Mengcheng Chengguanzhen, China

With a population of 69,916, life in Mengcheng Chengguanzhen is no small-town idyll. The bureaucratic headaches are a persistent nuisance, as the town serves as the county seat. While the specifics of the local climate are unclear, the sheer number of similarly-named 'Chengguan' towns across China suggests a certain sameness to the experience. Whether the trade-offs are worth it depends on your tolerance for red tape and generic provincial living.