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Old 09-23-2011, 02:28 AM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,653 posts, read 67,487,099 times
Reputation: 21229

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*They evaluated the 100 Largest US Cities and ranked the Top 50 based on their criteria.

Quote:

Businessweek.com evaluated 100 of the country’s largest cities based on 16 criteria, which include: the number of restaurants, bars, and museums per capita; the number of colleges, libraries, and professional sports teams; the income, poverty, unemployment, crime, and foreclosure rates; percent of population with bachelor’s degrees, public school performance, park acres per 1,000 residents, and air quality. Greater weighting was placed on recreational amenities such as parks, bars, restaurants, and museums, and on educational attainment, school performance, poverty, and air quality. The data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Sperling’s BestPlaces, GreatSchools, Onboard Informatics, RealtyTrac, and the Trust for Public Land.

50 Best Cities in America
1 Raleigh, NC
2 Arlington, VA
3 Honolulu, HI
4 Scottsdale, AZ
5 Irvine, CA
6 Washington, DC
7 San Diego, CA
8 Virginia Beach, VA
9 San Francisco, CA
10 Anchorage, AK
11 Plano, TX
12 Austin, TX
13 Seattle, WA
14 New York, NY
15 Albuquerque, NM
16 Boston, MA
17 Madison, WI
18 Colorado Springs, CO
19 Portland, OR
20 Charlotte, NC
21 Chesapeake, VA
22 Lincoln, NE
23 San Jose, CA
24 Pittsburgh, PA
25 Lexington/Fayette, KY
26 Jacksonville, FL
27 Denver, CO
28 Nashville, TN
29 New Orleans, LA
30 Minneapolis, MN
31 Greensboro, NC
32 Atlanta, GA
33 Boise, ID
34 Omaha, NE
35 Houston, TX
36 Oklahoma City, OK
37 Durham, NC
38 Henderson, NV
39 St Paul, MN
40 San Antonio, TX
41 Gilbert, AZ
42 Dallas, TX
43 Kansas City, KS
44 Reno, NV
45 Chandler, AZ
46 Winston-Salem, NC
47 Tampa, FL
48 Oakland, CA
49 Phoenix, AZ
50 Irving, TX

America's 50 Best Cities: The Best Places to Live - BusinessWeek
Not the end all or the ultimate authority on the subject of 'best', but an interesting ranking nonetheless.
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Old 09-23-2011, 05:55 AM
 
443 posts, read 600,470 times
Reputation: 619
Raleigh; The boring suburbanite's dream.
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Old 09-23-2011, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh (via Chicago, via Pittsburgh)
3,887 posts, read 5,518,426 times
Reputation: 3107
Oh lord....
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Old 09-23-2011, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Willowbend/Houston
13,384 posts, read 25,732,359 times
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Isnt just about any "best cities" list subjective???

Either way, I was happy to see my city (Plano, TX) as the best city in Texas! (even though its still super subjective).
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Old 09-23-2011, 08:53 AM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 14,210,868 times
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50 Best Yuppish Hubs would have been a more precise heading.

When Scottsdale,Charlotte,Austin +Raleigh popup my faux city meter goes absolutely bonkers

In a shocking development. A thread in which Montclair starts, has SF high on the list.
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Old 09-23-2011, 08:55 AM
 
7,074 posts, read 12,342,588 times
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Poor Phoenix. Seems like ALL of its suburbs are "better" places to live than the actual city itself. What an insult.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rainrock View Post
50 Best Yuppish Hubs would have been a more precise heading.

When Scottsdale,Charlotte,Austin +Raleigh popup my faux city meter goes absolutely bonkers

In a shocking development. A thread in which Montclair starts, has SF high on the list.
You should have kept with your original post, because you added Charlotte in your edit. FWIW, I don't agree with you placing Austin in that group either.
All sizes | Uptown Charlotte | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49394874@N08/5124286678/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | Aerial of Charlotte Skyline | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49394874@N08/5518439649/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | Charlotte Skyline | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49394874@N08/5519030240/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | South Blvd, Charlotte, NC | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49394874@N08/5519028502/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | Charlotte Skyline | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/29610449@N03/5520808620/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | Charlotte skyline from The Vue condos | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bz3rk/5448210502/sizes/l/in/set-72157625930233949/ - broken link)
All sizes | Charlotte skyline from The Vue condos | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bz3rk/5448210340/sizes/l/in/set-72157625930233949/ - broken link)
All sizes | Charlotte - Southend | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bz3rk/3246756910/sizes/o/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | Night Arrival Charlotte | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ractod/3017364800/sizes/o/in/photostream/ - broken link)
All sizes | Mid-day Charlotte Light Rail Ridership | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ractod/3017364438/sizes/l/in/photostream/ - broken link)

^^^Like it or not, the "faux city" of Charlotte is building itself up from the inside out (the way cities are supposed to grow). I know of SEVERAL cities that are dying from the inside out. Would you like me to name those "faux cities" or can we just call a truce?

Last edited by urbancharlotte; 09-23-2011 at 09:34 AM..
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:28 AM
 
Location: South Beach and DT Raleigh
13,966 posts, read 24,150,335 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KingKrab View Post
Raleigh; The boring suburbanite's dream.
Yes…and Reading is the Capital of excitement.
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:31 AM
 
Location: South Beach and DT Raleigh
13,966 posts, read 24,150,335 times
Reputation: 14762
Quote:
Originally Posted by justme02 View Post
Isnt just about any "best cities" list subjective???

Either way, I was happy to see my city (Plano, TX) as the best city in Texas! (even though its still super subjective).
The categories that are chosen for the rankings can be considered subjective, though I suspect they choose categories carefully. How each city ranks in each category is arguably more objective.
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:32 AM
 
815 posts, read 1,857,237 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KingKrab View Post
Raleigh; The boring suburbanite's dream.
That is how I view it. I mean if you were going to NC I would say Charlotte is the better option (unless you are directly involved with the universities)
If you want smaller/funky, Asheville is the better option over Chapel Hill for sure.
The Western half of NC is nicer IMO than the Eastern Half in terms of cities/weather/scenery.
Outside of Chapel Hill..the Raleigh area esp Durham/Cary and surrounding areas are just way too plain/conservative/suburban.
Charlotte isn't there yet but at least they are trying to be a real city, doing improvements, putting infill, doing lightrail. Raleigh area feels stuck in the suburban 50s mindset. It caters to that type, as well as boring science couples who want a cheap home and a boring life while they do research in the triangle. At least the boring nerds out in San Jose have a lot more to do if they want to.

Last edited by Garfieldian; 09-23-2011 at 09:41 AM..
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Old 09-23-2011, 09:41 AM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,653 posts, read 67,487,099 times
Reputation: 21229
Quote:
Originally Posted by rainrock View Post
50 Best Yuppish Hubs would have been a more precise heading.

When Scottsdale,Charlotte,Austin +Raleigh popup my faux city meter goes absolutely bonkers

In a shocking development. A thread in which Montclair starts, has SF high on the list.
San Francisco is high on nearly every list, I cant avoid it.
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