Drone footage of Portland
Photo by Bill Lord/Maine HDTV

T

he secret got out sometime about a decade ago, it seems, and the rest of the world is now well aware that life is good in Portland, Maine.

Here’s a sampling of the wide variety of “Best of” lists that have featured Portland and helped make the city a go-to-there destination for everyone from hipsters to retirees:

Best Cities for Mid-Level Professionals, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, 2007

America’s Best Healthy Places to Retire (No. 1), U.S. News & World Report, 2008

America’s Foodiest Small Town, Bon Appetit, 2009

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America’s Most Livable Cities (No.1), Forbes, 2009

The Coolest Small Cities in America, GQ, 2010

Greenest Small Cities (No.1), Rodale’s Organic Life, 2010

Gayest Cities in America (No. 8), The Advocate, 2010

The Best Cities in the World for Drinking Beer, Gadling, 2010

Most Affordable Places to Retire (No. 1), AARP The Magazine, 2011

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Best Cities for Young Professionals (No. 6), Forbes, 2011

America’s Best Cities for Hipsters (No. 5), Travel + Leisure, 2012

Top 10 Best Cities for Families (No. 3), Parenting, 2012

The 15 Most Underrated Cities in the U.S. (No. 8), Complex, 2013

16 Best Places to Live in the U.S. (No. 13), Outside, 2014

10 Most Coffee-Obsessed Cities (No.1), Men’s Health, 2014

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10 Classiest Party Cities in America (No. 2), Thumbtack Journal, 2015

America’s 20 Best Cities for Beer Lovers (No. 14), Travel + Leisure, 2015

Top 10 Coziest Cities in America (No. 1), Honeywell, 2015

The 10 Best Places to Live Now (No. 3), Men’s Journal, 2015

America’s Coolest Small Towns (No. 5), Jetsetter, 2015

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