Affirming what thousands of Ohio University students and alumni know to be true, Athens has been recognized by Ohio Magazine as one of the best places to live, work and visit in Ohio. The official recognition will be part of the magazine’s annual Best Hometowns issue, which will be published on Nov. 1.
Each spring Ohio Magazine accepts hometown nominations and then visits each town over the summer. The editors then evaluate the finalists in six categories: Community Spirit, Education, Entertainment, Health and Safety, Business Environment, and Culture and Heritage.
The honorees will be featured in the upcoming fall issue and the July/August 2023 issue, as well as online.
Ohio Magazine has been awarding Best Hometown since 2006 to communities across Ohio. They describe the winners as places where strangers are treated like friends, local improvement is a focal point of community pride and where progress still honors the past.
To nominate a town, readers submit a short essay highlighting local efforts in the community.
This will be the second time Athens has been awarded the honor, winning it first in 2008.
Other winners of this year’s Best Hometowns include Bellefontaine, Kent, Perrysburg and Versailles.