# What is the Best City in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426 "2011-03-29T20:30:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/1 "2011-03-29T20:30:33Z")
What is the best large city in America? Has to be over 2 million population (counting the metro area burbs). Considering employment, entertainment, airports, hospitals, education choices, schools, cost of housing, commutability, proximity to places like beaches and mountains, professional sports teams, colleges, friendliness, etc etc. Naturally people will want to defend their home turf, but try to be realistic. As an example…Detroit might be cool and all but it isn’t close to the beach, or the mountains. Have at it 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/2 "2011-03-29T20:38:04Z")
Chicago, except that it’s not close to mountains. (It does have beaches.) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/3 "2011-03-29T20:41:04Z")
No, I am not going to have at it. It is a ridiculous question in scope for this forum. I will give you a reference though. Money magazine compiles lists based on criteria like you wanted every year. Here is the current top 100. No city of 2,000,000 or more makes it in as a whole but nearby parts of some metro areas like Newton, MA (Boston) do. You decide which ones you like. [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/top100/](http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/top100/) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/4 "2011-03-29T20:47:43Z")
New York City of course. It has the beaches, it is NYC, Broadway, Wall Street and it is close enough to the mountains. New Yorkers are friendly despite the rep, just maybe a little hasty for some tastes. The culture cannot be topped in the US. The Bronx Zoo is incredible but then there are the other zoos and the aquarium. Excellent colleges. Best mass transit. More museums than any other city. The most famous stores in the US. The most famous parades in the US. The most storied, best loved and most hated sports team in the Yankees. Also more sports teams then any other city. The grand bridges, the Statue of Liberty, Grants Tomb (yes really), The Empire State Building and the Chrysler building. Oh, also the Ticker tape parades are amazing events. The free concerts in Central Park are legendary. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/5 "2011-03-29T20:52:11Z")
[QUOTE=lukeinva] What is the best large city in America? Has to be over 2 million population (counting the metro area burbs). [/QUOTE] According to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population), there are only four cities that meet your population requirement: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/6 "2011-03-29T20:54:15Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > No, I am not going to have at it. It is a ridiculous question in scope for this forum. I will give you a reference though. Money magazine compiles lists based on criteria like you wanted every year. > > Here is the current top 100. No city of 2,000,000 or more makes it in as a whole but nearby parts of some metro areas like Newton, MA (Boston) do. You decide which ones you like. > > [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/top100/](http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/top100/) Thanks for the link, and you’re right. It’s an opinion not a question with a factual answer. A thousand pardons. Already a response from the person from Chicago and the one from New York. Per the link you sent Eden Prairie, MN is tops. :rolleyes: Washington DC gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/7 "2011-03-29T20:54:20Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > According to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population), there are only four cities that meet your population requirement: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. He said counting the Metro areas. You’re using the wrong list. Try this one instead: [Metropolitan statistical area - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/8 "2011-03-29T20:57:08Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > According to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population), there are only four cities that meet your population requirement: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. That is just for cities proper. You really have to look at the population of the greater area which is defined by their Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). There are 29 of those over two million. > **[Metropolitan statistical area](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas)** > > In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the region. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be and are not legal administrative divisions like counties or separate entities such as states. As a result, sometimes the precise definition of a given metropolitan area will vary between sources. The statistical criteria for a standard met Due t... ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/9 "2011-03-29T20:57:11Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Thanks for the link, and you’re right. It’s an opinion not a question with a factual answer. A thousand pardons. Already a response from the person from Chicago and the one from New York. Per the link you sent Eden Prairie, MN is tops. :rolleyes: > > Washington DC gets my vote. Why DC? Also I do not live in NYC, but I have been to a very large number of the large cities. I would place NYC tops with Chicago & San Francisco as the next pair. New Orleans is too small for your list and too hot for too many months but a great place to visit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/10 "2011-03-29T20:58:24Z")
Seattle usually gets high marks for this sort of thing, though the beaches are generally pretty chilly. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/11 "2011-03-29T21:03:16Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Thanks for the link, and you’re right. It’s an opinion not a question with a factual answer. A thousand pardons. Already a response from the person from Chicago and the one from New York. Per the link you sent Eden Prairie, MN is tops. :rolleyes: > > Washington DC gets my vote. Washington D.C. is one of my favorite cities to visit but it doesn’t do so great based on the criteria you gave in your OP. Traffic, housing costs, and crime rates in particular are some big minuses. Washington D.C. proper is a dangerous basket case of a city statistically speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/12 "2011-03-29T21:08:19Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Why DC? > Also I do not live in NYC, but I have been to a very large number of the large cities. I would place NYC tops with Chicago & San Francisco as the next pair. > > New Orleans is too small for your list and too hot for too many months but a great place to visit. One hour to the Shenandoah mountains, one hour to the Chesapeake (2 1/2 hours to the Atlantic), one hour to Richmond, one hour to Baltimore. Great change of seasons with occasional extremes of hot and cold, monuments and museums all over town and almost all of them are free. Embassies of the world and thus an international flavor. Two airports. Lots of colleges and some of the best schools in the country. Low crime (especially the burbs where most of the population lives). Diverse restaurants and ethnic dining choices, as well as international grocery markets (Chinese, Japan, Vietnam, Latino, European). Zoo, aquarium, all four major sports teams. Georgetown and Capitol Hill, Arlington Cemetary, the Pentagon and the POTUS. Good public transportation. Lots of high tech job and government jobs and virtually recession proof. Hip music scene for jazz, indie rock, and classic at the Kennedy Center. Shopping. I’m sure there is more. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/13 "2011-03-29T21:08:40Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Thanks for the link, and you’re right. It’s an opinion not a question with a factual answer. A thousand pardons. Already a response from the person from Chicago and the one from New York. Per the link you sent Eden Prairie, MN is tops. :rolleyes: > > Washington DC gets my vote. HEY! I LIVE in Eden Prairie! 😃 Nice place…but I sure hope it isn’t the tops! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/14 "2011-03-29T21:09:00Z")
No questions. Hands down. — **MIAMI**. Will probably be where I end up retiring. At least just slightly north of there. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/15 "2011-03-29T21:11:16Z")
I’ll throw in a vote for San Francisco (though “cost of housing” might take it out of the running) ---
**Author:** ![Hennessy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hennessy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hennessy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/16 "2011-03-29T21:12:42Z")
Well the best city to live in is St. Louis (crime what?). Not too much and not too little, right in the middle… I’m guessing your wanting a tourism spot or a place to have a vacation home. Florida and Miami is the factual answer. Beaches and mountains don’t mean anything on a cold winter day when you can have warmth all year round. I’ve never seen a mountain but I going to bet they can get old pretty quick. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/17 "2011-03-29T21:13:15Z")
Housing is very reasonable these days in Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/18 "2011-03-29T21:14:27Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > … Already a response from the person from Chicago and the one from New York. … I voted for Chicago, but I don’t live there – and have never lived there. The metro area that I do live in is too small for the criteria in the OP. And while I voted for Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC are pretty good too, though I don’t think either has real beaches. In my view this is just a fun question, with no definitive answer 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hennessy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hennessy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hennessy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/19 "2011-03-29T21:15:36Z")
> [@SanDiegoTim](#): > > Housing is very reasonable these days in Detroit. LOL… I go from this directly to reading “Detroit, why all the burned down houses?” in GQ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426/20 "2011-03-29T21:24:01Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > …Detroit might be cool and all but it isn’t close to the beach, or the mountains. Not that I would vote for Detroit, but there are beaches pretty close by on Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-city-in-america/576426.md?page=2)