A CITY WORTH MENTION
ROUND ROCK, TEXAS,
Jul 21 -
By: Kathryn Eakens
Round Rock Leader
Round Rock recently earned the No. 7 spot on Money magazine's list of America's Best Places to Live.
The nation's largest personal finance magazine annually ranks the country's best small cities - categorized as having a population of 50,000 to 300,000 - for families that exhibit the bedrock requirements of good jobs, a healthy local economy and a sane real-estate market.
"I have been a resident of Round Rock for over 30 years, and it comes as no surprise that our community is ranked among the top 10 in the nation," said U.S. Rep. John Carter (R-Round Rock). "I believe our city should have been ranked Number One, but Number Seven is definitely worth writing home about."
Profiles on Round Rock and the rest of the top 10 - the Twin Cities suburb of Plymouth, Minn. earning the rank of No. 1 - and a full list of the top 100 are available online at money.cnn.com and will appear in the August issue of Money, on newsstands yesterday.
"Once merely a bedroom community of Austin, Round Rock today is very much its own city thanks largely to three things: affordable housing, excellent schools and computer maker Dell, which has established its headquarters here," the magazine's Web site said of the city.
"When I moved here in the '70s, Round Rock wasn't much more than a main street, a newspaper and a donut shop, but now we are the buzzing center of an economic corridor that offers multiple opportunities for those life-long residents and those new families moving to the area," Carter said.
Examples of the Round Rock's multiple opportunities highlighted by the magazine include the city's three medical centers, Texas State University campus, destination retail status garnered by the presence of IKEA and the Round Rock Premium Outlets and own minor league baseball team, the Round Rock Express.
"I think what it shows is Round Rock has the best of both worlds," Mayor Alan McGraw said. "It is a great place to raise a family but at the same time it also has a high quality of life. You can do very well financially so people don't have to make a decision between moving to the big city and sacrificing family issues - they can stay in Round Rock and really do both."
Using statistics from data provider OnBoard and consultant Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, Money's search for America's best places to live factored in many aspects of what makes up a city - job growth, income increases, cost of living, housing affordability, school quality, arts and leisure options, ease of daily life, safety, medical care and diversity.
Researchers also visited cities and interviewed residents to assess intangibles like vibrancy and sense of community.
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