I grew up in Hampden, so I might be biased.

I don't really have anything bad to say at all about growing up in Hampden. Sure, I had some regular childhood issues, like any other kid. But by and large, it was pretty awesome. It's a community-driven town, so there were tons of kids my age. It's not a very big town either, so I could get just about everywhere on my bike.

Photo by Amber Faust on Unsplash
Photo by Amber Faust on Unsplash
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As a teenager, it was even close enough to Bangor ro ride my bike in town, or hop the public bus and head for the mall. Because we know that's where all the kids went if they could in the 80's. But is it the best place in all of Maine to raise a family? that might be a subjective question. But not according to OnlyInYourState.com. They say Hampden is the tops.

Hampden beat our several other great spots around the state.

Hampden took down the likes of Gorham, Winthrop, and Scarborough. Hampden even beat Yarmouth and Bar Harbor. And also from the same website, Hampden has appeared in their best-of lists of great Maine towns to live in, in general. Anyone who lives there would likely agree.

The basic criteria were based on graduation rates and how many of those kids went onto college, among other things. Hampden boasts a graduation rate of some 98%, and 75% of those kids continue on to some kind of secondary education. Those are impressive numbers.

Photo by Baim Hanif on Unsplash
Photo by Baim Hanif on Unsplash
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Sure, some people will look at this list and ask themselves, "Wtf?!" But those folks have obviously never lived there. Is Hampden a tourist town? No. But that's not what makes a place great to raise a family. Giving kids opportunities is how you determine that... Hampden seems to have that by the pound.

I wonder how many people moved to Hampden?

LOOK: Here's where people in every state are moving to most

Stacker analyzed the Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey data to determine the three most popular destinations for people moving out of each state.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

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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