favorite/least favorite n. american city? (homes, living, low cost)

[GueroLoco]

Didn't really see a thread specifically about this topic, but I'm curious and want to take an inventory. So, what are your favorite and least favorite North American cities? Here I go:

Favorites:

-NYC (Metropolis. The capitol of the the world. Mindboggling urban landscapes. Limitless cultural and entertainment possibilities. Truly the most diverse city. Any kind of person you can imagine, can be found here.)
-San Fran (Beautiful geographical setting. Great cultural and entertainment possibilities, all accesible by foot or great public transit. Weather is always mild and not too rainy. Also the most beautiful city Ive seen by air.)
-Portland, OR (Arguably the most naturally beautiful city in America. Decent public transportation, great beer, friendly people. Great city planning. Definitely the cleanest major city in the US.)
-Philly (Sure its dirty and grimy, but I love it. So much history, and the people are helpful and real, gritty hardworking folk. Close to NYC and DC, and pretty cheap too. Philadelphia IS America.)
-Vancouver BC (Great cityscape for a city of its size, that showcases rather than detracts from its natural beauty. Friendly like Portland, but with a more international feel.)

Ambivalent:

-Albuquerque (Amazing natural setting amidst desert and mountains, and a great fusion of Native and Spanish culture. Beautiful mostly sunny weather that never gets too hot or too cold. Good cheap food. Plagued by an ugly cityscape, an LA-like sprawl development model. Also very poor public services and facilities.)
-Washington DC (A beautiful city, with so much to offer historically and culturally. Beset by some of the worst urban decay Ive seen, and a collective sense of political disenfranchisement.)
-Seattle (Posesses a beautiful natural setting like Portland and Vancouver, with a myriad of cultural activities. Traffic is a nightmare for a city of its size, and it doest really have a viable public transportation system.)
-Las Vegas (A sensual feast, with 24 hour entertainment opportunities. It gets old though. In the middle of a dusty desert, with terrible summer heat. The phrase "Nice place to visit, but wouldnt want to live there," was made for this place.)
-New Orleans (Loved this place when I visited. Unique culture, great bars, musicians and clubs, and a kind of dark magical aura about it. Cant imagine that it would be the same after it was practically destroyed. Such a sad waste.)

Least Favorite:

-Cleveland ("Mistake by the Lake" is right. Ugly, geographically uninteresting (except for the lake) smelly, ghetto (and not in the cool way) ****hole. No offense Clevelanders.)
-Los Angeles (Everything that is wrong with a city, all in one place. No viable center city, in actuality a collection of smaller cities. Omnipresent brown haze, terrible public transportation, worst traffic in America, fake and/or stupid people everywhere. Image obsessed psuedo-city. That is all.)
-Houston (Sprawling, ugly, with polluted air and water, located in a flood prone sinkhole. And did I mention how unbearable it is there in the summer? Very conservative and regressive for being the #4 city in America [but hey, its Texas])

Places I want to visit:
Miami
Atlanta
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Boston

[BearBranch]

Fave cities I have lived in:

Houston: World Class City. World class Arts and museums. Green. Multi-cultural. City voted for Kerry. Best value in the coutnry.

Seattle: World Class City. Puget Sound is awsome. Pikes Place Market

SF: Great Architecture. Great bridges. Transamerica tower

[Futcha]

Originally Posted by GueroLoco

Least Favorite:

-Los Angeles (Everything that is wrong with a city, all in one place. No viable center city, in actuality a collection of smaller cities. Omnipresent brown haze, terrible public transportation, worst traffic in America, fake and/or stupid people everywhere. Image obsessed psuedo-city. That is all.)

I agree, but be prepared for a bashing. Milky will be here shortly.

