What's the best city in the US?

The rules: No requests to expand on the question, no equivocating, no qualifying your statements.

You can tell us why you think that.

Mine: Portland, OR

San Francisco is a close second.

:thumbsup:

New York is fully of New Yorkers - some of whom are mad as hell. Can't be that good a place :P

New York City all the way!!!

My thoughts exactly including the one about S.F.

or maybe Youngstown, Ohio

or Gary, Indiana



quintessential Murka

It is the best city in the United States. Period.

I was only there once, but I loved it and long to go back.

What a grand city. I think I liked it the most of all the bigger cities I've seen.

The city I'm closest to (Philadephia) is neither the best nor worst.

:bounce:

All the city benches say so right on them: "Best City in America". :rofl:

Sorry, I had to qualify my statement because I just think our benches are hilarious.

they used to all say, "William Donald Schaefer."

'Til everyone started saying "The City That Bleeds". :D

I remember being really confused by that, driving by the Legg Mason building and seeing the big "BELIEVE" banner on it.

Baltimore is so great in so many ways. There used to be a bar called Helen's Hollywood on Fell's Point. First time I went in there, I had to get past a woman who was teetering in the wide doorway, shouting repeatedly to no one in particular, "You're nothin' but a fat, fuckin', five-dollar whore!"

I keep coming back for the Chesepeake Bay crabs, the American Visionary Art Museum parties, and the Berger Cookies.

'Believe' banner on the downtown police headquarters (the one right down the street from The Block), but they don't do much else with it anymore.

Baltimore is a very interesting, eccentric town. Sometimes I can't stand it, but other times it is fun. Fells Point isn't really what it used to be anymore, though. It's sort of filled with generic dance clubs now.

I love the Visionary Art Museum AND Berger Cookies! :9

significantly. But at least the John Stevens was still going strong last time I was there.

Love to sit in that bar, dump some Old Bay on my shrimp and toss back a couple of beers.

I liked the old baseball park better than Camden Yards, but it was pretty well falling apart that last season. I wonder what that washroom attendant does for work now. Something better than sitting at the end of that trough urinal, I hope.

Your art museums are also great. Love the Walters and the BAM.

Anyway, enough from me about how great your town is, I suppose. I could probably go on for days.

I get sick of this place so it's good for me to hear positive things about it.

I just took and on-line quiz and it told me I should live in Milwaukee.

How cool is that? No really, how cool is it?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated.

Hey, do you have a link to this quiz?

:scared:

and a drive along the lake to blow your mind. :thumbsup:

Colorado Springs :sarcasm:

There. That's much better... :evilgrin:

:puke:

:thumbsup:

through there (several times a month). And the traffic is pretty bad too.

Not when I was there in the 90's. It has an industrial section like any other city, but is overall more hip and cultural with an urban sophistication, but without the dirty, overly crowded mess of the bigger cities like SF, NYC, Seattle, etc...

often referred to as "The Toilet Bowl of Eastern Montana".

Home of the famous Penguin!

from the film "War Party." :)

It's my favorite place in the US.



Well, ok, it's not a city, city...but it has a city near the beach!

With the Borough of Brooklyn right up there too

I've also found Chicago and San Francisco to be exemplary

I live just outside of DC and I think we have the best suburbs.......

a year when I lived in South Florida.

I was born there and love the place. Haven't lived there in many years, but I still go back when I can. :)

of the city in Woodstock. I moved here from Miami in 1989 and would never move back to Florida.

If you wanna live in the city, you can live in the city; if you wanna live in the 'burbs, you can live in the 'burbs. If you want country, that's not out of the question either. There's so much more to do there than where I live now, and I'm trying to make it possible to get back to the Atlanta area! :)

I love to visit (parents still live there). Traffic is pretty intimidating.
I see you hjave a Chapel Hill quote, that's where I am now. It's a great town - doesn't qualify as a city...yet!
:-)

Born and grew up in Atlanta, moved to NC when I was 12 but still have friends there. Went to UNC-Chapel Hill and lived there for four years after graduation. Still live in NC and visit Atlanta whenever I can! :)

:hi:

once Paul Allen sells the Blazers and his private jet never touches the tarmac at PDX again.

