Everyone moving to a new city or state faces important decisions about the best place to live. Where you buy a home really depends on what is essential to you - are you looking for a quiet place to retire, a place where your children can reach their educational goals, or a metropolis where you can enjoy fine dining and theater? Once you've decided on what you are looking for, you can choose the lifestyle and location that's right for you.

For the most affordable home prices, Ohio, Texas, and even an area of New York called Tonawanda allow singles or families to buy a home for much less than you'd expect. Northbrook, in Ohio, is a Cincinnati suburb known for its charming character homes and laid-back living. With the average new home at around $85,000, Northbrook is quickly becoming one of the top places to live in America for both home buyers and those who want a great real estate investment.

Houston and some of the surrounding areas like Galveston County, which features beach side living at it's best, and Clear Lake, which has some of the best schools in Texas, are increasing in popularity. New homes with all of the modern amenities start at around $150,000, which is attractive to professionals who work at the nearby NASA or Boeing plants as well as retired vacationers interested in a second home. Galveston Island is one of the top places to live in America because it offers gorgeous beachfront properties and modern condominiums for a fraction of the price home buyers would pay in almost any other U.S. location.

Tonawanda, New York, is a drastic departure from the multi-million condominiums and homes of Manhattan. You'll pay around $100,000 for a beautiful ranch-style home with three bedrooms in this city that runs along the Niagara River. Because of their low cost of living and high quality of lifestyle for homebuyers, these three cities are considered some of the top places to live in America.

To many families with young children or college students, the quality of education is their utmost concern when relocating to a new city. For academic excellence, Dallas, Texas has the top schools for gifted children, and those seeking a career in engineering or science. Dallas is home to a lot of the best schools in Texas. Florida attracts the artistically inclined with the respected Dreyfoos School of the Arts, while Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas has one of the highest percentages of graduating seniors in the country. For academics, Texas is definitely one of the top places to live in America: their public and private schools continuously make up the highest-ranked educational institutions in the country.

The top places to live in America for low crime rates are Honolulu, Hawaii, metro areas of New Jersey, and New England. These cities are considered very secure, have a respected police presence and year after year have some of the lowest violent and petty crime rates in the entire country. Residents of these towns have a lower risk of facing a violent crime than anywhere else, compared with high crime rate states such as Kansas, Miami and Arizona.

If it's the bustling city life you're after, consider Chicago or New York. The cost of living is higher for homes in these cities, but there are plenty of job opportunities for skilled workers in both, as well as top notch restaurants, theaters and sporting arenas. Chicago, which earned the spot of the top city to live in for 2007, is home to Wrigley Field, where fans can take in a Cubs game, while New York has the lights of Broadway as well as a number of tourist attractions and landmarks. If you've got money to spend - expect to pay around $350,000 for a small condominium in an up-and-coming area of Brooklyn - then New York could be the perfect place to settle.

Singles who are looking for love have the best chance of meeting that special someone in Durham, New Hampshire or in the University of Massachusetts town of Amherst Center. Both of these cities are considered to be the top places to live in America for singles activities. New Hampshire boasts a great art community as well as some legendary restaurants and pubs. Amherst Center is constantly alive with new students and long-term residents, and the cultural attractions and social activities for students make this town a haven for singles seeking a partner.