Alabama’s largest metropolis, Huntsville, has been named the most effective place to stay in American, taking the prize from Boulder, Colorado for the primary time in two years. 

Huntsville’s top quality of life, affordability and low cost property appealed to People trying to put down roots amid the present ski-high housing prices, in keeping with U.S. Information & World Report’s rating system.

Yearly U.S. Information ranks 150 of the nation’s metropolitan space, relying 5 indexes: job market, housing affordability, high quality of life, desirability and web migration, which measures the pattern of individuals transferring to or away from a metro space. 

The Huntsville Botanical Gardens make the southern metropolis one of the crucial livable metropolitan areas within the U.S.  

2. Colorado Springs. This metropolis ranked second greatest for its desirability for its out of doors life-style and youthful demographics

3. Boulder, Colorado slipped within the rating because of the excessive value of dwelling and housing costs

The previous agricultural city blasted off within the Nineteen Sixties after NASA finding the Marshall Area Flight middle, which developed the Saturn V rocket that propelled the Apollo astronauts to the moon, within the Southern metropolis. 

Add to that the Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Military’s chemical weapons plant, the FBI’s operational assist headquarters and the Military’s Aviation and Missile Command, which all give the world a gradual financial base. There’s additionally a rising biotech business. Salaries from these jobs are usually larger than the nationwide common. 

Huntsville scored excessive in housing and job market, no marvel with all these secure authorities jobs, however faltered in desirability.

The rising value of properties and the work-from-home pattern that got here out of the pandemic made location much less an element on this yr’s checklist. 

The costly city areas misplaced out to Southern and Western metropolis as a result of individuals have been in search of a less expensive life-style and higher high quality of life, U.S. Information actual property editor Devon Thorsby stated.

‘A lot of the shakeup we see on the high of this yr’s rating is a results of altering preferences,’ Thorsby stated. ‘Folks transferring throughout the nation as we speak are placing extra emphasis on affordability and high quality of life than on the job market, which in some ways takes a again seat as distant work choices have turn out to be extra customary.’

The typical value of a home in Huntsville is $192,667 in comparison with the nationwide common of $365,646.

Colorado Springs, Inexperienced Bay, Boulder, San Jose, Raleigh and Durham, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Portland, Maine, Sarasota and San Francisco rounded out the U.S. Information for high 10 greatest locations to stay. 

Pikes Peak and the Air Drive Academy are two main attracts for the second greatest metropolis in America, Colorado Springs.

This Rocky Mountain city scored an ideal 10, in comparison with Huntsville’s 4.6, in desirability.  Credit score its out of doors actions for that. Mountain biking, mountaineering and climb abound on this youthful metropolis, the place the median age is 35. Colorado Springs is stuffed with jocks. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Coaching Facilities are situated there.

The price of dwelling right here is larger than the nationwide common. The worth of a house can run about $555,072. 

‘We have turn out to be fairly accustomed to rating among the many greatest locations to stay within the nation — now in our fifth yr of rating within the high six of 150 cities ranked and highest in desirability for 4 straight years,’ Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers instructed The Gazette. ‘These constantly excessive rankings are testomony to the resilience and endurance of our metropolis.’

Huntsville, which ranked third final yr, knocked out Boulder within the primary spot. Like Colorado Springs, there’s a lot to do in Boulder, however not simply outdoors. Along with the mountaineering, climbing and biking it provides, the mountain city is ample in yoga studios, wellness and mediation facilities and, after all, marijuana dispensaries. 

 The publication additionally provides a precautionary checklist of essentially the most harmful locations to stay within the U.S.

Keep away from settling down in Memphis, Tennessee in the event you worth your life, in keeping with U.S. Information. The ‘House of the Blues,’ a metropolis of 1.3 million individuals, is essentially the most harmful place to stay in America as a result of it routinely has one of many high murder charges within the nation. 

Anybody who’s seen ‘Breaking Dangerous’ can inform you that Albuquerque, New Mexico is a spot to tread frivolously. The publication rank the Southwest Metropolis has the second most harmful place to stay.