Some lists say that two of the best places to live in the Southeast are in North Carolina.
According to Livability, Cary is ranked No. 2 and Concord is ranked No. 10 on a list of places with the best entertainment, jobs, and low crime rates.
Livability, a website, said it looked at more than 2,000 places across the country to make a national list. Scores were based on information from the U.S. government and other sources for towns with 75,000 to 500,000 people. The scores were broken up into eight groups: housing and prices of living, amenities, health, transportation, the environment, and safety.
WHAT MAKES CARY AND CONCORD SPECIAL?
The place with the best overall score in the Southeast was Johns Creek, Georgia, which is a suburb of Atlanta. Cary, on the other hand, wasn’t far behind and quickly became known for its food and drinks.
Livability wrote in its report that Cary is a thriving city with a great arts scene (including beautiful public art, galleries, and more), a wide range of restaurants, must-see breweries, and exciting sports events.
People also liked the town west of Raleigh because it was safe, had good public schools, and was close to businesses in Research Triangle Park.
Concord, which is about 25 miles northeast of the busy part of Charlotte, also made the list.
Livability wrote that Concord is one of the best places to live in the Southeast because it is both a small, Southern town and a city on the rise.
Concord, which has about 110,000 people living in it, was also praised for its parks and the Charlotte Motor Speedway race center.
Besides Cary and Concord, many towns in North Carolina were found to have lower cost of living than other places that were looked at. Durham, Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington were all ranked high but not in the top 10. They were ranked 15th, 17th, 18th, and 22nd, respectively.