No, Michigan is included in the list. I wouldn't forget about the yoopers.

Regarding NYC being the politest city, it was of 36 cities, and NYC was the only American city. I don't really think that says much.

About it being dirty, note that I mentioned I know they've cleaned it up a lot. I havent been there since 2003. Any city of size is gonna be dirty (atlanta is) and I don't really like that. I prefer smaller cities, which tend to have cleaner downtown areas, at least in my opinion.

About NYC rudeness, when I was there, I had some people who were quite rude. However, much of it may have just been that people in NYC can be quite brash, without really having any contempt for you. I imagine people come off as rude much more than they actually intend to be.

I agree with those who said Charlotte is a great place to live. Although when I find out whose idea it was to tear up EVERY street in South End at the same time, that person won't wake up the next day.:mad: :mad:

I second whoever said not to live in a Spring Break destination. They aren't even that great on spring break, let alone the rest of the year.

Yeah, I won't even go to spring break destinations(PC,S padre, Dayona) for SPRING BREAK, much less to live there.

NYC is actually pretty clean for a big city. I've always been impressed every time I visit with how the sidewalks are rarely littered, there's not too much smog, etc.

Atlanta on the other hand. Bleh. The smog problem is unbelievable. During the winter, I can see Stone Mountain clearly from my office but during the summer...forget it. The visibility is poor and I'm over 30 floors up. Also, if you go to Stone Mountain and you look out at downtown Atlanta, the city is looks like it's enclosed in a yellow/gray cloud.

Yeah, it seems like its gotten a lot worse the past couple years. When I was younger I never noticed it.

I really do love OKC. Maybe it's because of the part of it I live in, etc.

-- but that'd be the top of my list.

Other than that, I don't believe that being happy in a certain place has much to do with the place you're in. It's more who you surround yourself with, what you do, how much money you make, where you fit in socially, etc. Being unhappy with where you are simply because of things like crime, etc. doesn't really work for me. Maybe that's why I really like Oklahoma City?

You're serious? I think Chicago is the only clean big city out there.

NY is great. In fact it's probably the best city filled with the best and brightest. But it's definitely not clean. The good news is that the high rents are forcing the poor people into NJ so the crowds in bars will undoubtedly become much cooler.

-Rudey

AlphaFrog, didn't you know the orange barrels are the new state symbol for all of North Carolina? :D

Cities/Areas I wouldn't live in:
- NYC/Boston - Strong accents kill me, and this is from someone that grew up in NY State. I love my state, I hate my city. I'd go to visit NYC to see shows and that's about it.
- Most Southern Cities - I love winter, and I love getting all four seasons. I can't handle too much heat/humidity. I turn the AC on whenever it gets up to 80 degrees. They might be beautiful, just not for me.
- LA - The whole "innocent bystander" and "I'm an actor" thing would drive me up the wall.
- Buffalo - I love the Bills, I love the Sabres, but there's just nothing there.
- Toronto - My car was broken into during a 3 day visit there once. I like the city itself, I'm a big fan of musicals/theatre, but I'm really tentative to go back.

Cities that I would live in and not like:
- Washington, DC. I'm going for a career in intelligence, and all roads lead to DC, but I just in general don't really like the city. I'm not looking forward to sweating it out in my business attire during the summers - my parents visited with my brother and his girlfriend a couple of weeks ago, and they about dropped from the heat - even in their "tourist attire." I haven't been there in years though so I can't outright say "I WILL HATE LIVING HERE" or anything.

Cities that I thought I wouldn't like but do:
- Pittsburgh. I thought I would hate it when I moved here. My hometown has about half as many people living in it than the number of people that go to the University of Pittsburgh. But, I live in a really green area, I feel like I live in a smaller town, but you have all the good parts of city living. I like it so far but we'll see. As well as being a fan of the Bills, my PA college education taught me that the Steelers aren't as bad as they seem;) . I still don't like the Pirates, and I hate the Penguins, but the Steelers aren't all that bad.
- Wheeling, WV. Not a bad little city. There's certainly more going on there than meets the eye. My brother lives near there and it was alright.

Cities that I will never live in again:
- Erie, PA. I'll visit, I went to college there, but there are just too many crazies around. Every other person walking the streets is a candidate for a mental institute. Anyone that's lived there longer than 6 months would agree. We called them "erieites."

It's all completely subjective, though. What's one person's paradise is another person's hell.

Actually, the summers here are cooler and less humid then my hometown in Illinois.

Although it does stay a little warmer in the winter. 1/16" of snow and every other car is in the ditch down here. I'm sure glad my dad took me out to an empty parking lot in a foot of snow and made me rev up and then slam on the breaks a few times.

I like winter. Granted, sometimes it just outright sucks, but there's nothing more magical to me than the first big snowfall of the year (when anything more than 6 inches falls). That could be my NY state upbringing coming out - the city of Buffalo actually trucks its snow out to towns near mine. It's neat to see the 40ft piles of snow. Plus, I like snowball fights, fort digging, all of that. And I want my kids to like it, too.

Maybe it's because I'm use to Southern cities which, in my opinion, tend to be dirtier and smoggier but I found NYC to be clean. Then again, I've really only been in the tourist areas so that might be why.

