STORM2K

MONEY magazine and CNN/Money spent months looking for Great American Towns -- where you would want to raise your children and celebrate life's milestones. Starting with more than 1,300 cities, we settled on 10 winners. (more)

1. Moorestown, NJ

2. Bainbridge Isl., WA 5. Louisville, CO 8. Peachtree City, GA
3. Naperville, IL 6. Barrington, RI 9. Chatham, NJ
4. Vienna, VA 7. Middleton, WI 10. Mill Valley, CA

http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/index.html

Mill Valley, CA would work for me, or Colorado. Both nice climates.

Louisville is the only one that sound appealing to me.

NOT Orlando/Central Florida. Bad and getting worse. Check out projections for this state's population in the next ten to twenty years. Run Forrest, Run!

For me, the Dakotas and Minnesota have great appeal. I've been there, and there is a "feel" to them that defies easy description. Northern Tennessee sounds good, too.

I am from RI and the price to live up there is just retarted! I dont see how anyone can raise their kids in Barrington!! The average price of a house up there is at least 300,000 for a 3-4 bedroom house! and you dont make anymore there to make up the difference..I dont see how its a great place to raise your kids, if you live there, you cant afford to have kids! I would have moved back to RI a loooooong time ago if the house prices werent so high... Thats nuts... Sorry.. had to vent...

OK..I just looked at the Realtors.com site and looked into 2 of the cities listed on that site, Vienna, Va and Bainbridge Island, Wa.... In both of those cities there are no houses under $400,000..So yeah, I can see how its a great place to raise your family, only the well of folks can live there... Thats how they keep the "trash" out...

my aunt and uncle lived on Bainbridge Island several years ago and it was pricey then. but then again, there are no houses in our neighborhood under 400K either. i guess i never really thought about it.

Yes, property is definately going up in all cities. Puerto Rico has homes and condos into the millions. I saw one house in Dorado listed for $12,000,000 right on the ocean. Ricky Martin and Chici Rodriquez both have fab houses here in Dorado. But we are still under New York and California real estate values. And the expensive houses sell right away, there are a ton of people with money these days. We do have cheaper houses in the older section of our town.

We have a whole strip down in the Condado area of SanJuan which is lined with tall highrise condos. Florida has exactly the same thing. All these thousands of condos along the strip run from about $300,000 with no view of the ocean to the penthouses in the high millions on top. I notice when I go by them, people have trees way up there. There is just a huge number of people today that have money. I am sure the whole gulf coast is full of these condos on the ocean, some over 20 stories high. I remember when it was something to know a millionaire... now there are millions of them.

Ditto Yankeegirls comments.

This town where I'm living has all the amenities and safety and charm that you could want. And houses can be had for under $100,000. You will find a high proportion of working class people and very modest incomes, but in my experience they are usually more genuine than the hooty snooty crowd that want to live in a perfect place where "everyone is like us."

My sister was looking at retirement communities in Orlando and came across "The Villages". She said it was a beautiful place, golf courses, etc. and you could get a great house for just over $100,000. They are small, but hey.... retirement, downsize.

Here is just one rental in Dorado..... who in the world could afford this, corporate?

Lakeside Oceanfront, Lakeside Villas, Dorado
Oceanfront with access to swimming pool. With a wraparound terrace and fantastic ocean views. A Luxury three bedroom, three bath home. Many restaurants are located nearby, with quick access to shopping and other conveniences.
Rates: $1000/day; $7000/wk Hi-Season

At a $1,000 a day, it would get paid off fast

i like NY, no weather problems!

My goal is to eventually move to South Florida.

Though for cost of living, the Harrisburg area is pretty darn great. A modest income can go a looooong way and buy a LOT of house here. And you can have either suburbs, rural or even urban all in a 20 mintue drive of the Capitol, which is where I work. the Mass transit isn't the best but it takes me to where I need to go. Eventually I'll get some wheels but no time soon, I really don't want them. But I'll need them if I move to Florida.

I tire of winter and Pennsylvania. Lived here in PA all my life like most Pennsylvanians who never move more than 80 miles from their birthplace. I don't want to fall into that statistic

Janice wrote:Here is just one rental in Dorado..... who in the world could afford this, corporate?

Lakeside Oceanfront, Lakeside Villas, Dorado
Oceanfront with access to swimming pool. With a wraparound terrace and fantastic ocean views. A Luxury three bedroom, three bath home. Many restaurants are located nearby, with quick access to shopping and other conveniences.
Rates: $1000/day; $7000/wk Hi-Season

At a $1,000 a day, it would get paid off fast

it sounds like Destin!

we are selling our house for $500K and moving to the mountains east of Albuquerque. Paying off all the bills and buying a home with some land. No suburbia for me.

Yes, we have been here 13 years and hoping for a big price too.....