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My list is in roughly descending order and with a heavier emphasis on international recognition than on walkable neighborhoods or great parks in which case much of the sun belt would be thrown out the window and a lot more cities on the Eastern seaboard and the Rust Belt would be included. It also includes the metros which is why Detroit as well as geographically smaller cities such as SF, DC, Boston, and Miami make the cut.
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
San Francisco
Washington
Boston
Miami
Atlanta
Houston
Philadelphia
Dallas
Seattle
Las Vegas
San Diego
Detroit
Obviously it's a good showing for the the two coasts and Chicago while many southern cities get a good mid-tier. The Midwest had at least two powerhouses in recent times, but Detroit's really been run down in the past few decades and just a few decades before that there were strong showings from cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Baltimore was also one of the greater cities in the past. However, all of them fell off the track from becoming world-class cities.
What cities in the US have most of the aspects that make a city great. Great people, great food, culture, activities, landmarks, parks, walkable neighborhoods, etc etc. We all know that no city in the US meets each and every criteria but which do you consider the closest. A city that you can truly call "World-Class".
Out of the cities I did not vote for, two I would have: Los Angeles and Philidelphia. Both of the cities downtowns are below standards adn Philidelphia crime.... yikes,
Me too. I put Phoenix and Vegas in the 'world class' category. Phoenix is maybe a stretch but Las Vegas--despite being quite small--is absolutely a world class city in every sense of the word--every bit as much as Boston or Chicago can be.
I wouldn't consider Las Vegas to be a world class city. I personally think it is a world class vacation destination, like Orlando, but not a world class city.
Anyways, I'd say NY, LA, Chicago, Boston, SF and DC are all world class cities.
I just cant see Atlanta on a list that doesn't include Philadelphia, yes it is an icon of the south, but place it in the NE and it would be #5 in the NE region, just my humble opinion
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