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| List of Tables, Maps, and Diagrams | |
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| About the Authors | |
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| Preface | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Rating Places: A Continental Pastime | |
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| Metropolitan Areas | |
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| Decisions, Decisions | |
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| Rating Places: One Way | |
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| Rating Places: Your Way | |
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| Costs of Living | |
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| Pulling Down $75,000 a Year | |
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| ... And Scraping By on It | |
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| Caveats | |
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| Scoring: Costs of Living | |
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| Rankings: Costs of Living | |
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| Place Profiles: Costs of Living | |
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| Et Cetera: Costs of Living | |
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| The High Cost of College | |
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| Taxes | |
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| Transportation | |
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| Getting Around Town | |
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| Inter-City Travel | |
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| Judging Transportation | |
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| Scoring: Transportation | |
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| Rankings: Transportation | |
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| Place Profiles: Transportation | |
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| Et Cetera: Transportation | |
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| Ferryboats, Cable Cars, Monorails, Aerial Trams, and Inclines | |
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| Contradictory Rules of the Road | |
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| Driver Licensing | |
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| Finding Your Way on the Interstate | |
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| Jobs | |
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| Forecasting Where the Jobs Will Be | |
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| Blue-Collar Blues | |
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| ... And a White Collar Chorus | |
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| Judging Jobs | |
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| Scoring: Jobs | |
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| Rankings: Jobs | |
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| Place Profiles: Jobs | |
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| Et Cetera: Jobs | |
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| Life in a Boom Town | |
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| A Jobs Menu | |
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| Headquarter Metros | |
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| Legal Holidays | |
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| Education | |
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| Public Schools | |
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| Private Schools | |
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| The Public Library | |
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| Colleges and Universities | |
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| Scoring: Education | |
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| Rankings: Education | |
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| Place Profiles: Education | |
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| Et Cetera: Education | |
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| Continuing Education: A Growing Trend | |
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| Solving the SAT Puzzle ... or Trying | |
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| Outstanding Secondary Schools | |
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| Homeschooling | |
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| Climate | |
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| The Difference Is Geophysical | |
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| Judging Climate | |
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| Scoring: Climate | |
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| Rankings: Climate | |
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| Place Profiles: Climate | |
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| Et Cetera: Climate | |
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| It's Not the Heat, It's the Humidity | |
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| When the Wind Blows | |
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| Natural Hazards | |
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| North American Weather Extremes | |
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| Crime | |
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| Crime Risk: Several Connections | |
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| Crime Indexes | |
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| A Caveat | |
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| Judging Crime | |
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| Scoring: Crime | |
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| Rankings: Crime | |
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| Place Profiles: Crime | |
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| Et Cetera: Crime | |
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| Capital Punishment | |
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| National and Regional Crime Rates | |
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| Drunk Driving | |
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| Handguns | |
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| The Arts | |
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| Art Museums and Galleries | |
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| Tuning In to Concert Radio | |
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| The Lively Arts Calendar | |
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| Scoring: The Arts | |
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| Rankings: The Arts | |
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| Place Profiles: The Arts | |
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| Et Cetera: The Arts | |
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| New York, New York | |
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| The David and Goliath Proposition | |
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| Health Care | |
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| What the Numbers Say | |
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| Two Systems--Insurance, Access, and the Rest | |
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| The Doctors | |
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| The Hospital | |
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| Scoring: Health Care | |
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| Rankings: Health Care | |
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| Place Profiles: Health Care | |
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| Et Cetera: Health Care | |
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| Health Care in Canada | |
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| Healthy Life/Longer Life | |
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| Finding the Right Doctor | |
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| Immunization | |
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| Recreation | |
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| Common Denominators | |
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| Crowd Pleasers | |
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| Outdoor Recreation Assets | |
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| Scoring: Recreation | |
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| Rankings: Recreation | |
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| Place Profiles: Recreation | |
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| Et Cetera: Recreation | |
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| Looking for the Best Skiing? | |
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| Where Are the Best Sports Towns? | |
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| Putting It All Together | |
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| Finding the Best Places in North America | |
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| Rankings: Putting It All Together | |
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| Et Cetera: Putting It All Together | |
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| Finding Your Best Place to Live | |
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| A Big Pond or a Small One? | |
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| Appendixes | |
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| Metropolitan Areas by State and Province | |
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| People | |
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| Metropolitan Area Contacts and Place Finder | |