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MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- Iker Fernandez moved to Larchmont two years ago and has spent the summer with his daughters getting familiar with Harbor Island and other community landmarks that make it CNNMoney Magazine's 60th best place to live in the United States.
"It looks like it's a good place to raise kids," said Fernandez, while playing with his twin daughters Amaya and Eva, 3 at the Harbor Island park. "I see a lot of kids, a lot of families and you have languages from everywhere."
Fernandez grew up and lived in Spain before getting married and moving to Larchmont with his wife and children two years ago. He also lived in France for three years and likes that both Larchmont and Mamaroneck have French schools.
The town was recognized in CNNMoney Magazine's annual 100 Best Places to Live list, to be released on the cover of its Friday issue. The publication, which didn't rank Mamaroneck last year, features the top 100 towns with a population of 50,000 or less.
"MONEY looked for places with the optimal combination of job opportunities, fiscal strength, top-notch schools, safe streets, good health care, cultural and outdoor activities, and even nice weather," according to a press release.
Money Magazine determined that Mamaroneck's job growth from 2000 through 2010 is 3.36 percent, compared to the average of 1.38 percent. The median home price is $517,250, compared to the average of $265,929.
Educationally, Mamaroneck test scores are 55.4 percent and 37.9 percent above the state average in reading and math respectively, according to Money Magazine. The average of the 99 other towns is 24.82 and 24.45 respectively.
Vivian Greenblatt is also new to the community, moving to Larchmont two years ago.
"Being able to walk into town is nice," she said.
Janine Montoni moved from Larchmont to Mamaroneck when her oldest of three sons began kindergarten four years ago. She, too, likes how close everything is and said she is still as much a Larchmont resident as she is a Mamaroneck resident because she spends time in both.
"The variety of activities here is great," she said. "My kids play anything from football to soccer."
Mamaroneck was one of three Westchester towns to rank in the top 100, including Harrison at No. 70 and Saratoga Springs at No. 75. Rockland County's Nanuet and Pearl River ranked at 76 and 78 respectively.
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