Best City in America?

I actually really like Pittsburgh. Not as #1 on the list - unless the list is "underrated American cities." Great history, world-class arts and museums, the best new baseball park anywhere, great sports town - and in my opinion the most beautiful surroundings for a major city not on a coast.

I know it's a Rust Belt town and all - and I've never lived anywhere near there - but I've always thought it was a great town.

My list of favorite cities in no order:

Chicago
Nashville
Minneapolis/St. Paul
San Francisco
New York
Princeton, NJ (if it counts as a city - probably not)
Alexandria, VA
Charleston

Underrated
Pittsburgh
Milwaukee
Houston (if you can deal with the humidity and mosquitoes)
Kansas City
Birmingham
Omaha (compared to my expectations, at least)

Overrated
Orlando
Philadelphia
Dallas
Miami
Savannah (just didn't do it for me)
St. Louis

 

The problem with Logan - and most of Utah, sections of Idaho and Arizona - is that life can be hell if you don't go to the right church. If you're Mormon, it's a great place to live. If you're not, you will be hounded until you either join or put your foot down. If you put your foot down, you will be ostracized from the community and your children will be shunned in school and kept out of sports/activities. Just not worth it.

 

Strangely enough, the Baptists didn't roll like that.

 

I loved Nashville way more than Memphis. Can't wait to get back to Music City.

 

athens, ga.
chicago
savannah, ga.
nashville
sf
dc
nyc
vegas (but not sure if i could live there)
(i have not been out west too much)

i'll add fort worth as underrated... i've really had a good time when i've been there
underrated college town is fayetteville, ark

and the places i hate
fresno
atlanta

 

Fayetteville was definitely better than I expected it to be, though I wasn't expecting much.

I loved Chapel Hill more about 10-12 years ago than I do now, but it's still a great town.

I like Nashville more every time I visit.

 

I get enough snow up here to ever want to move to a place that gets even more of it like Buffalo, but I've never had a bad time there. Plenty to like about it sports-wise as Micro Guy notes. Terrific minor-league ball park (will always be Pilot Field to me) and good, affordable NHL hockey in the Sabres. And awesome tailgating at Bills games.

 

Had to stop in Gary once so a friend could get a wire transfer. What a shithole, and I've never said that about any other city or town. Well, Warwick is close.

 

Nice to see Pittsburgh get some love. Better place to live than visit though. Pretty much the opposite of New Orleans (before the flood). Cool place to visit, but you couldn't have paid me enough money to live there even before the hurricane.

Ok, you could, but my price would be VERY high.

 

God, Dayton is a shithole.

But the Daily News' press building looked sharp whenever I would drive past on my way to Michigan.

 

When it comes to shitholes, it's hard to top Jersey City.

And I was not a huge New Orleans fan pre-flood.

Thumbs up to:
Austin
Seattle
Scottsdale, Ariz.
San Diego
San Francisco
San Antonio
Boston
New York

 

No particlular order:

Austin
Santa Barbara (as long as you don't have to work at the paper)
Santa Cruz
Minneapolis
Boston
Sarasota
Savannah
Seattle
Vancouver

yes, I have expensive tastes.