What makes a great city? (low crime, schools, living)

[charygart]

I've been reading lots of the threads, and wonder what are the criteria a city should have to be considered a great city. Please pick some the top five in your opinion. I got all these options from what I'm gathering from the threads I read.

[radraja]

Entertainment and Lifestyle is the definite number 1 for me.

[desert sun]

weather is number 1 for me,but there has got to be some diversity,and the city should be somewhat attractive.I like small to mid-size cities.

[SEAandATL]

First of all, the city should be attractive, either with the architecture, natural landscapes, or both. Size doesn't really matter because I like all sizes of cities from Tokyo to Savannah. What matters is the variety of activities the city has to offer. Affordability is also important if it's a city I want to live in. Schools are also important because even if I don't have kids my self, how the schools raise and influence the local youth culture can have an impact on the local community. Weather also doesn't matter to me since I like cities located in all different types of climates.

[DannyBanany]

All of those.

[ComputerUser000]

What makes a city atrtactive to me....

1.) Low crime
2.) Decent telecommunications services
3.) Decent cost of living
4.) Character in the land and history around me
5.) Soewhat decent food/clothes shopping
6.) Varying types of "industry" or available jobs

[SEAandATL]

Another thing to add is technology that makes life more efficient. I wouldn't want to live in a city that is stuck in the past where certain technology is not available and you have to do things the old fashioned way.

[jonjj]

For me, a city has to have a high "livability" factor. I want to be able to walk or use public transportation for work and other activities. I want it to be somewhat dense and have little wasted space. There should be activities to do although I rarely find myself bored. It should offer variety. It should also offer a wide range of affordability for housing. I don't worry about crime to much because every city has it's safe and dangerous side although a city should be consistently tackling that issue.

[krudmonk]

tourist crap, apparently...

[neonwattagelimit]

I voted entertainment and lifestyle, city attractiveness and public transportation as a top three. I think the others are all kind of tied, save weather (so long as the city doesn't get ultra-extreme hot or cold, I'm cool), schools (not planning to have kids anytime soon, though when that time comes this will change), and pro sports (I'm always gonna root for my hometown teams, anyway).