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NOTE: Disregard my last thread, this one has a poll included.
I know that some people don't like discussing metropolitan areas as opposed to simply cities, but there is no question that they are becoming increasingly important to our country in terms of national job and lifestyle trends and continued economic development -- that is, the surrounding regions of our core urban centers. Based on important quality-of-life factors (affordability, job availability, recreation, traffic, weather, setting, etc.) which of the top 30 metropolitan areas do you believe are the MOST DESIRABLE to live in?
I voted for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the Twin Cities.
Philadelphia proper has had issues with violent crime but overall I see the city being on an upswing with a new mayor who is pledging to tackle the city's outrageous homicide rate as well as a rapidly-improving Center City/University City area that will radiate its gentrifying effects into surrounding residential neighborhoods in the coming years as prices downtown become largely unaffordable (we've seen the same thing with Manhattan radiating its upper-middle-class white professional folks to Hoboken, Brooklyn, Jersey City, etc.) The Philadelphia Metro Area at-large is very sprawlish, but tucked here and there are beautiful small towns such as Collingswood, NJ, Swarthmore, PA, Malvern, PA, Newark, DE, Doylestown, PA, New Hope, PA, etc. The cost-of-living in the Delaware Valley is relatively low in relation to the rest of the BosWash Corridor, and Philadelphia is poised conveniently to NYC, Baltimore, and DC via rail, which has permitted many folks to now live in Greater Philadelphia and commute to New York City to earn higher wages while enjoying the lower cost-of-living in the Delaware Valley.
I've always had an intense fondness of Pittsburgh because it reminds me of a very large Scranton---a city that was in post-Industrial decline for decades and has just begun a turnaround in the past several years. Pittsburgh sits at less than half of its heyday population, but it still has all of the cultural offerings of a city twice its size, meaning residents can enjoy all of these venues in a much less crowded and congested city. Like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh also has its fair share of undesirable sprawling suburbs/exurbs (Cranberry Township comes to mind), but there are also plenty of desirable small towns, some of which are dirt cheap. The city's skyline remains one of its largest assets, in my humble opinion. Words can't describe my love affair with Pittsburgh's downtown business district. When you emerge from the Fort Pitt Tunnel at night and see the glimmering lights in the skyscraper windows in front of you or opt to ride an incline car up the steep hillside to Mt. Washington you can better appreciate the esthetics of having a shiny modern skyline framed by three rivers and surrounding by large rolling green hills. Pittsburgh is one of America's very underrated cities, in my opinion.
Finally I have personally never been to Minneapolis/St. Paul, but my love affair with Minnesota has never ceased. If I ever flee Pennsylvania looking for a more socially-progressive state, then I just may seek refuge in the Twin Cities. This metro area ranks very highly in many quality-of-life surveys. Most recently I can recall it snagging the #4 spot for American's "Fittest" cities and the #1 spot for America's "Most Literate" cities. As with Pittsburgh the Twin Cities aren't a major national tourist destination, meaning that residents are afforded the opportunity to enjoy their cultural amenities almost exclusively. Yes, the winters may be harsh, but that's a small price to pay to live in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." I also love the skylines in the metro area, even though I've been told that Minneapolis has had a history of tearing its historic architecture down in favor of modern botch-ups.
Last edited by Administrator; 09-29-2009 at 01:41 PM..
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Uh, apparently not. Excuse me for having a different opinion.
It's a City-Data thing. Everyone here hates South Florida and theres something wrong with you if you would want to live there. Anyway, I voted New York metro (New York's the greatest if you get someone to pay your rent!), Chicagoland and San Diego.
Oh, I know. I just think it's funny, like if dxi expected me to take it back.
my bad man, i didnt mean to offend you, i dont HATE miami, i just don't think it's ANYWHERE close to being on of the top 3 metro areas, I think it'll be more like in the top 15.
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, i dont HATE miami, i just don't think it's ANYWHERE close to being on of the top 3 metro areas, I think it'll be more like in the top 15.
