Colorado can boast two of the 10 best cities to live in the United States, according to a new book. As The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports:

Fort Collins is the eighth-best place to live in the United States, according to a new book. The 848-page book, "Cities Ranked & Rated," by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander, rated cities in 10 categories, from the economy to the arts. It gave most weight to cost of living, climate and quality of life. In 1986, Sperling created Money magazine's first Best Places to Live list. Last year, Fort Collins topped the list. Colorado Springs was No. 4 on the list. Modesto, Calif., was at the bottom of the rankings of 375 metropolitan areas. The recent rankings update those given in 2004 by the authors, who gave more weight to affordable housing and reasonable commuting times in the recent addition. Gainesville, Fla., ranked No. 1, up from No. 56, benefits from "a strong concentration of young people and active retirees." With a population of 248,000, Gainesville's only drawbacks are hot, sticky summers and a relatively high violent crime rate, most of it drug-related, the book said.

I don't know if I can trust a ranking system that says this of Gainesville, Florida: Gainesville's only drawbacks are hot, sticky summers and a relatively high violent crime rate, most of it drug-related... You know what other city is really hot in the summer and has a high violent crime rate? Baghdad. Look, I'm only joking in comparing Gainesville to Baghdad, but 1) a really hot climate, and 2) a high violent crime rate are both pretty high up on my list of reasons not to live somewhere. How can you call those "the only drawbacks?" That's like saying the Moon is a nice place to live, with the only drawbacks being a lack of oxygen and water. I don't see how you can have an unbearable climate and a high violent crime rate and even qualify for a list of great places to live.