Point system: My favorite "big" cities (cost, better, place)
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First, I should mention that this is all hypothetical and has no scientific reasoning behind it other than I have developed 8 categories that are important to me in my favorite cities. A score of 1-5 is awarded to each category with 1 being most favorite and 5 being my least. The city with the lowest score suggest that it is my overall favorite. It is possible that I can have a place that doesn't win any category but finishes consistently in the top three. *An important note, you can only award a number for each city - so technically you have to start with your Fab 5.
The categories are:
Architecture - Chicago (1), Philly (2), Boston (3), SF (4), NY (5)
Cuisine - NY (1), Chicago (2), SF (3), Philly (4), Boston (5)
Culture - SF (1), NY (2), Philly (3), Boston (4), Chicago (5)
Diversity - NY (1), Boston (2), Chicago (3), SF (4), Philly (5)
History - Boston (1), Philly (2), NY (3), Chicago (4), SF (5)
Proximity - Philly (1), Boston (2), NY (3), SF (4), Chicago (5)
Public Transportation - NY (1), Chicago (2), Boston (3), Philly (4), SF (5)
Scenery - SF (1), Boston (2), Chicago (3), NY (4), Philly (5)
My top 5 are:
NY - 20
Boston - 24
Chicago - 25
Philadelphia - 26
SF - 27
* Note, I've lived in NY and Chicago so apparently Boston, Philadelphia or SF are my next destinations. This was fun!!
How about some categories that actually matter for everyday life?
Women - Miami (1), Los Angeles (2), New York (3), Phoenix (4), Las Vegas (5)
Weather - Los Angeles (1), Miami (2), Las Vegas (3), Phoenix (4), New York (5)
Traffic - Las Vegas (1), Phoenix (2), Miami (3), Los Angeles (4), New York (5)
Food - New York (1), Miami (2), Los Angeles (3), Las Vegas (4), Phoenix (5)
Nightlife - Miami (1), Las Vegas (2), New York (3), Los Angeles (4), Phoenix (5)
Outdoor Recreation - Phoenix (1), Los Angeles (2), Las Vegas (3), Miami (4), New York (5)
Sports - New York (1), Miami (2), Phoenix (3), Los Angeles (4), Las Vegas (5)
Cost of Living - Las Vegas (1), Phoenix (2), Miami (3), Los Angeles (4), New York (5)
Final Score:
Miami - 18
Los Angeles - 24
Las Vegas - 24
Phoenix - 26
New York - 28
Looks about right. One flaw in this type of exercise is that every category isn't going to be of equal importance for each person doing it. If I had more time and energy to devote to it, I'd love to see what the final results were after coming up with a way to weight each category based on importance.
How about some categories that actually matter for everyday life?
Women - Miami (1), Los Angeles (2), New York (3), Phoenix (4), Las Vegas (5)
Weather - Los Angeles (1), Miami (2), Las Vegas (3), Phoenix (4), New York (5)
Traffic - Las Vegas (1), Phoenix (2), Miami (3), Los Angeles (4), New York (5)
Food - New York (1), Miami (2), Los Angeles (3), Las Vegas (4), Phoenix (5)
Nightlife - Miami (1), Las Vegas (2), New York (3), Los Angeles (4), Phoenix (5)
Outdoor Recreation - Phoenix (1), Los Angeles (2), Las Vegas (3), Miami (4), New York (5)
Sports - New York (1), Miami (2), Phoenix (3), Los Angeles (4), Las Vegas (5)
Cost of Living - Las Vegas (1), Phoenix (2), Miami (3), Los Angeles (4), New York (5)
Final Score:
Miami - 18
Los Angeles - 24
Las Vegas - 24
Phoenix - 26
New York - 28
Looks about right. One flaw in this type of exercise is that every category isn't going to be of equal importance for each person doing it. If I had more time and energy to devote to it, I'd love to see what the final results were after coming up with a way to weight each category based on importance.
The only one I have a question about here is Miami for Sports being #2? Come on now. Aside from the Heat, the city doesn't care much for sports, I don't really consider Miami a sports city at all. LA is much more sports-rich, Phoenix with Baseball and Football definitely is too (though you can argue this).
The only one I have a question about here is Miami for Sports being #2? Come on now. Aside from the Heat, the city doesn't care much for sports, I don't really consider Miami a sports city at all. LA is much more sports-rich, Phoenix with Baseball and Football definitely is too (though you can argue this).
Valid point, but football is my favorite sport and Miami has the Dolphins who at least have the potential to be a professional team again someday soon.
Outside of football, LA and Miami are pretty even when it comes to basketball, baseball, and hockey. If LA gained an NFL team, I would probably move them to #2.
