This Minnesota City on List of Top 10 Best Places to Live

It's always fun to see what places rank on the best places to live. Summer is the best time to move if you are planning a move.  Why is it the best?  Because you can get acquainted with your neighborhood before it's too cold to hang out in the great outdoors, also, if you have kids, they can be between schools, and start in a new school at the beginning of the year.

Obviously, the biggest reason that people move is a job change.  People generally want to be close to wherever they work, but also around good school districts, good shopping and restaurants, parks and quality of life.  These are all things to take into consideration along with safety and cost of living.

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This brings us to America's Best places to live, according to Bankrate website.  

This is what they take into consideration:

Affordability, diversity, job market, safety, wellness and highlights of the area.

The number one city with all of these factors ranking at least 7/10 on all of these categories is Raleigh, NC.

Raleigh is quickly climbing the cultural ranks as a place to eat, drink and enjoy the outdoors, with a mild climate that gives residents ample time to disconnect. Plus, Raleigh offers what many cities struggle to deliver: low crime rates.

Skipping ahead to number 8 is... Minneapolis.  Yes, I realize that many people will disagree with this assessment.  But they are looking at many factors.  Not JUST safety.  And yes, safety ranked at a 4/10 and we all know why. But they other factors weren't too bad.  Minneapolis has a lot of culture, great restaurants, and a lot of things to do on foot.  Hiking, waterfalls, parks and such.

The city ranks third on the Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore list, which identifies the top U.S. destinations for convenient access to green space. The No. 2 city on the list? St. Paul, which also puts you in proximity to the more than 1,000 healthcare companies in the region. No matter where you wind up living in the Twin Cities, you might choose to explore the area without a car, as Minneapolis has the highest bike score of the cities on our list this year.

So, yes, crime rate is definitely a factor when considering where to live, and obviously there are some areas that are worse than others.  But overall, Minneapolis is still a great city to live in and around. Maybe consider living just outside of Minneapolis.  A bit more of a drive, but still able to take advantage of what the cities have to offer.