Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was having this conversation recently that regardless of how you slice it, when listing the top 5 cities in the country, 2 of the 5 will likely come from the East Coast no matter what. Why is that? My argument would be that if you like authentic winters, history and architecture, Boston, DC and Philadelphia are your standard (not discounting Chicago). If you like grandiose, NYC is a lock. If you don't like sprawl nor car dependency, that will eliminate Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and LA. If I was listing mine based on this conversation I would agree the following would be my 5:
NY, SF, Boston, DC, Chicago (Seattle & Philly 6a/6b)
This would of course depend on your criteria for what you want in a city. I like beautiful surroundings with mountains for recreation. My top five would all be in the west then. I'm in the minority with that though.
I was having this conversation recently that regardless of how you slice it, when listing the top 5 cities in the country, 2 of the 5 will likely come from the East Coast no matter what. Why is that? My argument would be that if you like authentic winters, history and architecture, Boston, DC and Philadelphia are your standard (not discounting Chicago). If you like grandiose, NYC is a lock. If you don't like sprawl nor car dependency, that will eliminate Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and LA. If I was listing mine based on this conversation I would agree the following would be my 5:
NY, SF, Boston, DC, Chicago (Seattle & Philly 6a/6b)
Suppose you don't like cold weather/snow, high density public transit, and old infrastructure? I've seen plenty of lists on here that are majority sunbelt/sprawl cities and others that are all medium/smallish cities.
Anyway my top 5:
NY, LA, SF, Seattle (never been), and Minneapolis. Atlanta after that at number 6.
Rofl at "authentic winters". You realize half the globe doesn't experience your cherished below-freezing temperatures at any point in the year and they have no clue you do either.
I consider the top 5 to be New York City, LA, Chicago, D.C., and San Francisco.
I agree with the OP, the top 5 would be different if you're thinking about urban environment but I'm thinking about more than just that.
But that would *gasp* be an unbiased list...
Not sure what the point of the OP's thread is exactly besides showing their requirements.
Any realistic top 5 city list that doesn't include both NYC and LA, like them or hate them is kind of weird. Also, I would not lump Houston Dallas and Atlanta in with LA. LA is over 3x bigger than all those cities and twice as dense.
Rofl at "authentic winters". You realize half the globe doesn't experience your cherished below-freezing temperatures at any point in the year and they have no clue you do either.
I used the word "authentic" because most of the world would consider winter to include some type of precipitation(sleet, freezing rain, or snow) in addition to below freezing temperatures. Now, if you are the minority in that belief (which is certainly plausible), your winters would resemble a mediterranean, tropical, or desert climate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
