Daddy's Christmas Angel

Monday, August 12, 2013

Where Are the Best Places for Creative People to Live?

Each year, Money Magazine puts out a list of the best places to live in the United States. In making their determinations, they consider communities that are good places to raise families by offering "plenty of green space, good schools, and a strong sense of community." This year Sharon, MA, Louisville, CO, and Vienna, VA topped the list. All the places listed in the top 50 have populations below 50,000 and above 10,000.

Looking over their 2013 list started me thinking about the best places for creative people to live. Artists might want to live in a huge place like New York City. That used to be a goal for many who were attending art schools.

Both writers and artists might like to settle in a community like Sedona, AZ. The scenery is inspiring, calming, and inviting. The atmosphere is spiritual.

What about communities along the coast of California? The vistas are glorious with photo ops in all directions. Those places attract writers and artists.

Kalispell, MT street ©Mary Montague Sikes
And we have the National Parks areas that long ago brought in creatives such as Ansel Adams. Montana has Glacier and Yellowstone. Kalispell or Boseman, both towns in Montana, might fit the needs of creative people.

My area in Tidewater Virginia has a lot of writers and artists. Many of the writers moved into the Chesapeake Bay area because they enjoy the solitude and the seascapes of communities like Mathews, Gloucester, Urbanna, and many other locations along the water.

Where do you believe the best places are for creative people to live? For authors? For artists? Please share your thoughts.

10 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Monti - not being an artist or creative type .. my thoughts would turn to Cornwall and our sea coasts .. yet there's lots of art in the big cities.. or even here in the towns - we have wonderful light ..

I think I'd like to be around people but not with them .. so there's always a mix of things to do ..

Cheers Hilary

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'd say somewhere along the beach in a town that wasn't too big. (But close to civilization, if you know what I mean.) Or the mountains. I could be creative in Asheville.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

The mountains or the beach are likely places. They certainly don't live in pig farming country.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

This post really got me thinking. My husband and I have always chosen to live in areas that are good for raising families. My dilemma is that now I'm in a location that's wonderful for families with children and not so great for what I'm doing now.

Marian Allen said...

I think the best place for a writer is moving. I'd love to have a Tumbleweed house and lease land in residential areas different places so I could live in my own home here and there. I loved visiting Tybee Island, Georgia, so that would be one place I'd go. I'd go to the Southwest, because I've never been there. I'd go a couple of places in Canada. I'd fly overseas and stay a year or two at a time here and there. And, of course, I'd be immortal and eternally young and strong. Hey, as long as we're dreaming...

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Hilary, sadly I know little about that part of England. As an artist, light fascinates me. I would love to watch it change there.

Alex, the North Carolina beaches are gorgeous, but Asheville is wonderful with New Age people congregating there. I like that.

Good observation, Diane. Creative people are drawn to beauty and to drama as well.

Karen, our needs change, but it is nice to have children around. Recently we visiting some people in a retirement facility. The silence there was eerie.

Marian, I adore your ideas. A tumbleweed house sounds perfect for the creative mind!

Thank all of you for sharing!!!

Unknown said...

It seems to me that a creative person can live anywhere. Perhaps creativity is enhanced when someone lives in a drab area. Just a thought :)

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Interesting, Cairn. I, too, believe creative folks can live anywhere, but I also think some places offer more opportunities for enrichment. It is up to the creative to decide how to use that which is all around.

Marja said...

Maybe authors need to have a home base and do a little traveling. But in many ways I don't think it matters where you live, as long as you pay attention to your surroundings and the life going on around you. JMHO.
Marja McGraw

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Thanks for visiting, Marja! For the artist, location might be more important than for the writer. Especially in today's internet world!