a landable guide
For most people the decision comes down to two things first: can I afford it, and will the weather wear me down. Then everything else. This list ranks in that order of priorities.
By Karol Gajda
When people say best place to live, they usually mean something specific even if they do not say it out loud: a place most people could move to and be glad they did. Not the highest ceiling, the widest floor. That puts two factors ahead of the rest. Cost, because a place you cannot comfortably afford is not a place you get to enjoy, and climate, because the weather is the one thing you cannot renovate, negotiate, or opt out of.
So this list leads with affordability and weather, then layers in parks, things to do, and walkable streets. It is the broad-appeal starting point, distinct from our equally weighted livability ranking and our amenity-forward quality-of-life list, which lean different ways. Read all three as different lenses on the same question. This one is built for the person opening a map with no shortlist yet, asking simply where they should look first.
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FL · 6.2M metro
Miami tops the list. $2,665 median rent and 272 pleasant days a year is the combination most people are actually looking for, and a Walk Score of 97 sweetens it.
see the full dispatch for Miami02
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LA · 962k metro
New Orleans comes in second. $1,612 rent, 235 pleasant days, Walk Score 98. Affordable and comfortable, the two boxes that matter most to the most people.
see the full dispatch for New Orleans03
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GA · 6.3M metro
Third is Atlanta. 204 pleasant days a year at $1,814 median rent, with a Walk Score of 93. A place that works for a wide range of budgets and tastes.
see the full dispatch for Atlanta04
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CO · 3.0M metro
Denver lands at four. $1,863 rent, 174 pleasant days, Walk Score 97. It leads where it counts most: cost and climate.
see the full dispatch for Denver05
NM · 924k metro
Albuquerque at five. 205 pleasant days, $1,489 median rent, a Walk Score of 94. Broad appeal rather than a narrow niche.
see the full dispatch for Albuquerque06
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SC · 975k metro
Greenville sits at six. $1,551 median rent, 202 pleasant days, Walk Score 84. Easy to recommend to almost anyone weighing a move.
see the full dispatch for Greenville07
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FL · 2.8M metro
Orlando ranks seventh. 216 pleasant days at $1,937 rent, with a Walk Score of 97. The fundamentals are in the right order here.
see the full dispatch for Orlando08
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NV · 2.3M metro
Las Vegas is eighth. $1,731 median rent, 210 pleasant days, Walk Score 82. A safe, sensible landing spot for a lot of different people.
see the full dispatch for Las Vegas09
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OR · 2.5M metro
Portland ranks ninth. 178 pleasant days, $1,781 rent, a Walk Score of 100. Affordable and pleasant enough to keep on any shortlist.
see the full dispatch for Portland10
AL · 412k metro
Mobile closes the ten. $1,302 median rent, 225 pleasant days, Walk Score 69. A place that keeps the two hardest factors, cost and climate, on your side.
see the full dispatch for MobileRanked 28% affordability, 22% weather, 15% parks, 14% activity, 13% walkability, 8% connectivity. Cost and climate lead because they are the two factors that most broadly determine whether a move sticks.
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