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Education - STL (Washu, two private high schools ranked in the top 25 day schools)
Food - STL (has more unique dishes overall, plus lots of great Italian food)
Crime - Cincinnati? No idea about the crime rates
Yeah, also gonna say, none of these are bad cities, they have many outstanding features. In fact, when I took a city interest inventory recently, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Cincinnati were all top 10 based on my tastes (and that's even with me purposefully setting preferred housing cost question higher, so that the bias from that wouldn't favor those). Detroit would probably be right there also, but of course, with it being biased towards cities and not regions, Detroit probably didn't have net favorability ratings for any category.
I would say that Detroit probably has the least interesting scenery out of the 4, the other 3 seem to be somewhat less flat. I'm guessing there are parts of Detroit that have the type of rolling hills/ravines present in the others though, so that's not a big factor. Cleveland is especially well endowed here, being located right on Lake Erie, and less than a half hour from Cuyahoga Valley National Park, though St. Louis and Cincy may have a higher number of prominent topography located nearby than does Cleveland. I have though been attempting to get "Cleveland is Gorges" to stick, and the city really does make it a point to preserve park space.
Of course, I voted for Cleveland, since I'm biased, however, I do think there are many enviable features about the city. That being said, there are certainly desirable things I see in the other cities as well. I'm impressed by the vibrancy and connectivity of St. Louis downtown, the Great River Road, and while I'm not sure the museums there are better, the setup and aesthetic of Forest Park may be better than that of University Circle, and the fact that all those museums are free doesn't hurt either. Cincinnati has perhaps even more European heritage than even Cleveland does, and the architecture in OTR and Mount Adams never ceases to amaze. Also, it has the unique factor of being at a crossroads between the north and the south, the vibrant history which reflects that, and an ability to sharply vary the briefest weekend trips (e.g., one can be in Nashville, TN, (the heart of the south) or in Windsor, ON (Canada), in less than 4 hours. I envy Detroit for having an international border, and for really being the metro/city that has ownership over the U.P., and weekend trips there. What a glorious area. Also, Detroit, being the largest, also seems to have the highest international population, and the companies located there, plus the University of Michigan give the place an incredibly sophisticated yet relaxed feel.
If we're rating the skylines also, that likely has to be Detroit, considering it has 14 buildings over 400 feet (for the record, I believe St. Louis has 5, Cincinnati has 7, and Cleveland has 10 (soon to be 11)). I could see where some would note (correctly) that Cleveland, has some major holes in it's skyline, which is true, but the higher skyscrapers in Cleveland are both higher and more dynamic than those in the other cities (including St. Louis). It will be interesting to see whether Cleveland's will rival Detroit's with the addition of the nuCLEus building next year. I do know that the look from the top of Edgewater Park, with the endless water on one side, and looking from a prominent point, is pretty impressive.
Last edited by theurbanfiles; 11-18-2015 at 10:00 AM..
These are not bad cities. Someone supposedly from here as your location claims should know this is far from a bad city. I'm guessing you're not really from Cincinnati. Probably from the burbs. Perhaps Anderson twp? Cleveland and St Louis are not bad either. I could live in either one of them if I didnt love Cincinnati as much as I do. I'd say Cleveland is my 2nd favorite on this list behind The Nati. Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway love those Westside Cleveland neighborhoods. My family and I love visiting Edgewater in Cleveland too. If I were ever to live in a suburb, never happen, but if I ever did it would be Lakewood. As far as crime goes none of these really have much in the way of random crime which essentially means dont live certain lifestyles or travel in unsavory circles and you should be as safe in these cities as you would be in Lincoln Nebraska. Skyscrapers? Cleveland and Detroit have the height but I prefer Cincinnati. The views from Northern Kentucky and East Price Hill are beautiful. Take that with a grain of salt from me though as I am admittedly biased. I will say the views of the skyline from Busch Stadium in STL are second only to those from PNC Park in Pittsburgh. I'm not a big fan of Detroit or anything Michigan for that matter but that's probably just the Buckeye in me. The other three I love them all. Cant go wrong with Cleveland St Louis or Cincinnati.
Yeah, also gonna say, none of these are bad cities, they have many outstanding features. In fact, when I took a city interest inventory recently, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Cincinnati were all top 10 based on my tastes (and that's even with me purposefully setting preferred housing cost question higher, so that the bias from that wouldn't favor those).
Education-Tie between Cleveland (Case Western) and StL (Wash U)
Food-Tough call, 4-way tie
Crime-Cincinnati
I agree on these three categories.
Overall, I would pick Cleveland because it is either #1 or #2 compared to the other cities in public transportation, urban neighborhoods, classical arts, outdoors (national park and Lake Erie), live music, and breweries.
Cincinnati has been improving for years. It should come as no surprise...
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