Not-Not a List of the "Best" U.S. Cities to Live In
“Pittsburgh and Hartford are lies.”
As a former editor-in-chief of a design publication, one thing I truly, deeply despised was the endless monthly press releases touting some proclamation about the “best” “towns” and/or “small cities” in America. These lists were gimmicks, featuring unoriginal re-jiggerings of rankings, shuffled like a deck of cards at random.
And yet. We published a lot of these “studies.” Because the “best towns” list offers false hope and guaranteed clickery (otherwise known as desperately trying to meet traffic goals as delivered by the corporate overlords so you can still put food on the table).
No matter how many times you see the “best places” headline, you can’t help but think there will be a hidden oasis that no one knows about and has everything imaginable to offer — and homes at bargain prices.
Long before we bought our house, Pasadena was our dream, our “best place.” It was close enough to “cool” things without itself being very cool; had neighborhoods that actually felt like neighborhoods and not just random assemblages of houses; and Pasadena also offered the quiet relief in knowing your neighbors were likely not TikTok stars or Hollywood types — but actually just, like, normal people.
Our life here is “suburban with benefits.” It’s small town-y in that we are friends with our neighbors and we all help each other out, but we are still in Los Angeles. There’s a playground that’s just a 5 minute walk (or 20 if your toddler is prone to distraction). My family benefits from all the conveniences of large-city living: DoorDash, 24-hour pharmacies, anything you need within a 10 minute drive.
But the Altadena fire (about a mile from our home; we had to evacuate) has called life in Pasadena into question. We are beyond, beyond, beyond thankful that our home and immediate neighborhood is intact. But there is this feeling in the air here that things might never be the same. The near-future is troublesome: clean-up/rebuilding and all that stuff getting into the air. And the future-future is worrisome: How long until this chaos becomes an annual situation?
My sister, whose house in Mandeville Canyon came thisclose to burning down, is considering leaving the state. And so, we too, are weighing the options.
But where could we go that actually makes sense? In an ideal world, we’d want:
Not-L.A. real estate prices for a historic home with character
Ability to run out for last-minute grocery/pharmacy/household needs
Decent proximity to a major airport
Decent proximity to an actual city (or in a small city)
Good(ish?) schools
At the minimum: a good coffee shop, a date night spot, a great takeout place, and a delicious, family-friendly dining situation.
It honestly feels like asking for too much. And so I did the very annoying thing of asking my Instagram “friends” for suggestions.