Bethesda Ranks High on Top 100 Best Places To Live

BETHESDA, MD — Bethesda, home to some of the wealthiest and most highly educated cities in the country, has grabbed the No. 29 slot on Livability.com's list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live. The website notes that the bedroom community just outside Washington, D.C., is known for both its variety of food venues and a vibrant arts scene.

Bethesda’s downtown is designated as an Arts and Entertainment District by the state of Maryland. More than 80 percent of adult residents have at least a bachelor’s degree and the community houses Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health main campus.

Also in the top 20 out of 100 are Rockville at No. 13 and Arlington, Virginia, at No. 19. Other regional communities on the list are:

• No. 27 Fairfax, Virginia
• No. 32 Alexandria, Virginia
• No. 58 Reston, Virginia
• No. 63 Ellicott City Maryland
• No. 80 Ashburn, Virginia
• No. 88 Burke, Virginia

Statistics aside, this is a community that enjoys a lively downtown, supports the arts and whose members care for one another, the website says.

Bethesda scored high on the livability ranking for its civic and social capital. Residents are involved in any number of charitable and nonprofit activities, and volunteerism is high. One big success is the “villages” that have sprung up to help Bethesda’s seniors age in place.

The Bethesda Urban Partnership, which operates cooperatively with, but independently of, county government, does much to make Bethesda a great place to live, maintaining attractive downtown landscaping, hosting festivals and special events, and supporting a wide variety of arts initiatives in a lively state-designated Arts and Entertainment District.

Taste of Bethesda each October, featuring 60 or so local restaurants, enhances the city’s reputation as a celebrated dining destination and draws 40,000 people. The city is also home to the annual Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards, which offers a $10,000 prize for the best composition. Galleries and artists' studios are a downtown draw, and four theater companies compete in Play in a Day, an engaging annual contest to cast, rehearse and perform a play within 24 hours.

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