Comments on: Top 25 Towns To Live Well In.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:56:57 +0000

I ran away from Fairfax as fast as I could in 2002 (to Austin, TX). I owned my own townhome, yet my neighbors were strangers to me and suspicious of any attempt at interaction. Go to work, go to gym, come home, don’t talk to anyone not a co-worker. Community was completely absent in my corner of Fairfax…Come on folks, we share a wall and a roof, at least I should know what you look like? You have to make 50K+ or you’re living somewhere so far out from the job-centers you’ll spend 2 hours commuting ACROSS the county! Ridiculous. and I hate Forbes’ slide-show approach to their lists. Good for pageviews, bad for those of us who just want the list! (sorry I must be (extra) grumpy this morning!)

By: David

David — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:20:25 +0000

Thanks Jonny, good to know. I was just up there – stopped in the Garden of the Gods. Amazing place.

By: Jonny

Jonny — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:12:25 +0000

Boulder?? I live less than 2 hours south, on the side of Pikes Peak outside of Colorado Springs…just as beautiful, and way, way, less expensive.

By: jaynee

jaynee — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:25:04 +0000

I lived in Fairfax from 1984-1997. Great area – very close to DC, and great schools. It has grown a LOT even since I left in 1997. Homes have appreciated 200% since the early 1990s, and yes, that includes the slight fall in prices over the past year or two. Two years ago my parents could have gotten 3x what they paid for their house, now they can “only” get 2x.

By: Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle

Wojciech @ Fiscal Fizzle — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:35:27 +0000

I went to school in Coral Gables. I have to admit, it’s one of the nicest places to drive around.

The homes are way out of my price range, however, and the atmosphere is a little “stiff.”

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:35:41 +0000

I lived in foster city for a few years as a teenager and my mom still lives there. It’s a beautiful quaint little town, only about 30 minutes south of San Francisco. There is a waterway that runs through it, and it has tons of parks. It’s so pretty… but given its in the Bay Area it is quite expensive as well!

Now I’m in Texas… and while I love the housing market, I miss the water!

Also, it was modeled after Columbia, MD which is on the list too!

Mountain View is only about 20 minutes south of Foster City and has a great In-N-Out Burger right off the freeway! Can’t beat that!

By: micki

micki — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:28:04 +0000

yup, i live in md close to rockville and columbia. in fact, i have worked in columbia. all i have to say right now, is that md is very very very expensive. I can buy the same kind of property in indiana for about one-fifth the price. but i guess someone said there are no jobs in indiana…hmmm. columbia is nice but has a lot of rules. and there are spots that you don’t walk alone. there were places that i worked that i would wait until light to go into. they have bike paths and those are ok but can be dangerous. that is where most of the crime happens. i wonder how they pick these places.

By: David

David — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:37:37 +0000

I heard that about Boulder too Emily, and that is definitely not something I am interested in doing. Living well, for me, means NOT having to bust my ass just to pay the bills!

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:27:04 +0000

I live just south of Boulder, CO. This is a beautiful part of the country. I am guessing that Forbes considered that it is a BIG college town, lots of hiking trails and lots of organic farming in the area with an organic farmer’s marker twice a week during the summer.

By: Emily@remodelingthislife

Emily@remodelingthislife — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:17:13 +0000

I lived in Boulder for 4 years and yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s pretty expensive though, so if living well means “busting your ass at work to pay the mortgage and having little time to enjoy the beauty”, then yeah, it should be at the top of the list I do think real estate there has taken quite a beating lately though.