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1. NYC
2. Chicago
3. San Francisco
4. Boston
5. Seattle
6. Philadelphia
7. Portland
8. Washington, DC
9. San Diego
10. New Orleans
11. Minneapolis
12. Denver
13. San Antonio
14. Indianapolis
15. Pittsburgh
16. Los Angeles
17. Miami
18. Baltimore
19. Cincinnati
20. Salt Lake City
21. Richmond
22. Milwaukee
23. Memphis
24. Providence
25. Louisville
move San Francisco down. It's overrated. Big, pedestrian-unfriendly hills, high-priced trollies and actually small amount of bustling area (Union Square, Chinatown, "somewhat" financial district) drop it below Boston and Philadelphia. (I'll note that I do like SF's downtown, just don't think it's better than Boston or Phil.)
Portland-- argue that Portland has one of the better downtowns (top 3) in west. Eclectic, interesting, (somewhat) bustling, clean and green.
San Diego- not a good downtown. at all. Nice weather though.
NYC-- in its own league -- by far-- at number 1.
Chicago-- in its own league -- by far-- at number 2.
Boston is cute, somewhat bustling, great historic character. Like that airport is nearby and that Big Dig is over. T is good.
DC ~ nice architecture, Metro is clean/efficient. National airport close by.
1. NYC
2. Chicago
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. San Francisco
5. Washington, DC
7. Portland
8. Seattle
9. Los Angeles
10. White Plains
1. NYC
2. Chicago
3. San Francisco
4. Boston
5. Seattle
6. Philadelphia
7. Portland
8. Washington, DC
9. San Diego
10. New Orleans
11. Minneapolis
12. Denver
13. San Antonio
14. Indianapolis
15. Pittsburgh
16. Los Angeles
17. Miami
18. Baltimore
19. Cincinnati
20. Salt Lake City
21. Richmond
22. Milwaukee
23. Memphis
24. Providence
25. Louisville
Agree. You'd be surprised at some of the smaller cities out there...people simply assume that those downtowns cannot be vibrant because they aren't in massive cities. And bigger cities like Los Angeles and Houston don't automatically have the strongest downtowns.
You can tell based on the list which ones are sort of assumed and which ones aren't.
move San Francisco down. It's overrated. Big, pedestrian-unfriendly hills, high-priced trollies and actually small amount of bustling area (Union Square, Chinatown, "somewhat" financial district) drop it below Boston and Philadelphia. (I'll note that I do like SF's downtown, just don't think it's better than Boston or Phil.)
What a laugh.
Neither Boston nor Philadelphia have any area as lively as Union Square.
In fact as far as ambience, DT SF beats DT Chicago too.
San Diego- not a good downtown. at all. Nice weather though.
Great things about San Diego's downtown include:
-The view out across the bay
-Embarcadero Marina Park and Seaport Village (awesome ambiance)
-Horton Plaza (some of the BEST architecture and design and style of any downtown shopping mall anywhere in the US)
-E Harbor Drive/W Harbor Drive with the landscaped median with palm trees up and down for about a half a mile
-Gaslamp District
And the Embarcadero itself is just ok, it does provide pedestrian access to the bay over a long stretch, it just doesn't have enough green to make it great.
Nonetheless, I do think SD is a good downtown. Just not one of the best.
The only place that I've been to in the US that actually surpasses DT SF as far as far as overall vibrancy is NYC.
I agree. Union Square is very reminiscent of NYC.
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