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.
As you didn't mention density or public transporation, etc, I don't know why LA can't be your perfect city if the natural disaster criteria has to go anyways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by whynot1986
Of course, it doesn't exist. But I really mean perfect as in closest to perfect, one which most people would agree is the best city in objective terms. This means one shouldn't count things like "I have my family here" or "I found my dream job here" and the like. The list may vary a little but in general there are things the human looks for, a combination of needs and wants.
Here is my list, in no particular order. Note that I do not have a city to recommend that matches this list. Yet. And of course, USA only as I posting in the US Forums.
- Livable weather (range of 30-90 degrees, not too high humidity)
- Low-ish risk of natural disaster. (I don't know if any city qualifies on this measure, actually, so it may need to go)
- Reasonable or moderate cost of living (note I didn't say "low" COL)
- Good availability of decent jobs (uhhh...ok, in normal times)
- Availability of recreation, both of the natural and man-made kind
- Halfway decent government, in other words not absolutely corrupt or inept (GOOD government is too much to ask for, right?).
- Quality educational institutions, both secondary and advanced
- Reasonable level of race relations. Humans being humans, perfect relations is too much to ask for.
One could add central location, etc but with air travel so prevalent now this is not critical, I think.
Going by your criteria I came up with Colorado Springs. Only problem is it drops way below 30 degrees during its winter months, but that's mainly during the night/early morning hours, A typical January day in CS is about 38-40 degrees (on average).
Based on Whynot1986's posted criteria, it seems that Portland might come pretty close. I'm not sure about natural disasters, though. I don't know what Portland's earthquake risk is. That would seem to be the natural disaster that could be a risk, given that much of the West Coast is prone to earthquakes. Otherwise, Portland probably has a low risk of natural disasters.
The weather criteria are the requirement that really narrows the possibilities here. There are few American cities with average temperatures falling within that range on both the upper and lower ends. Most that do are on the West Coast, where earthquakes, and other natural disasters in some locales, are a threat, and where many of the major cities have high costs of living. If there could be more flexibility on weather, that would allow for quite a few more possibilities.
Congratulations the city you've chosen is: Tampa Bay.
Average High during hottest month (August): 90
Average Low during coldest month (January): 52
Lowish chance of Natural Disaster: Tampa rarely gets hit by hurricanes (less than 1% chance)
Most fascinating replies and interesting info. I suppose maybe my original criteria were too stringent, but in a way that was on purpose... to start with the bar really high and make this a truly elite club. But it's so elite it seems no one belongs!
So, if you could eliminate any ONE (but only one) criteria from the original list, your choice, which would it be? Many of the replies have already stated this. I dunno about LA... it's got both the earthquake risk AND a notoriously high COL, no? And then there's the issue of California government, which many seem to have a problem with although of course every state has its issues in this regard, politicians being politicians.
Hope this thread is useful, not in a practical way necessarily (everyone rushing to the perfect city) but in generating ideas and conversation. For example, I would not really have put Tampa Bay on that list, as we have spent time near there and my memory of the summers is that it gets pretty darn hot and muggy.
So, how about your thoughts, cut the list by any one item (oh, ok, two if you must ) and let's see what happens. And since the thread went worldwide anyway, let's try that too.
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.