I wouldn't mind moving back.

It's got the best bookstore in the world.

Plus a Fuddrucker's.

:D

jazz, cool neighborhoods, theater, and foreign/indy films, all in a manageable-sized city, Portland is hard to beat.

(I left because it wasn't working on a personal level anymore, but I loved everything else!)

It has a comfortable feel to it that can't be explained adequately.

Does any other place have Fenway Park?:)

But the weather in that area really SUCKS!
Thats why I moved to San Diego.

I've lived around the country and liked most of the cities I've seen and spent time in but Boston by far is my favorite and the place I choose to settle down.

I loved living in MA and Boston is such a great city.

More like the old South Africa.

PB

:P

It even has one of the few municipal liquor stores still in existence. So there!!:P

:rofl:

Is the mayor also the mail carrier, and the garbage man? :P

I think he's retired now. It is nice to know that at least someone on here has even HEARD of my hometown!! :D

except they call them "state stores".

There are very few left anymore. Are the PA ones full bars or just off-sale?

*bars can sell beer, wine, and liquor for consumption on the premises, and they can sell 6-packs of beer for take-out (2 6's max)

*beer distributors can sell beer by the case and the keg (not on Sundays)

*but wine and liquor can only be bought for take-out (i.e. bottles) at state stores (so named because they are run by the state govt), which keep bankers hours and are not open Sundays.

Convenience stores and supermarkets cannot even sell near-beer. Nothing, nada, zip.

It's probably the strictest state for alcohol sales.

There are two test grocery stores that now have state stores inside the grocery store. I think it's two.

You still have to buy the alcohol separately, though. I'm not sure what would happen if the liquor got in the cart with the food. :shrug:

sell "on-sale" (sell beer/liquor on premesis) and also "off-sale" (sell beer/liquor for take-out). There are very few of these left. I think the cost of insurance has driven most of them out of business. Most, but not all, bars here sell on-sale and off-sale from the same facility, though there are many of just the off-sale or take-out variety. Grocery stores can only sell beer with 3.2% alcohol content or less, and no wine or hard liquor. You can only get off-sale until 10:00 PM monday-Saturday, and can only buy 3.2% beer on Sundays. Very confusing, I know!!:crazy:

so does Oronoco, MN (10 mi. north of Rochester). Many "dry" towns in MN still have "munis". :hi:

Thank God everybody in California hasn't figured it out yet (only half of them have!).

:D

:thumbsup:

You know it.

Or St. Paul.

Don't make me choose.

I'd say San Francisco is more of a "real" city as compared to Portland. San Francisco has the ability to take your breath away. Portland is a wonderful place to raise a family, but San Francisco was a fantastic place to be young and single.

lived there most of the nineties - and miss it tremendously.

I'm a snobby Canadian. Of all the large US cities I've been to (admittedly far from all of them though), the only one I think I would like to live in is Portland.

great beaches, weather, entertainment, food, endless variety. Tolerance of different lifestyles, innovations happen here first.

We even have a rail transit system now.

he sure does rock, but the "transit system" still leaves a lot to be desired. Still, I cast my vote for L.A. Even with all its problems, I can't seem to find anywhere else I would want to live.

Laramie, Wyoming is very nice.

I like Grand Forks, North Dakota quite a bit too.

Newberry, South Carolina is way up there on my list.

An odd little town with a history beyond belief, Pasco, Washington.

Greatest place on earth? Hatteras.

I live just down the road from there and was wondering why you chose this place.

I'm just curious.

define "best"

define "city"

"The rules: No requests to expand on the question, no equivocating, no qualifying your statements."

be subjective :hi:

Yeah, its expensive here but the scenic beauty, beaches and great weather make it all worth it.
The repugs here arent so feisty/fundie/radical either.
San Diego proper is getting Bluer all the time. Give it a couple of years.

