# What is ground zero for the most exciting place to live in the US?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 9, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584 "2013-06-09T21:10:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/1 "2013-06-09T21:10:09Z")
In reference to the [other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=693097) for the doper looking for an uneventful place to retire what is the polar opposite? What is the most exciting, something’s always happening place to live in the US? Extremes of weather and anything else are fine.
Where can you live in the US that’s always on the edge, fabulous highs and crashing lows. Where is excitement city in the 50 states?
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### Author:  [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/2 "2013-06-09T21:11:26Z")
It seems obvious to me that it would be NYC, Manhattan in particular.
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### Author:  [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/3 "2013-06-09T21:20:39Z")
Manhattan, if course, what came to my mind as well.
But, does _The City That Never Sleeps_ get really weird weather?
I know it gets snow and sometimes a hurricane will make its way of there, but volcanoes, serious earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, forest fires and landslides don’t seem to happen that often.
Is the OP asking where the most DANGEROUS place to live in the USA vis-a-vis weather and environment?
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/4 "2013-06-09T21:30:45Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#):
>
> Manhattan, if course, what came to my mind as well.
> But, does _The City That Never Sleeps_ get really weird weather?
> I know it gets snow and sometimes a hurricane will make its way of there, but volcanoes, serious earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, forest fires and landslides don’t seem to happen that often.
>
> Is the OP asking where the most DANGEROUS place to live in the USA vis-a-vis weather and environment?
Not necessarily, bit I do wonder if danger is always correlated with excitement. I can see daily life in a run down dystopia like Detroit being pretty boring until someone tries to assault or mug you.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/5 "2013-06-09T21:35:45Z")
Exciting weather and dangerous weather aren’t always the same thing. Has anybody ever been _excited_ by an extreme heat wave?
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### Author:  [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/6 "2013-06-09T23:40:24Z")
I suppose it would depend on what excites you.
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/7 "2013-06-09T23:48:15Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#):
>
> Manhattan, if course, what came to my mind as well.
> But, does _The City That Never Sleeps_ get really weird weather?
> I know it gets snow and sometimes a hurricane will make its way of there, but volcanoes, serious earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, forest fires and landslides don’t seem to happen that often.
>
> Is the OP asking where the most DANGEROUS place to live in the USA vis-a-vis weather and environment?
One winter in the mid-to-late 90s (sorry, not sure the exact year) I remember getting so much snow in Manhattan that I walked down 7th Avenue from 23rd St. to 14 St. _in the middle of the road_ at 8 am. That may not be a big deal for other cities that are used to heavy snowfall, but it was extremely strange for NYC.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [June 9, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/8 "2013-06-09T23:48:38Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> Exciting weather and dangerous weather aren’t always the same thing. Has anybody ever been _excited_ by an extreme heat wave?
The only good thing about extreme heat waves is you usually get a great thunderstorm as a payoff.
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### Author:  [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/9 "2013-06-10T01:13:21Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#):
>
> One winter in the mid-to-late 90s (sorry, not sure the exact year) I remember getting so much snow in Manhattan that I walked down 7th Avenue from 23rd St. to 14 St. _in the middle of the road_ at 8 am. That may not be a big deal for other cities that are used to heavy snowfall, but it was extremely strange for NYC.
I think I remember seeing pictures of this. I just googled it and I think it was ‘Blizzard of 1996’. [cite](http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/winter_history.shtml)
It is in reverse chronological order.
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### Author:  [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/10 "2013-06-10T01:16:18Z")
OK, so does the word ‘exciting’ include increased probability of sudden and premature death?
There are several places that might qualify quite well (tip-o-the-hat to **astro** ) just because of the local pockets of anarchy.
**astro** , is that what you meant?
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### Author:  [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/11 "2013-06-10T01:21:07Z")
Was the OP asking about “weather events?”
Chapel Hill, NC. University town, several Writers in Residence. Almost equi-distance between the Smokeys and the ocean. Baseball glove-sized oak leaves crunching in the Fall, mountain laurel blooming in the Spring. Snow, swimming pool weather and inspiration. Bazinga!
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/12 "2013-06-10T02:04:34Z")
No I’m not asking about weather, I’m asking about a place where the action is always hopping, there’s no let down, it’s always moving. Danger maybe, action always. There’s an electricity in the air.
I would thing given the 24/7 reputation of [Las Vegas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas) it would be at least as exciting as NYC, but no one has mentioned it.
