No. 4: Austin, Texas
Population: 680,900
Median Home Price: $258,000
Why it’s on our list: When a town can hold claim to Lance Armstrong, Dennis Rodman and the Whole Foods Market headquarters, you know it’s a town worth considering. The city’s local slogan is “Keep Austin Weird,” so you have to be prepared to feel like you stepped out of a spaghetti western and into a leftist sanctuary. Take a dip in Barton Springs, the largest natural swimming pool in the U.S., and then head out for a run or a ride around Lady Bird Lake, named after the former first lady who called Austin home. While this capital city’s summers can be balmy, you’ll have the last laugh come winter when you’re still able to ride and swim outdoors while the only exercise your friends in the Midwest are getting involves a Nintendo Wii and a bag of Cheetos.
Live here if: You want to live in Texas—but you’re not a Texan.
Don’t live here if: You don’t know at least one line of a Dixie Chicks song.
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