San Diego is now filled with extremely selfish people, who make sudden turns in front of you with no warning at all, grab your spot or seat when they could see well in advance that you were headed for it, who take the best and leave you with the scraps, and think nothing of it. For some reason people here think "well, now I'm in paradise, I might as well have what I want" with no concern for anyone else. There is no community at all, it's just 2 million people trying to grab their piece of paradise. It wasn't like this 30 years ago.

spend in your car and how far you live from the ocean. Those two factors will make or break you here.

But man i miss the days of driving through the empty fields of Carlsbad to the deserted beach. I miss Oceanside being the wild west outpost that it once was. I miss Encinitas before it became Disneyland.... ah sheesh...

either 101 on the coasr or 395 inland. Those were the days when SD was truly a paradise - nothing was crowded, there was a go-kart place in Mission Valley, just south of the stadium. Parking at the beach was no problem. The back country was basically deserted. And a middle-class family could easily buy a house within the city limits.

in their SUV's/Pickup trucks/overpriced sedans.

I live here too. The asshole drivers seem to be everywhere. But most, actually, drive just fine.

I also lived here 35 years ago. But then I was a "hippie" tending bar in a now closed (razed) Mission Beach "hippie bar" (my tips were little aluminum foil wrapped cubes of hashish). Back then I didn't drive, so I wouldn't know. In between I finished college in Berkeley, went on to get my law degree, practiced in San Fancisco, Sacramento and L.A., got married, returned to San Diego semi-retired, bought a house, had a baby, hoping to have another (much younger wife), and very very happy to be here except for the assholes on the road.

I hate Paul Wolfowitz and love France (lived in Paris for 5 years). I live just east of Del Mar. There are a lot of French speaking people in Del Mar. Of course I'm happy.

in Del Mar. Except from a French surfer.

hill. Del Mar also attracts French tourists.

starting because 200 feet away, there's a red light, so no reason to hurry (not to mention, slow starts conserve gas). Also, I've been honked at because I've DARED to STOP at a STOP sign.

on and then actually turned right onto my street! The asshole in the SUV behind me who was tailgating must have been thinking: "How dare that jerk slow me down just so he can make a turn!"

I didn't do a jackrabbit start only to slam on my brakes at the red light (which I knew would be long because it had just changed) about 300 feet down the road. There were two left turn lanes and as soon as she could, she pulled in the other one, slammed on her brakes, and as I pulled up right next to her in the other left-turn lane, I opened my window and asked "What's the hurry with a red light in front of you?". She didn't reply (but may have rolled her eyes - she had sunglasses on so I couldn't tell).

I see a lot of SUV's with drivers who's heads can barely be seen over the steering wheel cutting in and out of traffic, on the freeways, no turn signal, GOING SLOW! Its like 70% of drivers in SD have a cellphone on their ear while driving. I observed drivers in the Grossmont Ctr parking lot one day(yes I have no life), and noticed that about 70% of all drivers I observed had that phone out as soon as they put their vehicle in gear. Parking lot courtesy is non-existent here too. People will whip right in front of you and almost run pedestrians overs in lots.
Dont get me going on rudeness in grocery store aisles....!

But all in all, San Diego is the best place to live in the US, IMHO!

I can't stand the traffic already!

If you like variability in weather and you don't surf (and hide from the sun in general - although walking along the beach at night is nice - but not enough to live here if you have a choice), it sucks. No plans to stay permanently!

the rest, but only marginally so.

San Diego is like an island, esp. in the summer: can't go east because there's desert desert desert (unless you like baking in the heat); crossing the border into Mexico takes longer than it's worth; and can't go north unless you really like sitting in LA traffic. To go west, well, you'd better have a boat (I don't).

I died laughing when I first saw the signs "entering cleveland national forest" on I-8. I had to revise my semantic representation of "forest" to include "a land area consisting of mainly (fairly sparse) scrub brush with fewer than 1 genuine tree over 20 feet tall per acre". Just drove past it the other day and thought to myself, I need to get a picture of that sign, including the land in the background, so others can laugh, too.

