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Boston-
Pros: most interesting/variable people. Most outdoor activities BY FAR, best shopping, best schools, the full subway system, most history /culture of the bunch. The most robust economy, safest of the bunch
Cons: too expensive given the relative shortage of options for dining/nightlife, poor public schools, crime in certain areas, inadequate infrastructure, and weather. Biggest haves/have not city I lived in which causes a unique blatant disregard of conditions of the poorest 150,000 Bostonians, exclusivity
Baltimore -
pros: SUPER strong local culture like Boston, best $ value, pretty fun, strong black culture, good museums, good weather, diverse economy, best location, laid back
Cons: .just too dirty/seedy, too dangerous in way too many areas, poor decision making all across the board of city government, poor city services, poorly maintained parks, too much open air drugs, and prostitution, grim public schools, segregated
DC:
pros: most efficient, cleanest, wealthiest, most educated, most equitable, best nightlife
Cons: most government types, most army influence, rudest, most ‘orderly,’ most city fees/tickets/policing, most transient, a little lacking in local culture, too humid, worst traffic, very, very expensive
Boston-
Pros: most interesting/variable people. Most outdoor activities BY FAR, best shopping, best schools, the full subway system, most history /culture of the bunch. The most robust economy, safest of the bunch
Cons: too expensive given the relative shortage of options for dining/nightlife, poor public schools, crime in certain areas, inadequate infrastructure, and weather. Biggest haves/have not city I lived in which causes a unique blatant disregard of conditions of the poorest 150,000 Bostonians, exclusivity
Baltimore -
pros: SUPER strong local culture like Boston, best $ value, pretty fun, strong black culture, good museums, good weather, diverse economy, best location, laid back
Cons: .just too dirty/seedy, too dangerous in way too many areas, poor decision making all across the board of city government, poor city services, poorly maintained parks, too much open air drugs, and prostitution, grim public schools, segregated
DC:
pros: most efficient, cleanest, wealthiest, most educated, most equitable, best nightlife
Cons: most government types, most army influence, rudest, most ‘orderly,’ most city fees/tickets/policing, most transient, a little lacking in local culture, too humid, worst traffic, very, very expensive
yes Everyone is so by the book and too much group think. People are too self-important or self/absorbed. Also people will be nice and social but not follow up on offers of socialization. Its like people just have an attitude for no reason whereas in Boston attitude and aggression usually at least comes after some conflict.
Yes, thus the "mountains" dig. DFW homers love to brag up the Ouachitas, Wichitas, and Arbuckles. They're puny hills that were probably mountains a million years ago. There are some hills...erm I mean "mountains" west of Fort Worth, too.
I forgot the Ouachitas are within part of Oklahoma, besides being within Arkansas. Heh, thought that's what you were referencing(those 3 'mountain' areas, though they might be more like smaller hills vs. say the Rockies and Appalachians. Maybe the Ozarks in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas may have more impressive hills and mountains, too?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73
Longmont over Greeley without question. Greeley is much farther out on the plains, and you'll get regular reminders of how intertwined the city is with the ag industry. There's a meatpacking plant on the north side of town and a gigantic feedlot just east of the city. When the wind is coming out of the east you'll get the smell of manure and ammonia (urine), and if the wind is out of the north you'll get the not-so-fresh scent of whatever they're incinerating at the meatpacking plant. Pray to god that doesn't happen on the days when they're rendering the blood.
On top of that Weld County is backwards AF. Their county commissioners are a bunch of redneck GOBs. One of them (Lori Saine) has done some pretty racist and insensitive crap in the past.
Yep that is what I suspected, that Longmont was nicer than Greeley. I thought I'd also once heard(thanks to some poster on C-D) that Greeley had meatpacking plants too, but wasn't 100% sure. That sucks some of the elected officials still are racist in Weld County, as well. Hope that changes, one day. Though I'm sure that'll be a slow process....
1) Memphis area. Spent my adolescents here and early adulthood. Moved back now. Love the city, love the food, history and people. Wish it was safer.
2) Tel Aviv. Amazing beach city, very diverse, interesting blend of cultures. Cons, expensive as all can be.
3) London. Went to school here. Very expensive but felt like the middle of everything. It was a great experience and wish I had spent my time more wisely here rather than going to pubs as much and playing WoW...
4) Scottsdale, AZ. I spent my childhood here. It was a great place to grow up. Really hot weather, over built now, culture is sorta gone from the place as well, sadly.
5) Nola. I wanted to rank Nola higher, I really did. It is such a vivacious city, so unique, but I just feel the cons out-weigh the pros on this one. Streets and buildings are in dire disarray, trash everywhere, homeless issues. Nola has so much potential yet so many issues.
6) Kauai, HI. Beautiful, great weather, cliquish folks though and really underdeveloped when I was a young kid there. It finally got a safeway and a costco in the last decade or so, so that's nice. Facilities are horrid here.
7) Los Angeles. Not a huge fan of Los angeles. It was fine, a bit dirtier than I had expected, homeless issues, very expensive, horrible traffic and public transport, I was just really underwhelmed with Los Angeles tbh.
I thought all of these places were good though and enjoyed my time in all of them. And even though I ranked Los Angeles last I still think it is a neat place to visit.
I've lived in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Baltimore, and Charleston WV.
