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Vancouver has a lot to offer the outdoor enthusiast and is a very likeable place. When considering the city though you must consider the cost of living, it's oppressive. The wages are low, rents the highest in the country, outrageous real estate prices where the average SFH is a whopping 80% more expensive than Toronto, highest gas prices in NA, and a horrid highway system that makes commuting a painfully slow experience. Conversely it does have a very good transit system for it's size.
Besides the outrageous cost of living, Vancouver also has a reputation across Canada as being a bit of a bore. It's a very quiet early-to-bed kind of city with little in the way of arts or culture and the place is rather sterile and compared to Toronto or Montreal, just a small town with a small town attitude.
Chicago's boom in residential high-rises and skyscrapers is vast majority apartments too. The Condo craze past there too. But of course still some and those from past years. Chicago also has strict construction codes. Always did as its Great Fire lead to changes that even prevented NYC-style tenements from being built. Row-housing was some high-end but not for its blue-collar neighborhoods. They got unattached-homes and once the gilded-age ended. Row-housing did too there. By the 1920s the Chicago Craftsman Bungalow (Architect Frank Lloyd Wright inspired) became the standard home for the evolving middle-class with areas of Apartment buildings and 2-3 Flat homes.
Chicago keeps getting brought in by some Canadians ..... comments on Parks too. I already posted pictures. But to note its ongoing 1909 Plan a couple more as Chicago's lakefront parkland, harbors and beaches including downtown..... speaks for itself.
Its 1909 Burnham Plan to restore its lakefront ongoing still as much was realized and the Chicago river now too. The islands were not .... but peninsulas were and more.
These criteria are way too subjective. What's considered a good quality is nice is based on personal preferences. None of these cities have a good quality of life IMHO. I honestly, based on my personal prefernces, think that Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Charleston, West Virginia have a better quality of life.
I don't care much for bike lanes, transit oriented development, etc. But things I do like lower density, lower taxes, affordable housing that's not in the ghetto etc. For me a good quality of life is a house in the country with a lot of land or living in a suburban neighborhood with detached homes, local swimming pools, etc or in gated communities. Some people prefer to drive their own car and live somewhere where all parking is free and there are no tolls on the highways too.
Minneapolis-St. Paul would be my vote if it were listed
Minneapolis is a nice city with good amenities, but help me understand what sets its quality of life apart from say, Denver or DFW? . Minneapolis has a great economy but it’s not super cheap, offers third-tier (that’s not an insult) amenities and what most would consider an awful climate.
Minneapolis is a nice city with good amenities, but help me understand what sets its quality of life apart from say, Denver or DFW? . Minneapolis has a great economy but it’s not super cheap, offers third-tier (that’s not an insult) amenities and what most would consider an awful climate.
Minneapolis-St Paul, in my opinion, wins with the intangibles and cost of living. Minnesotans are classically friendly and helpful (think "Minnesota Nice"); educated; healthy (Minnesota ranks 4th recently); active; and politically involved (Minnesota has the highest voter participation).
In comparison with Denver:
-Cost of living is quite a bit lower than Denver (I have lived in the metro area and it was awfully expensive when I lived there).
-Traffic and roads are noticeably cruddier in Denver. The prevalence of non-native Coloradans (*cough* Californians) worsens winter driving.
-People in Denver are socially lukewarm. They are more laid-back in Denver, but not particularly nice or helpful. They are definitely nicer than easterners, but they lack the Midwestern niceness or Southern charm.
-Public schools are better in Minnesota.
Dallas is definitely cheaper and Texans have the Texan charm, but the other criteria is definitely lower (health, activity, etc.).
Weather is a mixed bag because it depends on what you like. Obviously, if a mild, coastal Mediterranean climate is your ideal, Minneapolis has awful weather. If you like seasons, snow, and cold, Minneapolis is tolerable. I love the climate in Duluth, but I am not "most people".
I’d probably go with Chicago or Toronto but I’d also add Pittsburgh to the mix. Insanely low rent there.
I live in Pittsburgh, and believe it offers a really good quality of life, (top-10 if you factor COL) but I still think Chicago is a better value proposition. I would be in Chicago right now, if my wife could find a job there. Unfortunately, she has a hyper-specific career (think planetarium director or offensive line coach), and there’s never more than one or two job openings in the country, at any given time.
Political and social environment: Vancouver
Economic environment: San Francisco
Socio-cultural environment: Houston
Medical and health considerations: Vancouver
Schools and education: Toronto. If we're talking higher education only than Chicago
Public services and transportation: Toronto
Recreation: NYC
Consumer goods: Vancouver
Housing: Philadelphia
Natural environment: Vancouver
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