We've always thought of D.C. as a great place to live (we write for this site, so we kind of have to). But we were intrigued when we saw that in a recent study of health in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas, Washington, D.C., came in as the second-healthiest city in the United States, beaten only by San Jose. The study, conducted by Sperling's Best Places and Centrum, ranked the health of cities based on five sets of criteria: mental wellness, lifestyle pursuits, physical activity, health status, and nutrition. According to Sperling's, D.C. scored highly in all categories and had the highest overall score in mental wellness. Of course, the mental wellness gauge may not take into account the 535 members of Congress or homeless Joe that lives in the van down the road, but still, color us surprised. Somehow, despite horrific commutes on the Beltway, the stress levels of D.C's numerous law offices, and Ben's Chili Bowl, we're on the whole very healthy people.

Always eager to compare our fair city to others, we were pleased to note that three other -ist sites, (Austin, San Francisco, and Seattle) made it in the top 10, with Boston coming in at number 11. Chicago and L.A. were in the middle. And New York, perpetually compared to D.C. on Craigslist and home of our esteemed blog parents? They came in 43rd, just slightly healthier than New Orleans. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?