Money Magazine Best Places to Live - 2015
 

Best Places to Live 2015: U.S. Map

We didn't make the cut. If you click on Compare Your Town, and type in The Villages, you will see why. We have a crime rate 4 times the national average.

What a joke.

If you still subscribe to Money Magazine, you should give some serious thought why.

You say WHAT, RVROADIE????????


That clearly is wrong. wrong. wrong.


We should all get in touch with Money Magazine. Yes we should.

Yes, the crime rate doesn't sound right.

We also have "state and local income taxes". They may have some issues with their data.

The Villages is a "niche" community not offering all things to ALL people. Great for seniors though.

Money once picked Moorestown NJ as the best place to live in the USA.
USATODAY.com - Moorestown, N.J., named best town to live

It's nice but the best in the USA? I don't think it's the best in NJ. I worked in the town next to Moorestown. I know it well.

Some of their picks I know; others I have heard about; about still others I am clueless.

Different strokes for different folks I guess - plus publishers need to come up with gimmicks and "new" news to sell copy.

Sounds completely idiotic

Crime in The Villages (zip 32162), Florida

The short of it is---violent crime, TV is ranked as a 3 out of 100
non-violent crime, 12 out of 100
The national averages are 41 and 43 respectively
Let's kill this rumor here and now

A few months ago I was in a waiting room and picked up the magazine called 'Where to Retire'. It was fairly good size and nicely made and full of advertisements.

While reading through it I happened upon the letter section and someone from the Boston area said they played softball every week and was looking for a nice retirement place that had softball leagues. The magazine said, check out Arlington Ridge just below Leesburg, they have a ball diamond and organized games. Also about 30 miles north just outside of Ocala is Del Webb Stone Creek, they have six teams of softball players.

I'm thinking to myself, in the big area between those two places I know somewhere that has 11 ball diamonds, over 200 teams and over 2500 players, it's called The Villages. No mention in that magazine, then I realized TV doesn't advertise with them, so they get no coverage. I know that magazine lives by the advertisers even more than most since subscription is free, I applied and have received two free copies in the mail so far. It's nice to read about all the other places and how they try to compete.

Went to their website and found this:

Crimes/1000 population (National average 44):

New York City 23
Washington, D.C. 57
Chicago 62
Detroit 84
and TV, Florida 165

This is so egregious that the administrators of TV and/or the Morse family should write Money Magazine and demand a written apology. Otherwise, I may have to move to Baghdad where it is safer.

I moved here from number 50, Woodstock, GA. It's a great place to live. I have also lived near some mentioned higher up in the list. (Texas). I would NEVER DREAM OF LIVING IN THOSE CITIES, especially Hewitt or Coppell. Jeesh!

Money Mag. Only Considered Populations Between 10,000 and 50,000
 

There is a tab on their website that is labeled "How MONEY Ranks the Best Places - Best Places to Live 2015: Methodology

Their website states that they only consider places with a population between 10,000 and 50,000.

So, don't get too upset, The Villages' population is not within the range that they were looking at. The real problem with the article is their title. It should have been something like this "Best Places To Live With a Population between 10,000 and 50,000."

How MONEY finds the best places to live in America

3,625: Start with data provided by Onboard Informatics on all U.S. towns with populations of 10,000 to 50,000.

3,625 places did meet that criteria

1,900: Strong retirement communities; places with a median family income less than 80% of the state average; those with more than 95% of one race; and those with poor education scores.

We lost this one too, I think we are a strong retirement community and more that 95% of one race

932: Eliminate places with a median family income of more than 210% of the state average or a median home price over $1 million. Rank the rest on factors including job growth, diversity, and ease of living, giving the most weight to economic opportunity, housing affordability, education, and safety.

We might have a problem with diversity.

280: Factor in more data on health, taxes, real estate, culture, and the economy. Limit the results to three places per state, one per county, and sort to represent all regions evenly.

We got this one.

44: Visit towns and interview residents; assess traffic, parks, and gathering places; consider intangibles like community spirit.

We aced this one too.

1: Select the winner based on the data and reporting.

thank-you that was helpful

Maybe they are including golf cart infractions in the crime stats.

and illegally cutting down protected trees on public property, stealing golf clubs, punching out folks at line dancing sessions, stalking, punching out people at pools, shoplifting, running down people with one's vehicle...