This Isn't Heaven, It's Madison, Wisconsin
They're out there: towns where you can have a real job, a real life, and still get to move in with the scenery. Several reasons to split the city and head for the Big Outdoors. Plus: Find out what readers thought and how Mike Steere responded in our special online forum.

Introduction

Burlington, Vermont
The gifted little lakefront city that's not afraid to take itself seriously

San Luis Obispo, California
A highly educated beach town where the Spanish Colonial Period meets the Age of Lycra

Idaho Falls, Idaho
Perfectly placed to take utmost advantage of the Teton-Yellowstone axis

Madison,Wisconsin
Heartlanders come to escape the Midwest; the rest of us, because it's so midwestern

Spokane, Washington
A Northwest Cinderella with a booming economy and a bucolic bent

Charlottesville, Virginia
Antebellum grace between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park

Durango, Colorado
The high-energy sports mecca that revels in its rusticity