After analyzing cities across the US, Ownerly determined that Alpharetta is the best outdoors-centric Zoom Town in the South. We ranked as their #12 small city in the nation and are the only Georgia community to make their ranking.
Ownerly analyzed 445 cities across the nation to find out which ones come on top for remote workers who love the outdoors. For this outdoors-focused list, they weighted their evaluations primarily on factors such as access to greenspace, number of gyms, prevalence of leisure time activities and levels of local or state fitness.
Why This Matters:
In 1865, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted was convinced that beautiful green spaces should exist in cities for all to enjoy. He wrote, “It is a scientific fact that the occasional contemplation of natural scenes of an impressive character... is favorable to the health and vigor of men and especially to the health and vigor of their intellect.”
While Olmsted’s claim of “science” was based on intuition, he was on to something. Today, nearly 40 years of research reveal that nearby nature supports a wide range of positive health outcomes for people.
It turns out that interactions with nature have some very tangible health benefits. Scientific studies have concluded that nearby nature provides a positive emotional experience that has been shown to speed up recovery time for hospitalized patients, motivate healthy behaviors such as exercise, and provide therapeutic benefits to people living with mental disorders.
If you are more economically motivated, consider this. With the global growth of knowledge-based industries, a city’s competitive advantage rests on its ability to attract a talented workforce. Highly educated workers choose cities based on economic, cultural, and lifestyle considerations. A survey of 1,200 technology workers found quality of life in a community can increase the attractiveness of a job by 33%. A poll of 50 senior executives of Fortune 500 companies found quality of life, including outdoor recreation amenities, is ranked as one of the main factors considered when choosing company location—second only to the availability of talent.
And, all of that translates to Alpharetta continuing to be a leading location for businesses and a community where people want to live.