Want to live by the beach, but not crazy about living by the ocean?

There are several areas of the United States where you can enjoy beachside living near a lake instead, and it turns out some of the best options are right here in Michigan - including the best one.

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WalletHub.com recently ranked America's "Best (Lake) Beach Towns To Live In", and four Michigan cities made the cut.

How the Determinations Were Made

More than 60 individual metrics were evaluated across six different main categories:

  • Affordability: things like housing costs, property taxes and the availability of waterfront property
  • Weather: things like climate, water temps, and natural disasters
  • Safety: things like crime rates and the prevalence of COVID-19
  • Economy: things like the unemployment rate, poverty levels, foreclosures and bankruptcies
  • Education & Health: things like the quality of local schools and hospitals, as well as air, drinking water and beach water
  • Quality of Life: things like commute times and the number and diversity of local businesses and attractions

Nearly 200 lakefront cities across the nation were evaluated, and four Michigan towns landed in the Top 50.

Port Huron, Michigan

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Port Huron, Michigan, was recognized as the 44th-best lakefront beach town to live in in the United States. It was buoyed by a Top 10 finish in the weather category. Quality of life in Port Huron and its affordability also rated well.

Holland, Michigan

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Holland, Michigan, made the Top 20 overall, coming in at #19. Holland's quality of life ranked #4 on the survey, and the city also boasted Top 20 finishes in the affordability, weather, economy, and education/health categories.

Alpena, Michigan

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Alpena, Michigan, notched in at #18 overall, largely on the strength of its #1 ranking among all American lakefront towns in the weather category. Alpena also ranked in the Top 10 for overall quality of life.

Traverse City, Michigan

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Not only is Traverse City Michigan's top-ranking representative among this survey's "Best (Lake) Beach Towns To Live In", it's #1 overall! WalletHub concluded that no other lakefront beach town in America has a better quality of life than Traverse City. Situated in the northern Lower Peninsula along the shore of Lake Michigan, Traverse City also scored well in the education/health and weather categories.

LOOK: See America's 50 Best Beach Towns

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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