The report used eight categories to rank 196 cities, including cost of living, crime rate, walkability, wellbeing, taxes, health care, weather and culture.
Arlington was ranked highly in most of the categories, with low crime and tax rates complementing “great” ratings in walkability, culture, healthcare and well-being.
But, according to Niche, Arlington didn’t rank quite as well on its new list of the “Best Suburbs to Live in America.”
Arlington is No. 7 on the list, behind McNair in Fairfax County (No. 6); Park City, Utah (No. 4) and Merrifield, also in Fairfax County (No. 2). Superior, a town near Boulder, Colorado, topped the list at No. 1.
Some Developers Are Pessimistic About the Pike — “The mood is not good,” Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization chairman John Murphy said of developers. “Some of them made big investments, big bets based on the county saying we’re going to do the streetcar. They feel betrayed, they’re not happy at all.” [Bisnow]
Board to Buy Bungalow to Bolster Benjamin Banneker — The Arlington County Board this weekend is expected to approve the purchase of a $637,500 property on 17th Street N. in order to expand Benjamin Banneker Park, near the East Falls Church Metro station. [InsideNova]
Arlington County has topped a new list of the “Best Cities to Live in America.”
Arlington received high marks for education, health and fitness, nightlife, family amenities, outdoor activities, length of commute and diversity, according to Niche.com.
Arlington Drops in Happiness Rankings — After being ranked 15th last year, Arlington has dropped out of the top 25 of the “happiest counties in America” list. [WTOP, SmartAsset]
Unsettled Weather This Weekend — Expect rain today, Saturday and Sunday, says the National Weather Service. On Sunday there’s a good chance of severe storms. [Twitter]
Arlington ranked just below No. 3 Washington, D.C. and the top two cities for parks: Minneapolis (No. 1) and Saint Paul (No. 2). The county received high marks for having parks within easy waking distance of the vast majority of residents.
“Arlington scored even better for park access, with 98% of residents living with a 10-minute walk of a park,” noted a press release. “However, its overall score was hurt because Arlington reserves only 11.2% of city area for parks. That is still above the national ParkScore average of 8.9%, but considerably behind the Twin Cities and Washington, D.C.”
An analysis by the firm Bay Alarm Medical looked at half a million geotagged tweets and found that Arlington sees about 265 sickness-related tweets per 100,000 residents. That puts Arlington No. 10 on a list of the “sickest cities” in the U.S.
New Orleans, Miami and Atlanta are No. 1-3 on the list, respectively.
Arlington is No. 1 on the list, which was compiled by the website NerdWallet. Other cities in the Top 10 include Madison, Wisconsin (#2); Washington, D.C. (#3) and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (#7).
Here’s what the website had to say about Arlington and its No. 1 spot.
(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) For every dozen Millennial-led households in Arlington, one is making more than $350,000 per year.
That’s according to the real estate website Zillow, which just compiled a list of places that are home to the most affluent Millennials in the U.S.
Arlington County is one of the healthiest places in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but doesn’t quite top the list.
That’s according to new 2016 rankings from countyhealthrankings.org, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Lawmakers Ask Gun Store Landlord to Reconsider — Seven state legislators who represent Arlington have written to the landlord of a planned gun store in Lyon Park, asking her to reconsider the lease. The letter cites Virginia’s 1990s reputation for being the “gun-running capital of the East Coast” and says the new store, which is located near a private preschool and daycare center, “could be the site for potentially nefarious and illegal activities.” [Washington Post]
Three Arlington Bars Make D.C. Dive List — The website UpOut has compiled a list of “10 Ridiculously Cool Dive Bars in Washington D.C.” Among them are three Arlington favorites: Galaxy Hut, Cowboy Cafe and L.A. Bar and Grill. [UpOut]
In a press release, the county said that it received perfect marks for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender protections, but was held back on overall rankings due to restrictive state laws.
From Arlington County:
