Lifestyle and Leisure
Best place to live in US
The chances are if you've ever thought of emigrating stateside you'll have dreamt of Floridian beaches or New York's modern city lifestyle. However now you should dream of Des Moines, Iowa.
According to an annual ranking of the lifestyles enjoyed in US cities, Des Moines is the best city to raise a family in the United States.
Respected website Forbes named the metropolis of the Midwest best city due to its affordable housing, decent schools, short commuting times and sense of community.
If you are looking for other places in the US that offer a good family life you should also consider emigrating to Harrisburg-Carlisle (Pennsylvania), Rochester and Syracuse (New York) and Provo-Orem (Utah) which occupied the other top five places in the rankings.
The rest of the top ten were made up by Buffalo-Niagara Falls (New York), Albany-Schenectady-Troy (NY), Knoxville (Tennessee), Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) and Ogden-Clearfield (Utah).
The top cities in the Forbes list are adjudged to offer the most affordable housing, enviable commuting times, a low cost of living, high rate of home ownership and a high percentage of high school graduates. The figures used to compile the rankings are either government data or other reputable information. The top 10 cities for families were also adjudged to have low crime rates compared to the rest of the States.
Syracuse scored top marks for its educational benefits, Rochester had short commutes, with only about three percent of its residents traveling an hour or more to work, and Harrisburg-Carlisle attracted votes for education, cost of living, commuting and education. Knoxville in Tennessee was the only southern city to make the list.
Six of the top ten cities were located in the Northeast United States, and more specifically upstate New York boasted the most top ten entries (three), followed by Pennsylvania (two). So if you dream of a better life for your family abroad it may be worth knocking the LA dream on the head for a more homely destination on the opposite side of the country.