MONEY Magazine's Annual Best Places to Live In the U.S. Ranking is Very Short List This Year. Because, over the last eight weeks, New York City has been on the nation's mind more than ever, the writing of one of MONEY magazine's most popular annual features, "The Best Places to Live in America" took on new meaning this year, resulting in the unprecedented selection of only one place: New York City. In a sixteen-page section of photographs, reporting, tributes by famous New Yorkers and an essay by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York City is examined from every angle -- from communities, culture, and geography to restaurants, night life, dog parks and public schools. The Special Report, "New York City: Why Now More Than Ever the City is a Wonderful Place to Call Home," appears in the December issue, on newsstands November 19. >According to MONEY Managing Editor, Robert Safian, "New York has everything: the diverse neighborhoods, the amazing cultural aspects, renowned schools, the companies that are headquartered here, the plays, the food, the museums. I won't deny that this year we approached our annual Best Places to Live project with our hearts as well as our heads, but, as the story demonstrates, New York possesses many of the virtues we always look for in our ranking process -- and the enduring spirit and sense of community we have witnessed here in recent weeks justified for us the decision to single New York out this year." In the exclusive essay by Mayor Giuliani, RUDY'S NYC, the mayor writes, "... Today, Manhattan teems with commerce and culture. The other boroughs have enjoyed an unprecedented renaissance of safety, convenience and just plain livability. It is a great city, reborn. And the tragic events of Sept. 11 only proved what I'd said all along -- that New York City is the strongest, bravest, city in the world." Giuliani also recalls his youth in East Flatbush and reveals that he plans to retire someday on Staten Island. Goldman Sachs' guru Abby Joseph Cohen contributes City Learning an essay on Stuyvesant High School, where she volunteers. She describes Stuyvesant, a public high school, as representing, "the best of New York" and tells how students there saw at close range the unfolding of the Sept. 11 tragedy and that many had parents and other loved ones working at the Trade Center. In a section where famous New Yorkers explain, "Why I wouldn't live anywhere else," New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza of Gramercy Park says, " ... It's the diversity of the city that is the primary attraction for me ... You can do something different every night of the week," and actress Susan Sarandon of lower Manhattan adds, "When you live in New York you can do so much on foot, which means you open yourself up to the happy accident." Inspired by New York, MONEY editors also researched other cities that feature a strong sense of community -- as well as low crime, nice weather, low property taxes and excellent education -- to create a list of six other great places to live: Portland, OR., Providence, R.I., Missoula, MT., Austin, TX., Ann Arbor, MI., and Sarasota, FL. And since everyone looks for something different in the place that's "Best" for them, CNNMoney.com will feature a tool that enables users to input their own priorities and preferences to come up with their own Best Place to Live.