U.S. News ranks nation’s 100 ‘best places to live’ and puts Charlotte at...
U.S. News and World Report has issued its list of the 100 best places to live and Charlotte is at No. 14.
Unfortunately, Raleigh-Durham rated slightly higher at No. 7.
Austin, Texas, topped the list.
The publication says it analyzed the 100 most populous metro areas to find the best places, and winners had to be a place had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market and a high quality of life.
It says Charlotte is part of “a region that's equal parts old-fashioned southern charm and high-energy cosmopolitan bustle.”
Writer Lauren Levine says of Charlotte: “You'll still hear "y'all" dropped into casual conversation, but Charlotte is a metro area on the rise, and has its own culture, culinary sophistication and unique feel that's making it a more enticing place for people from all over the world to settle down. This melting pot effect makes Charlotte an easy area to break into. You're not from here? Well neither are most people you'll meet.”
Charlotte is described by Levine as a standalone destination area now, no longer living in the shadow of Atlanta or Charleston, South Carolina. “Though Charlotte has evolved significantly in the past decade, the transformation is only continuing, as evidenced by the numerous construction cranes across the skyline.”
U.S. News says our housing prices and living expenses are more manageable than New York City, and its easy to take your family out without spending a fortune.
Winston-Salem was at No. 37 and Greensboro was at No. 51.
Here’s the Top 15 cities on the list
1. Austin, TX
2. Denver, CO
3. San Jose, CA
5. Fayetteville, ARK
6. Seattle, WA
8. Boston, MA
12. Boise, ID
13. Nashville, TN
14. Charlotte, NC
Mark Price: 704-358-5245, @markprice_obs
This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 10:13 AM with the headline "U.S. News ranks nation’s 100 ‘best places to live’ and puts Charlotte at...."