Bliss Out in One of America’s Happiest Small Towns
Bliss Out in One of America’s Happiest Small Towns
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Ready to leave the cacophony, grime, pollution, and high stress of city living behind and move to a happier place? If so, we’ve got some tips on where to move that would decrease your stress—and increase your happiness.
Career website Zippia ranked the happiest small towns in the U.S.—and the results just might surprise you.
“When people are trying to settle down, start a family, and have a career, they should look for happy places,” says John McLean, a marketing associate at Zippia. “When you move there, you can really call it a home.”
The site used seven of the cheeriest criteria found in the 2010–2014 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census to measure each town’s percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree, a job, and a short commute to work. Residents of the top towns on the list also enjoyed a low cost of living, had a family, and owned a home of their very own. Their communities of 2,000 to 10,000 residents also had lower poverty rates than surrounding areas. If that sounds like bliss, read on for a look at homes waiting for a soon-to-be-happy new owner.
No. 1: Frontenac, MO
Median home price: $844,000
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Maybe it is all rainbows and butterflies in this tony St. Louis suburb, which topped the list as the happiest small town.
“It’s a mature, bedroom community,” says Alicia Tierney, a real estate broker at St. Louis–based Laura McCarthy Real Estate. “It distinguishes itself by having moderate to expensive homes on half-acre to acre-size properties.”
The town also has good schools as well as high-end boutiques and restaurants, she says.
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No. 2: Oak Hill, TN
Median home price: $649,500
City of Oak Hill, Tennesse
Sorry, buyers (and country music lovers). This little community within Nashville was so in demand that it was the only one on the list where we couldn’t find a home for sale on realtor.com®.
“It’s a little residential haven” where most people know one another, says Victoria Talbott, the town’s court clerk. “There’s no commercial development [i.e., stores] at all.”
The majority of Radnor Lake State Park is located within the town limits, making it great for nature lovers—those who already live there, that is.
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No. 3: Glendale, MO
Median home price: $389,900
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Another St. Louis suburb to earn a spot on the list, Glendale is the town for those looking for their own little slice of Americana, says Paula Andrew, a real estate agent at Berkshire Hathaway Alliance in St. Louis. There is a dance festival as well as an ice cream festival held each year in the community, she says.
“People are very, very friendly,” Andrew says. “It’s a very family-oriented neighborhood.”
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No. 4: Grimes, IA
Median home price: $251,000
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This affluent Iowa town is only about a half-hour away from Des Moines and is a favorite of young professionals—well, at least according to the town’s website.
Its main selling points include several parks, including some ballfields, within the community’s limits.
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No. 5: New Albany, OH
Median home price: $417,000
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This Midwestern gem is pedestrian-friendly, making it easy for residents to get to its restaurants and shops.
The Columbus, OH, suburb also has a 27-hole Jack Nicklaus championship golf course and a performing arts center as well as parks and trails, according to the town’s website.
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No. 6: Sherman, IL
Median home price: $282,500
Featured home: $329,000
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The small town of Sherman, a suburb of state capital Springfield, was once located along an unused part of the famed Route 66.
Today, it is home to an 18-hole golf course. It also has plenty of parks and a bicycle trail in the works.
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The No 7: Montana City, MT
Median home price: $224,950
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Montana City, MT, became a mining center during the Gold Rush. But after that, it was almost deserted until the 1940s, when a cement manufacturing plant was built, bringing the community back to life.
With or without the mines, residents may have struck gold in this cheery community.
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No 8: Medina, WA
Median home price: $3,080,000
Featured home price: $3,188,000
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This tony suburb sits on Lake Washington just across the water from Seattle. Uber-rich residents include Bill and Melinda Gates as well as Jeff Bezos. Not surprisingly, it also boasts top schools. Time to pack up the moving van!
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No. 9: Forest, VA
Median home price: $79,900
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Forest, VA, right outside of Lynchburg, is a rural respite from the bright lights of bigger metropolitan areas.
The main tourist attraction is Poplar Forest, Thomas Jefferson‘s summer home.
It is also the hometown of New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings.
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No. 10: Sugarcreek, OH
Median home price: $28,900
realtor.com
Sugarcreek is known as “the Switzerland of Ohio,” because many German and Swiss residents moved to the area in the 1800s, according to the town’s website.
It is also home to what could be the world’s largest cuckoo clock, which made it into the Guinness World Records.
Today it has a small museum that traces the roots of the area and a horse-drawn trolley for those who want to tour the town.
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