Officials in Council Bluffs are thrilled the city shares the honor with Omaha, Nebraska, as being the third best place in the nation, to relocate to.  In fact, several cities are in the Midwest are on the list, compiled by Sperling’s BestPlaces.net and posted on CNBC.com. Only Pittsburgh, Penn., and Buffalo, N.Y. finished ahead of Omaha/Council on the Top 10 list, and ahead of such places as Austin, Tex., Madison, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul and Des Moines.

The recently released list was based on the following factors: unemployment, cost of living, crime rates, population health, and cultural events. The ten best cities to move to all have lower than average house prices and unemployment rates below the national average (10.2%). Leisure activities and sports teams were also factored into the equation.

According to BestPlaces.net, the Omaha/Council Bluffs area’s cost of living is 12.4 percent below the national average. The average price of a home is $137,600, well below the national average of $171,700. The unemployment rate is 4.7 percent, less than half the national average of 10.2 percent.

Kathy Fiscus, Special Projects Director for the Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau said the city’s ranking was “Super” news,  and that they’re “pleased and proud” to be on the list. Fiscus told the Council Bluffs Daily NonPareil “A lot of people think we’re ‘Midwest nice,’ which means we’re so nice.” She asked “Wouldn’t you really enjoy living somewhere where you’re greeted on the street and have no fear for yourself when you leave your residence?” Fiscus says the area still serves as a place to live out “The American Dream.”

See the report for yourself at: http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/americas_top_relocate_cities.aspx