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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.
1. Austin
2. Oklahoma City
3. Atlanta
4. Nashville
5. Denver
6. Boston
7. Columbus
8. Indianapolis
(gap)
9. Phoenix
10. Sacramento
I'm kinda surprised I'm not more interested in Boston, it just feels like I've absorbed a lot about the city already through this forum and people I know who have lived there (and I went there on a family trip once). But OKC and Nashville I know almost nothing about.
As for my lower tier: I've been to Sac a few times, there's nothing really wrong with it but it feels very generic and identity-less, moreso than even Columbus or Indy. I'm actually putting Phoenix above Sac, just because Phoenix is at least clearly trying to become more urban and upzone the neighborhoods around the downtown. I don't get that vibe in Sac, it seems like they just have downtown and Midtown and they're pretty much fine with that. It seems like most of the development is happing in the eastern suburbs, more and more Targets and Chipotles being thunked down in the Sierra foothills.
I am surprised the opinions on Sac on this thread are so polarized, everyone either agrees with me or is describing it as one of the nation's most underrated cities.
I think most have Sac placed right. Above Indy, OKC, and possibly Cbus. To be fair, most state capital towns do not have much of an identity. Also from 2010-2020, most of Sac Metro residential growth was in the central city. There's been some growth in the outskirts, but not like 20 years ago.
I think the big thing about Sac is that it has all the headaches that come with big city Californina living, with only some of the benefits - and in a one horse town kind of way. That being said, day to day living is much easier in Sacramento than it is on the coast. Which I think is a big appeal, especially with families.
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