NEW JERSEY ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE

All the naysayers of the Garden State take note: CNN Money has named the number one "Best Place to Live 2005" as Moorestown NJ. Also in the top ten was Chatham, NJ at number nine. Other NJ notables were Princeton at number fifteen and and Hacketstown at number seventy-two.

The locations are chosen based on such factors as population growth, real estate appreciation and proximity to teaching hospitals and airports. Towns in the bottom 25th percentile for unemployment, income growth, crime and art resources are eliminated. For more on the data and fact gathering see Behind the Best Places.

I was pretty excited by these rankings (as excited as I can be about "rankings"). I view them the same way I view mass horoscopes in the newspaper; if they are good I enjoy the positive news, if they are bad I dismiss them as bunk. The news about NJ is good and I am going to enjoy it!

One caveat about the list though, as it turns out number twenty-eight, Wexford, PA doesn't even exist! Oops! It turns out that Wexford is a post office designation for four surrounding communities. Wexford doesn't have borders or a mayor or even collect taxes! I guess that would make finding the town square a tad difficult. Incidentially, Wexford was chosen for its high incomes, increasing real estate values and rising population. Pretty good for a post office designation!

Ha! Even a fictional town could not beat the eleventh state of the union.