Boston Makes U.S. News’ List of the Best Places to Live
PHOTO COURTESY OF COMMONWEALTH SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
U.S. News and World Report just confirmed what we already know: Boston is a great place to live.
Boston secured the No. 30 spot on the magazine’s “Best Places to Live” list, despite it being a “notoriously expensive city to live in.”
“Boston is a city of dualism, often feeling like a small town with all the perks of city life,” writes Lauren Liebhaber. “The city houses a diverse culinary scene, an appreciation for and access to the arts and proximity to world-class educational institutions, employers and health care. It is historic, but ever evolving.”
The Masshole School of Driving even got a shoutout in the ranking’s transportation section: “Unlike New York City, where streets are aligned in a grid-like pattern, Boston’s streets seem to have no logic at all. Generally speaking, Boston drivers live up to their reputation of being some of the most emotive and aggressive drivers that one could encounter on the road.”
To compile the list, U.S. News took into account the strength of each city’s job market, the cost of living, the median household income, quality of living, and desirability—that is, whether people are moving to or away from it.
Worcester, “Paris of the 80s” and birthplace of the smiley face, ranked 65th on U.S. News‘ list, in spite of it dumping more sewage in our waterways than any other municipality in Massachusetts.
“With its affordable housing, green parks, quality hospitals and proximity to a dozen highly esteemed colleges and universities, there is a unique vitality to this city,” writes Laura Richards. “Worcester provides an excellent cultural life, including amazing restaurants, concert and theatre venues and the Worcester Art Museum, which houses original works by Monet, Gauguin and Degas. You may hear locals refer to their city as ‘Wormtown,’ a nod to Worcester’s underground music scene.”
Springfield made the list too, ranking 74th. Also representing New England were Portland (29), Hartford, (59), New Haven (88), and Providence (92). (Hartford was previously named the worst state capital in America.) Denver topped the list, followed by Austin, Texas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
