America is a mobile society, which means we can pick up and move to where the grass is greener -- to better jobs and more rewarding lifestyles. But when a magazine like BusinessWeek suggests the best places to raise our children, how closely should we pay attention?

Businessweek, along with community research firm OnBoard, recently rated the top 50 towns and suburbs in five categories: test scores, crime, cost of living, recreational and cultural activities, and number of schools. The state with the most mentions was Nebraska, but the towns lauded by the report were all under 2,500 in population.

In fact, the story weighted so heavily toward small Midwest towns, that Businessweek published a followup to give those readers a voice.

What was noticeably absent from the original criteria was diversity and employment opportunities, according to complaints about the story from online readers.

What the magazine found was disturbing. The number one place to raise children, according to its original criteria, was Groesbeck, Ohio. Online readers pointed out that Groesbeck is 92% white, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Number 35, Franklin, Georgia, has a population of only 902 and a median income of $19,000 putting it at poverty level. And number eight -- Lackland Air Force Base outside of San Antonio, Texas, is restricted to families of Air Force personnel.

Others noted that the list didn't contain enough criteria about schools. High test scores, for example, favor communities with low immigration where schools don't have the added expense of English as a second language programs.

So before you pack up and move to South Cleveland, Tennessee, for its low crime rate, or Buffalo Grove, Illinois, for its recreational and cultural activities, consider that some data has a flip side. Low cost of living invariably means low wages, and low crime is usually linked to low population.