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 . . . ."