3 MI Towns Are Among Money’s 50 Best Places To Live

MICHIGAN — Three Michigan cities are among the 50 Best Places to Live in America, according to a recent report from Money.

Money said the 50 places on the list, released earlier this month, offer affordability, good schools and strong job markets, and are places with “a palpable spirit, nurtured and sustained by engaged citizens and receptive public officials.”

In a departure from previous years, Money did not rank the places but instead grouped them into five categories highlighting their strengths: suburbs with soul, best-kept secrets, new boomtowns, not just college towns, and culture hubs.

In Michigan, Detroit, Kalamazoo and Ferndale were recognized as among the best Culture hubs.

For Detroit, Money talked about a slew of new projects, such as the bike-friendly Joe Louis Greenway and the expansive lakefront Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park coming down the pike.

"At one point, the city was a symbol for urban decay, even declaring bankruptcy in 2013. However, the city has mounted one of the most successful comeback stories we’ve seen in the last quarter of a century. Now, it’s one of the country’s most unlikely boomtowns," Money said.

For Kalamazoo, Money cited some of the city's best attractions, including the Book Arts Center, Glass Art Kalamazoo and the popular Vintage in the Zoo events in the summer months.

"Kalamazoo, or KZoo to those in the know, has an eclectic, quirky vibe that appeals to college kids and families in equal measure," Money said.

For Ferndale, Money talked about the town’s main street, Woodward Avenue, which is dotted with restaurants, bars, nightclubs and theaters. The publication specifically cited the Rust Belt Market, Ferndale’s largest artisan marketplace.

"A straight shot up Woodward Avenue takes you from the center of downtown Detroit to Ferndale, one of the city’s coolest outposts," Money said.

Collectively, the cities and towns on the list are a “blueprint for the future,” Money said.

The report is based on data on such things as the health of the job market, average housing costs, the percentage of residents living in poverty and the quality of public schools, as well as reader polls. But, the editors acknowledged, things that make a town or a city worth living in can’t always be quantified.

To expand the report, Money also considered a breadth of research from public policy and advocacy groups, such as the American Planning Association, Brookings, Main Street America and the Project for Public Spaces, supplemented by data from Moody’s Analytics, SchoolDigger, Realtor.com, the St. Louis Federal Reserve, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and others.