Where is the best small town to live in the United States?
According to Money Magazine it is the town of Sharon in Massachusetts.
Money Magazine explains its pick of Sharon by referencing its proximity to major job markets, its diversity, its schools, its natural beauty and its open spaces. They also mention the "town jewel", Lake Massapoag.
But for a picture to illustrate the article about the best small town to live in the whole United States, Money Magazine shows a picture of a Laser on Lake Massapoag. (Yes, I know that's not an official legal Laser sail, but it's still a Laser.)
The Laser fleet at Lake Massapoag.
Massapoag Yacht Club.
Are these really the features that led Money Magazine to honor Sharon in this way?
Maybe they've been reading my blog?
Maybe they read my 2006 post about Laser Sailing at Lake Whippersnapper? Which of course was really about Laser sailing at Lake Massapoag.
Or my 2008 post about a regatta at Lake Massapoag, Just One of Those Days?
Or my 2010 post extolling the virtues of Massapoag Yacht Club?
Or my 2012 post about what might be the best day of my life so far, the day I took two of my grandchildren sailing for the first time (in Sharon)?
You heard it here first folks.
Sharon MA is the best small town to live in America.
Because of the Laser sailing.
Why else?
Money Magazine has a video about three homes for sale in Sharon.
One of these is a "compound" of three houses on the shores of Lake Massapoag.
Hmmm. Kennedy compound. Tillerman compound?
Totally out of my price range of course, but I can dream.
There are lots of pictures on the realtor's website of all the features of the future Tillerman compound. Sweeping lawns. Swimming pool. Luxury kitchen. Gracious reception rooms. Immaculate landscaping. But this is the one that grabbed my attention...
I can just see my Laser on that beach.
15 comments:
It must have been your 2008 post that the editors of Money read.
That post was inspired by an earlier comment on your blog, as you noted in the first line:
Someone left a comment here a few days ago to the effect that how ever many days you have bad experiences when sailing, sooner or later you will have "One of Those Days"
The commenter was, um, me, and that was one of the first comments I ever left on your blog.
So, if I hadn't started commenting here, you presumably wouldn't have written that post, the editors of Money wouldn't have gotten the idea to name Sharon, Massachusetts the most desireable place to live, and they probably would have picked some place like Lawrenceville, New Jersey instead, which has better tomatoes.
What a common failing it is to underestimate the power of a simple blog comment.
Probably right. If it hadn't been for your comment I would never have thought to write a post about the only time I won a Laser regatta in eons. It would have totally slipped my mind.
So happy that the man from O dock is still chiming in.
Ah yeah... Odocker still chiming? I thought he was still rowing on the ocean on one of those crazy flat boats with no oars
Yeah. Just like the old days. O Docker's comments enliven all our blogs. Maybe he will soon start blogging more regularly as well.
Happy to see O docker back commenting with his O docker pants on.
Of course, Money is limited to the USA, which has only 5% of the world's population. If the question included the rest of the planet the answer might well be different.
(The answer for me, for example, is wherever my honey wants to live, which happily is a nation allied with the Empire. Don't drone me bro!)
I would love to get in on the compound. Been thinking about moving closer to my fave lake but the txes are killer. I don't think they mentioned that in the article.
Seriously.
I am always amused by these Best Places to Live stories. Even if they do use real objective criteria and let a computer pick the answer, they only select a small number of parameters, not all of which may be what makes a place good to live for any given individual.
At times I suspect that there are other more nefarious motives behind the choices. For example, is that video with the realtor something they paid her to make, or did she pay them for the right to advertise her $2.8 million compound? Maybe I am being over-suspicious but it sometimes seems as if these "best places" rankings are run with the aim of attracting advertisers to the magazine, and I am always wondering if the rankings are influenced by the opportunities for more ad revenue.
What does that first sentence mean? Has O Docker been commenting without his O Docker pants on? How can you tell when he is commenting with out his pants on? The mind boggles!
It is a bit too far from Spar Island and Fogland and Flo's and Bristol to be taken very seriously as a "best place" to live. I think the present Tiller Compound is perfectly situated!
Of course you are right Dave. Tillerwoman was gobsmacked (as we say in the old country) when I told her that Sharon was the best place in the US to live. It's a pleasant enough town, actually similar in some ways to the town where we used to live in NJ, but it doesn't have anything to compete with all the attractions that you mention.
Dave, were you racing in the MOHOSA regatta this weekend? What a spectacular sight! It seemed like the whole bay was full of racing yachts.
I think Panda meant I hadn't been wearing my usual O Docker blogging pants while commenting - just a pair of ordinary jeans.
Pants are so specialized today - there are biking pants and running pants and you Laser sailors even have special pants for hiking out. (Do you change pants for going downwind?)
I usually wear my custom tailored blogging pants while blogging - a skosh more room for turning phrases and extra pockets for puns and metaphors.
What I can't figure out is how Panda knew.
Yes, we were and after waiting through a lengthy postponement for the wind to fill in a bit we were having (I thought) a great start, but were called over early along with another boat and had to round the end and restart. We managed to not come in last by beating one other boat at the finish. A good time was had by all during the race and after at the Bristol Yacht Club. We did manage to take 6th out of 13 boats in C fleet at the MOHOSA Wednesday Night Worlds! First place in C fleet Sunday was John Brady of TYC racing R Bouy, a Frers 36.
Commenting late to escape detection...
It is obvious when O docker is not wearing his usual O Docker blogging pants. The topics raised and his view are erm "skewed" shall we say. Maybe the pants get too tight. Or maybe something is on the wrong side - if you get my drift (and know that joke).
Of course, I never addressed the main topic - typical of me. Maybe I should invest in some O Docker pants.
We wish you and yours much happiness in your new home.
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