Helena

Known for great schools, low crime, and sadly bad traffic Helena is a gem of a town. While Alabama crime stats are nothing to brag about (1 in 222 people will be a victim) Helena does like to brag about their low crime (1 in 1552 people will be a victim) according to neighborhoodscout.com

Helena could use more restaurants. Like many other towns with a large teen population, there are plenty of fast food; there is just not a lot of choices for date nite. It is a quiet town with a lot of nice smiling people.

City management has a good track record managing the taxpayer's money. The town is kept clean and beautiful. The schools are some of the best public schools in the state. Parks are well taken care of. The biggest complaint citizens have is the traffic. Most of Helena residents work outside of town and it causes traffic problems. There are two sets of train tracks on the two most commonly used routs in and out of town to further complicate traffic. The one area city officials have slipped is in not being prepared for traffic problems associated with the recent boom in residents.

Best place to raise your kids (Business Week 2007)
Best place to live (Money 2007)
#6 "These Are The 10 Smartest Places In Alabama" (moveto blog) http://www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/smartest-alabama/
#13 "Alabama's Top 50 Business Friendly Cities" (Yellowhammer News) http://yellowhammernews.com/blog/the-ten-most-business-friendly-cities-in-alabama/