Why Are Small Towns More Livable

By Ma Xiaodan

When I was conducting interviews concerning the most livable cities in the United States, John Smith, a local resident from Arlington,Virginia, asked, “I hear that half of the Korean population lives in the capital city and a huge amount of Thai people live in Bangkok,while the number of people living in big cities like Tokyo is even more staggering. Is it true? ” I replied, “I have not been to these cities, but in China, there are many metropolitan cities with a population of millions, and even tens of millions.”

“Why are most big cities in Asia?” John asked continually.

His question is quite typical,yet acceptable. New York, with a population of more than 7 million,is an international metropolis in every aspect, but it is by no means a livable city in most American people’s minds. On the list of “the most livable cities” in the United States, New York falls at the bottom.

Almost all livable cities ranking high on the list are small towns.Americans today are increasingly inclined to a lifestyle different from that in a metropolis. They prefer to live in small towns.

Small towns that are especially favorable with Americans are mostly hubs of higher education.Charlottesville, Virginia, is rated as the most livable place in the United States, where the famous University of Virginia is located, neighboring the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. Apart from the superior natural environment, the town also provides ample employment opportunities and boasts a healthy economic environment.

Two other university towns,Ann Arbor, Michigan and Corvallis, Oregon are also listed among the top ten livable cities in the United States.

美國華盛頓州的雙橋島市Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA

Bainbridge Island, Washington also enjoys a good landscape.44-year-old Casey said: “Life here is like on holiday every day.” She and her husband were sightseeing in Seattle 10 years ago and were immediately attracted to the beautiful small town. Its towering trees and diverse sea views attracted them to settle there.

A city’s livability is largely owed to its human-friendly atmosphere,manifested by the local residents’satisfaction and loyalty.

美國弗吉尼亞州的夏洛茨維爾市Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

我在美國進行有關宜居城市的采訪時，弗吉尼亞州小城阿靈頓的居民約翰·史密斯反問我：“據說，韓國人口的一半都生活在首都，泰國的曼谷也在全國人口總數中占大頭，東京一帶大城市的人多得更是駭人聽聞，有這么回事嗎？”我說，這些地方沒去過，但在中國，人口幾百萬甚至上千萬的大城市也有不少。

“為什么大城市多數在亞洲？”約翰執著地問。

約翰的問題很有代表性。七百多萬人口的紐約，是名符其實的國際大都市，但在美國人心中，紐約根本就不是宜居城市。在美國“最適合居住的城市”排行榜，紐約排名靠后。

排在美國宜居城市榜前列的幾乎全都是小城。如今的美國人，越來越傾向于尋找一種不同于大都市的生活方式，他們更愿意住在小城鎮里。

受到美國人青睞的小城多是高等教育中心。弗吉尼亞州的夏洛茨維爾市，被評為全美最適宜居住的地方。這里有著名的弗吉尼亞大學，大學旁邊有風景秀麗的雪蘭多國家公園。除了優越的自然環境，這個城市還提供穩定的就業機會，經濟生態健康。密歇根州的安娜堡和俄勒岡州的科瓦利斯市，也因為是大學城的緣故，躋身全美十大宜居城市。

華盛頓州的雙橋島（班布里奇）市，也不錯，44歲的凱西說：“住在這里天天都像在度假。”她和丈夫10年前造訪西雅圖時，被旁邊的這個小市鎮所吸引，參天的樹木和怡人的海景，讓他們決心在這里安家。

一個宜居城市靠的是它對人的吸引力，這一點首先表現在當地居民對城市的滿意度和忠誠度上。