By Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel
Money magazine on Monday released its list of best American small
towns to live in, and several Wisconsin communities made the top 100.
Middleton in Dane County was ranked 4th in the list.
Here’s what the magazine had to say about Middleton: “Residents of
Middleton, which ranked No. 1 on Money’s 2007 Best Places list, are
just 7 miles from Madison — Wisconsin’s cosmopolitan capital. But
they don’t need to leave home to find things to do; Middleton has a
downtown with plenty of restaurants, boutiques, and small
businesses.”
The next highest ranking Wisconsin town was New Berlin, ranked 34th.
“At 50 years old, New Berlin is younger than many Milwaukee suburbs.
But it has the cohesiveness of a place that’s much older. Residents
are tight knit, joining together for holiday parades and youth
sporting events. A highly organized parks and forestry department is
one of the hallmarks of this town,” the magazine reported.
Next is the Village of Pewaukee, ranked 61st. Said the magazine:
“Imagine relaxing at a quiet lakeside restaurant, watching a pontoon
glide along as you take a sip of your cocktail. Your home value is
holding up, your kids have a good K-12 school district with one
central campus, and the city (Milwaukee) is just 30 minutes away.”
Germantown is next, ranked 76th. The magazine said this about the
suburb: “Forty minutes west of downtown Milwaukee lies the growing
suburb of Germantown. During the summer, residents flock to a farmer’s
market at the Livery, a log and stone structure built in 1885 that has
a 100-year-old grain distribution barn.
More than 400 acres of parks have kept this growing suburb green, and
a nature conservancy in the northeast corner of town has preserved 200
acres of land.”
Last on the top 100 is Waunakee, near Madison. That town was ranked
78th. “Five miles north of state capitol Madison, Waunakee has
experienced considerable growth in recent years. No wonder: home
prices are reasonable and the neighborhoods are friendly,” the
magazine reported.