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### Author:  [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/13 "2013-06-10T03:06:29Z")
My understanding is that Las Vegas is 24/7 nonstop fun for the tourists, but for most of the regular folks who live there, it’s pretty normal and fairly suburban.
New York City is America’s only truly 24 hour city. LA has some exciting parts, but they are pretty heavily diluted by all of the parts that are pretty boring and residential.
Maybe some of the worst inner cities are exciting in that “shit could go down at any moment” kind of way.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/14 "2013-06-10T03:19:53Z")
Vegas baby!
Actually LA in my experience.
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### Author:  [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/15 "2013-06-10T03:31:57Z")
New Orleans?
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/16 "2013-06-10T04:10:37Z")
Greenwich Village in Manhattan. As long as one can be assured of not running into Ross Geller of Friends fame. Westwood Village in Los Angeles seems like it would be great. Oh, wait, I lived there four years when I went to college back in the early 80s. It was great. Don’t know about still. Waikiki in Honolulu, Hawaii is terrific. The Marina District in San Francisco.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/17 "2013-06-10T04:44:39Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#):
>
> New Orleans?
That is a good answer and maybe the winner if you narrow it down to the French Quarter in particular. It is open 24/7 365 with non-stop partying, quite dangerous on some of the side streets, and you always have the possibility of a Katrina sized storm destroying everything you know and love.
The people that live their tend to be colorful to batshit insane and they really live the lifestyle whether their thing is gay gangbangs or voodoo. It has the urban density of Manhattan when you count the tourists and at least the level of debauchery as Las Vegas without all the corporate sanitization.
A bonus for these purposes is that it is shockingly and oppressively hot during the summer because of the humidity and easily beats the places in the West on the discomfort scale. You can’t walk a quarter of a mile outside during the summer without being soaked in sweat. You also get rain deluges that start and stop suddenly almost every day and cause moderate to severe flooding until the city’s pump system can move the water back up to sea level. Violent thunderstorms can form at any time.
The good news is that it is surprisingly affordable to live there.
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### Author:  [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/18 "2013-06-10T04:46:36Z")
Chicago might be an interesting candidate. It covers a lot of bases.
1. Extreme Weather - Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Floods, Lightning, Blizzards, Ice Storms, Lake Effect, Wild Weather/Temperature Swings, Extreme Heat and Cold, Gale Force Winds.
2. Violence - Currently the most gang ridden and violent city in America. Crime isn’t so bad/apparent for the white collar folks but if you’re a minority in any number of neighborhoods every block is a different threat.
3. Big business - There’s a lot of action packed, high stress-high reward jobs in a lot of industries. It’s not the hottest for any one industry I suppose, but it runs the gamut.
4. Sports - Lots of teams, all downtown.
5. Night Life - The bars are open until 5AM and the city isn’t shy about binge drinking and casual drug use. The sex industry is a weak point though, I’m sure there’s plenty of sex to be bought if you know where to look but it’s off the radar. The strip clubs suck.
6. Gambling - Improving, Casinos are popping up in closer suburbs and there’s talk of a downtown Casino sometime soon.
7. Politics - As dirty and adversarial a town as there is.
8. Entertainment/Culture - It’s not Broadway but it’s the clear second place. Lots of comedy, great museums and art.
The biggest argument against Chicago is that it really only has weather and gambling over NYC.
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### Author:  [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/19 "2013-06-10T05:10:32Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#):
>
> Manhattan, if course, what came to my mind as well.
> But, does _The City That Never Sleeps_ get really weird weather?
> I know it gets snow and sometimes a hurricane will make its way of there, but volcanoes, serious earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, forest fires and landslides don’t seem to happen that often.
>
> Is the OP asking where the most DANGEROUS place to live in the USA vis-a-vis weather and environment?
Actually there have been tornadoes in Brooklyn fairly regularly. Not big ones but…
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### Author:  [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-ground-zero-for-the-most-exciting-place-to-live-in-the-us/660584/20 "2013-06-10T10:20:42Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#):
>
> I think I remember seeing pictures of this. I just googled it and I think it was ‘Blizzard of 1996’. [cite](http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/winter_history.shtml)
> It is in reverse chronological order.
That fits my timeline, **Gagundathar**. Thanks for digging it up. The picture from 2006 gives an idea of what I saw, but that’s a cross street. It was even more bizarre on main thoroughfare like 7th Ave.
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