I don't think anyone pays too much attention to those 'best place' stories, they show up periodically and are copied as filler by the papers (or, now, the net).

I think the general reaction is, "Well, that's nice," but the story is forgotten next day.

I think Hawai'i is a good place to live when it's below zero in my home city, but, like most places, it has its own culture and I am used to the culture peculiar to where I live now.

Kansas? Gee, I don't know. Might get mighty tired of sunflowers.