Best Places to Live in Canada

MoneySense Magazine, a division of Canadian Business has ranked the Best Places to Live in Canada. Their index is based upon data the compile for around 180 different Canadian cities and towns. The MoneySense index rates and ranks these communities for things like - climate; healthcare; crime (safety) house and rental costs; income and other lifestyle categories. Like the International Living Quality of Life Index the overall list is based on total average so one community could fare substantially better in a category than another but still be below them on the total rank list.

It takes quite a while to compile all of the data so we are always looking at the previous year. In this case we're looking at the best places to live in Canada in 2010.

The top city for Best Place to Live in Canada was Ottawa.  For more about Ottawa's honour check out this report on CTV news - Ottawa the best place to live in Canada, magazine decides - CTV News


The next nine spots went to:

The Best Places to Live In Canada

#2 Kingston
#3 Burlington
#4 Fredericton
#5 Moncton
#6 Repentigny
#7 Brandon
#8 Victoria
#9 Winnipeg
#10 Lévis

What is interesting and pretty cool about the list is that the top places to live are really spread right across the country. When looking at the extended list of the Top 25 Places it really shows how quality of life is diverse and truly spread from East (St.John's) to West (Victoria) and from North (Yellowknife) to South (Windsor).

The other thing that strikes me about the MoneySense index is how comprehensive it is. International Living looks at Quality of Life from nine different directions (categories) while MoneySense looks at 6 categories but MoneySense goes much deeper into each category. When you add in the sub-categories the MoneySense index looks at 25 different factors altogether. That's a pretty in depth view of any community. It doesn't come right out and present the Cheapest Places to Live in Canada but it gives you a lot of data and certainly enough to determine if the standard of living in each Canadian location is one you can afford.

With this kind of detail it's not too difficult to extrapolate the data for different uses. Whether you're looking for the Best Places to Retire in Canada or the best places to live from almost any other perspective the MoneySense index works.

Best Places to Live in the World

Over the past few weeks we have reviewed the Top 5 Best Places to Live in the World according to International Living Magazine's Quality of Life Index. It's time for a bit of a recap and perhaps a Big Picture view of this list.

First the recap -

The Top 5 Leading Countries for Quality of Life in 2011 are -

#1 - The United States - this year hits the top as the Best Place to Live in the World
#2 - New Zealand
#3 - Malta
#4 - France
#5 - Monaco

Now let's back up and take a look at the 'Big Picture' meaning the top 20 countries -

The Top 20 Countries for Quality of Life in 2011 -

#6 Belgium
#7 Japan
#8 The United Kingdom (UK)
#9 Austria
#10 Germany
#11 Netherlands
#12 Portugal
#13 Australia
#14 Andorra
#15 Italy
#16 Norway
#17 Argentina
#18 Hungary
#19 Slovenia
#20 Spain

Each year International Living rates and ranks almost every habitable country in the world to determine which ones offer the best Quality of Life. The overall ranking (Top 20 listed above) are ranked based on their average total score across nine different categories - Economy; Cost of Living; Culture; Environment; Health Care; Freedom; Infrastructure, Climate and Safety. Each country is rated from 1 to 100 on each of those categories. It's not just a few I.L. contributors sitting around a table and making subjective assessments, no they use official data and stats from different sources like - W.H.O. (the World Health Organization); Governments (like Statistics Canada); UNESCO and others.

10 Worst Places For Foreclosures

If San Luis Obispo California is the Happiest Place to Live and Pleasanton California is one of the Best Places to Live than what are some of the places that may not be so great?

Well this next list would probably be one I wouldn't want to be on. It's the '10 Worst Cities for Foreclosures' list which was released today by CBS MoneyWatch.

Here's the scoop - RealtyTrac actually collected the data and published the list, CBS just reported on it.
And here's the list of the Worst Places in America for Foreclosures:

#1 Las Vegas - Paradise(?) Nevada

#2 Cape Coral - Fort Myers Florida

#3 Modesto California

#4 Phoenix - Mesa - Scottsdale Arizona

#5 Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Pompano Beach Florida

#6 Riverside San Bernardino Ontario California

#7 Stockton California

#8 Merced California

#9 Orlando Kissimmee Florida

#10 Vallejo Fairfield California

Here's what really strikes me first about this list - 5 of the top 10 cities for foreclosures are in California. Isn't that ironic considering we just looked at two places in California which hit two very different lists. It also goes back to a post I made a few days ago about Germany and how shocked they were to find prices varied from one city to the next in the same country. Here we have cities that are almost in the same county on opposite ends of the scale!

