Can I admit that until this afternoon I hadn’t even checked out the whole Outside magazine best-town-in-the-nation thing? I had seen headlines and photos and mentions of it on Facebook and Twitter, on the Q2 website and in the Gazette, but I hadn’t bothered to really look into it yet. I’m busy, for one thing. For another, in my Gazette column over the years I took many opportunities to make fun of this or that contest, including several previous Outside contests. As I pointed out every time, these contests are not designed primarily to determine which town is the coolest, or the family-friendliest or the best to retire in, etc. Continue Reading →