#livability-rankings

#livability-rankings

Owning a home is the goal for many, but sometimes, it's smarter financially to rent. Plus, without being tied down by a mortgage, renters have the flexibility to decide where to live every 12 months. Apartment search website RentCafe analyzed 149 metropolitan areas with at least 300,000 residents to make that decision easier. The site factored in 17 metrics across three key categories - location and community, quality of life, and socioeconomics - to rank which metros were the most livable.

A recent GOBankingRates.com study ranked the most livable places to retire in the U.S. While the top spots are occupied by several Florida communities, for retirees looking to live out their golden years in the West, Oro Valley, Arizona, may be their best choice. It came in fifth overall, the highest of any other town west of the Great Plains.

But a new GOBankingRates.com report highlighted the town of Burr Ridge, Illinois, as the most livable place to retire in the Midwest. The company compiled a list of 50 U.S. towns with a population of at least 10,000, where 33 percent or more are aged 65 or older, and then ranked them for overall livability. While Florida dominated the top 10, Burr Ridge came in strong at No. 17, the highest-ranked Midwest community on the list.

The research only ranks the best places to live, so being included, whether at number 1 or number 1,447, is to be applauded.