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1. Boston
2. Atlanta
3. Denver
4. Austin
5. Sacramento
6. Phoneix
7. Nashville
8. Indianapolis
9. Columbus
10. Oklahoma City
Although it's not among the ten largest, I'd certainly rank Honolulu above many of these cities (I'd slot it between Denver and Austin). Providence would be between Nashville and Indy, while Salt Lake City would slide in around the Indy/Columbus level. St. Paul is also overlooked as well; it's half of the Twin Cities and has many of the big city amenities found in some of the cities listed here as well.
1. Boston
2. Atlanta
3. Denver
4. Austin
5. Sacramento
6. Phoneix
7. Nashville
8. Indianapolis
9. Columbus
10. Oklahoma City
Boston - head and shoulders above the rest
Atlanta - great city
Nashville - has a long way to go in terms of offering what many established cities have, but it will get there
Denver - easily one of the most overrated cities in the US
Sacramento - one of the most underrated cities in the US
Phoenix - sprawling mess
Austin - see Denver
Columbus - sprawling college town
Indianapolis - not a fan
Oklahoma City - it's trying, but... no thanks
I'd place St. Paul (along with neighboring Minneapolis) after Atlanta. It's hard not to count the Twin Cities as one. The two combined are well ahead of the others in many areas.
Last edited by RockyHighGuy; 07-28-2022 at 10:45 AM..
1. Boston, MA
2. Austin, TX
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Denver, CO
5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Nashville, TN
7. Columbus, OH
8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Oklahoma City, OK
10. Sacramento, CA
Austin vs. Atlanta is the hardest at 2. vs 3. But, I love Austin. Somehow remains underrated on this forum, despite its massive popularity outside of it.
1. Boston, MA
2. Austin, TX
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Denver, CO
5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Nashville, TN
7. Columbus, OH
8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Oklahoma City, OK
10. Sacramento, CA
Austin vs. Atlanta is the hardest at 2. vs 3. But, I love Austin. Somehow remains underrated on this forum, despite its massive popularity outside of it.
Since when lol, no slight against the list btw, but Austin certainly gets rated on here.
1. Boston
2. Atlanta
3. Denver
4. Austin
5. Sacramento
6. Phoneix
7. Nashville
8. Indianapolis
9. Columbus
10. Oklahoma City
Although it's not among the ten largest, I'd certainly rank Honolulu above many of these cities (I'd slot it between Denver and Austin). Providence would be between Nashville and Indy, while Salt Lake City would slide in around the Indy/Columbus level. St. Paul is also overlooked as well; it's half of the Twin Cities and has many of the big city amenities found in some of the cities listed here as well.
Good points about the capital cities that just missed the top 10 list. Interesting to see another New England capital make the honorable mention list! Honolulu and Salt Lake City look so beautiful in photos too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyHighGuy
Boston - head and shoulders above the rest
Atlanta - great city
Nashville - has a long way to go in terms of offering what many established cities have, but it will get there
Denver - easily one of the most overrated cities in the US
Sacramento - one of the most underrated cities in the US
Phoenix - sprawling mess
Austin - see Denver
Columbus - sprawling college town
Indianapolis - not a fan
Oklahoma City - it's trying, but... no thanks
I'd place St. Paul (along with neighboring Minneapolis) after Atlanta. It's hard not to count the Twin Cities as one. The two combined are well ahead of the others in many areas.
I'm surprised to see people think Boston is a bit above the rest (usually it gets a lot of hate on city-data) lol. It's nice to see it get some recognition though. I really love the Nashville vibe tbh!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwj119
1. Boston, MA
2. Austin, TX
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Denver, CO
5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Nashville, TN
7. Columbus, OH
8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Oklahoma City, OK
10. Sacramento, CA
Austin vs. Atlanta is the hardest at 2. vs 3. But, I love Austin. Somehow remains underrated on this forum, despite its massive popularity outside of it.
Nice!! I find on city-data people either really love a city or really don't, there's almost no in between . I'd be interested to hear why Phoenix is above Nashville for you (just curious, I know we all have our own opinion).
10 Indianapolis, IN - this city has many nice neighborhoods and an ok downtown too. Good live/work area, with entertainment options. It's just sort of a vanilla city and region, compared to many others.
9 Oklahoma City, OK - nice downtown and area neighborhoods. Growing well. Too conservative though
8 Columbus, OH - great city with a good economy. A big focus on college sports, and that type of culture. Midwest for sure, and that in a way, holds the city back
7 Sacramento, CA - great mid-sized city that is growing. Offers a ton and location is ideal, near San Fran, Pacific Ocean, stunning northern CA mountains
6 Phoenix, AZ - city is developing some good neighborhoods in town, and suburbs are super nice, getting more diverse and more of a city that it should be for its size
5 Austin, TX - similar to Nashville with fast-growing booming area and so much to do, strong economy
4 Atlanta, GA - great live/work quality of life in the city and suburbs, solid economy, many options
3 Nashville, TN - fast-growing, booming, super welcoming people, tons of things to do entertainment-wise
2 Denver, CO - amazing area, stunning geography nearby, great downtown, many things to do
1 Boston, MA - history, culture, architecture, cosmpolitan offerings, in the top 10 in the US, easily
1. Boston
2. Atlanta
3. Denver
4. Austin
5. Sacramento
6. Phoneix
7. Nashville
8. Indianapolis
9. Columbus
10. Oklahoma City
Although it's not among the ten largest, I'd certainly rank Honolulu above many of these cities (I'd slot it between Denver and Austin). Providence would be between Nashville and Indy, while Salt Lake City would slide in around the Indy/Columbus level. St. Paul is also overlooked as well; it's half of the Twin Cities and has many of the big city amenities found in some of the cities listed here as well.
I'd put Providence above Phoenix, but below Nashville (my list would be slightly different). Phoenix is the largest state capital but punches way too far below its weight.
SLC is a nice capital city, and is often seen as a tidier alternative to Denver. It gets bonus points for its LDS history (even though it's not as omnipresent as one would think, though I'm sure it's more LDS-centric in the suburbs).
Got a couple of others here as well.
Baton Rouge, while a horrible place to live, has more character and history than many cities on this list.
Boise and Madison are some mid-sized cities that offer a moderate cost of living and high quality of life. They are both home to large public universities and are experiencing high rates of growth, and both are generally acknowledged to punch above their weight. Despite their relatively modest sizes, they also feel a bit less generic than cities like Indy and Phoenix.
Which one (and/or) few are your favorites? What would your ranking of the ten cities be? Criteria to include: geography, affordability, history, transit, amenities (shopping, theatres, museums etc.), culture, urban/rural, businesses, architecture, and other topics you can think of.
Asterisks are the ones I haven’t visited but included in the rankings on how much I think I may enjoy them after research of each city
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. I'd be interested to hear why Phoenix is above Nashville for you (just curious, I know we all have our own opinion).
