OT: What are your five favorite American cities?

[CuseFaninVT]

I can't believe all you guys who say you like to visit NYC ... .but would not like to live there. It is the best city in the world in which to live. It has everything. Unmatched culture. nine (9!) pro sports teams, great college sports, best medical care in the world, best public transportation system (you don't need to own a car if your don't want to), best shopping, great recreational opportunities, the best beaches in the northeast, the best restaurants, etc. It really is the capital of the world

I should have qualified mine a bit more. If I had actually hit the powerball this past weekend, then I would absolutely have a place in the city. My wife loves it there as well and it really is the greatest city in the world. HOWEVER, since that didn't happen, at this stage in my life (44 years old with a 9-year old boy), I love where I'm currently living in Vermont - by the way, really appreciate all the love for Burlington shown in this thread.

After college the wife and I lived in Newport RI for our second summer (working in a beach town is a blast) and then we moved to Boston to start our careers. Looking back now, I wish we had chosen NYC or DC to start out. I enjoyed my time in Boston, but I think the other two places would have given us a lot more...

 

[cuseincincy]

That would be my choices too for bigger cities with one exception. I'd replace Seattle with Denver.

Sent using my Commodore 64

Cant go wrong with either. I just haven't been to Denver since I was a wee lad.

vs

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Cant go wrong with either. I just haven't been to Denver since I was a wee lad.

vs

Certainly quicker to get on my snowboard (and much better choices for it) if you were to live in the Denver area. Seafood isn't nearly as fresh though. Seattle is a much better looking city for someone like me who grew up in the northeast. Denver is brown, Seattle really is green.

 

[Eric15]

I can't believe all you guys who say you like to visit NYC ... .but would not like to live there. It is the best city in the world in which to live. It has everything. Unmatched culture. nine (9!) pro sports teams, great college sports, best medical care in the world, best public transportation system (you don't need to own a car if your don't want to), best shopping, great recreational opportunities, the best beaches in the northeast, the best restaurants, etc. It really is the capital of the world

Everything you just said about NYC is spot on, but for me, one of the reasons that DC is my favorite city in the country is that I feel like it has much of the cosmopolitan dynamics of New York, but you don't feel suffocated when you walk around. It's cleaner and greener and has a less exhausting pace.

 

[ElwoodJBlues]

1. NYC
2. Washington DC
3. Boston
4. Asheville NC
5. Moab, UT

 

[Cusefaninvirginia]

Five Favorite Major Cities in the U.S.:
1. San Fran - best overall blend of food and culture, nightlife and natural beauty
2. NOLA - incredible food, incredible music, incredible culture, 24 hour drinking with no open container laws, and gambling - it's a wonder I'm still alive - if they ever built a craft beer culture I'd never leave
3. Austin - they had me at live music scene and food trucks even before throwing in the BBQ scene in nearby Lockhart and Driftwood
4. New York - it is the city by which all other cities measure itself - food, nightlife, professional sports, museums and culture, etc.
5. Chicago - love Chicago - it's like 80% of New York's stuff to do but the people are 300% nicer

Next 5 best: Nashville, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Charleston SC

Favorite 5 small cities/towns: Asheville, Burlington, Charlottesville, Key West, Lahaina

Top 5 I haven't visited yet but want to: Portland OR (and probably Bend), San Diego, Missoula MT, Portland ME, Milwaukee

Note: Vegas did not make any of these lists, though it's the city most likely to make both my list of 5 best and 5 worst cities in the world.

 

[orange79]

Actually while I have been to 3 SHU home games against SU, I haven't ever been to West Orange. The games were all in Newark.

I think SU might have played SHU on their campus once or twice in the first years of the BE. I remember Dan Callandrillo and a tile floor at a place called Walsh Auditorium.

Looks like they eventually replaced that floor with a wooden one.

Anyway, West Orange was mentioned because I list a bunch of cities where former of Syracuse are located. Olean might have been a better choice.

I have been to Walsh several times. Bandbox gym, but cool parquet floor (at least it used to have one). Many years ago. Once, we sat behind Rony Seikaly's family in his freshman year. He got into the game during garbage time (as most SU-SHU games back then reached with a few minutes left in the first half). They went nuts when he got into the game. "RONY! RONY! RONY!" We had a good time talking to them.