Back to the list and to put it in even starker reality, RealtyTrac found that in Vegas one out of every 9 'housing units' was foreclosed upon. That's almost 11% of all house in the Las Vegas metro area! WoW! I know that there are what have been referred to as the cheapest times to go to Vegas and considering the real estate market there now, it would not be a great time to buy in Nevada... or would it?

Not to belittle the stress and strain that has places on so many families but these areas might also make our 'Cheapest Places to Live' list if this trend continues. Sad but true.

When it comes to being on a 'Best Places' list this is one list you probably don't want to be on!

Source: CBS MoneyWatch.com

Pleasanton California - Best Places to Live

Later next month I have the opportunity to do some consulting for a wonderful little company in Pleasanton, California. It could be considered a contender for the best place to live in California for some but not to me. I've been there before, a number of times actually, but I wanted to brush up a little on the town - I always like to have a little geography and history about a place I'm going. I believe it helps me tap into the energy of the place before I ever get there.

Anyhow, my reading today revealed some information I never knew before. One thing that jumped out at me is the Pleasanton was on CNN Money Magazine's list of The Best Places to Live in 2010. That of course is the Best Places to Live in America. Another interesting fact is that a few years back Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in the United States by the Census Bureau. The one list I don't think we could put Pleasanton on though is - the cheapest cities to live in California!

As for geography Pleasanton is located in the San Francisco Bay area 25 miles east of Oakland. Pleasanton has a sister city right next door called Dublin.

Info Source: Wikipedia

Best and Worst Cities

In our last post we discussed the idea of home values having a big impact on the best place to live. Interesting that just now I read a new article by Morgan Brennan about U.S. home values in 2011. The data in this article could very well help you decide if you fit in that 'sell high' category for where you are living right now. Of course if you're looking for the best places to retire - that is places that offer a lower cost of living - this data will help you too!

So, cutting right to the chase - the epicenter of the real estate bust, California appears to be rebounding. However, the other sunshine state, Florida is still wallowing under a near collapsed real estate market with no turn around evident, at least in the short term. The best cities to live in Florida are sometimes elusive but they are there.

The Local Market Monitor out of North Carolina recently presented their lists for the best and worst cities for home values in 2011.

The Best cities for home values in 2011

The following list represents the top 5 cities where home values are expected to rise this year.

#1. San Jose, CA - home values expected to rise 3% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#2 - Santa Ana, CA - values also expected to rise 3% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#3 - Bethesda, MD - home values expected to rise 2% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#4 - Pittsburgh, PA - values also expected to rise 2% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

#5 - San Diego, CA - - home values expected to rise 2% this year and 2% per year over the next 3 years.

The Worst cities for home values in 2011

The following list represents the 5 cities where home values are expected to decline more this year.

#1 - Daytona Beach, FL - home values expected to drop by 11% this year.

#2 - Lakeland, FL - home values expected to drop by 7% this year.

#3 - Orlando, FL - values expected to decrease by 6% this year.

#4 - Boise City, Idaho - home values expected to drop by 7% this year.

#5 - Las Vegas, NV - home values expected to decrease by 5% this year.

So, what does this all mean and how can you take advantage of it?

Well, it's a matter of following the math. If you happen to live in one of those 'Best Cities' this could be your year to sell high and then turn around and buy low in one of those 'Worst Cities'. Oh, and don't be afraid those cities on the worst list are going to continue to slide in value to oblivion. According to LMM almost all of those cities are expected to rebound and experience an increase in value over the next three years.

There's some food for thought as you explore your options for the Best Place to Live or perhaps the Best Places to Retire.

Source: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Priciest Places to Live

I'm going to skip ahead for just a moment here in our review of the Best Places to Live according to International Living's Quality of Life Index for 2011. Germany is ranked 10th on the index and while I will have more to say about Germany when I get to that part of the list I came across something in the news today which I found interesting and a little humorous.