I don't live IN Detroit, but rather a suburb outside of it and I must say that the city has done an excellent job in its cleanup efforts. My boyfriend and I spent an afternoon in downtown a couple of weekends ago and it was SUCH a good time. It's a big city so of course it's going to have its faults, but I think it's gotten a much worse reputation than it deserves.

And like somebody else upthread said, not many people live IN downtown other than in the warehouse district or in lofts, whatever. It's actually a beautiful city that's doing a pretty good job in making it look much better.

Sorry. I had to defend my city. :D

The good thing about southern winters is that when it snows, its really pretty. I've always been disappointed up north when it snows (always in the suburbs or cities) because the snow gets piled up and its just disgusting.

Its true, people freak out about an inch of snow down here, but I usually respond that we don't generally start hacking off the tops of fire hydrants when the temperature tops 95.

There sure is a lot of hating on St Louis.........but I would agree, a year and a half during college was enough for me.

I would have trouble living in most of the middle half of the country. It's either too flat, too cold or too hot in the summer. I have to have my mountains (the REAL kind, not what some of you call mountains) and water. And I don't want hurricanes or tornadoes.

So basically, you need THE mountain.

Cities I'd avoid: Any in the northeastern part of NJ. I grew up in Elizabeth, and let's just say I've had enough. It's overcrowded, smelly, and there are too many highways and turnpikes and parkways and...well, you get the picture.

City I'd love to live in: Boston! I loved it there! It's too expensive for me right now, but maybe one day when I grow up and make more money I can move there, lol.

Gary, IN.... I believe it used to be the murder capital of the world. I know its still #1 for crime in the state of Indiana.
Of course, I would also recommend never living in Muncie, IN where I go to school. We are #2 for crime in Indiana (all of these stats coming from my forensic psych professor who worked for the Indianapolis and Muncie police departments).
Plus... unless you are student @ Ball State, Muncie just seems like a really depressing place to live.
I do love Louisville though. I'm from the area and being away has caused me to appreciate it more.

I'm sorry.

In general I would NEVER live in the middle of the country, I need access to ocean,well MAYBE I could live in a state with acess to a great lake... BUT NEVER EVER

Detroit EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW its wayy to segregated and has no natural beuty to it AT ALL.

Tuscon- Is this really even a city ? there's not much to do for being a "major" city of Arizona.

Charlotte seems to be a strange case. In my experience, most people who live there love it, while most people who don't live there don't like it at all.

Not a scientific poll, of course, just my observation, so consider it for what it's worth.

I consider it a very accurate observation! :)

I would never live in the actual city. The traffic is horrible (not the amount of cars, but the stoplight timing, construction, road design). There aren't many neighborhoods I'd feel safe in. I'll take my 45 min commute over living in Mecklenburg County.

Good point. I should have said "most people who live there or near there . . . ."

Well, a lot of people in the south simply want bars. I'm proud to say there are no "clubs" in my college town.

NOT ANYMORE!!!

:cool:

The cleanliness of any large city is so relative. NYC has done an excellent job of cleaning up and staying clean. (thank you Rudy - as in Guilliani)

The poor in NYC are still there and don't go to the clubs/bars you'd go to, rather the neighborhood bars/bodegas. They're less likely to move to NJ than the moderately affluent partly because the cost of commuting. (subway ride to lower Manhattan from Rockaway or Bronx is the same ~$1.50 now I think~as from Uptown, whereas the NJ to NY commute is many times that.)

But I think you were just trying to provoke some controversey, Rudey. And, you got me to bite! ;-)

it's $2 now, thank you MTA

Hi...I just put $35 in gas in my CHEVY AVEO (aka tiny tank) which will last me less then a week. Shut up.:p


(Less then $600)

New York City is actually pretty clean, particularly given the problems it contends with.

It's old. The streets and sidewalks look old. That doesn't mean they're dirty in my mind. You see people out cleaning and hosing down the sidewalks every single morning.

Also, Manhattan is a small island and real estate is scarce and expensive. They don't use it up with alleys. That means that the trash bags are dropped at the curb until picked up.

That doesn't necessarily equate to dirty since the trash is bagged. It's just a fact of life.

A New Yorker probably wouldn't even give it a second thought.

You do realize that I think that's cheap, right?

Yeah. I'd much rather go "bar hopping" than "clubbing" any day. Besides, I don't join a club when I want a drink.

I don't really know many people who go to clubs. For the most part, clubs in NYC tend to be 15-17 year olds with fake ids, and the 30-something men who want to sleep with them.

Why do you think that's cheap... you don't have a car.

If your commute is 2 dollars.... paint me confused.

YOU. DON'T. DRIVE.

How much does gas cost/gallon by you? I can assure you that it costs a lot more in NYC and that you would spend a lot more money filling up the same exact car.

If I lived in NYC, I wouldn't have a car, but since Charlotte's mass transit is only in the city proper (and sucky at that), I have to drive.

Fair enough. I only spend $76/month on commuting.

I'd like to congratulate the 4th District of Georgia for kicking the racist, anti-semetic, extremist, soon-to-be-ex congresswoman Cynthia McKinney to the curb.