With four Superbowl rings to brag about, the NFL’s Packers set the tone around here, and in the fall social life revolves around game day. (It’s obvious why Green Bay is first in the Professional Sports Teams category for small cities.) But while Packers fandom binds the community, there’s also a lively entertainment district along the Fox River and on Main Street, resulting in the #21 ranking for Nightlife. But while joining the “Cheeseheads” might be obligatory, even the off season is alluring. Green Bay’s strategic Great Lakes location makes for an economy centered on shipping and manufacturing—although, unlike other traditional blue-collar hubs, unemployment is lower than the national average. Schneider National, one of the country’s largest privately owned trucking companies, is based here, as is a growing health-care sector. Yes, winters can be brutal, but in the summer the Great Lakes get greater. With scenic cycling and walking trails along the Fox River, the serene, 700-acre Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary set within city limits, and beautiful Door County just a 45-minute drive away, Green Bay residents mine the most from their summers.