Illinois cities place on “Best Places to Live”
Money Magazine selected four Illinois towns for their annual “100 Best Places to Live” list. Bolingbrook (#43), Naperville (#54), Mt. Prospect (#56) and Arlington Heights (#59) all made the cut according to CNNMoney.com. All four Chicagoland towns were chosen for their healthy job markets, excellent schools, safe neighborhoods, low crime rates, recreational opportunities, charm and other attributes that make them ideal places to call home.
Several other Illinois towns were featured in lists that boasted specific draws to potential homebuyers. Both Bolingbrook and Joliet were listed in the Top 25 “Places Where Homes are Affordable.” Money Magazine described Bolingbrook (#8) as an “ethnically diverse, affluent town” with affordable deals for homebuyers. In the Chicago suburb, some four-bedroom, two-bath houses sell for under $200,000. Joliet’s (#18) meteoric rise in population since 2000—a staggering 37 percent—transformed this one-time steel town to a destination for Illinois families. In this southeast suburb, a 2,000-square-foot home can cost less than $190,000.
Single and looking to mingle? Two Illinois cities graced the list as destinations for the rich and single. The artsy Oak Park (#13) and North Shore university town Evanston (#16) have singles making up more than 30 percent of their overall population and plenty of singles hotspots—corner cafes, art galleries and eclectic restaurants.
One Illinois city placed on the magazine’s list of cities with the cleanest air. College town Champaign (#21) has high air quality with air pollution levels well below the national average.
See Money Magazine’s full lists here.
Originally published at www.iarbuzz.com on July 16, 2010.
