Readers Digest named this South Carolina city one of 5 Nicest Places in America

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A South Carolina city has landed on “Reader’s Digest’s” annual list of Nicest Places in America.

The ranking is a national crowd-sourced effort to uncover places where stories of kindness, respect and community shine bright, according to a “Reader’s Digest” news release. “Places” range from towns, neighborhoods, businesses, and more. This year, Buffalo, New York received the top honor.

Greenville was named one of the five.

“Reader’s Digest” editors read thousands of stories about a kinder America than you see on the evening news — from every corner of the country they learned about places full of generosity and love, the release stated.

Other places joining Greenville were Providence, R.I.; Red Lodge, Mont.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Colchester, Vermont.

Greenville was singled out for Unity Park, and its effort to heal the past. You can read the Nicest Places in America features here.

Nicest Places in America is an annual initiative for “Reader’s Digest” and this is its seventh year. Last year the title went to Coulterville, California, where neighbors stepped up to help one another during a devastating wildfire.

“Nicest Places has long been a celebration of seeking out the good. Sometimes, that means finding those who are shining a light during their darkest hour like the people in Buffalo after facing such tragedy,” said Jason Buhrmester, chief content officer at “Reader’s Digest,” in the release. “We believe that in sharing stories of kindness you can encourage more of it and we are honored to celebrate Buffalo this year and look forward to continuing to seek out the good.”

Each year Reader’s Digest gets help from a selected panel of judges to choose the stories to be crowned “Nicest Places.” This year’s panel of judges includes:

• Mitch Albom: Philanthropist and author of “Tuesdays With Morrie”
• Mónica Guzmán: Senior fellow for public practice at Braver Angels and author of “I Never Thought of It That Way”
• Bonnie Kintzer: CEO, Trusted Media Brands
• Jim Rhodes: Nominator of Coulterville, California, 2022’s Nicest Place in America
• Denine Torr: Dollar General’s vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy