A strong local economy, good schools and lots of art and entertainment opportunities all factored into the ranking. Being the home of the University of Oklahoma and having one of the top-rated college football teams in the nation probably didn't hurt either.
Each year, the magazine ranks the top 100 best places to live in America. The magazine posted the 2008 list today on its Web site, placing Norman in the No. 6 spot. The No. 1 best place to live, according to the magazine, is Plymouth, Minn.
Other top 10 cities and their rankings include Fort Collins, Colo., No. 2; Naperville, Ill., No. 3; Irvine, Calif., No. 4; Franklin Township, N.J., No. 5; Round Rock, Texas, No. 7:, Columbia/Ellicott City, Md., No. 8; Overland Park, Kan., No. 9, and Fishers, Ind., No. 10.
The magazine bases its rating on what matters most to people -- ample job opportunities, good schools and low crime, green space and recreational opportunities. This year, the price of gasoline and availability of transportation alternatives were considerations, as were the housing market and general cost of living.
Norman was ranked among the top 100 best places to live in 2007, coming in at No. 40. This is the city's first time to be ranked in the top 10.
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well, i guess all i can say is that maybe this afternoon i'll go to one of Norman's world class museums, and after that i might take a stroll to our downtown, which is looking fantastic these days. i'll probably pay a lot less than i would to do similar things in any other city. maybe i'll go out to eat- the hard part about living here is that there is just so many good choices for such a reasonable cost. i could hang out in one of our parks, or enjoy our lake that people who have never actually seen it love to trash. i can tell you the only thing i won't be doing- bothering to compare it to any other city. norman is special, and i'm going to leave it at that. just because we rock doesn't mean that anyone else doesn't, so i'm not going to make any cheap shots at y'all. i'm kinda amazed though that when an oklahoma city gets ranked as one of the best places to live that other oklahomans want to put it down. i wonder if the jenks people were this cruel to broken arrow last week when family circle said a simmilar thing about it.
not to mention a fantastic leather/handball scene, submissive bsdms, plenty of flies, trolls with deep pockets and more brown bandannas than a cowboy funeral! i love norman!
Hey Mary. Why don't you put on some OSU Orange and drive up to your unrated Stillwater, home of your Unrated football team, and have a good laugh at Jenna's expense with your other loser friends. Pathetic.
Why can't I comment on Jenna Plumley's story? Why are all are student athleets in trouble all the time? Plus, nobody goes to Wal-mart, it's too crowded.
I beg your pardon, Renee!!!!!!!!! I am not from Guthrie and have lived in Logan county for 3 years. I lived in Edmond for 10 years and feel about the same as I do about the people in Norman. And yes, Guthrie people ARE nicer- come take a lesson or 2!
Those of us in Norman are well-acquainted with and very proud of the virtues of our community. I agree with postings that read, "Let's just be proud of a city in Oklahoma, etc. ..." As far as the debate between Norman vs. Edmond. First, I would say Edmond is more annoyed by Norman's rank than Normanites are concerned with Edmond's prowess at all. I also would suggest checking more than one source on some of the criteria used for "best cities" rank. Look at the recent Newsweek listing of the top 1300 schools in the nation. BOTH Norman high schools (both having won the Blue Ribbon recognition too) rank on the list... and, I believe Norman High out-ranks one, if not two, Edmond High Schools. However, Norman, Edmond, and Booker T. (Tulsa, in Top 100) are the only mentions on that list at all. So, those 3 communities all win that important distinction. In reality, there are really great things about many places in Oklahoma--things often and habitually overlooked by people in other parts of the country. Let's not turn on each other; the non-natives and out-of-towners are pros at that already! Thank goodness our state is getting some positive and much deserved national press... and perhaps the writers/researchers over at AskMen.com will take note (after naming OKC one of 10 Worst Hells on Earth)! Nice!
The only thing good about Norman was the "Big Red" dirt pile off I-35. Now that it's gone, Norman has nothing! Well I suppose metaphorically speaking the "Big Red" dirt pile lives on in Norman. Gary King Kong couldn not have been buried under the big red dirt pile because everyone knows he died on top the Empire State Building on Manhattan Island. More practically that he was buried as sea! Godzilla maybe!
I have to totally disagree on the comments that say Norman has friendly people. That is so not the truth- the people in Norman are very rude, stuck up and have a "I am better than you" attitude. This is especially true of the students at OU. I walked into a store a few weeks ago (I was visiting a friend) and the 3 girls who were obviously college students were too busy talking aobut their eventful night the night before and actually got a little pi*sy when I asked if they had something in particular.....the gall of me! Jeesh! Norman, no thank you!
Oklahoma made positive national news with this. I think that is enough for us all to be happy. It's ignorant for someone to make remarks about Norman just because they don't like our university. It's a great town. There are pros and cons, like all towns, but it's a great town. We should be proud that a town from our state made the top ten.
I have lived in Norman since 1978 when no elementary schools were on the west side of town. Now with 2 High Schools, 4 middle schools and a ton of elementary schools...plus 2 wallies 1 super target expanding resturants and several Starbucks that will not make the 600 stores to be closed list. An NBA team to watch now plus jobs, jobs, jobs generated by The University of Oklahoma ever expanding campus. Now the downtown just wish we had a Mass street like Lawrence, Kansas then Norman, Oklahoma would be in the TOP 10.
I live in this city and i can tell you that i'm not surprised that Norman is rated in the top ten. Pros: The downtown area looks better than before. Low crime rate, low living costs, and the people are friendlier. Cons: Traffic is getting out of control. Ever since they put that new shopping center on I-35 and Robinson, the traffic on robinson has gotten worse; especially on weekends. 2. The lack of jobs has cause me and some residences to commute to the big city. 3 Few mass transit options. And 4. Too many Texans. They are so numerous that I'm afraid they will make this place like theirs. Expensive houses and rents, more traffic, deteriorating air quality, and unfriendly people. It would be great if Norman were to be located 30 miles from OKC.
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