Timmins has seen a big drop in MacLean's latest list of Canada's best 415 communities, falling to 304 from 152 two years ago.
It says the best feature is internet access, followed by affordability and amenities.
The top community is Halifax, Nova Scotia.
For other Northern Ontario cities, Sault Ste. Marie is 211, North Bay is 253, Sudbury is 262, and Temiskaming Shores is 335.
The data included in the breakdown for Timmins notes the population is 42,030 and average value of primary real estate is $230,589. The property tax as a per cent of average income is 1.8 per cent and provincial tax rate for the average family is 44 per cent, according to Maclean's.
When it comes to weather, it notes there are 183 days a year with rain or snow, 158 days with weather above 0 C and 88 days above 20 C.
At 112, the five-year average Crime Severity Index is higher than the national average of 73. Maclean's notes that lower is better in this category.
Other health, safety and community factors taken into account are that there are 78 doctor's offices per 100,000 residents, and nine household members are able to do remote work or school on an internet connection.
The idea behind Maclean’s Best Communities ranking is that, while there are many intangible things that determine the quality of life that can’t be quantified and measured, a lot of tangible things can be.
"In our inaugural edition of the ranking, we gathered data on 415 communities across the country and compared them based on categories we thought would be most important to the average person. Then the pandemic hit, and people’s priorities changed," says MacLean's.
"Our revamped ranking assumes remote work is here to stay, asking where people should move if they’re not tied to an office and a commute."
Because remote workers won't have to look for a nearby job, categories assessing the local economy were eliminated. A section for internet quality was added.
"We make categories we think are most important to average people worth the most points."
See how MacLean's came up with their numbers here.
- With files from BayToday.ca
