USA Today: Palisade 'A Little Piece of Heaven'

The Pew Research Center just released poll results showing whether Americans are happy living where they are located. If you're local Joe Higginbotham, the answer is, "Yes, in Palisade"

Under the headline, "Pew: Almost Half of Americans Want to Live Somewhere Else," USA Today Reporter Haya El Nasser wrote:

'I love it here'

"When Joe Higginbotham goes to town, he never runs into traffic jams. He never has to circle to find a parking spot. And he never has to worry about safety. "I can park my car in the street, get out, leave the keys in the ignition," says Higginbotham, 57, a retired instrument engineer for a large paper company. He runs errands at the bank, store and post office and makes a stop at the local saloon and "nobody bothers anything. … I love it here."

"What Higginbotham calls "his little piece of heaven" is Palisade, Colo., 15 miles east of Grand Junction. Population: 2,793. Traffic light: one."

"Higginbotham is among the 52% of Americans who are happy where they are, according to the Pew survey."

"When Higginbotham sits on the deck of the barn-styled home he built in the middle of a pear orchard, he has no doubt he is where he wants to be."

"Happily divorced" and his kids grown, he is thrilled with the laid-back lifestyle in a small town. Yet he is 20 minutes from an airport and a mall and within 2 miles of nine wineries. He has one request: "Just don't tell the Californians."

You can read the rest of the article here.