These famous Americans all found the “good life” in France. And, it seems, so are many other less-famous Americans, including retirees and families. Nearly a decade ago, Elizabeth Bonner moved to France with her husband and children. She’s never looked back, and the family has now renovated two historic chateaus in the French countryside.

“It has turned out to be a glorious undertaking,” Bonner says. “We sit on our veranda on mild nights and are amazed by the brilliance of the stars. And we find ourselves continually amused, enriched, and surprised by the experience of French life.”

The “bon vivant” that France offers has led to its # 1 ranking as the best place in the world to live. That’s according to International Living magazine, which has been analyzing data and publishing its annual Quality of Life Index for 30 years now.

For the fifth year running, says publisher Jackie Flynn, France has again earned the top spot as the best place in the world to live.

The top 10 countries are:

1. France
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Germany
5. New Zealand
6. Luxembourg
7. U.S.
8. Belgium
9. Canada
10. Italy

“It’s evident from our compilation that the British Commonwealth countries of Australia, New Zealand and Canada are doing very well, and despite the bumps in the road have managed dependable economic performance,” Flynn says. “Australia moved from fifth place last year into second place this year, largely thanks to its remarkable economic recovery. It’s already officially out of recession.”

Overall though, European countries slipped a little in International Living’s rankings this year, Flynn says, with the exceptions of France and Germany.

“Germany is taking giant strides toward economic recovery. And as for France, it ranks well in every category. It has a stable economy, top-notch health care, and an overall wonderful quality of life. No one can dispute its dominance in cultural offerings.”

Why did the U.S. fall from its rank at number three last year to number seven this year?

“Although the U.S. remains in the top 10,” says Flynn, “We can’t ignore the state of its economy. In this category, the U.S. scored 67 points in 2010 up from 57 last year but it’s still mired in recession, and in sector after sector the cost of sustaining the ‘American Dream’ has escalated out of the reach of many. The U.S. remains an excellent place to live, especially in terms of convenience, but it’s generally more expensive to live there now than it has been in years past.”

In 2010, Flynn says International Living will continue to focus on several countries, where you can achieve both a high standard and a low cost of living. In addition to France and Italy (#s 1 and 10 on the Quality of Life Index), these countries include Ecuador (#39); Panama (#34); Uruguay (#19); Belize (#63) Costa Rica (#33) and Mexico (#46).

To compile the Quality of Life Index, says Flynn, International Living editors compare almost 200 countries in nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate. Data from government sources and resources like the World Health Organization and The Economist, are analyzed, and information is gathered from International Living’s many editors and correspondents around the world.

To see the complete scores for every country in every category, go to: www.internationalliving.com/qofl-data

For information about how the rankings were determined and an overview of the countries on the top ten list, go to: www.internationalliving.com/qofl2010

Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.) – age 26, goal keeper

Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.) – age 31, midfield

Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.) – age 22, defense

Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.) – age 24, defense

Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.) – age 28, defense

Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.) – age 26, midfield

Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.) – age 30, midfield

Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii) – age 25, forward

Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.) – age 26, midfield

Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) – age 31, defense

Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio) – age 30, defense

Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.) – age 23, midfield

Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.) – age 33, defense

Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.) – age 21, forward

Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.) – age 27, goal keeper

Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.) – age 25, midfield

Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.) – age 28, midfield

Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis) – age 20, forward 

For more information on the U.S. Womens Olympic Soccer Team, visit their website, or the U.S. Soccer website. If you want to see all U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the Beijing games, start your search on this official U.S. Olympics Page. If you want to know more about football (as it’s called elsewhere in the world) in the Olympics, you can find it on the Beijing Olympic website.

At the games four years ago, the U.S. softball team had a 9-0 record. The team’s head coach is Mike Candrea, head coach of the University of Arizona. Softball only became an Olympic sport in 1996 and has been dropped from the Olympic program for 2012.

Keep an eye out for Jennie Finch, (pictured) one of the team’s three pitchers. She is, according to NBC’s Olympics Web site, the “most popular softball player in the world.” The best pitcher in the game is considered to be Cat Osterman of Texas, and the strongest hitter is Crystl Bustos, the third baseman.

Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) – Position: LHP; B/T – L/L

Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) – Position: OF; B/T – L/L

Crystl Bustos (Canyon County, Calif.) – Position: IF; B/T – R/R

Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) – Position: IF; B/T – R/R

Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) – Position: RHP; B/T – R/R

Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) – Position: UT; B/T – R/R

Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) – Position: IF; B/T – L/R

Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) – Position: 2B; B/T – R/R

Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) – Position: OF; B/T – L/R

Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) – Position: UT; B/T – R/R

Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) – Position: OF; B/T – L/R

Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) – Position: OF; B/T – L/R

Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) – Position: C; B/T – R/R

Cat Osterman (Houston) – Position: LHP; B/T – L/L

Natsha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) – Position: SS; B/T – L/

For more information on the U.S. Olympic Softball Team, visit their website. If you want to see all the U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the Beijing games starting in August, start your search on this official U.S. Olympics page.

Luis Yanez (Duncanville, Texas) – Light Flyweight, 106 lbs., age: 19. Yanez was the champion of the 2007 Pan American games, as well as a two-time national champion and twice a Golden Gloves national champ.

Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati) – Flyweight, 112 lbs., age: 21. He was a 2007 world champion, three time national champion and an Olympian in the 2004 games (the first boxer since 1976 to compete in two Olympic games)

Gary Russell, Jr. (Washington D.C.) – Bantamweight, 119 lbs.; age: 20. Russell is a two-time national champion and in 2005 was both Golden Gloves champion and USA Boxing’s athlete of the year.

Raynell Williams (Cleveland) – Featherweight, 125 lbs.; age: 19. He was the 2007 national champion in his weight division.

Sadam Ali (Brooklyn, N,Y.) – Lightweight, 132 lbs.; age: 19. Ali was the lightweight national Golden Gloves champion in 2006 and 2007

Javier Molina (Commerce, Calif.) – Light welterweight, 141 lbs.; age: 18. Molina is the youngest member of the Olympic boxing team, and was 2007 national champion.

Demetrius Andrade (Providence, R.I.) – Welterweight, 152 lbs., age: 20. Andrade was last year’s world champion in the welterweight category, as well as a two-time national champion and Golden Gloves champion.

Shawn Estrada (East Los Angeles, Calif.) – Middleweight, 165 lbs.; age: 23

Deontay Wilder (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) – Heavyweight, 198 lbs.; age: 22. Wilder was national champion in 2007 in his weight division.

Controversy marked Luis Yanez’s berth on the team, as he had been removed from the roster in early July for skipping more than three weeks of workouts. He was given a reprieve on July 17 along with a fine, a required public apology to the coach and his teammates and sports counseling sessions.

Boxing became part of the Olympic games in 1904, but it was a part of the ancient Olympic games as well. If you want more information about boxing in the Olympics, read more at the Beijing games site, or at the official Olympics site.

James Blake (Tampa, Fla.) – Age: 28

Sam Querrey (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) – Age: 20

Robby Ginepri (Kennesaw, Ga.) – Age: 25

Bob Bryan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) – Age: 30

Mike Bryan (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) – Age: 30

U.S. men’s tennis coach Rodney Harmon will lead singles players Blake, Querry and Ginepri, as well as the two doubles teams of the Bryan brothers (pictured) and Blake and Querrey.

Blake could become the first African-American man to win an Olympic tennis medal. He is currently ranked No. 2 in America. This is Querrey’s second season as a pro. The Bryan brothers reached the quarterfinals in doubles in 2004. The twins have won the career Grand Slam in doubles.

The United States has won 15 Olympic medals in men’s and women’s tennis since it returned as a full medal sport in 1988 – more than any other nation. Andre Agassi was the last American man to win Olympic gold in men’s singles in 1996 in Atlanta. Ken Flach and Robert Seguso are the last American team to win Olympic gold in men’s doubles in 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

For more information on the U.S. men’s tennis team, go to their website. If you want to see all U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the Beijing games starting in August, start your search on this official U.S. Olympics page. To learn more of the history of tennis in the Olympics, look at the Olympic games site, or the Beijing games site.

Danielle Scott-Arruda, 35, will play in her fourth Olympics. She has been on the U.S. national team since 1994. Playing in their third Olympic Games are Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, Logan Tom, Heather Bown and Stacy Sykora. The team’s coach is herself a bit of a celebrity in the volleyball world. “Jenny” Lang Ping will lead the U.S. team in her hometown of Beijing and in her third Olympic Games. She starred for the Chinese Olympic team that won the gold medal in 1984.

