READERS COMMENTS

I'm a high school student living in Upstate New York, near Glens Falls. I found it funny that this town is on the list because I was researching colleges and Burlington, VT and Boulder, CO are big places of interests for me. I think because I live in this type of surrounding that I am more attracted to living around here.
Posted: Sep 21, 2010 josh

Um, nice list but some of us are not dot-com millionaires.
Posted: Jul 17, 2010 Peter

I live in Wheeling, WV and am very happy to see us on this list! We have 4 children - cost of living here accomodates larger families (jobs don't earn as much, but housing etc is a LOT less than the rest of the country, and jobs aren't extinct) The outdoor space is BEAUTIFUL, although many don't take advantage of it (hence the high #'s of obesity in adults in children) I SEE THE TREND CHANGING! Am involved in community work to get people walking/biking - and there is quite an enthusiastic "movement". Working to connect the last 6 miles of trail to the Allegheny - and we'll have the longest continuous trail in the country. Public schools are ok, and are trying to improve - academics as well as healthy communities. LOTS of great programming for kids through the parks, and opportunities galore for lower income folks. West Virginia University is only an hour away (Pittsburgh too) so healthcare and research are improving, ongoing, and accessible.
Posted: May 07, 2010 Bambi

Park City is beautiful, but real estate is incredibly expensive and employment is scarce.
Posted: Apr 28, 2010 Wendy

We were thrilled to see Durango make the list. It is also a great place for students looking to get a degree in Adventure Education at Fort Lewis College. If you would like to learn more about it visit their website http://explore.fortlewis.edu/adventureed/index.asp

Posted: Mar 19, 2010 Jenifer

I live in Utah and am very surprised that Utah did not make this list in any way! I also live in Juneau, Ak for the summers and can't say that it is that great. Most of the local people I know from there are not the outdoor type at all!!! The people that do most of the hiking and playing are visitors, except maybe in the winter. It is a town of drugs, drinking and sex!
Utah on the other hand has so much more to offer. Park City is amazing, but even Salt Lake City is a great place to raise on outdoor kid!!!
Posted: Mar 05, 2010 Connie

Matt, that's the median home price not avg income.
Posted: Sep 21, 2009 Clif

Just FYI: the average income in Wheeling is closer to around $30,000. I don't know anyone who lives in Wheeling that earns $80,000 unless they live in 'Wheeling'...areas around Oblebay and Wheeling Jesuit.
Posted: Sep 03, 2009 Matt

I live in Franklin, NC, in Macon county, about an hour west of Asheville and, depending on the route you take, about 45 - 60 minutes from Brevard. The Appalachian Trail runs right through Macon county. (Franklin is one of the first few resupply stops for most north bound AT thru-hikers and a regular "town day" location.) Macon county is loaded with hiking trails, including the AT and the Bartram Trail, and has 10 peaks over 5,000 ft. The Great Smokies are also less than an hour away, entering through Cherokee, NC or Bryson City, NC. There are plenty of camping, fishing and white water activities near by. It is within 45 minutes of the Nantahala river for rafting, an hour from the Chattooga and about two hours from the Occoee. Franklin is located 2-2.5 hours north of Atlanta, and just under an hour to some decent skiing and snowboarding in the winter (Cataloochee in Maggie Valley) (The Boone/Banner Elk ski areas are about 3 hours away) and yet our year round climate is on the mild side. Although we do usually see a little snow in the winter, the coldest temps only last a day or two at a time. Our usual winter highs are in the 40s to low 50s with some days in the upper 60s. Summers typically see highs in the low 80s with a few days creeping up into the 90s. Housing can run the gamut depending on where you look, but most family type housing will run from $175,000 to $250,000 with some lower and some higher. There are theaters, golf courses, great restaurants, a family fun center with games, go-carts, lazer tag and bowling and a brand new fine arts center with weekly events including big name concerts, local theater troup productions and comedy nights. Franklin in also only about 40 minutes from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.
All in all...a great place to live!
Posted: Aug 29, 2009 LCC

I live in Franklin, NC, in Macon county, about an hour west of Asheville and, depending on the route you take, about 45 - 60 minutes from Brevard. The Appalachian Trail runs right through Macon county. (Franklin is one of the first few resupply stops for most north bound AT thru-hikers and a regular "town day" location.) Macon county is loaded with hiking trails, including the AT and the Bartram Trail, and has 10 peaks over 5,000 ft. The Great Smokies are also less than an hour away, entering through Cherokee, NC or Bryson City, NC. There are plenty of camping, fishing and white water activities near by. It is within 45 minutes of the Nantahala river for rafting, an hour from the Chattooga and about two hours from the Occoee. Franklin is located 2-2.5 hours north of Atlanta, and just under an hour to some decent skiing and snowboarding in the winter (Cataloochee in Maggie Valley) (The Boone/Banner Elk ski areas are about 3 hours away) and yet our year round climate is on the mild side. Although we do usually see a little snow in the winter, the coldest temps only last a day or two at a time. Our usual winter highs are in the 40s to low 50s with some days in the upper 60s. Summers typically see highs in the low 80s with a few days creeping up into the 90s. Housing can run the gamut depending on where you look, but most family type housing will run from $175,000 to $250,000 with some lower and some higher. There are theaters, golf courses, great restaurants, a family fun center with games, go-carts, lazer tag and bowling and a brand new fine arts center with weekly events including big name concerts, local theater troup productions and comedy nights. Franklin in also only about 40 minutes from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.
All in all...a great place to live!
Posted: Aug 29, 2009 LCC

Asheville is great! I have lived here over 15 yrs. There is so much to do around here. We have Bent Creek, Tsali and DuPont close by for awesome mtn. biking. Nantahala is a little over an hour away. GSM Nat. Park is close enough for a day trip. I was in the park just yesterday with my parents. It was their 55 wedding ann. They wanted to see Catalooche valley. We were on an easy trail just a few hundred yds. up the trail and came face to face with a big bull elk. We moved off the trail for him to pass. It was fantastic! The Green River Gorge is close by as well for some wicked fun kayaking. I recommend it 100%. Not to mention downtown Asheville is a great place to eat and unwind after a long day on the bike. My husband and I usually go to Barley's Tap Room for pizza and beer.
Posted: Aug 27, 2009 Becky

Gotta say that after 33 years in the Pacific Northwest, PARK CITY UTAH IS AN AWESOME PLACE TO RAISE OUTDOOR KIDS. 300 days of sunshine, 4 seasons, only a few hours Yellow Stone, Moab, Bryce Canyon, Zion or a few more hours to great Colorado adventures, Glacier, or The Grand Canyon. Plus top ranked schools in the nation. Kids have access to trying out all the winter olympic sports for free in 4th grade. 5th and 6th graders get a free pass to ski all 13 of Utah's ski resorts! Hundreds of miles of trails right out my door for hiking or biking and we can walk to the ski lift! My kids don't know how good they've got it!
Posted: Aug 23, 2009 bcrollo

Gotta say that after 33 years in the Pacific Northwest, PARK CITY UTAH IS AN AWESOME PLACE TO RAISE OUTDOOR KIDS. 300 days of sunshine, 4 seasons, only a few hours Yellow Stone, Moab, Bryce Canyon, Zion or a few more hours to great Colorado adventures, Glacier, or The Grand Canyon. Plus top ranked schools in the nation. Kids have access to trying out all the winter olympic sports for free in 4th grade. 5th and 6th graders get a free pass to ski all 13 of Utah's ski resorts! Hundreds of miles of trails right out my door for hiking or biking and we can walk to the ski lift! My kids don't know how good they've got it!
Posted: Aug 23, 2009 bcrollo

I am from the Jackson area and agree that it would be an excellent place to raise kids. However, the housing pricing is way outdated here as well. Let's keep in mind that the $495,000 price listed would barely get you a 20 year old 1000 sq foot condo. For those of us who want a little more space - we travel the mountain pass into Victor, Idaho. Many of the families enjoying Jackson Hole as their stomping grounds make Victor & Driggs, Idaho their home.
Posted: Aug 13, 2009 Tricia

I live in Durango, and the cost of living in Durango is exorbitant! The data listed is outdated. Durango has a current population of 16,000 (with a many out-of-town vistors since it is a resort community), and the median house price today is $439,990. Good luck trying to find a house for less than $350,000. If you do, it will be very small, old and require a lot of repairs. It is a great place to raise outdoor kids if you come here with existing wealth. Durango has few employers, and in this economy the jobs are scarce. The jobs that have recently become available are not paying enough to live here. Do solid research before you make a decision to move to here. Many people move here and find within a year or two that they have to move out, because they can not afford to maintain a good standard of living here for their families. It's a great place to visit and backpack for a week or two but not to live here and try to maintain a good standard of living. As others have said about Juneau, Durango is expensive to fly in and out of and it is so remote that the closest big city is Albuquerque 3 1/2 hours drive away.
Posted: Aug 11, 2009 Julie

I was born & raised in Juneau & still live here. It is a great place live. There are always going to be pros & cons living anywhere. Drugs are everywhere in this world not just Juneau. We have had a awesome SUNNY summer here. The rain is nice & refreshing too. Lots of things to do like fishing, hunting, hiking team sports the list goes on. The lower 48 has nothing on
Alaska.
Posted: Aug 07, 2009 Teresa

Yes, Juneau is wet and expensive, but where I lived in downtown Juneau, you could walk from those expensive homes straight to a network of hiking trails, ranging from easy to very difficult. Plus, there's kayaking and fishing in the summer and cross-country and downhill skiing in the winter, all very easy to get to.
Posted: Aug 07, 2009 Cathy

As a resident of Lebanon, NH I'm happy to see it on the list. I love living here, but no place is perfect. Median home $190,000? I wish. For that price, expect to live in a trailer or a home that is old, small, and needs a lot of work. For a 3 bedroom house you'd actually want to live in, the price is more like $250,000. Also, daycare costs are astronomical, $1600 a month for ONE child at some places. Employment may be low, but it is also limited and the better places are very hard to get into. "Complaints" aside, living here really is great with all of the outdoor options so close and I can't imagine living anywhere else.
Posted: Aug 07, 2009 Melissa

I'm looking for the outdoor life with my horse where a woman my age (70+) can continue to enjoy riding the trails living with low property taxes and near hospitals/large markets/repairman but still not living in the middle of high populations.
Posted: Aug 06, 2009 Rose of outside SLC Utah

My husband and I just left Juneau after 20+ years. The cost of living is exorbitant, no fresh produce, the annual dividend oil check won't cover the difference in cost of living expense, housing is astronomical, even renting, and it rains over 200 days of the year. The weather is over time getting progressively worse. The school system is also poor and drug use is rampant even in middle school to the point where drug testing in the schools is now being considered. Add to this that you have to shop online for many things, and cannot drive out of there. Alaska Airlines has a monopoly. Expect to pay $550 or more for a round trip flight just to Seattle. Remember you can't drive out of there! I suggest visiting, yes, but that's about it.
Posted: Aug 06, 2009 Nicole

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