 

[Bayside44]

I can't believe all you guys who say you like to visit NYC ... .but would not like to live there. It is the best city in the world in which to live. It has everything. Unmatched culture. nine (9!) pro sports teams, great college sports, best medical care in the world, best public transportation system (you don't need to own a car if your don't want to), best shopping, great recreational opportunities, the best beaches in the northeast, the best restaurants, etc. It really is the capital of the world

Too many people, too expensive, unexplainably bad government. Property taxes and utilities are nuts. And I am from there!

 

[Symphony Steve]

1. Chicago-Worth it for the pee troughs at Wrigley alone, but that city's got it all, minus the a**hole quotient of NYC.
2. Portland, OR-Almost too laid back but, coming from the frenetic east, laid-back is a welcome change. And, if you love green, we're talkin' serious lush verdant green.
3. Boston-Although I think Fenway's overrated, nothing else is.
4. Austin-Would rank higher if it seceded from Texas, and Texas then seceded from the union.
5. Seattle-Pike Place Market is one of my fave places ever.

 

[Symphony Steve]

Ahh I grew up on Keuka Lake. What part of the lake were you on? Town?

Another reason to like the Keuka Lake area--riesling.

 

[Symphony Steve]

Austin is the same way. New Orleans as well.

Yeah, and the music in Austin is better.

 

[tee1222]

Too many people, too expensive, unexplainably bad government. Property taxes and utilities are nuts. And I am from there!

All true, but you are forgetting one of the most important parts. Exciting for newcomers and natives!
I love the place. Always will, but I enjoy it more from the burbs, semi-outside looking in.

 

[KaiserUEO]

1. NEW YORK CITY: goes without explanation. but i will say, unless you have lived here, its likely you dont get it.

2. Boston: always loved that place. even though its filled with a bunch of chowda heads who root for ALL the wrong teams.

3. Honolulu: i just loved it there. and since its basically the only city in Hawaii, i went with that.

4. Vegas baby Vegas

5. Los Angeles: it might take this New Yorker a bit before i found the right neighborhood to live in, but i think i couldve adapted and liked the night life immensely. the beach is a plus and close enough to the mountains to ski. had good times there.

6. DC: although this is the only 1 where i wouldnt live in it. i mean, does anybody live it?? other than King Spy & Harrass people who dont do, think, say and write as told.

7. Saratoga: if it qualifies, its on the list

8. Newport RI: place is awesome

sorry its not 5. but 7 & 8 are small cities and i wouldnt live in 6, which IMO disqualifies it as a favorite.

 

[cuseincincy]

1. NEW YORK CITY: goes without explanation. but i will say, unless you have lived here, its likely you dont get it.

2. Boston: always loved that place. even though its filled with a bunch of chowda heads who root for ALL the wrong teams.

3. Honolulu: i just loved it there. and since its basically the only city in Hawaii, i went with that.

4. Vegas baby Vegas

5. Los Angeles: it might take this New Yorker a bit before i found the right neighborhood to live in, but i think i couldve adapted and liked the night life immensely. the beach is a plus and close enough to the mountains to ski. had good times there.

6. DC: although this is the only 1 where i wouldnt live in it. i mean, does anybody live it?? other than King Spy & Harrass people who dont do, think, say and write as told.

7. Saratoga: if it qualifies, its on the list

8. Newport RI: place is awesome

sorry its not 5. but 7 & 8 are small cities and i wouldnt live in 6, which IMO disqualifies it as a favorite.

Saratoga/Lake George area should be on my list of places to live.

 

[BlackKnight76]

I can't believe all you guys who say you like to visit NYC ... .but would not like to live there. It is the best city in the world in which to live. It has everything. Unmatched culture. nine (9!) pro sports teams, great college sports, best medical care in the world, best public transportation system (you don't need to own a car if your don't want to), best shopping, great recreational opportunities, the best beaches in the northeast, the best restaurants, etc. It really is the capital of the world

Right there with you. I'd love the chance to live in NYC proper (although I'm so close that I'm there practically every weekend at this point), but working in New Canaan that doesn't make too much sense. Just such an incredible city. I've lived in Stamford and have been a stone's throw for 22 years and have never gotten tired of it once.

