Best Places to Live

7. Milton, Mass.

Population: 25,700
Typical single-family home: $440,000
Estimated property taxes: $5,900
Pros: Close to Boston; borders conservation land
Cons: Traffic, little commercial activity

A former actress who appeared on Seinfeld, Carissa Steefel has traded in her Hollywood dreams to raise a family in Milton. "We're not going anywhere," she says. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just eight miles south of the heart of Boston, Milton borders the Blue Hills Reservation, a 7,000-acre park with hiking, swimming and skiing. "It's almost rural, but you have easy access to the city," says Jonathan Pincus, a physician and father who works in Boston.

Indeed, proximity to the city is what brings -- and keeps -- Milton residents where they are. Its loyal citizens do age, but even then they don't move. Fuller Village, a senior-housing development, is the town's single biggest taxpayer. In part that's because there are few businesses contributing to the tax base. East Milton Square is the town's Main Street, with coffee shops, a pizza place and a small grocery store. What's missing, most agree, is a destination eatery. "Everybody wants a restaurant but not in their backyard," says Kathleen Kechejian, a mother of two who last year opened Glory Daze, a consignment boutique. During the summer the big gathering place is the city swimming pool, built by a local family and open to any resident who pays the $75 annual dues.

Milton boasts a diverse population, with minorities making up 30%. And its schools, which rank among the state's top 20, offer an unusual French-immersion option. All six schools have recently been rebuilt, and the library is now expanding. Such projects require voters to approve special tax assessments. But "those decisions reflect what's important to the residents," says Inger Kwaku, a mother of four. "That's why I love it here."

8. Chaska, Minn.

Population: 22,500
Typical single-family home: $275,000
Estimated property taxes: $3,100
Pros: Quality jobs, a beautiful setting
Cons: Winter; highway expansion will spur growth

Chaska has beauty. It's one of the more rural towns on our list, and its small 19th-century downtown quickly yields to open fields, farmland and the Minnesota river. And it has brains too. More than a dozen technology and biotech firms are based in 600 acres of corporate office parks near Chaska's northern border, and the city, 25 miles southwest of Minneapolis, was the first in the country to offer low-cost wi-fi access to residents.

It's no wonder the town is a magnet for families, who can find reasonably priced homes, low taxes and quality schools. Chaska's population has nearly doubled to almost 23,000 since 1990. So far that growth hasn't detracted from its small-town charm. Summer band concerts still take place every Friday night in the city Square Park gazebo, as they have for more than 100 years. Shops, restaurants and businesses line the main street, where almost all of the buildings are constructed with yellowish bricks made from Chaska clay. Downtown stops at the river, where a trail system extends in both directions and connects to the more than 40 miles of pathways that wind through the community. "We love all the open space," says Sid Kudige, 29, a software developer who moved to Chaska with his wife Navya, 27, three years ago to buy their first home.

With no highway direct to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chaska is a bit isolated from Twin City sprawl. That's about to change. A highway expansion next summer will turn the town's main artery to the Twin Cities from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway. Travel time to Minneapolis will be cut in half, to 30 minutes. The downside: Chaska officials expect the town's population to increase 50% in 15 years. "It's a growing community, but it still has the same feel from when I grew up," says John Born, 36, a middle school teacher who has stayed to raise his family here. "The challenge will be keeping it that way."

9. Nether Providence (Wallingford), Pa.

Population: 13,600
Typical single-family home: $350,000
Estimated property taxes: $7,000
Pros: Affordable homes, top-rated schools
Cons: No real downtown

Spend a little time in Nether Providence, a.k.a. Wallingford (its largest community), and you'll find yourself forgetting that Philadelphia is 20 minutes away by car or commuter train. A 4.6-square-mile township of lush green hills, old stone houses and expansive parks, Nether Providence also offers good schools, and a nice home can be had for $300,000 or even less.

That combination of attributes drove Marni Baker Stein and her husband Stuart to relocate from a farther-out suburb with their three daughters in May. "We moved from a three bedroom house to a five-bedroom house, and it was actually something we could afford; we got a lot more for our money," says Baker Stein, director of the College of General Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Plus, she says, "There's a real mix of people here and a lot of community involvement."

It's not hard to stay active in a town that has nine parks, including the 30-acre Taylor Memorial Arboretum and a 17-acre tract behind the 19th-century Wallingford train station, which is still housed in an old red clapboard building. Many evenings, commuters arriving from Philadelphia leave the station and walk to a town-sponsored event at a local park or a festival at a nearby church.

Another hot spot: the Community Arts Center. Built in 1889, the three-story stone structure has art classes, exhibitions and working venues for professionals. A fully equipped pottery studio is on the grounds. Nether Providence doesn't have its own downtown, but most residents can walk or bike to Media, where there's a movie theater and plenty of locally owned shops and restaurants.

If the Philly economy were growing more briskly, Nether Providence would rank even higher. About 30% of the town's workers commute into the city. Others head to jobs at nearby medical centers, Boeing's 4,000-employee campus in neighboring Ridley Park or legal and government posts in Media, the county seat.

10. Suwanee, Ga.

Population: 11,200
Typical single-family home: $250,000
Estimated property taxes: $3,800
Pros: Green space, affordable housing
Cons: Traffic, I-85 interchange

Six years ago the residents of Suwanee voted to more than double their property taxes. The payoff: a boost from 28 acres of green space to more than 270, and a feeling of investment in their hometown. "People here participate in the community in a very thorough way," says resident Dave Williams, 40, a partner in a marketing company and father of two. "They don't just live here and work or play somewhere else."

That's abundantly clear at the newly developed town center. Built on a heavily trafficked downtown corner, it meshes park space, retail and office properties and housing into one multiuse plaza -- and residents have embraced it in a big way. On summer afternoons kids of all ages splash in the park's interactive fountains. On weekends Town Center Park's outdoor amphitheater holds concerts and other events. Behind the appealing row of restaurants and shops are townhouses and single-family homes. Housing is reasonable -- you can get into a nice four-bedroom for $250,000 -- and schools are topnotch.

As for jobs, Dish Network and Southeastern Freight are the area's biggest employers, but Google, Hewlett-Packard and other tech concerns also have offices nearby. Surrounding Gwinnett County and Atlanta (30 miles away) provide even more opportunities. Suwanee offers a tax break to companies that bring in more than 25 high-paying jobs.

Though the town has planned recent development deliberately, the area around interstate 85, which runs through Suwanee's southeastern corner, lacks for aesthetics but not for congestion. Still, the rest of the city has a lot to offer.

"We're blanketed with parks to use," says Brenda Everson, a mother of three boys. "We're very nature-y. Instead of going to a movie, we'd rather be out hiking or playing ball. It's nice to have those options."

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