There's more here. We are one of the healthiest cities in the US. Hiking and biking trails everywhere. Great clubs/nightlife, restaurants, some cultural areas like Balboa park and the Hillcrest galleries, two professional sports teams, several decent hospitals, many universities. We are near Mexico, 45 minutes to the winter snow/national forests, close to the desert,if you like that, 2, 1/2 hrs drive to LA, good fishing both salt and freshwater, water sports all around(kayaking on Mission bay is fantastic!) Fish tacos ROCK! Great mexican food. And we have OB. A nice throwback community of hippies, artists,actors and musicians. Excellent medicinal 420 too.

Unfortunately, my wife's distant relatives in Escondido are still "feisty/fundy/radical" Repukes. I hate, hate, hate having to spend any time with them. So I do everything I can to avoid them.

Beyond that, see my posts above.

I hang around in MB,OB,Downtown, Balboa Park/Hillcrest area, Barrio-Logan (great family Mexican restaurants there)and parts of North Park. Blue San Diego!
Its getting bluer in SD proper.

but I prefer the backcountry Ramona area -- we live out that way. We're close enough to the big city sights and sounds, and the May gray and June gloom burn off pretty early in the morning so we get to enjoy the beautiful weather a little bit more than folks closer to the coast. And we get to enjoy watching the little critters -- squirrels, rabbits, and birds -- frolicking around the yard as we read the morning fishwrap.

I really do like the San Diego area -- close to the border (day trips to Tijuana are fun), the mountains (a springtime drive in a convertible when there's still snow on the ground at Palomar but the roads are clear are wonderful), the deserts, and the seacoast -- all within the boundaries of a single county. And traffic isn't that bad out our way.

You really can't find a much better place to live, IMHO, and say that from experience living in the south, the midwest, Europe, and Africa.

:hi:

After 10 years on Capitol Hill. Wound up in North Seattle instead.

Seattle is my favorite city too, though I agree that Portland is quite awesome as well.

:)

:hi:

:)

How are you, my friend? :hi:

I'm down in Texas right now. :hi:

san antonio, tx
san francisco, ca
pacifica, ca
and, strangely, Buffalo NY.

I've lived in and loved each one of them, warts and all.

Best Food
Best Music
Best Attitude
it all makes New Orleans the best.

Please help us get back the soul of America; rebuild New Orleans.

only so much I can do over the Internets from a distance of 4,000 mi. (but that's still more than the Dumbass Supreme(TM) has done!)

Any suggestions? Turn-ons include maps, data, statistics and research. I have hooked up with an emerging neighborhood group in Mid-City:

http://www.pnola.org

but there must be some more citywide group that is wondering where the hell I've been all this time :-)

Now back to the original question: Is N.O. really the best? I've been around -- all the way around -- in the 15 years since the crappy N.O. economy drove me out, and I'd still have an awfully hard time saying No -- but we'll never know unless we can get it rebuilt, will we?

Everything's there, and it doesn't seem as crazy as New York. The only drawback is the cost of living, or I'd give serious consideration to moving there. That, and I'd get to vote for Barack Obama! Of course, I'm hoping to vote for him for president some day.

I love going to Chicago. So much character, so many great things to do, so beautiful :)

:bounce:

:hide:

This is not "Worst City in the US" thread.

I just like to fuck up the curve. :evilgrin:

:yoiks:

This here is Giants country. :eyes:

Near as I can tell, the only Dodgers fans are my chiropractor and I. I see the occasional blue cap, but caps don't prove anything.

ever do!!!!

I like San Francisco too.

Quality of living is through the roof, cost of living is low, crime is VERY low, traffic is low, and the education is EXCEPTIONAL.

They have Ivar's Acres of Clams, the Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (which is Right On Sea-Tac Way, so you can walk to a restaurant that doesn't charge $7.50 for a muffin)...

