Nominations are now open:
1) Best overall US city
2) Best transit
3) Best urban planning
4) Most undervalued
5) Most robust economy
6) Most beautiful houses
7) Best weather
8) Most open minded
9) Least amount of problems
10) Best lifestyle
And my nominations:
1 Boulder, 2 Denver, 3 Portland, 4 None, 5 Seattle, 6 San Fran, 7 Santa Barbara, 8 Boulder, 9 Boise, 10 Boulder
June 28, 2006
Nominations for HousingPanic best city awards
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39 comments:
1) Best overall US city:
Qualifications must include no income tax, good economy, fun to live in, not to big, not to small, nice scenery.
Austin, Texas
2) Best transit:
Its phenominal in Portland, Oregon.
3) Best urban planning:
Portland, OR
4) Most undervalued:
None
5) Most robust economy:
Raleigh, NC
6) Most beautiful houses:
San Francisco
7) Best weather:
San Diego
8) Most open minded:
Austin, Texas
9) Least amount of problems:
Boise Idaho
10) Best lifestyle:
Austin Texas
Rocky Flats, No thanks!
1) Best overall US city- Boulder
2) Best transit - (assume you mean public) NYC
3) Best urban planning - Fort Worth
4) Most undervalued - Any non-Blue city in flyover land
5) Most robust economy - Chicago
6) Most beautiful houses - Charleston
7) Best weather - San Diego
8) Most open minded - DC
9) Least amount of problems - Austin TX
10) Best lifestyle - Boise
Wow, Boulder is high on your list Keith. Maybe I will sell you something someday afterall.
A point of clarification on size: Denver is a relatively small city and Boulder is even tinier. It's tough to compare transit systems between, say New York and Denver. On an average weekday, the NYC MTA moves 7.8MM people. The metro Denver has only 2.5MM people.
So - are you only rating things from an individual's perspective?
os - you got it. it's not how many, it's how and how good. I'm very impressed with Denver's new light rail as well as their continued highway development and great bus lines and lanes - not to mention bike paths too, best in the US
Nice thing too is Denver will have some seriously cheap post-foreclosure real estate values in 2 years, and their real estate market is being destroyed. Boulder will catch Denver's housing cold as well, and those $500,000 lofts on Pearl? $300,000 is more like it in 2008. It's about incomes, and home prices there have detached from what the population can afford
1) Best overall US city - San Francisco
2) Best transit - NYC
3) Best urban planning - Seattle
4) Most undervalued - Baltimore
5) Most robust economy - Seattle
6) Most beautiful houses - Miami
7) Best weather - San Diego
8) Most open minded -
San Francisco/Iowa City/Madison
9) Least amount of problems - Madison/Ann Arbor
10) Best lifestyle -
Los Angeles/San Diego/Scottsdale
1) Best overall US city- Boulder, CO
2) Best transit - New York, NY
3) Best urban planning - Boston (overlooking the Big Dig)
4) Most undervalued - Many places in upstate New York (Corning, Ithaca, Albany)
5) Most robust economy - Tough Call
6) Most beautiful houses - Nantucket, MA
7) Best weather - San Diego
8) Most open minded - Boulder
9) Least amount of problems - Boulder
10) Best lifestyle - Boulder
1) Best overall US city
They all svck
2) Best transit
Who cares?
3) Best urban planning
Best plan, no cities.
4) Most undervalued
They are all overvalued
5) Most robust economy
Robust Wall St. thieves
6) Most beautiful houses
Teepees
7) Best weather
Cities ruined the weather.
8) Most open minded
No such thing
9) Least amount of problems
See #1)
10) Best lifestyle
See #1)
You're probably right Joey. I was thinking about how it's already planned layed out versus future planning. I lived there for a short period and loved the walkability of that city.
Most beautiful houses?
Savannah, GA
I'm judging this only on places I've actually been to or lived in.
1) Best overall US city
Rome (I realize it's not in the US, but we live in a global economy)
2) Best transit
Munich ($5 for a week long metro pass during oktoberfest, can't beat it)
3) Best urban planning
Chicago
4) Most undervalued
Southern Italy (cheap living, beautiful women and weather)
5) Most robust economy
NC, GA, TN still a great manufacturing area
6) Most beautiful houses
San Diego
7) Best weather
South Florida, Italy
8) Most open minded
most the urbanized Midwest (MI, IL, OH, IN), whoever put DC should realize most people there are completely close minded
9) Least amount of problems
Midwest
10) Best lifestyle
Most the Mediterranean islands
suppose we go ex-US.