First, I should mention that this is all hypothetical and has no scientific reasoning behind it other than I have developed 8 categories that are important to me in my favorite cities. A score of 1-5 is awarded to each category with 1 being most favorite and 5 being my least. The city with the lowest score suggest that it is my overall favorite. It is possible that I can have a place that doesn't win any category but finishes consistently in the top three. *An important note, you can only award a number for each city - so technically you have to start with your Fab 5.
The categories are:
Architecture - Chicago (1), Philly (2), Boston (3), SF (4), NY (5)
Cuisine - NY (1), Chicago (2), SF (3), Philly (4), Boston (5)
Culture - SF (1), NY (2), Philly (3), Boston (4), Chicago (5)
Diversity - NY (1), Boston (2), Chicago (3), SF (4), Philly (5)
History - Boston (1), Philly (2), NY (3), Chicago (4), SF (5)
Proximity - Philly (1), Boston (2), NY (3), SF (4), Chicago (5)
Public Transportation - NY (1), Chicago (2), Boston (3), Philly (4), SF (5)
Scenery - SF (1), Boston (2), Chicago (3), NY (4), Philly (5)
My top 5 are:
NY - 20
Boston - 24
Chicago - 25
Philadelphia - 26
SF - 27
* Note, I've lived in NY and Chicago so apparently Boston, Philadelphia or SF are my next destinations. This was fun!!
How is SF 4th in diversity? It's the most part of the most diverse Metro in the country. I'd also put SF above Philly for architecture, the victorian rowhouses and majestic cathedrals of the City are hard to beat. Finally, I'd put SF at #2 for Cuisine and move Boston ahead of Philly there as well. Everything else looks right to me.
How is SF 4th in diversity? It's the most part of the most diverse Metro in the country. I'd also put SF above Philly for architecture, the victorian rowhouses and majestic cathedrals of the City are hard to beat. Finally, I'd put SF at #2 for Cuisine and move Boston ahead of Philly there as well. Everything else looks right to me.
Cost of living - Houston (1), New Orleans (2), Chicago (3), DC (4), New York (5)
Nightlife - NO (1), HOU (2), DC (3), CHI (4), NYC (5)
Weather - DC (1), HOU (2), NO (3), CHI (4), NYC (5)
Architecture - CHI (1), NYC (2), NO (3), HOU (4), DC (5)
Cuisine - NO (1), HOU (2), CHI (3), NYC (4), DC (5)
Culture - NO (1), NYC (2), CHI (3), DC (4), HOU (5)
Diversity - NYC (1), HOU (2), DC (3), CHI (4), NO (5)
History - NYC (1), NO (2), DC (3), CHI (4), HOU (5)
Proximity - DC (1), NYC (2), NO (3), HOU (4), CHI (5)
Public Transportation - DC (1), NYC (2), CHI (3), HOU (4), NO (5)
Scenery - NYC (1), DC (2), CHI (3), HOU (4), NO (5)
People - HOU (1), NO (2), CHI (3), DC(4), NYC (5)
Sports - CHI (1), NYC (2), HOU (3), NO (4), DC (5)
New Orleans - 37
New York - 38
Houston - 40
DC - 41
Chicago - 41
It's not in the order I expected it to be in at all. I thought Chicago would be at the top and New Orleans would be at the bottom, but I guess NO is a better city than even I realized, and while CHI probably has the most of what I want in a city, I obviously don't find it that strong in specific categories.
as somebody pointed out, if this was actually picking a city, obviously some categories count more for individuals so... doesn't really work out. some points also might be a must have such as somebody wanting a walkable city, or somebody wanting to live where it doesn't snow, both perfectly rational choices.
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
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Nairobi chose good categories, so I used them with my top five cities.
Cost of living - Austin (1), Denver (2), LA (3), San Francisco (4), New York (5)
Nightlife - New York (1), LA (2), SF (3), Austin (4), Denver (5)
Weather - SF (1), LA (2), Denver (3), New York (4), Austin (5)
Architecture - New York (1), SF (2), LA (3), Austin (4), Denver (5)
Cuisine - SF (1), New York (2), LA (3), Austin (4), Denver (5)
Culture - SF (1), New York (2), LA (3), Austin (4), Denver (5)
Diversity - New York (1), LA (2), SF (3), Austin (4), Denver (5)
History - New York (1), SF (2), LA (3), Austin (4), Denver (5)
Proximity - SF (1), LA (2), Denver (3), New York (4), Austin (5)
Public Transportation - New York (1), SF (2), LA (3), Denver (4), Austin (5)
Scenery - SF (1), Denver (2), LA (3), New York (4), Austin (5)
People - Austin (1), LA (2), SF (3), Denver (4), New York (5)
Sports - SF (1), Denver (2), New York (3), LA (4), Austin (5)
So, my suspicions are confirmed. Base on this, I'm in the right place. My next choices are clearly tiered and quite close to one another:
For me its SF Bay Area, LA, San Diego, Boston, Austin, and Seattle.
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