So Durham was just named the 5th Best Place to Live by U.S. News and World Report. But the reasons they gave? I’ve heard them a million times before. “Expansive healthcare industry”, “prestigious Duke University,” “a thriving technology hub.” C’mon people, you can do better than that! But they didn’t, so I will.

First off, living here gets you a lot of bang for your buck. According to Forbes, we’re in the top ten for America’s Best Cheap Cities.

We’re the smartest. Yes way. The Daily Beast said so, giving the hyperbolic merger of Raleigh-Durham an IQ score of 170.

We have one of America’s least miserable airports. Another study by U.S. News and World Report gave RDU International a Misery Index Ranking of a mere 10. Take that O’ Hare (47) and San Fran International (45)!

Despite a history richly packed in Tobacco, Durham is actually the fifth most Smoke-Free Metro Area. Granted, you still see lots of old smokestacks and tobacco warehouses (beautiful old brick buildings should never go to waste), but look inside and you’ll find the Golden Belt arts community, our home at the American Tobacco Campus and shopping and dining at Brightleaf Square.

East Durham was named one of This Old House's "Best Old-House Neighborhoods" in both the US and Canada for it’s architecture and sense of community.

Finally, BusinessWeek named downtown Durham one of the nation’s 15 most up-and-coming neighborhoods. I respect this award in particular because it’s easy to build a cookie-cutter community without a past, ahem Cary, but it takes creativity, drive and love to take something old and crumbling and bring it life with coffee shops, wine bars, art galleries, and creative companies—like McKinney!

For pics and people, check out this lovely little video courtesty of Downtown Durham, Inc.