twice the house I could have afforded in Madison/Middleton.

I guess what I'm saying is - do more research and don't pack your bags quite yet. This makes me roll my eyes so hard I think they're stuck in the back of my head.

Why is any town in NJ on this list? The state is is shambles and the middle class is leaving at record pace. It's feast for the poor and the rich and famine for the middle class. What a horrible state. Cant' wait to leave when my job moves.

@plutonyum: I agree with you, but I also have to defend the outskirts of Apex. For now, I love living there, it still feels very out in the country. 5 years from now when the strip malls take over, I'll probably hate it.

peachtree city has affordable housing?

The downside of being in the top ten is that everyone decides to move there and screw everything up. I live in a former top ten, and 6 years ago there wasn't any traffic, the beaches had free or cheap parking, and houses were affordable.

@justinph: Your "very definition" of suburbia is wrong. While I don't want strip malls or McMansions, I'm a very, very proud suburbanite with a better quality of live than any city or country dweller.

@balthisar: But yet, I'm not so proud as to be unwilling to recognize an obvious spelling mistake. *life

@jeffjohnvol:
Only 6%? Hell we just got jumped to 8.1% here in Vegas...

@justinph: The older section of Middleton isn't too bad, but most of the newer construction is rather cookie cutter.

I think my favorite aspect is how most people in Middleton wouldn't live in Madison under any circumstance, but they're perfectly happy to take advantage of anything Madison has to offer (festivals, dining, lakes, etc).

Having lived near Louisville (Denver) and Papillion (Omaha/Lincoln), the story is much the same there.

@K-Bo: We're in the same boat. My address is Raleigh but my neighbors have a yard full of chickens.

@jeffjohnvol: Hehe, I live in Taxachusetts. Be very, very glad you're not here in the northeast :)

@2DaysTillTheState_GitEmSteveDave: And I've always just missed the cutoff for Maxim's list.

It's only one day till The State now!

@winshape: Well, compared to the intown neighborhoods it probably does -- plus, people who live there probably don't go to the front door first thing every morning to see if they still own a car.

Don't get me wrong, I dislike PC intensely. But with what's happening in formerly safe intown neighborhoods that are STILL running near $450k for a 2br, I'm starting to think there's something to be said for darkest suburbia.

@justinph: Ditto for Papillion.

Living in a boring suburb of boring Omaha is my idea of hell.

Some of these places seem to tick all the boxes: no public transit to speak of, cookie-cutter suburbia, and oh yeah.. super white.

Wow! None of 2008's Top 10 made the list this year!

Money Magazine. Phhhht.

@GuinevereRucker:

I scoff at all your sales taxes; mine are 8.75%.

No state taxes, though.

@plutonyum: That is often listed on these surveys of best places to live as one of the plus points (well for Apex at least), the "small town feel" and "sense of community" combined with short drives to the amenities of cities. Unfortunately, people just don't comprehend that, so now they have approved a HUGE new retail\residential complex in Apex. 8000 condos/houses and a ton of stores. It will double Apex's tax base. It will also probably drive out quite a few of us who love Apex for what it is, because that small town sense of community will be gone.

I never understood how they came up with these. I live in one of the 10 best places of either 2007 or 2006 and I remember being surprised b/c honestly, I kinda think my town sucks.

Unless I'm misreading the linked article, this seems to be about one house in each market that is a great deal. For instance, Middleton:

"Roomy and sitting on a rise above this bucolic suburb of Madison, this contemporary design has a two-story great room that's infused with light, thanks to its multiple windows and open floor plan."

This is about one house for sale in Middleton for $799,000 (down from 989,000) and the article doesn't say anything about the economy, jobs, quality of living in the city, expenses, etc.

I'll take a higher cost of living, higher crime rates, and under-funded schools over the monotony and homogeneity of a suburb any day.

Driving an SUV to the mall to shop at a big box retailer and then have dinner at a chain restaurant is NOT quality of life. Veal calves have more interesting lives than suburb dwellers...

@wenhaver: Ah San Marcos, a great little town that gets no love because of its two big neighbors.

@veg-o-matic: Well, you could move to a major metro area with public transit, but good luck finding affordable housing that is close to said transit. From my experiences in NY and DC, most of the places I could afford are nowhere near public transit. And the places I can afford? Townhouses and fixer uppers, mostly. Pick your poison, I guess.

@winshape: I live in a former top 10. Its a haven of pretention.

@cmkennedy: Once had to stay in a Manalapan, NJ Days Inn for two solid months.

Visible shudder.

