Real Estate

It's all about living somewhere, it's part of life so it's always good to know what's happening in real estate.

My Photo
Name:
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

I'm a mother of two grown sons, my husband and I are empty-nesters at this point. Both of my sons have graduated from College. One is a graphic designer and the other is a senior credit analyst. My oldest is married and has a son (grandmother-yippee!) and owns his own home. My other son has a condo and getting married! There is something to say about all that. I am very proud of them and feel I accomplished a great task in my life. I've always work hard at everything I do and feel that is the only way I get things done to get what I want. I guess that's the way it was meant to be for me anyway. I truly believe things happen for a reason and if you want something you have to take chances to get it.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

TOP TEN BEST TOWNS TO RETIRE TO FOR LESS

North Carolina Town TopsList of 10 Best Places to Live
By Amy Hoak From MarketWatch
The population of Asheville, N.C., is only about 70,000, but this midsize city ranked No. 1 on a list of the most popular places to live in 2007.
Asheville made its second appearance on Relocate-America.com's annual top 10 list, compiled each year since 1998. The site attracts visitors in the process of relocating and is aimed at helping people research cities before making a move. The Web site is a service of HomeRoute, a Howell, Mich.-based company that also connects consumers to Realtors.
Below are the top 10 cities on Relocate-America.com's "America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2007": 1. Asheville, N.C. 2. Traverse City, Mich. 3. Ithaca, N.Y. 4. Chicago 5. Cary, N.C. 6. Portland, Maine 7. San Francisco 8. Stevens Point, Wis. 9. O'Fallon, Mo. 10. Spencer, Iowa
To assemble the list, the site starts by asking visitors for nominations, which describe some of the characteristics of the cities, including people and neighborhoods, the beauty of the area, schools, activities, economic health and environmental health. The editorial staff then considers education, crime, employment and housing statistics for the past year in order to rank the cities, the company said in a news release.
The layers of analysis from statistical and anecdotal perspectives prevent what Steve Nickerson, CEO of HomeRoute, called a "popularity contest" among site visitors.
Though Asheville is best known as the location of the 19th-century Vanderbilt manse the Biltmore, the Relocate-America.com Web site highlights the city's downtown, where "artists and street musicians converge with tourists and locals for a vibrancy rarely found in a city of this size." The average home price in town is $265,000, according to the site, and the housing stock includes new construction, older Victorians, condominiums, single-family homes and town houses.
There is frequent turnover in the rankings, Nickerson said. Last year, for example, Naperville, Ill., held the No. 1 spot. This year, the Chicago suburb was ranked farther down in the top 100.
To view the complete list -- and read more about the top 10 -- visit the Relocate-America.com