HANOVER — A new website has named Hanover one of world's “super cool” communities.

Travelormove.com aims to connect people to great communities across the world to which they may want to travel or move, website founder Andy Brack of Charleston, S.C. said Thursday.

“Travelormove is interested in profiling whole communities and we've heard a lot about Hanover in our research and talking to people,” Brack said.

“Anytime your commute is 15 minutes or less, that's a good thing,” he said referring to the town's proximity to the city of Lebanon. But it's more than that Brack said. “It seems to me the charming New England feel of Hanover, with its location and education and cultural environment, seems to put it heads above a lot of other communities.”

Town attractions named by the site include Dartmouth College, The Hood Museum of Art, the Appalachian Trail, Storrs Pond and the Webster Cottage Museum.

The community of just over 11,000 people was named in 2011 the sixth-best place to live by CNN and Money magazine, the website says.

Hanover is also a “true four-season community that offers fun for the body and brain throughout the year,” the website says.

“Hanover is a natural to be on any list of the world's super cool communities,” Brack said in his announcement. “With its four-season weather, great outdoors offerings and outstanding quality of life, it's no wonder that Hanover ranks high on our list.”

Travelormove.com offers detailed information on each community that it profiles, including demographic information, a map, several fun facts and links to local media. The site also features distinguishing economic, political, cultural and other characteristics of the community.

The website is fairly young, Brack said, and so far has only 64 communities profiled.

“Hanover is part of the Upper Valley and the Upper Valley has a lot going on, but if you are just taking about Hanover itself there is a lot going on,” said Rebecca Bailey, publicity coordinator and writer at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College.

Bailey said it was great that Hanover was singled out. The Hopkins Center alone offers more than 300 live and film events a year, she said.

“We reach out to all ages for the free and ticketed events, indoors and outdoors, and it's especially true this year as we celebrate out 50th year at the Hopkins Center,” Bailey said.

In addition, there is also the Hood Museum of Art she said, a great movie theater in town, a farmers' market, great restaurants and events at the town library and even in the churches.

“You can hardly turn your head without something interesting or fun to do just about any time of year,” Bailey said. “And it's nice to cause it's all very walkable, all the concerts and cultural activities. Once you park you can enjoy the whole community on foot.”

Town Manager Julia Griffin said she was a little surprised at the accolades for being a “cool town.”

Certainly the town has been named the best place to live or retire by other magazines or websites before, she said.

“We work hard with the Chamber to ensure we have a good quality of life here,” Griffin said. “We've seen some neat new restaurants and retailers open their doors up here over the past few months and that has served to create some new energy pockets downtown.”

The town has also worked hard over the past few years to be more welcoming to hikers that are traveling through town on the Appalachian Trail.

The town sees over 400 hikers each year from early spring to late September.

“We heard through the grapevine that the town was not very welcoming,” Griffin said. “Hikers would be in our midst and sometimes you get so used to seeing them you forget to welcome them.”

So a coalition of hiking enthusiasts, retailers and town staff came together to make Hanover a more welcoming town to hikers, she said.

Through a hiker's network, hikers can find restaurants offering free donuts, wraps and pizza slices downtown, Griffin said. The community center also has a shower and clothes washing facilities for hikers.

“They rest up here and resupply here and they sort of prepare themselves for the hardest part of the trail,” she said.

Hanover is the last town the hikers will see before they reach Maine, she said.

“They add a cool element to the community in the summertime 'cause they are travel-weary,” Griffin said.

Dartmouth College also adds to the town's cool factor, she said.You can see the Hanover writeup at www.travelormove.com.

mpierce@newstote.com