@Robert Jason Cervantes:

really? a FEAST for the poor as well?
really? because, see, i'm poor... and i'm not exactly feasting anywhere, on anything. (yes, i'm really poor. my income doesn't even qualify me for lower-middle-class.)

a feast for the nouveau-riche, certainly, but definitely not us poor folks for whom there are no jobs or this so-called "affordable" housing.
plus some of the nation's highest insurance rates. and taxes that make my mind melt.

it's really quite beautiful where i live (which is also where i grew up), but i've watched it transform from a tranquil, rural, farming township, to a township filled with mcmansions and the range-rover-driving, black AMEX-wielding jerks that inhabit them.

i'll be leaving, too, not because i dislike the state, but rather because i dislike the types it's opened its doors to, and the sorts of legislation they're able to pull in with them.

@justinph: Or if you want available jobs, low crime, top-notch schools and housing is affordable...

I served my time in the burbs and won't be going back; still I can see their draw. If I had kids, under no circumstances would I send them to the unaccredited schools in Kansas City.

@justinph: i think that's the definition of new suburbia AKA sprawl...those of us in older suburbs don't have that tendency. Older suburbs do have character and while yes there are some cookie cutter developments, a rural suburb is more likely to have a variety of home styles but you still have to leave town to get anything other than food. Personally I like that I rarely have to leave the semi-rural (in the sense a lot of the places are old farmhouses thrown in with a lot of new cookie cutter developments) suburb of Merrimack NH but I must drive up and down Route 3 because of the anti sidewalk beliefs of northern new england....

@Ilovemygeek: Convention and Vistors Bureaus basically submit portfolios. I could make downtown Detroit look amazing using Photoshop and putting it in a nice folder for them.

@jeffjohnvol:

9.75% sales tax in Los Angeles County. 10+% in SF County. The state raised the tax to raise revenues, but the revenue is almost $2 billion short than forecasted. 1. Raise taxes. 2.???? 3. Profit.

@Ilovemygeek: It depends on your criteria. They tend to look for lots of jobs and reasonably price housing first. It can be the most boring place on earth and still make the list because entertainment/non-financial stuff is looked at last.

I really wish the sprawl would stop. I spent all of my formative years in the suburbs and now that I live in Chicago, I can't imagine going back. I would dread living in any town where you're beholden to the local Target / Applebees / Kroger.

I know people, it's the schools. They're so much better. And I will admit I went to a great high-school. But I also remember that there was nothing to DO in the suburbs. My friends and I had to drive everywhere, and the only places to eat were chain fast-food restaurants. No wonder we were all overweight.

There's such a richness of experience in the cities, so many more things to do. But then again, there's also crime...

Sorry - I'm sure there are plenty of nice and pretty suburbs out there that aren't as oppressive as the one I grew up in. But from my experience, I have to say I wish more people would consider living in the the urbs.

Lake St Louis, MO? I've been through there.

basically the extreme western end of St Louis and largely homes. You have to drive to almost any job you can find. Work downtown? You're an hour out. And homes? Remember, the name begins with a lake. That means expensive homes.

They missed on this one. There's no crime because it's far away from anything and schools are good because all the property taxes are high.

And because it's way out there's not much to do. You lose the reason to live in St Louis, the parks, attractions, etc.

So if you want to live in a boring suburban community with perfect manicured lawns right up to a lake it's a great place to live. If you want activity, architecture, history and the like you will pick about any other town in the St Louis area

@balthisar: well, the "quality of life" definition is dependent on who you are and what it is exactly that you value.
I live in the center of Downtown Houston (not on the list), but I think I have an excellent quality of life without having to live in generic homes next to generic businesses. I live within walking distance to several parks and museums, small restauraunts (and chains, too). I can hop on public transporatation when I walk outside my door, and my apartment is in an older area with lots of charm and detail. Yes, I pay a little more for my apartment in the center of the city than I would in the suburbs, but the cost is worth it to me. To you, it may not be.

Disgusting. How could any towns like Warren, NJ or Louisville, CO, where the average house is WAY beyond the reach of most folks, be among the "best places to live." Sure, best places if you're a multi-millionaire. Oh well, I guess they don't call it "Money" magazine for nothing! Sheesh.

KELLER???

Dear lord, my sleepy little farm town of 16 years ago definitely is gone if it's named one of the top 10 places to live. I wouldn't move back there.

But, on a side note, Go Indians - Blue & Gold Por Vida!

@cmkennedy: it's the most densely populated state in NJ, so obviously a lot of people disagree with you

@craptastico: idiot- i meant densely pop state in US.

@Gene Gemperline: Or go all out and go rural. TONS of things to do out in the woods, and no target or wal-mart! When you need stuff take the truck into town and bout a few weeks supply of stuff. Great living.

That list reads like 10 places I'd never consider.
Here's my suggestion:
Pick a smallish city (50-100K) with a largish (15K+) college.
* There's plenty to do.
* The density of educators insures good schools.
* And good jobs.
* Still small enough your kids can bike around town, and
* Also likely decent public transit.
And if you do it in flyover country you can add:
* Low crime
* Relatively Affordable

I don't know whats worse the "think about the children" mindset in the burbs or the city smug.

@winshape: I just love looking through their list of cheap home "bargains", at least one of which even now is listed at >$1M.