[Futcha]

Favorites:
NYC-do I really need to explain why?
Chicago-see NYC
Philly-history, architecture, food
Boston-history, architecture

Least Favorites:
Los Angeles-sprawl, poor air quality, smog, characterless
Phoenix-though I've only been to the airport, I know I would not like it
Buffalo, NY-beautiful architecture and history, but depressing and dangerous, BUT it's coming back with its low cost of living
Rochester, NY-see Buffalo

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by GueroLoco

-Houston (Sprawling, ugly, with polluted air and water, located in a flood prone sinkhole. And did I mention how unbearable it is there in the summer? Very conservative and regressive for being the #4 city in America [but hey, its Texas])

No wonder Gore lost the election; he bashed Houston, the elite's favourite city. Ready to attack when you are, FutureCop.

[Buckeye 89]

i didnt know there was a cool side of ghetto

But if you don't like Cleveland, I suggest you take Detroit off your "places i'd like to visit list"

[KerrTown]

Canadian cities are too small. I couldn't live in Vancouver because there are not enough people and it's a border town like San Diego--always looking over your shoulder and a passport is a necessity if you want to cross town. Calgary is still too small for me. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else in the West besides Los Angeles. I loved the drive up and down West L.A. I wouldn't consider San Diego, although it is a great place to visit. I haven't been to San Francisco or the other two Pacific NW cities yet but the temperatures might change my mind.

You haven't been to Chicago yet? It's a vibrant town, a city that I want to live in someday. It's has the perfect city plan, the Loop with all the offices and the homes surrounding them and the only big city in Illinois with 10 million in Chicagoland.

[Colts]

Favorite N. American city: Chicago

Least favorite N. American city: Miami

[CTownNative]

Originally Posted by GueroLoco

Didn't really see a thread specifically about this topic, but I'm curious and want to take an inventory. So, what are your favorite and least favorite North American cities? Here I go:

Favorites:

-NYC (Metropolis. The capitol of the the world. Mindboggling urban landscapes. Limitless cultural and entertainment possibilities. Truly the most diverse city. Any kind of person you can imagine, can be found here.)
-San Fran (Beautiful geographical setting. Great cultural and entertainment possibilities, all accesible by foot or great public transit. Weather is always mild and not too rainy. Also the most beautiful city Ive seen by air.)
-Portland, OR (Arguably the most naturally beautiful city in America. Decent public transportation, great beer, friendly people. Great city planning. Definitely the cleanest major city in the US.)
-Philly (Sure its dirty and grimy, but I love it. So much history, and the people are helpful and real, gritty hardworking folk. Close to NYC and DC, and pretty cheap too. Philadelphia IS America.)
-Vancouver BC (Great cityscape for a city of its size, that showcases rather than detracts from its natural beauty. Friendly like Portland, but with a more international feel.)

Ambivalent:

-Albuquerque (Amazing natural setting amidst desert and mountains, and a great fusion of Native and Spanish culture. Beautiful mostly sunny weather that never gets too hot or too cold. Good cheap food. Plagued by an ugly cityscape, an LA-like sprawl development model. Also very poor public services and facilities.)
-Washington DC (A beautiful city, with so much to offer historically and culturally. Beset by some of the worst urban decay Ive seen, and a collective sense of political disenfranchisement.)
-Seattle (Posesses a beautiful natural setting like Portland and Vancouver, with a myriad of cultural activities. Traffic is a nightmare for a city of its size, and it doest really have a viable public transportation system.)
-Las Vegas (A sensual feast, with 24 hour entertainment opportunities. It gets old though. In the middle of a dusty desert, with terrible summer heat. The phrase "Nice place to visit, but wouldnt want to live there," was made for this place.)
-New Orleans (Loved this place when I visited. Unique culture, great bars, musicians and clubs, and a kind of dark magical aura about it. Cant imagine that it would be the same after it was practically destroyed. Such a sad waste.)