Germany's English news, The Local, reported this morning, "Survey reveals Priciest Places to Live". Now just to clarify this is German news speaking specifically about Germany, not the 'priciest places in the world' - I actually think I wrote about that a while back. Anyhow, the article goes on to say the Munich residents are paying double the national average for real estate and rentals. I had to chuckle a little. It just made me realize our perspectives are so different around the world. In smaller European countries citizens expect prices and cost of living to be relatively consistent throughout the country and double from one area to another is considered quite extreme. It's funny to those of us who live in the massive countries of North America. Yesterday I wrote about Canada's Cheapest Place to Live, Nova Scotia. Where a nice three bedroom home on a large plot of land can be found for under $150,000 all the while no one even raises an eyebrow to condominiums selling in Toronto or Vancouver for millions of dollars. The same goes for the United States. Last year Detroit reported the cheapest house sale ever at under $10,000 while New York City and L.A. have their multi-million dolar condo markets. In North America we don't think twice about real estate varying ten fold or more.

Back in Germany eight most expensive places to live are all in Bavaria while Hamburg was ranked the most costly place to live. The eastern areas with the Saxony town of Görlitz in particular represented the least expensive places to live in Germany.

Source: The Local:

Best Place to Live in America

Here's an interesting little (?) study reported by CNN about the Best Places to Live in America. The list actually comes from Money's list of America's best small cities so, the 'small' part may skew the results somewhat. That said many people probably would agree that 'small' is better when it comes to lifestyle and quality of life. Drum role please....

Eden Prairie, Minnesota tops Money's list as the Best Place to Live in America.

Ismat Mangla reports that this small city is family friendly and has a "dynamite economy". For 2010 the unemployment rate was 5.1% which is almost one point less than the rate of the county and more than four percent lower the national average. This small city boasts 50,000 jobs right in town.

The major major companies in Eden Prairie are C.H. Robinson (A Fortune 500 trucking co); Starkey Labs (A major manufacturer of hearing aids) and the beloved Minnesota Vikings, who have their practice facility and their front office based right here in Eden Prairie.

Unlike many small cities in America Eden Prairie doesn't have a vibrant downtown. That's certainly something they could work on and benefit greatly from. If you read my post about San Luis Obispo you may have picked up on the fact they built their small city into the Happiest Place in America by revitalizing their downtown core with extra wide sidewalks and ordinance changes to encourage open air cafes and restaurants. The changes have been a boon for SLO. But that missing piece aside Eden Prairie has an abundance of outdoor beauty including gently rolling hills and 17 nearby lakes which local residents flock to for vacation and liesure. EP residents love their rural liesure pursuits like lake swimming in summer and ice skating in winter. Parks within and around the city are also a major part of the lifestyle here with more than 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails. With that kind of activity level it's no surprise that EP residents are among the healthiest people in America too. Finally to put icing on this lovely mid-west cake Eden Prairie is known for it's low crime rate (safety) and top of the class schools. What more does is needed to be one of the best cities in America? I can't think of much else!

A few stats about Eden Prairie:
Ranked #1 pf 100 (Winner) by Money Magazine as the Best Small City to Live in.
Population - 64,000
Unemployment Rate - 5.1%
Moody's Bond Rating - AAA

San Luis Obispo one of the Happiest Places in the World

San Luis Obispo California was recently designated as "One of the Happiest Places in the World" by National Geographic. It all stems from a book produced by N.G. which came out in October. In the book titled "Thrive", by author Dan Buettner, San Luis is the only place in America which gets a mention. Of course that info caught the attention of Oprah's producers so tonight, JAN26, the Oprah show will feature the lovely town of San Luis Obispo - SLO. The San Luis Obispo Tribune is thrilled and has been covering the Oprah producers visit to their happy little place.

This Oprah episode is titled, 'Are You Happy?' and also features interviews with SLO mayor Jan Marx and other town residents.

It's quite a big deal for SLO as around 150 countries air the Oprah show so like the huge success promoting the 'down under' in her Oprah in Australia shows which aired last week SLO could benefit greatly.

Now that Oprah is in her farewell season perhaps she has a new calling in tourism - promoting destination around the world. I'm sure many countries are already lining up to get a little of the Midas (Oprah) Touch!

Editors note - does "Happiest Places in the World" equate to Best Places to Live? What do you think?