What are you favorite major US cities?

xpost, well, its just the ones i have been to. i am from england, i dont get about much

I love San Francisco as well.

Miami?
Austin?
Las Vegas?

I haven't been many other places. Montreal goes high on the list if we're taking in all of North America.

1) Seattle
2) Boston
3) San Antonio
4) Chicago
5) New York City
6) Dallas (FORT WORTH IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CITY, THANK YOU)
7) Tampa
8) Las Vegas
9) Cleveland
10) Pittsburgh

otherwise, san francisco, seattle, milwaukee and chicago, majorwise

My top five right now are:

1. Chicago (shockah!)
2. San Francisco
3. Brooklyn (yeah, it's a major city by itself)
4. LA
5. Manhattan

(Of course I know I'm cheating -- but with a purpose!)

Five runners up in no particular order: Atlanta, LA, Memphis, Las Vegas, Portland.

Montreal would be #3 if we include Canada (never been Mexico City actually.)

NYC - the best, obv

LA - some sort of futuristic city/not-city, an ocean of dense suburbanity with unique islands interspersed throughout. strange and wonderful to visit, but might have too little of a civic character to be an ideal place to live. maybe that will change in the years to come.

Seattle - inner suburbia, really, but constricted and defined by being nestled within water and, further removed, mountains. make it a shipping and flying center, and it achieves a nice urban-rural balance. while it doesn't compare culturally to greater cities, its charm is in its humility and anti-fashion. these things may be in decline, however.

DC - a small, not-always-lovely company town, with ingrained poverty, and a history shorter than most historic towns, but the most intensely-educated city in the nation, with a relaxed cosmopolitanism, a youthful air, chocolate suburbs, an enormous art collection, and Parisian charm cutting through the swamp heat

Boston - still discovering here. though its centers are small, it's a real city that might be looked on more favorably if New York weren't down the road. its great strength - its history - is also its weakness - there's such a thing as too much tradition. but the older parts can be lovely, and the bad planning of some of the newer parts may be rectified soon.

Baltimore - its civic center is fantastic, a place for tourists that doesn't sacrifice local character or rely on ostentation. but has it done much for the rest of the city (which i haven't really seen)?

Cleveland - have only glimpsed it, but it appeared fascinating, if small and in danger of slipping into a previous era. my college friends who grew up here got far away, but haven't completely avoided it since.

Houston - i've visited twice and it seems a big mess of a place, simultaneously great and terrible. there's no use pretending there's a civic core in the miles of half-vacant urbanity and suburbanity, but at the same time it posseses some true cosmopolitanism and culture. you could spend a great 2.5-3 days here, but then what would you do? a nice place to have a lot of money, but otherwise?

Phoenix - more a spread than a city, really. A relaxing, but boring one - LA in the desert, minus LA. Its oasis feel is somewhat appealing, but would you want to live in a country club? Especially if you have to work there?

I've never been:

SF - I imagine it as a mutt of a city, combining characteristics of several on the East and West coasts. So I wonder why it would hold much interest, when there are more defined places around. But maybe I'm just threatened by the fact that it's one of the major centers of urbanity in the nation and I know next to nothing about it.

Chicago - I would quite like to see it for its reputed real-Americanness, as well as its architecture. But I wonder what its function is when there is a New York.

St. Louis - while I think first of a sight or two I'd like to visit, I think the place piques my interest mostly because I perceive it as a mean - the middle of the country, but by water, a real city, but not a huge one, fairly suburban, but with some history

Milwaukee - I have mostly overlooked it, but when I remember that it exists, it sometimes seems as interesting as Cleveland or Denver or Baltimore.

Memphis - I'm fairly certain I'd like to visit, even though I have little conception of the place, Mystery Train notwithstanding.

Pittsburgh - it sounds quite lovely to see, and with some distinct (wounded) civic pride. But is there anything to do?

Austin - I am intrigued somewhat by the region and expect to quite like the city, though I'm not sure about the residents.

Denver - I am slightly interested in its urban core and baseball/brew culture. Baltimore on the Front Range?

Portland - I can easily imagining liking it, but it has never created any serious interest. is it perhaps Seattle without the charm?

Atlanta - I'm a bit intrigued by the huge suburban expanse and general New South gloss. Is it just Houston with more people around and a faster pace? Are there unique pockets on the outskirts?

Twin Cities - I would imagine liking the residents very much. But is there any attraction for a visitor?

Miami - I am a bit scared/horrified of the perceived body (and not brain)-consciousness of the place. I'm not even sure if I'd like the architecture. But its internationalism might be interesting.

Las Vegas - the idea fills me with horror, but I'd like to jump off from there to many places

I second the Memphis vote.

(I'm English)

I hope to add some Southwest and Pacific Northwest cities to my list soon.

what a complex, enlightened view of the world.

Chicago is VERY different to New York, though. When I'm there, it feels like it could be my favorite city, but I've really no idea of what it is like to live there.

-- oops

2. San Francisco - It is walkable, good public transport, good food. Too bad I could never afford to live there.

3. Washington DC - solely for the museums/Smithsonian. I'd never consider living there.

4. New York. Ditto. A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Great museums, great food, extensive subway. Too damn crowded, way too expensive, and too much harsh attitude.

i'm from new york and portland is the only other city i've ever truly loved.

i think i would have loved "old" los angeles too.

Allowing Canada would have seriously altered this list.. Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto, and Montreal would be somewhere in the top 7.

But, to be Ninja of the Understatement, i'm probably going to have to wait a while.

no no no. its seattle WITH the charm. actually, no. just forget seattle. ive been all around this great big world and portland is easily one of the most beautiful cities ive visited. id ignore my love of snow and move there in a heartbeat.

Kind of don't get the Portland love; the one time I went it seemed like every other person I bumped into was a variation on Tonya Harding or Jeff Golooley.

Boston... is not as nice as it should be.

could poll the nebster's list

i can't believe he didn't get more shit up there, especially for the second part of his list

good evocation of LA tbh

it's pretty great how back then everyone ignored gabby's lame-brained blathering (except for oops, lol)

Cleveland - have only glimpsed it, but it appeared fascinating

what are the cool US cities to move to in the 2020s? e.g. seems like a billion people moved to denver in the past 5-10 years, who's up next

I'd like to know that myself. Missed the window on Boise.

I've been happily settled in Atlanta for a long time, it's got a pretty high standard of living and is a good place to raise kids. It's also been on a pretty steady grown trajectory since the Olympics in 96.

I spend a lot of time in L.A., and it's probably my favorite city. Without looking, I'd guess its population has remained fairly level over the past decade or so, with significant departures and arrivals. Housing is prohibitively expensive. I would be surprised if it regained its once status as a cool place to move.

every american city is the same now

They're all awesome then?

Los Angeles, New York and Chicago (to pick three) are nothing like each other at all.

coincidentally those are the only major US cities

I guess that depends on your definition of "major." Metro Atlanta has a population of over 6 million and is the home of the world's busiest airport. I'd argue that it is a "major" city.

L.A., Chicago and New York have very distinct characters, but so do Boston and Charleston (for example).