The women of the U.S. Olympic volleyball team playing in Beijing are:

Ogonna Nnamani (Bloomington, Ill.) – Height: 6′1″; Position: outside hitter; Age: 25

Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) – Height: 6′2″; Position: middle blocker; Age: 35

Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) – Height: 6′7″; Position: opposite/outside hitter; Age: 29

Lindsey Berg (Honolulu, Hawaii) – Height: 5′8″; Position: setter; Age: 28

Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) – Height: 5′10″; Position: libero; Age: 31

Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) – Height: 5′4″; Position: libero; Age: 26

Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) – Height: 6′3″; Position: middle blocker; Age: 28

Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) – Height: 6′3″; Position: middle blocker; Age: 25

Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.) – Height: 6′3″; Position: outside hitter; Age: 23

Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu, Hawaii) – Height: 5′9″; Position: setter; Age: 32

Kim Willoughby (Napoleanville, La.) – Height: 6′; Position: outside hitter; Age: 27

Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) – Height: 6′1″; Position: outside hitter; Age: 27

To learn more about women’s indoor volleyball in the Olympics, visit the U.S. Volleyball website. If you want to see all U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the Beijing games, search on this official U.S. Olympics page. The official Olympics Web site has information about the history of volleyball, as does the official Beijing games site.

Setter Lloy Ball will compete in his fourth Olympic games. In the 2004 games in Athens, the team finished in fourth place. Reid Priddy and Riley Salmon are both outside hitters who played in the ‘04 games. Priddy has been the team’s leading scorer for two seasons. Tom Hoff, who played in two Olympics games, is the team’s captain. The coach is Hugh McCutcheon of Christchurch, New Zealand.

The 1980s and early ’90s were successful times for the men’s volleyall team, but Brazil has been No. 1 in the world and the dominant force in the sport since the turn of the century. Russia is ranked No. 2.

The members of the United States’ men’s indoor volleyball team are:

Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) - 6′8; 209 lbs., Position: setter; Age: 36

Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) - 6′9″; 220 lbs; Position outside hitter; Age: 25

David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) - 6′8″; 210 lbs.; Position: middle blocker;  Age: 26

Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) - 6′3″; 200 lbs.; Position: libero; Age: 33

Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) - 6′5″; 195 lbs.; Position: outside hitter; Age: 30

Ryan Miller (Palmdale, Calif.) – 6′8″; 220 lbs.; Position: middle blocker; Age: 30

Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) - 6′6″; 196 lbs.; Position: outside hitter; Age: 32

Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) - 6′8″; 215 lbs.; Position: middle blocker; Age: 35

Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) – 6′9′; 229 lbs; Position: opposite; Age: 30

Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.) – 6′5″; 205 lbs; Position: setter; Age: 26

Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) – 6′9; 227 lbs.; Position: opposite; Age: 32

Scott Touzinsky (St. Louis, Mo.) – 6′6; 195 lbs.; Position: outside hitter; Age: 26

To learn more about mens volleyball in the Olympics, go to the sport’s official website. For history and interesting facts about the sport in the Olympic games (it became an Olympic sport in 1964), go to the official Beijing games site, or the official Olympics page.  If you want to see all U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the games, search on this official U.S. Olympics page.

Shawn Johnson, West Des Moines, Iowa, age: 16

Nastia Liukin, Parker, Texas, age: 18

Chellsie Memmel, West Allis, Wisc., age: 20

Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, age: 16

Alicia Sacramone, Winchester, Mass., age: 20

Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., age: 16

Liang Chow is head coach of the U.S. team. The team’s three replacement gymnasts are Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong and Corrie Lothrop. None of the team members have competed in the Olympics before, but they have plenty of medals that earned them a spot on the team.

Johnson (pictured) helped the U.S. team win gold at the 2007 World Championships, according to the USA Gymnastics website. She also won the all-around finals there, joining an elite group of three other Americans who have won that honor (one of whom is teammate Memmel). Johnson also won gold there for her floor exercise.

Liukin won gold at last year’s World Championships on the balance beam and was second on uneven bars. She has won nine world medals in the last three years, according to USA Today. In 2005 Memmel became the first U.S. woman since 1994 to win all-around gold at the World Championships. That year she also won second in uneven bars and balance beam.

Peszek was part of the team that won last year’s World Championships and the Pan American Games. Sacramone won silver twice at the ‘06 World Championships in team and vault, and she took the gold on floor exercises at the 2005 world competition. Sloan was also a member of the 2007 gold-winning team at the World Championships.

