Let’s keep this to ourselves, ok?

Niche has updated its “Best Places to Live” for 2017 and our hamlet of 20k is at the top of the list of Georgia locales.  Not to mention that it ranked #32 in the whole gosh darn US of A.  Here’s Decatur’s Niche “report card” to see where we stand amongst their key indicators…

Now I’m sure the overachievers among us are asking, what are these 31 places that are better than Decatur??  How is that possible?  Well, you’ll have to visit the fair communities of Rollingwood, TX or Carmel, IN, Wyoming, OH or Eden Prairie, MN to find out.

If you go, let us know and report back, ok?

Keep it real, DEC.

You may have seen recently in local media that Decatur ranked as the #1 suburb in Georgia, based on Niche’s annual “Best Place’s to Live” ranker.

Pretty cool, but I don’t think it’s too much as a surprise to many.  Decatur often does well in these sorts of place rankers.  Especially when just looking within the state.

But Niche’s “Best Places To Live” ranks go much broader.  And I haven’t yet seeing anyone else mention that not only is Decatur ranked the #1 Suburb, but it’s hands down ranked as the #1 “Place to Live” in Georgia.  AND overall it ranked as the 79th best place to live in all of America.

So, yes.  Limiting Decatur’s performance to “Best Suburb in Georgia” is a bit of unnecessary over-qualification.

FYI – Decatur scored A’s and A+’s in the following categories: Education, Public Schools, Diversity, Health & Fitness, Nightlife, Shortest Commute and Family Amenities in Niche’s ranker.  It got B’s or B+’s in: Outdoor Activities, Jobs, and Weather.  It got a B- for Crime & Safety and it scored Cs for Cost of Living and Real Estate.

Photo courtesy of Al

How does Decatur stack up to GOOD magazine’s recent checklist of what a “model town” looks like?

According to the mag’s Neighborhood Issue, an “excellent” town (or neighborhood) has the following characteristics:

• A Signature Event – self explanatory
• Third Places – the gathering places of a community.  Home and work are the 1st and 2nd places.
• Public Spaces – access to nature
• A Human Scale – this is basically “walkability”
• An Anchor Institution – college towns is the example given
• Diversity – not just of race or income, but thought, food, etc.

So here’s what I’ve been wondering: WHAT is Decatur’s signature event and anchor institution?  WHERE are its “third places” and public spaces?  HOW does it do in terms of human scale and diversity?