Top 100 Places to Live Top 100 Places To Live How does your community rank? Naperville's Riverwalk follows the DuPage River for five miles along a brick path. Photo by Jo Lundeen/Riverwalk Foundation Naperville, Ill., the Chicago suburb that is frequently recognized for just how great a community it is, was recognized again, this time for being No. 1 in Relocate-America.com's "America's Top 100 Places to Live in 2006." "In the 10 years since I've lived here, these types of recognitions keep streaming in," said Gary Karafiat, Naperville's community relations manager. "It says a lot about the community." In Money magazine's Best Places to Live awards, the 175-year-old Naperville came out third in its top 100 and has been named by other organizations as one of the most kid-friendly towns as well as a great retirement community. Naperville is about 30 miles west of Chicago. With a population of more than 140,000, "Naperville manages to feature big-city amenities and small-town charm," Karafiat said. "We hear that from a lot from new residents." Other cities recognized in the annual list are, in order after Naperville, Cary, N.C.; Boulder, Colo.; Ithaca, N.Y.; Charlottesville, Va.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; New York, N.Y.; Columbia, Mo; State College, Penn. and Bend, Ore. Online relocation portal Relocate-America.com has taken a "town vote" on more than 5,000 cities to come up with 100 of the best places to live in the nation. Residents, past or former, nominate their cities for possessing such qualities as a place's serenity, beauty, low crime rates, safety for children, employment opportunties and cultural activities. Besides schools, "people are looking to their communities for more amenities and these top places provide those benefits," says Steve Nickerson, CEO and President of HomeRoute. Howell, Mich.-based Nationwide Homes Network, Inc. is the parent company of HomeRoute.com, the umbrella company for Relocate-America.com and Relocate-Canada.com online community directories of hundreds of towns in North America and Homes101.net, a real estate education Web site for consumers. After a town vote lasting all year, 100 communities are selected for the top 100. See the complete list at Relocate-America.com.