On the trampoline, America’s female repesentative is Erin Blanchard. 

No Americans qualified to compete in rhythmic gymnastics at the games.

The women will compete on the balance beam, floor, uneven bars, vault, individual all-around and team. For more about the history of gymnastics at the Olympics (it started in 1896), go to the official Beijing games Web site or the official Olympic site.

American record holders on the team include Shalane Flanagan, Kim Kreiner, Jenn Stuczynski, Anna Willard and Suzy Powell-Roos. Amy Acuff will be participating in her fourth Olympics games. The oldest team member is Joanne Dow (20k race walk) at 44, and the youngest is Queen Harrison, 400m hurdler, 19.

The team members, according to the U.S. Track and Field Association, are: 

Muna Lee (College Station, Texas): 100m, 200m, 4×100m relay

Torri Edwards (Irvine, Calif.): 100m, 4×100m relay

Lauryn Williams (Miami): 100m, 4×100m relay

Allyson Felix (Los Angeles) 200m

Marshevet Hooker (Pflugerville, Texas) 200m

Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas) 400m, 4×400m relay

Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati) 400m, 4×400m relay

Dee Dee Trotter (Knoxville, Tenn.) 400m, 4×400m relay

Hazel Clark (Knoxville, Tenn.); Alice Schmidt (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Nicole Teter (Eugene, Ore.): 800m

Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco), Erin Donohue (Haddonfield, N.J.) and Christin Wurth-Thomas (Springdale, Ark.): 1,500m

Kara Goucher (Portland, Ore.) 5,000m, 10,000m

Jennifer Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) 5,000m

Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) 5,000m, 10,000m

Amy Begley (Beaverton, Ore.) 10,000m

Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) and Blake Russell (Pacific Grove, Calif.): marathon

Lolo Jones (Baton Rouge, La.); Damu Cherry (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Dawn Harper (Los Angeles): 100m hurdles

Tiffany Ross-Williams (Kissimmee, Fla.); Queen Harrison (Mchanicsville, Va.) and Sheena Tosta (Chula Vista, Calif.): 400m hurdles

Anna Willard (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Lindsey Anderson (Ogden, Utah) and Jennifer Barringer (Boulder, Colo.): 3,000m steeplechase

Joanne Dow (Manchester, N.H.) 20 km race walk

Angela Williams (Ontario, Calif.), Mechelle Lewis (Cary, N.C.), LaShaunte’a Moore (Fayetteville, Ark.): 4×100m relay

Monique Henderson (Chula Vista, Calif.), Natasha Hastings (Clermont, Fla.) and Ebonie Floyd (Fresno, Texas) 4×400m relay

Chaunet Howard (Snellville, Ga.), Amy Acuff (Isleton, Calif.) and Sharon Day (Costa Mesa, Calif.): high jump

Jennifer Stuczynski (Churchville, N.Y.) April Steiner (Springdale, Ark.) and Erica Bartolina (Hammond, La.): pole vault

Brittney Reese (University, Miss.), Grace Upshaw (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) and Funmi Jmoh (Stafford, Texas); long jump 

Shani Marks (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Erica McLain (Plano, Texas); triple jump 

Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas), Kristin Heaston (Opelika, Ala.) and Jillian Camarena (Tucson, Ariz.), shot put

Aretha Thurmond (Federal Way, Wash.), Suzy Powell-Roos, (Modesto, Calif.) and Stephanie Brown Trafton (Galt, Calif.); discus throw

Jessica Cosby (Mission Hills, Calif.), Amber Campell (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and Loree Smith (Eugene, Ore.); hammer throw

Kara Patterson (West Lafayette, Ind.) and Kim Kreiner (Fresno, Calif.); javelin throw

Hyleas Fountain (Kettering, Ohio), Jacquelyn Johnson (Tempe, Ariz.) and Diana Pickler (Sachse, Texas); heptathlon

Volleyball has been an Olympic sport since 1964, but beach volleyball didn’t reach Olympic status until the Atlanta games in 1996.

The members of the men’s beach volleyball team are:

Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) – Age: 28

Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) – Age: 34

Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) - Age: 32

Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) – Age: 28

For more information on the mens’ U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team, visit their Web site. If you want to see all U.S. Olympic qualifiers in every sport for the Beijing games starting in August, start your search on this official U.S. Olympics page.