By Susan Allen, staff writer

MONTPELIER – More than 35 million Americans will pick up their copy of the national AARP the Magazine this week and discover what Montpelierites have always known: Vermont's capital city is among the "Best Places to Live the Simple Life."

Montpelier earned the No. 3 ranking of 'best places' in the current issue of the magazine, which sports a rockin' Bruce Springsteen on its cover.

"I have not been to Montpelier, but from the pictures, what a beautiful town you have," said Gabrielle DeGroot Redford, editorial projects manager for the magazine, by telephone from her Washington, D.C., office. "It sounds like the best place to live, too."

She said the magazine comes up with a 'best places to live' list every year, changing the criteria annually. This year AARP decided to highlight the best places to live the simple life.

"Places where you're not sitting in traffic forever downtown, places where the stress level is low," Redford said.

The brief article explains that "there's plenty to do in Montpelier. First, there's politics, the local sport, as residents keep track of what's going on in the legislature … Then there's the city's active arts scene … And music festivals abound."

To launch the 'best places' project, a demographer first looked at government numbers about 325 metropolitan areas nationwide, based on specific criteria, then at cities within selected metropolitan areas, choosing the top 10. The magazine profiles the five best; the AARP Web site lists the top 10.

The best places are Tucson, Ariz.; Greenville, S.C.; Montpelier; Logan, Utah; Ames, Iowa; Northampton, Mass.; Lexington/Fayette, Ky.; Texas Hill Country, Texas; Oxford, Miss.; and Walla Walla, Wash.

Full criteria included housing appreciation (or deprecation) and affordability, employment, education, health, lower cost of living, less traffic, more open space, farmers markets, outdoor amenities, hiking and biking tails, parks, green values, stress index, and more.

"I hope it makes people that live here appreciate where they live," said Montpelier City Manager William Fraser of the ranking. "Sometimes we all get caught up in our own things, and it's easy to forget we live in a great place."

Fraser said he also hopes the rankings prompt people to move or at least visit here.

Suzanne Eikenberry, executive director of the Montpelier Downtown Community Association, agreed.

"It renews our commitment to our downtown," she said. Eikenberry said the AARP ranking recognized the uniqueness of Montpelier. She said the AARP staff contacted her to ask about the city and seemed especially impressed with the number of bookstores in the downtown.

Jennifer Wallace-Brodeur, associate state director for the Vermont AARP office and a Montpelier native, was pleased with the magazine's ranking of her hometown.

"I personally think it's the best one on there," she said. "Montpelier clearly deserved it."

From AARP the Magazine about Montpelier:

Vibe: Norman Rockwell, with a twist of politics

Median housing price: $159,060

Average commute: 22 minutes

Average number of sunny days: 157 per year

Most relaxing way to spend an afternoon: World-class skiing less than an hour away, at Stowe

Simple fun for less than $10: Sampling a pastry at La Brioche Bakery & Café

Who knew? Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's restaurant.

In-spired: The churches and homes of downtown add intimacy to America's most livable capital city.