Least Favorite:

-Cleveland ("Mistake by the Lake" is right. Ugly, geographically uninteresting (except for the lake) smelly, ghetto (and not in the cool way) ****hole. No offense Clevelanders.)
-Los Angeles (Everything that is wrong with a city, all in one place. No viable center city, in actuality a collection of smaller cities. Omnipresent brown haze, terrible public transportation, worst traffic in America, fake and/or stupid people everywhere. Image obsessed psuedo-city. That is all.)
-Houston (Sprawling, ugly, with polluted air and water, located in a flood prone sinkhole. And did I mention how unbearable it is there in the summer? Very conservative and regressive for being the #4 city in America [but hey, its Texas])

Places I want to visit:
Miami
Atlanta
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Boston

Im from Cleveland and lived most of my life there,in an inner-ring suburb,actually I lived like 50-100 feet away from Cleveland.I don't take offense to what you siad about Cleveland,you have the right to an opinion on it.Ok here is my favorite n. american cities.

Favorites-Cleveland and Chicago.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by GueroLoco

Didn't really see a thread specifically about this topic, but I'm curious and want to take an inventory. So, what are your favorite and least favorite North American cities? Here I go:

Favorites:

-NYC (Metropolis. The capitol of the the world. Mindboggling urban landscapes. Limitless cultural and entertainment possibilities. Truly the most diverse city. Any kind of person you can imagine, can be found here.)
-San Fran (Beautiful geographical setting. Great cultural and entertainment possibilities, all accesible by foot or great public transit. Weather is always mild and not too rainy. Also the most beautiful city Ive seen by air.)
-Portland, OR (Arguably the most naturally beautiful city in America. Decent public transportation, great beer, friendly people. Great city planning. Definitely the cleanest major city in the US.)
-Philly (Sure its dirty and grimy, but I love it. So much history, and the people are helpful and real, gritty hardworking folk. Close to NYC and DC, and pretty cheap too. Philadelphia IS America.)
-Vancouver BC (Great cityscape for a city of its size, that showcases rather than detracts from its natural beauty. Friendly like Portland, but with a more international feel.)

Ambivalent:

-Albuquerque (Amazing natural setting amidst desert and mountains, and a great fusion of Native and Spanish culture. Beautiful mostly sunny weather that never gets too hot or too cold. Good cheap food. Plagued by an ugly cityscape, an LA-like sprawl development model. Also very poor public services and facilities.)
-Washington DC (A beautiful city, with so much to offer historically and culturally. Beset by some of the worst urban decay Ive seen, and a collective sense of political disenfranchisement.)
-Seattle (Posesses a beautiful natural setting like Portland and Vancouver, with a myriad of cultural activities. Traffic is a nightmare for a city of its size, and it doest really have a viable public transportation system.)
-Las Vegas (A sensual feast, with 24 hour entertainment opportunities. It gets old though. In the middle of a dusty desert, with terrible summer heat. The phrase "Nice place to visit, but wouldnt want to live there," was made for this place.)
-New Orleans (Loved this place when I visited. Unique culture, great bars, musicians and clubs, and a kind of dark magical aura about it. Cant imagine that it would be the same after it was practically destroyed. Such a sad waste.)

Least Favorite:

-Cleveland ("Mistake by the Lake" is right. Ugly, geographically uninteresting (except for the lake) smelly, ghetto (and not in the cool way) ****hole. No offense Clevelanders.)
-Los Angeles (Everything that is wrong with a city, all in one place. No viable center city, in actuality a collection of smaller cities. Omnipresent brown haze, terrible public transportation, worst traffic in America, fake and/or stupid people everywhere. Image obsessed psuedo-city. That is all.)
-Houston (Sprawling, ugly, with polluted air and water, located in a flood prone sinkhole. And did I mention how unbearable it is there in the summer? Very conservative and regressive for being the #4 city in America [but hey, its Texas])

Places I want to visit:
Miami
Atlanta
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Detroit
Boston

Nice thread, Guero, and people are actually giving reasons, not just drive-by slams.

RE: the places you want to visit, based on your prefernces above, I predict you will like Chicago, Pittsburgh and Boston, and will dislike Miami, Atlanta and Detroit.