Smyrna

SMYRNA, GA -- The Jonquil City has made Money's Best Places to Live 2018 list, coming in at No. 44 , thanks in part to its community-focused downtown area, its plethora of parks and historic sites, modest home prices and part of a school system with a high graduation rate.

To come up with its list, the folks at Money only considered cities that have 50,000 or more residents. It also did not review places that had double the national crime risk, less than 85 percent of its state's median household income or a "lack of ethnic diversity." This narrowed the list down to 583 cities.

They also considered data such as cost of living, economic vitality, public education, housing, crime, amenities, income and diversity, and tasked reporters with researching each location and interviewing residents. The list also limited the entries to two per state and one per county.

For Smyrna, Money notes the city has "a vision for a thriving downtown that fosters a sense of community and fights the sprawl of greater Atlanta. The Village Green encompasses City Hall, housing, a library, arboretum, shopping and apartments. Built around a central fountain, it's a gathering place that hosts popular festivals and concerts year-round.

Elsewhere in Smyrna there are parks, historical sites, and several different neighborhoods with easy access to major highways. Residents enjoy good weather, modest home prices, and good schools, part of the state's second-largest-district and one that boasts a graduation rate of roughly 84%."