 

[CuseTroop]

Went there in 98 with two friends to visit another friend stationed in Fairbanks (Ft Wainwright). Fairbanks wasn't what I thought it would be for a large city in Alaska. Driving from Fairbanks to Anchorage was unbelievable but I am surprised we survived it(we got are moneys worth on rental car). The scenery was something out of magazines. The
Chena Hot Springs hiking, white water rafting on the Nenana River in Denali, glacier tour in Seward and then the sights from Anchorage were mesmerizing. Next time I go back will be by boat then by train.

Were you hiking Angel Rocks at Chena? Just took my mom to Denali this week. Rivers still frozen, so no rafting for us

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

1-4. San Francisco takes the first four spots; everyplace else ties for fifth -- weather, natural beauty, cultural diversity, outstanding food, a great baseball team and stadium, the Forty Niners are contenders, and now even the Golden State Warriors are getting good (yes, I know they're in Oakland). Only one drawback (no, it's not the earthquakes. . . I've survived a couple in the upper 5s) -- I can't afford to live there.

T5. Rochester (NY), Sarasota, Richmond, Asheville.

Interesting to see Oneonta pop up on so many lists...I'll have to swing by there on the next Rochester trip.-VBOF

P.S.: Can't understand why VaBeach made anybody's list -- restaurants close at 10:30 (11:00 on New Year's Eve); the geography is flat as a pancake (a retired landfill is the city's highest elevation); no good Italian bread or bakeries (we go to Rochester for refills); no Wegman's; you can't see the beach for the wall-to-wall hotels (and they'll tow your butt if your parking meter expires); expressway maintenance is third-world quality; and the tunnel backups will drive you nuts. Other than that, I enjoy living here.-V

 

[tee1222]

Were you hiking Angel Rocks at Chena? Just took my mom to Denali this week. Rivers still frozen, so no rafting for us

They should call it ice sliding in Alaska.

 

[SoBeCuse]

NYC
New Orleans
Memphis
Syracuse
DC
Portland ME
Parts of Boston

Hope to get to Austin someday, I hear it's great.

Yeah, me too. I'm surprised as I think you're the first one to bring up Austin. Every person I have talked to loves it.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I don't even consider Vegas a city. More of a fantasy/synthetic land. I don't think Vegas should be a choice, imo.

 

[MiniCuse]

P.S.: Can't understand why VaBeach made anybody's list -- restaurants close at 10:30 (11:00 on New Year's Eve); the geography is flat as a pancake (a retired landfill is the city's highest elevation); no good Italian bread or bakeries (we go to Rochester for refills); no Wegman's; you can't see the beach for the wall-to-wall hotels (and they'll tow your butt if your parking meter expires); expressway maintenance is third-world quality; and the tunnel backups will drive you nuts. Other than that, I enjoy living here.-V

All of this is the truth. You forgot to mention that you can't swing a dead cat at the ocean front without hitting 15 cops that would love to arrest you for public drunkenness if you take one misstep coming out of a drinking establishment.

 

[Eric15]

Crap, I forgot about Pittsburgh, too. I love Pittsburgh. It gets such an unfairly awful rap.

There is no greater success story in this country than the Burgh in terms of a city that transformed it's industries in response to changing times. It went from a blue collar town to a hub of finance, biomeds, health care, etc.

 

[cuseinchina]

order based on places I'd like to live, rather than places I'd like to go on vacation..

1. Santa Barbara - heaven...beach, mountains, wine, incredible restaurants, beautiful houses carved out of the hillside a la positano, golf, 1 hour to LA by train, two hours from skiing, more brain power than LA, less geeky than san fran, great place for ex hippies who strike it rich.
2. Chicago - great skyline, great lake, great hot dogs, large and well designed condos available for pennies on the NY dollar, many many German extracted corn fed midwestern blondes who like to drink beer - what's not to love.
3. Savannah - all the best things about the south
4. Austin - amazing place but you need to be able to tolerate hipsters who have been priced out of Brooklyn and moved down to open breakfast taco shops.
5. NYC - grudgingly since sometimes the unpleasant things can outweigh all that is wonderful about living here

 

[NineOneSeven]

Cant go wrong with either. I just haven't been to Denver since I was a wee lad.

vs

I thought the rocky mountains would be a little rockier than this

 

[NineOneSeven]

By the way:

Lake George


And Dome Island on Lake George: