Naperville is regularly named to Money magazine’s list of “Best Small Cities to Live In” and was recently ranked in Fortune’s “Best Places to Live and Launch a Business” list. It was also dubbed the nation’s best place to raise children by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000, and a Top 10 place to retire by AARP. Outstanding schools, world-class parks and nature areas, and also a thriving downtown, for starters. Naperville enjoys low crime, a robust local economy, diverse cultural options, and an active civic community as well. What started as a small, rural town has become an esteemed residential and commercial hub, home to major area employers and a large retail presence. Naperville was one of the ten fastest-growing communities in the US in the 1990s, and today it’s one of the largest metropolitan regions in the state. The community has still managed to keep its small-town charm, however, as evidenced by the historic look and feel of its downtown. Click here for more Naperville is located approximately 28 miles west of Chicago. For those traveling by car, Naperville enjoys easy access to major interstate highways, such as I-88 and I-355. Naperville rail transportation is provided both by Metra and Amtrak. Metra’s BNSF Railway stops at Route 59 and Downtown Naperville station and takes commuters to Chicago’s Union Station downtown. There is always something to do in Naperville, from the Naperville Jazz Fest each June to Oktoberfest in the fall, where residents gather for live music, authentic German cuisine, and steins of cold beer. Stop by the Naperville Wine Festival, held at the Naper Settlement each September, to sample more than 200 wines from around the world. Naperville’s biggest festival, though, is Ribfest. For more than two decades, Rib vendors from across the country have packed up their grills and smokers and headed to Naperville for “the best fest in the Midwest.”