# How Many of the 20 Largest Cities in Your Country Have You Been To? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159 "2014-06-05T23:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/61 "2014-06-06T14:46:28Z")
New York: Yes Los Angeles: No Chicago: Yes Houston: Yes Philadelphia: Yes Phoenix: No San Antonio: No San Diego: No Dallas: No San Jose: No. I’m not sure I even know the way there. Austin: No Indianapolis: No Jacksonville (FL): Yes San Francisco: No Columbus: No Charlotte: Yes Fort Worth: No Detroit: No El Paso: No Memphis: No ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/62 "2014-06-06T15:23:58Z")
New York: Yes Los Angeles: No Chicago: Yes, live here. 🙂 Houston: No Philadelphia: Yes Phoenix: No San Antonio: No San Diego: No Dallas: No San Jose: No Austin: No Indianapolis: No Jacksonville: No San Francisco: No Columbus: No Charlotte: No Fort Worth: No Detroit: Yes El Paso: No Memphis: Passed through on train To dispel any misperception that I’ve traveled little 😛 I’ve been to Washington DC, Boston, Seattle, St. Louis, and New Orleans. The first three strike me as being more “big cities” than Austin, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, or El Paso. :dubious: None of the latter have big-city transit systems to remotely rival the Boston T or DC Metrorail, for example. **RTFirefly** ’s list of metro areas bears me out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/63 "2014-06-06T15:38:00Z")
New York: Yes Los Angeles: Yes Chicago: No Houston: No Philadelphia: Yes Phoenix: Yes San Antonio: Yes San Diego: Yes Dallas: Yes San Jose: Yes Austin: No Indianapolis: No Jacksonville (FL): No San Francisco: Yes Columbus: No Charlotte: No Fort Worth: Yes Detroit: No El Paso: Yes Memphis: No So, eleven yes. On **RTFirefly** ’s list: 14 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/64 "2014-06-06T18:29:47Z")
So here’s the top 20 CBSAs: 1 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - Going week after next 2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - Yes 3 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - Yes 4 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - Yes 5 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - No 6 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - No 7 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - Going next week 8 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - Yes 9 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - Yes 10 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - Yes 11 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - Yes 12 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - No 13 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI MSA - No 14 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ MSA - No 15 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA - Yes 16 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA - No 17 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - No 18 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - Yes 19 St. Louis, MO-IL MSA - Yes 20 Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - Yes 14 of 20 if I include the cities where I’m traveling over the next 20 days. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/65 "2014-06-06T18:37:41Z")
Depending on what list I am looking at between 10 and 16. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/66 "2014-06-06T19:39:26Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Berlin - Yes > Hamburg - No > Munich - Yes > Cologne - Yes > Frankfurt - Yes > Stuttgart - No > Düsseldorf - Yes > Dortmund - Yes > Essen - Yes > Bremen - No > Dresden - No > Leipzig - No > Hanover - Yes > Nuremberg - No > Duisburg - Yes > Bochum - Yes > Wuppertal - Yes > Bielefeld - Yes ([despite the fact that it doesn’t exist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_Conspiracy)) > Bonn - Yes > Münster - Yes Hey, I’ve been to nine of those myself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/67 "2014-06-06T19:49:32Z")
New York: Yes Los Angeles: Yes Chicago: No (only a few layovers at O’Hare) Houston: Yes Philadelphia: Yes Phoenix: No (only a layover on Southwest Airlines) San Antonio: Yes San Diego: Yes Dallas: Yes San Jose: No Austin: Yes Indianapolis: No Jacksonville (FL): No San Francisco: Yes Columbus: No Charlotte: No Fort Worth: Yes Detroit: No (only a few layovers on old Northwest Airlines) El Paso: No Memphis: Yes ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/68 "2014-06-06T20:24:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Hey, I’ve been to nine of those myself. 🙂 Were you by chance travelling in the Rhine-Ruhr-area? Because this way you could’ve killed many birds with one stone from that list. ETA: and what’s more important: have you been in Bielefeld? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/69 "2014-06-06T20:28:54Z")
New York: No Los Angeles: Yes, lived there for 30 years Chicago: No Houston: No Philadelphia: No Phoenix: Yes San Antonio: Yes San Diego: yes Dallas: No San Jose: No Austin: No Indianapolis: No Jacksonville (FL): Yes San Francisco: Yes Columbus: Yes Charlotte: No Fort Worth: No Detroit: No El Paso: No Memphis: Yes ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/70 "2014-06-07T00:07:05Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Berlin - Yes > Hamburg - No > Munich - Yes > Cologne - Yes > Frankfurt - Yes > Stuttgart - No > Düsseldorf - Yes > Dortmund - Yes > Essen - Yes > Bremen - No > Dresden - No > Leipzig - No > Hanover - Yes > Nuremberg - No > Duisburg - Yes > Bochum - Yes > Wuppertal - Yes > Bielefeld - Yes ([despite the fact that it doesn’t exist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld_Conspiracy)) > Bonn - Yes > Münster - Yes > [@Chefguy](#): > > Hey, I’ve been to nine of those myself. 🙂 Most of those for me. But suspiciously, I’ve never been to Bielefeld. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/71 "2014-06-07T00:28:45Z")
New York: Yes Los Angeles: Yes Chicago: Yes Houston: Yes Philadelphia: Yes Phoenix: Yes San Antonio: Yes San Diego: Yes Dallas: Yes San Jose: Yes Austin: Yes Indianapolis: Yes Jacksonville (FL): No San Francisco: Yes Columbus: Yes Charlotte: No Fort Worth: No Detroit: No El Paso: No Memphis: No ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/72 "2014-06-07T01:12:56Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Most of those for me. But suspiciously, I’ve never been to Bielefeld. Ok, now is the time for the big confession: I’ve actually been twice in Bielefeld. First time, of all events, for a Santana concert. Second time, accompanying a friend checking out a Mercedes Benz like this for sale. The concert happened, the sale didn’t (mostly for matters of rust). So naturally I think I travelled twice into another dimension. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/73 "2014-06-07T01:32:20Z")
Crapped up the link for the Mercedes above, here it is: [https://www.tw-sportsoft.de/TW\_OnlineNennung/ADAC\_KATHREIN\_Rallye\_2013/teilnehmer\_images/FAHRZEUG\_BILD\_58999645\_Hiemer\_Groote\_MercedesBenz\_W110190DCHeckflosse.JPG](https://www.tw-sportsoft.de/TW_OnlineNennung/ADAC_KATHREIN_Rallye_2013/teilnehmer_images/FAHRZEUG_BILD_58999645_Hiemer_Groote_MercedesBenz_W110190DCHeckflosse.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/74 "2014-06-07T01:48:33Z")
14/20 of the original US list, 18/20 of the CSBAs (missing Seattle and Houston) 5/20 of the Canadian list. 9/20 of the English list. 5/20 of the Scotland list. The only other lists I could get are 2/20 for Spain and 1/20 for France (unless Parisian suburbs count as cities) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/75 "2014-06-07T02:20:19Z")
Hmm. I guess I’ve been to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and may have passed through San Jose. Outside of California (I’ve lived in Washington for 47 years), the biggest cities I’ve been to have been Portland, OR and Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159/76 "2014-06-07T02:27:02Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Nope, but I’ve been to the largest city in 20 countries (actually closer to 80 countries)… and been to countries that do not have 20 cities. Same here. Also, 9 of Canada’s. Nine of ten largest in Portugal. Seven of France. Five of Spain. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-the-20-largest-cities-in-your-country-have-you-been-to/690159.md?page=3)