They also have Damn Good Printing. This is the name of a business, man. When Lori and I win the Powerball, I'm gonna go to Seattle and buy Damn Good Printing for millions of dollars. Then I'm going to turn it into a conglomerate: Damn Good Printing, Damn Good Haircuts, Damn Good Steaks, Damn Good Used Cars, and in Nevada I'll buy the Mustang Ranch and rename it Damn Good Sex.

If the shit hit's the fan on the mainland, it will still be there.

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

Everything is perfect in Goldendale. Actually have their own observatory.

That, and I was born there.

I love going to Goldendale.

Then on to the Dalles for a crab melt at the Baldwin Saloon.

Home of Mardi Gras, great food, close to beaches, very mild weather, more diversity than rest of Alabama.

way cool! :thumbsup: corona del mar runs a close second. i grew up in the OC and obtained my BCC's there too :)

Now this could only happen to a guy like me
And only happen in a town like this
So may I say to each of you most gratef'lly
As I throw each one of you a kiss

This is my kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of people, too
People who smile at you

And each time I roam, Chicago is
Calling me home, Chicago is
Why I just grin like a clown
It's my kind of town

My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of razzmatazz
And it has all that jazz

And each time I leave, Chicago is
Tuggin' my sleeve, Chicago is
The Wrigley Building, Chicago is
The Union Stockyard, Chicago is
One town that won't let you down
It's my kind of town

:hi:

Fairbanks.

On the way to "town"

Bend, Oregon
Athens, Ohio
Burlington, Vermont

baddum-ksh!

Some people who love it here in Boston have moved away because they can't deal with winter. Not enough sunlight gets them depressed. But I've imported a number of people here from southern climes, and met others, from Florida and southern California, who complain about the constant summer. They say it makes people lazy, it makes time not seem to pass, they want season dammit! A bright pretty spring after a cold snow winter makes them feel alive, and spurs new activity all around.

My ex-gf (still a close friend) lived in Portland Maine for a while, and mostly liked it, though she thought it was a bit big for her tastes. Now she's in Boston for a while and hates it. So many people, so packed together! Laconia, NH, and Brattleboro, VT, are more to her taste - cities where you can know every street, every store, and every family, if you live there long enough.

One commenter here praised Fargo, ND, for its high quality of living at low cost with no crime. I've been to North Dakota but living there would grate on me. Cold and featureless (well, the western part is beautiful), and not much happening. I don't want comfortable and crime-free and cheap when it comes at the expense of being near just one university, weeks passing between visits by foreign touring bands (or is it months?), etc.

People want different things.

One of my favorite things about Boston is how smart & literate it is. It's the city of science and tech. California companies eventually buy most of our successful tech businesses, but so many of them start here :) Someone did a Google-style ranking of referred scientific papers, where papers were ordered based on citations in other refereed papers, each citation weighted by the ranking of the paper it appears in, and found Boston to be #1 in the world (in absolute terms, not just per capita). Blue Man Group started in New York, and Boston was the second city they expanded to. I saw them give a talk at Harvard and somone asked, "why Boston?" - their answer was that they wanted a more intellectual place where they could explore their ideas with more confidence that the audience would see it; where they could do more literate portions in their show. All of this shows, not just in what kinds of events happen and what things there are to see here, but in day to day social life. You get together with a bunch of a friend's friends, half of whom you don't know, but you can assume without thinking about it that there are some Ph.D's, tech company entrepeneurs, published writers, and so on, among them. You can assume numeracy and literacy in ways I don't find as easy in most other cities.

Some other favorite cities of mine in the US: Portland OR, Boulder CO, Santa Cruz CA, Northampton MA; and to a lesser extent Austin, NYC, and San Francisco.

but in the Lower 48, I'd take San Francisco.

There are too many. I don't have a favorite city. They're all the same. :hi:

Public transportation-
The Red and Black-
Free Geek-
The Weather-

Agreed on Free Geek, though I don't volunteer there, I just recycle there.

we have Elliott!!!