WEATHER
1. Baton Rouge
2. New Orleans
3. Baltimore
4. Charleston WV
I'm NOT a fan of below freezing temperatures or winter in general so Louisiana beats out Maryland and West Virginia hands down. I'll take a Louisiana summer over a West Virginia or Maryland winter any day. I still spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer here in Louisiana walking, boat riding, swimming hiking etc. When its below 40 degrees I'm cooped up indoors. Between these, Baltimore doesn't get into the single digits or teens as frequently as Charleston WV. Between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Baton Rouge deals with a more moderate hurricane and tropical storm threat being more inland, and temperatures are more moderate being inland as well.
Baton Rouge has a very diversified economy with both white collar and blue collar jobs, with LSU and associated research and with the petrochemical industry. New Orleans is centered on the petrochemical industry and tourism and some other businesses as well. LSU will always be here and is an anchor of our local economy. Yes the oil industry's successful depends on the whims of government and government overregulation. West Virginia economy has been devastated by the war on coal and government overegulation. Baltimore has a more diversified economy than WV though there is widespread and deindustrialization due to government overregulation and unfair trade agreements and many jobs in the "new economy" in biosciences requires college degrees. While in Louisiana there are still many well paying jobs for people without a college degree.
Louisiana is #1 in food, hands down. And New Orleans is the best food city in the world not just in America. There is no debate on this. None. The food in Baton Rouge is a mix of Southern, regular American, New Orleans Creole, and Cajun influences since we have New Orleans to the east, Lafayette and Acadiana to the west, and Mississippi to the north and we are a crossroads of all of Louisiana.
Between WV and MD, West Virginia has good down home country cooking. Maryland is proud of its seafood but Louisiana has far better seafood, including better crab cakes. You can't even get decent sweet tea in Baltimore. Waffle House only exists in the outermost suburbs.
West Virginia is a VERY safe state with very little violent crime. All the other 3 cities have lots of crime within the city limits itself. However the crime in Baltimore is widespread across the entire metro area, partly due to mass transit and Section 8 housing proliferation in the suburbs, while in Baton Rogue and New Orleans the crime and chaos is limited to certain parts of town. I live in a nice small town outside Baton Rouge now and we feel very safe. We have neighborhood watch and police are respected. Many New Orleans suburbs like the Northshore are very safe.
COST OF LIVING
1. Charleston WV
2. Baton Rouge
3. New Orleans
4. Baltimore
But for value....probably Baton Rouge its relatively inexpensive for the kind of healthy economy we have. WV is cheaper but the economy is poorer.
PEOPLE
1. Charleston WV
2. Baton Rouge
3. New Orleans
4. Baltimore
Charleston WV has more Southern hospitality than BR or NO since its a smaller city surrounded by rural areas. For real Southern hospitality you need to be away from the big cities. People there are very laid back and the pace of life is slower. Baton Rouge is faster paced though people are generally still friendly and its easy to meet new people, people help one another out, there is a sense of community in many neighborhoods. New Orleans is friendly if you're a travel writer from NYC or LA. Compared to the rest of Louisiana people there are aggressive and rude. Baltimore is an extremely ghetto and trashy city and has very few nice areas. At the same time many people in the suburbs, especially areas like Howard County are very elitist and snobby. Eastern Baltimore County is more more down to Earth, but has a harder edge to it than suburban areas in Louisiana.
The hills and mountains of WV are breathtaking. Lots of rivers and lakes nearby for recreation. Baton Rouge has a mix of landscapes in the metro area including forests, hills, and bayou though its mostly flat. New Orleans and Baltimore are both on brackish bodies of water. Baton Rouge and New Orleans are an easy drive from beautiful Gulf Coast beaches like Pensacola, Destin and Panama City and nice natural areas like the Tunica Hills and areas on the Northshore. Baltimore is within driving distance of Ocean City......
OVERALL
1. Baton Rouge LA
2. Charleston WV
3. New Orleans LA
4. Baltimore MD
Last edited by Tom Lennox 70; 09-28-2021 at 08:07 PM..
Shocked that I haven't done this one haha. Unless there was a similar thread already which I did reply to...
1) Chicago - Before I moved here it was my favorite city...I chose it over NYC! Only spent two years and kinda wish I had leveraged my opportunities in the city more. I was a student so spent most of my time in a suburban university bubble in Evanston.
2) Washington DC - Not sure if it should count, but I always like to include it. I spent a ton of time here off and on...about 1/3rd of my time over 3 years. Obviously also a great city, especially for upwardly mobile young professionals, but it was always second fiddle to Chicago for me.
3) Miami - My wife's second hometown and where most of her extended family is, we joined them over 4 years ago to be close by. Definitely pros and cons but it offers lots of amenities and options.
4) Jacksonville - My hometown. Spent the majority of my life here (first 18 years, then off and on for another 7 years). Lots to complain about, but always have the hope that it may someday approach its potential
5) Gainesville, FL - Undergrad years (4 years + 1 for good measure). Umm, in my mind its the quintessential college town. Maybe that's not right but that's my experience. Great times, lots of fun, but probably wouldn't be so great at this stage in life.
Next? The plan is to move to Taipei, Taiwan next year. My expectation, though it's ok if it's unmet, is that this will move to number 1 in the rankings.
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