Quote:
Originally Posted by EclecticEars
Which city/ies do you prefer based on the following criteria?
Friendliness of the people (subjective)
Climate
Location (i.e.: proximity to other cities, points of interest)
Highway quality
Ease of transport/getting around
Religious community
Aesthetics (i.e.: skyline, neighborhoods, architecture)
Economic health
Political and social climate (as these tend to be intertwined)
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Bump. I'll go first.
Friendliness:
Austin
Climate:
Austin. I'll take scorching summers in order to have milder winters. Winter in L'ville and Cincy is absolutely depressing.
Location:
Austin. All three are in great locations; L'ville and Cincy are in easy proximity to Chicago and Atlanta and a day's driving distance of DC, NYC and Boston. However, I prefer Texas cities to East Coast and Midwest cities and in Austin, you're still closer to a revitalizing OKC and touristy NOLA for weekend trips.
Highway quality:
Austin. Austin has terrible traffic and a community that seems reluctant to shed its small town mindset in order to accommodate one of the heaviest volumes of traffic in the U.S. I know a tollway system is slowly being constructed that will probably allow people to bypass central Austin and Georgetown altogether. L'ville and Cincy, however, have that freeze/thaw thing going on during the winter as well as huge bridges that are almost unsafe structurally.
Ease of transport:
Tie: Austin and Louisville. If buses are your thing than the Capital Metro and TARC, respectively, have extensive bus networks. Louisville's TARC has express commuter lines that stretch into four other counties in KY and IN. Austin, however, by virtue of the fact that it is a much safer city is more walkable.
Religious community:
Tie: Austin and Louisville, although I wouldn't consider Cincinnati lacking in this department. I have had terrible experiences with some very rude and selfish people in churches when I lived in Louisville, though, but I won't delve into that.
Aesthetics:
Austin. Evolving and modern skyline, the Town Lake and park, state capitol and its grounds, University of Texas. The city's just really clean. I like Louisville's skyline but the surrounding knobs just look barren during winter which adds to that Ohio Valley depressing sort of feel. Cincinnati has a gorgeous skyline that is well illuminated at night when you're entering from Kentucky on I-75; the combination of art deco, post-war industrial and modern provide a unusually even balance with the hills in the background and river in the foreground. However, the hills surrounding the city look barren during winter and adds to that depressing feel. Much of Louisville and Cincinnati both consist of dirty, graffiti-ridden, run-down low-income areas, although Cincinnati's areas are on par with those in Philly, NYC and Chicago.
Economic health:
Austin. Come on, now!
P/s climate:
Austin. While I'm conservative and it's the most liberal city of the three, the city seems to be a much smoother-operating machine that is ambitious about new beautification and economic development projects. Louisville is second place but they were still 15 years behind the surrounding cities just having a new stadium built downtown. Cincinnati is just getting the ball rolling with revitalizing their downtown, but even with the liberal city government which isn't afraid to spend, the general regional population makes it Cincinnati, NOhio.
My top pick, in case you can't tell, is Austin!
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