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Best Cities to Move to in America

By Cindy Perman;  
Posted 26 Oct 2010 | view all cities listed

What people are looking for when they relocate changes from time to time. In the 90s, it was a city with low crime. Then, it was places with good schools.



“These days, you want a job and to make sure you can get a house there,” said Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, which helps people find the best places to live, work or retire. 



Sperling crunched the numbers to find the 10 best cities to relocate to today. The list takes into consideration all kinds of data points from cost of living to crime rates, the number of colleges and how healthy the population is, as well as access to museums, shows, sporting and other events. Plus, one you might not think of – stability.



“We’re a big believer in the concept of stability, where there is modest, controllable growth,” Sperling explained. “Big booms lead to disruption, and ultimately big busts. Neither is good for livability.” 



Here are Sperling’s Best Cities to Relocate to in America – Why they’re the best and who’s hiring there.

2. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY

Buffalo is an older, industrial city that has “gone through a sort of gut-wrenching transition into the 21st Century,” Sperling says. And now that it’s gotten over the bumps, it’s a great place to live. 



The Buffalo-Niagara Falls area has a growing arts scene and it’s affordable: The cost of living is 14.4 percent below the national average, and the average home price is $119,700, well below the national average of $171,700. 



There are more than 20 parks in Buffalo, earning it the nickname, “City of Trees,” and for all you sports fans, it’s home of the Buffalo Bills football team and Buffalo Sabres hockey team. As for Niagara Falls, the city has moved from an industrial center to a more sustainable tourism-based economy, and with the opening of the Conference Center Niagara Falls a few years ago, it now attracts more business travelers. 



The unemployment rate in the region is 8.3 percent, below the national average. Health care and education are the fastest growing industries here.