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25 best places to live in Virginia rankings for 2022 have no love for Southwest Virginia

Radnor /Fort Myer Heights near Arlington topped the list

Blacksburg is the first Southwest Virginia area on the list, and not until No. 90. (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

ROANOKE, Va. – Do you live in one of Virginia’s best places? If you’re don’t live in Northern Virginia or near Richmond, the answer is no according to one company.

Niche released its annual Best Places to Live rankings this month, ranking the best cities and communities to live in based on various criteria.

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The company takes into account different factors of a location when making its rankings, including the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, and access to amenities. (Learn more about the methodology here)

Topping the list this year is Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. The highest Virginia location was Radnor/Fort Myer Heights near Arlington, which ranked 14th.

Niche doesn’t have too much love for Southwest Virginia as nothing within the top 25 is anywhere near us.

In fact, you don’t find anything nearby until Blacksburg, which was ranked 90th. After that, it’s Forest at 103, Cave Spring at 107 and Bridgewater at 112 to round out the top 150.

I don’t know about y’all, but I’ll take Interstate 81 over I-66 and the DC Beltway any day of the week.

25 best places to live in Virginia for 2022:

  1. Radnor/Fort Myer Heights
  2. Bluemont
  3. Colonial Village
  4. Ballston/Virginia Square
  5. Cascades
  6. Clarendon/Courthouse
  7. Innsbrook
  8. Short Pump
  9. Stone Ridge
  10. Arlington Forest
  11. North Rosslyn
  12. North Highland
  13. Arlington
  14. Waycroft/Woodlawn
  15. Broadlands
  16. Claremont
  17. South Riding
  18. Dominion Hills
  19. Woodmont
  20. Franklin Farm
  21. Cherrydale
  22. Wyndham
  23. Landsdowne
  24. Wakefield
  25. Arlington/East Falls Church

You can check the full Virginia list here from Niche.