Best 2 Places To Live In MA: Money Magazine

There's no place like home - but according to Time's Money magazine, there's no place like Brookline and Newton, either. The two communities were the only in Massachusetts to make their way into Money's 50 Best Places to Live list released this week.

Surprise, surprise, right? Actually, Money isn't just picking two of the swankiest places around at random. The publication gave reasons for each making the list.

Newton, which was ranked the 12th-best place to live in the country, is highly regarded in part because of its "high-quality public schools ... low crime risk and leafy green streets." The magazine highlights Chestnut Hill Reservoir park and Heartbreak Hill as top local features.

Newton, by the way, also has 168 homes listed at at least $1 million for sale. You can check them out at realtor.com here.

Brookline came in at No. 42 in the list. Would you guess the dog parks are the first things mentioned by Money? Good ol' Coolidge Corner is mentioned as another perk of living in Brookline, along with the town's proximity to Boston.

Brookline has 78 homes for sale that are listed for at least $1 million. That includes a $69 million listing (really) and this funky looking near-$10 million piece of real estate.

The top five places to live, according to Money? How about Frisco, Texas; Ashburn, Va.; Carmel, Ind.; Ellicott City, Md.; and Cary, N.C. The 50th best place to live was Coweta, Okla. Check out the full list here.

Before you get too defensive, take a look at Money's methodology. Only places with at least 50,000 residents or more were considered, and communities that had a lot of crime, not a lot money, and a lack of diversity were eliminated. That gave Money 583 places to choose from.

Photo of Coolidge Corner by Jenna Fisher, Patch