It also has nothing in common with Jim Lovell's story about how he ended up in Lake Forest, Illinois, or Phil Ramone's reasons for choosing Bedford, New York. Nothing, that is, except a striking passion. The reasons people pick one town over another often turn out to be deeply personal and sometimes touching. Though two communities may be next door to each other and may seem interchangeable to the casual eye, the residents of each will draw detailed distinctions between rival schools, country clubs, and hardware stores.
Home has a deep meaning.
This year as last, we base our rankings of America's richest towns on real-estate prices in effect, the fee one pays to call these places home. Still, these towns are more than chunks of real estate. So we've focused our attention on some of the leading lights of these communities successful men and women who have the means to live most anywhere but have chosen one place above all others. We wanted to know why, so that we might add other dimensions, as these people have, to the idea of a rich life. Name State Median Home Price Population Loch Adamson is an associate editor at Equity magazine .