And let's add in the very important:
most beautiful people
--------------
1) Best overall World City. Sydney, AU
2) Best transit: Paris
3) Best urban planning: Canberra
4) Most undervalued: Buenos Aires
5) Most robust economy: Edmonton, Alberta.
6) Most beautiful houses: Paris
7) Best weather: Perth/San Diego tie
8) Most open-minded: Amsterdam/Sydney tie
9) Least amount of problems: Rejkyavik
10) Best lifestyle: Buenos Aires
11) Most beautiful people: Rio de Janerio
And for the worst (mostly a joke)
1) Worst overall World City: Baghdad
2) Worst transit: Lagos, Nigeria
3) Worst urban planning: Houston
4) Most overvalued: London
5) Least robust economy: Pyongyang
6) Ugliest houses: Pyongyang
7) Worst weather: Riyadh
8) Least open minded: Mecca
9) Most amount of problems: Baghdad
10) Worst lifestyle: Pyongyang
11) Ugliest people: Trenton
Most beautiful houses;
1. Natchez/Port Gibson, Mississippi
2. Macon, Georgia
3. Paris (not Texas)
4. most of Louisiana
5. most of Italy
1) Best overall US city
La Jolla, CA
2) Best transit
Portland, Or
3) Best urban planning
Portland, Or (no contest I think)
4) Most undervalued
Jackson, Ms
5) Most robust economy
6) Most beautiful houses
Charleston, SC
7) Best weather
La Jolla, CA (unquestionable)
8) Most open minded
Austin, Tx
9) Least amount of problems
Portland, Or
10) Best lifestyle
Boise, Idaho
It just kills me how many people equate "open minded" with "liberal". I've lived in Ann Arbor, and believe me, if you dare to espouse an opinion there that doesn't toe the lefty line those people will be ready to stone you in a heartbeat.
1) Best overall US city- Boulder, CO
Don't forget the infamous brown cloud that blankets most of Denver during the winter months. It gets so bad that the Denver Basin looks like a coal-smoke saturated industrial scene from the 1800s. Respiratory alerts are common in the area. It's not getting any better as development and traffic congestion get worse and worse.
Oh, and that brown cloud often oozes it's way NW to Boulder....it's only 20 miles or so.
However, I hope to be shopping the Colorado foreclosure market in the next 2 years. Maybe they will have those huge Sunday "foreclosures for sale" listings in the Denver Post again.
I grew up in Boulder and lived there for 40 years. It is NOTHING today as it was in the 60's, 70's and early 80's. I mourn for the Boulder of my youth. It jumped the shark on August 12th 1984. "Where the hip meet to trip" FAC at the Harvest House....
Who can remember "Buddy Boulder", The Good Earth, The Hungry Farmer and the Broken Drum? If you can, you know what I write is true.
I left Boulder because it started to suck.
Oh, and by the way, the aging hippies all cashed out to the Illinoisians, Californians and the New Jerseyites. The 5th wave is arriving from Miami as we speak.
Best City in the US? Today? Hardly.
Uh...it is New Jerseyans.
Delawarians, Delawajians but not Delawenians!
San Francisco Most Open Minded?
It reminds me of the Southpark episode where the people in San Francisco bend over and sniff their own flatulence because they think of themselves as so much better than everyone else. San Francisco is one of the least open minded places in the country. They just think of themselves as open minded.
...hmmm maybe they are right. It must take at least 30 minutes to get through Boulder with all the traffic lights. And that monster brown cloud does keep coming closer and closer.
...but they are wrong about the left wingers and hippies. I have met enough rightwingers here to last a lifetime. Don't they know that Solder of Fortune magazine and Palladin Press hail from Boulder??? You can find whatever kind of nuts you want to eat here.
....hmmm, got to get back to humpin. BMW payment coming up.
NYC
1) Best overall US city--Austin. So what is the best overall small town?
2) Best transit-I agree with the guy who asked does size matter? Best overall (roads/trains, buses etc?) I'd say Portland, Or
3) Best urban planning
Portland OR
4) Most undervalued--Any large city in the middle of the USA
5) Most robust economy
Bay Area CA
6) Most beautiful houses--Key West, Fl
7) Best weather--Santa Barbara, Ca
8) Most open minded--are there any left?
