It turns out I’ve been to 15 of the 30 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Some I’ve spent a lot of time in (New York, Los Angeles, Seattle) and some I’ve done little more than drive through (San Jose, Phoenix). Using no particular criteria other than my own subjective opinion I’ve ranked the places from 1 to 15. 1 being the place I liked best, 15 the place I liked least:
1. Boston- This has to be at the top of my list. It's a really beautiful city and a very refined, cultured place. It has just about everything one could want in a city-- major sports teams, great museums, a comprehensive subway system,-- but it isn't too big or unruly. I'd move there in a heartbeat but the Wifey isn't too keen on the place. Her chief complaint: too homogenous.
2. San Francisco- Beautiful place. Great weather. Real international feel. Again, just the right size. Surrounding areas are nice too. I like the fact that in some ways it feels like an old east coast city, but still has a very west coast vibe.
3. New York- Hard to be objective on this one. Probably should be number one but I know it too well to put it up top. Really doesn't compare to any other city on the list in many ways. Has everything, but loses points for being so big and noisy. Undoubtedly America's greatest city, if not my absolute favorite.
4. San Diego- Nice place. Comfortable place. Enjoyable weather and a relaxed vibe. Am a big fan of the Balboa Park area. Great restaurants downtown. Biggest complaint-- leave the coast and the fun disintegrates rapidly. Hard not to like though.
5. Chicago- Great city. Fun place despite some rough edges. Tons of character to this place. Downtown is amazingly clean and polished. Biggest complaint-- feels more like an overgrown small American town than an international hub.
6. Los Angeles- Again, hard to be objective, although you might be surprised how much time and energy I've spent defending this place since I've moved to the east coast. Truly a world city, has so much to offer. Has a lot of crappy areas though, and surprisingly poor infrastructure compared to most other places on this list.
7. Seattle- Overall a nice place. Clean and green, but not always particularly exciting. The salmon is good and the view of Mt. Rainier is stunning when it's not too cloudy to see it, but after that it's a lot like Southern California on a very rainy day. Very homogenous with a weird white-trash feel in some parts.
8. Portland, Oregon- Not too different from Seattle. Green and pleasant but maybe not a ton of there there. Would be more appealing if it weren't so isolated from any other big cities.
9. Denver- Nice place. Would put it in the same category as Seattle and Portland, only in the mountains instead of in a forest by the sea. Perfectly fine place but probably not one that would draw you from other parts of the country, unless of course you're big on mountain climbing.
10. Baltimore- Has a lot of cool things to offer, but is in a lot of ways kind of a crappy town. Huge swaths are little more than slums, yet it's also a fun place. Lots and lots of character but too damn hot in the summer and you're playing the good neighborhood, bad neighborhood game every other block.
11. San Jose- Nice enough but kind of boring. Nothing there that you can't find anywhere else with the exception of the Winchester House.
12. Philadelphia- Surprisingly unpleasant place. Where did it go wrong and Boston go right? Nothing but a string of bad neighborhoods surrounding a sketchy downtown with a few historic monuments. Has the history but is lacking the charm. All the grittiness of New York with none of the grandeur.
13. Washington D.C. - I find this place interesting. There are supposedly some nice residential places, like Georgetown, and DuPont circle has a perfectly fine New Haven-y kind of vibe, but so far as I can tell 99% of the city is one big ghetto. The other one percent is all the monuments that are worth seeing once, but then it's best to get the hell out.
14. Las Vegas- The strip is an interesting place, I'll give you that. I would probably have fun if I lived there, at least until I got sick of the casinos, which would probably take at least a few weeks. The surrounding residential areas of the city are some of the most depressing places I've ever seen. They remind me of the crappier parts of the East San Gabriel Valley on the hottest, smoggiest days of the year. Only L.A. isn't 20 minutes away, it's 4 hours away. Ugh, kill me now.
15. Phoenix- Why does this city exist? I can find no redeeming qualities. It's hot, it's dry, it's crowded. The desert may have a certain beauty to it but I sure don't see it. Not much to offer aside from a bad sunburn.
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2 comments:
Im very jealous you've been to all these cities. I hope to visit many, if not all of them.
I spent a short amount of time in Boston and REALLY want to go back.
I went to San Fran when I was really young and know I will go back sometime, but can kind of give a shit.
I doubt I'll leave San Diego. It has everything I want and need. And the things I miss are 2 hours north in L.A. so it's perfect. You are right though about the cities inland. All of them are just regular suburbs. The best thing is all of the coastal cities are great .
L.A. is really love/hate for me. I hate the actual city of L.A. but love most of it's suburbs. I'll always call it home though.
Las Vegas is probably the worst city in the world. My best friend lives there and when I go to visit I spend about 2% of my time on the strip, the rest is spent in the actual city. The place is utter hell. I went this summer and was talking to the owner of a liquor store where I bought a bottle of sake. He went to Cal Poly Pomona and moved to Vegas so his son could go to school. I asked him how he liked it here and he said, "This place is the armpit of the world. As soon as my son graduates I'm outta here." He said it's a great place for 3 days, but thats it. He told me, "Never move here."
Phoenix is a joke.
London smashes every other city like a grape.
But, just to piss of East coasters, I'll ALWAYS say that L.A. is far and away the best city in the U.S.
NYC might be better than everywhere else if you didn't have to deal with NYers. Ditto SF.
I agree with everything said about Vegas. It's a weekend town for gambling, drinking, and whoring. Otherwise, why bother? The idea of moving there to raise a family is about as appealing as cleaning my eyeballs with a belt sander.
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