9) Least amount of problems-Austin, Tx
10) Best lifestyle--Bay area tied with Austin, Tx
You're right alter ego, keep away.
The brown cloud of death is something we sadly must live with each and every day here in Boulder. Good thing for respirators. ;)
No seriously, please. Keep away. We have enough people.
In all seriousness, while the Denver/Boulder area's air quality isn't as great as a few major coastal markets like Boston or SF, which benefit from wind patterns that blows air pollution out to sea, Boulder still beats many parts of the country. In particular check out the days the EPA air quality index was over 100. On average (1990 to 2003), Denver had 3.9 days over 100. Compare that to Bakersfield, CA with 109.7 days over 100, San Diego with 42.3, San Francisco with 0.9, New York with 17.2, Philadelphia with 32.4, Riverside-San Bernadino with 139.1, or LA with 108.1.
Check it out yourself at the EPA Air Trends website.
Oops, posted a broken link. Try this one instead.
Baltimore, Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill, Hampdon, Rogers Park, South Baltimore, Pigtown, Hamliton, Charles Village, Inner Harbor
Most beautiful cities: Santa Fe, Atlanta, Savannah, Carleston
Best lifestyle: Sante Fe
Most beautiful houses: Sante Fe, Atlanta, Charleston, Savannah.
Most beautiful people: almost any city in the South.
Best mass transit: no idea.
Best climate: San Diego.
Best cool-cold climates: Santa Fe, Big Sky.
Forgive the typos.
Best overall City : Oslo
Best Transit : Stockholm
Best Urban Planning : Salt Lake
Most Undervalued : Fargo, ND
Most Robust Economy : DC (Goverment excess is great)
Most Beautiful Homes: Savannah, GA
Best Weather : San Diego, CA
Most Open Minded : Amsterdam (for better or worse)
Least amount of problems : Vatican City (unless you believe Dan Brown)
Best lifestyle : Sweden in the summers, San Fran in the winters
The best US city is the one with a comfortable climate where I am not a slave to a mortgage.
Largest ratio of beautiful woment to men: Atlanta!
I love Boulder, too. However, I just can't justify paying $400k for a tear down. Prices have to come down.
1) Best overall US city:
Palo Alto, CA
2) Best transit:
None.
Best effort: Portland, Oregon.
3) Best urban planning:
Whistler, BC
Portland, OR
Los Altos, CA
4) Most undervalued:
Rochester, NY
5) Most robust economy:
Los Angeles, CA
Stamford, CT
6) Most beautiful houses:
Malibu, CA
Telluride, CO
7) Best weather:
Summer: Santa Cruz, CA
Winter: Syracuse, NY
8) Most open minded:
SF Bay
9) Least amount of problems:
Madison, WI
10) Best lifestyle:
Seattle, WA
Whistler, BC
Bend, OR
PORKLAND OREGON, home of the other wihte meat.
He was talking about 42 days on the air quality index over 100, not the temp. Read much?
No perfect city . . .
Let's face it, Cedar Rapids Iowa might be the best city if you have friends, family and a good job. . .
My favorite city is Chicago - very well managed big city. . . but I live in San Diego because the weather sucks in Chicago. . .as far as open minded, after living in the Bay Area for 20 years (and working in Berkeley) I can agree that SF Bay is NOT open minded unless you tow the liberal party line. Actually again, Chicago is pretty open minded without being too liberal or conservative - a nice mid-west practical mind set.
Never been to Austin, but Boulder is nice but small. Portland has a good transit system even to the airport(although it costs only $1.60 to get from Chicago O'hara to the Loop), but I have been in Portland as late as April and it is still cold and wet. . .so pays your money and take your chances.
south orange county(California) has it all except for low-cost housing.
Riverside /San Bernardino metro region is the reverse:bad weather,ugly urban sprawl, undiversified economy(too heavily dependent on construction),high crime,lifestyle consisting of 3-5 hr commutes in worst traffic clogs
in California, smog,ad nauseum.
Santa monica(California) rates high in most categories.
Hmm,
Turns out that not only is Boulder beautiful, Colorado also got the lowest rate of obesity.
Now, if only the children were all above average.
Anonymous said...
PORKLAND OREGON, home of the other wihte meat.
You got that right. Women move here and they almost immediately catch OBD - Oregon Butt Disease where the butt swells to 2-3 times normal size.
Researchers think it has something to do with the rainy weather
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