Quality of Life & Visitor Experience
| Rank | City | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honolulu | 4.45 |
| 2 | Denver | 4.44 |
| 3 | San Diego | 4.44 |
| 4 | Santa Fe | 4.43 |
| 5 | Portland, Oregon | 4.43 |
| 6 | Charleston | 4.42 |
| 7 | Austin | 4.34 |
| 8 | San Francisco | 4.33 |
| 9 | Seattle | 4.31 |
| 10 | Minneapolis/St. Paul | 4.30 |
| 11 | Nashville | 4.25 |
| 12 | San Antonio | 4.23 |
| 13 | Providence | 4.23 |
| 14 | Chicago | 4.17 |
| 15 | Boston | 4.16 |
| 16 | Kansas City | 4.16 |
| 17 | Phoenix/Scottsdale | 4.15 |
| 18 | Washington, D.C. | 4.13 |
| 19 | Houston | 4.12 |
| 20 | Orlando | 4.09 |
| 21 | Miami | 4.03 |
| 22 | Cleveland | 4.00 |
| 23 | St. Louis | 3.98 |
| 24 | Atlanta | 3.95 |
| 25 | New Orleans | 3.94 |
| 26 | Philadelphia | 3.92 |
| 27 | New York | 3.89 |
| 28 | Las Vegas | 3.83 |
| 29 | Los Angeles | 3.82 |
| 30 | Dallas/Fort Worth | 3.78 |
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Comments (5)
Open / CloseEnvironmental Friendliness
I'm not sure what kind of bizarre criteria was used to rank environmental friendliness, but, it must not factor in energy and water usage. How do Santa Fe and Austin come out toward the top?? Austin derives some of it's power usage from wind and landfill methane, but, a vast majority of their power comes from three gas burning plants. Both Austin and Santa Fe use a tremendous amount of energy due to their hot summers. A tremendous amount of water is wasted as well to water those lush go... Read More
As a native Santa Fe-an, I must correct you on a couple points. Our summers are not very hot, and very few homes operate air-conditioners. (Albuquerque, an hour south, is another story).
Very few people have lawns here. Most people have rock / xeriscaped gardens or small veggie gardens. As a community, we are very, very happy to pay for the city to maintain publicly used grassy areas, such as the Plaza, soccer fields, and playgrounds for kids. In general, though, you don't see grass an... More
Public Transportation / Pedestrian Friendly
New York is number 11, really? New York has the best public transportation system hands down. DC and Chicago are second / third. NY must score low on pedestrian friendly..not sure why, but I agree that DC is best for walking with Chicago a close second. I also find Seattle to be quite pedestrian friendly.
I agree, New York should be way up that list for pedestrian friendliness and public transportation... unless they are factoring in handicap accessibility, which New York sucks at. I can't speak for the rest of that list, but I have lived in Denver, and as much as I love it, it is no place to be stuck on foot. 7th place? Really?
whoawhoawhoa. CLEVE has such a good public transit system. our RTA won best pub transit system in the nation in 2007!
Weather
I don't understand how Denver is toward the top of the list for weather, while New York, Boston, and Chicago are at the bottom. Can't be snow, is it because it doesn't get quite as cold? Really, once it's below freezing does it really matter? In my book, Phoenix has the worst weather. It's so damn hot there in the summer it's unbearable and you can't wear a coat and a hat to deal with it.
I've lived in Denver for six years, and I can tell you it actually has very mild winters compared to New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.. Sure it snows, but that snow will be melted and gone within a week. It might not matter once it's below freezing, but Denver spends a lot more time above freezing than you would think. The ski resorts up in the mountains are a completely different story, but Denver itself is nice. Also, the summers are great because of the low humidity. Those 90+ degree d... More
I've lived in Denver since 1973 and I can tell you that the reputation for snow and cold weather comes from your local news which only talks about Denver when there is a snow storm. Denver averages 300 sunny days per year. I have ridden my motorcycle many times in winter. It's awesome! I've also been to Chicago many times during the winter months and the difference is that once winter starts in Chicago, It's there to stay. Very cold and windy for months. We are currently having a snowstorm ri... More
Honolulu #5? Ridiculous!
The very nature of being an island means tremendous cost of shipping (environmentally speaking) for everything from food to dry goods to the very gasoline and oil. The recycling program here is almost non-existent, and they are now shipping landfill garbage to WA or OR state. Let me reiterate that point. Garbage is being SHIPPED to the mainland for disposal.
Here is a serious car culture with a sub par public transportation system unless you live in Waikiki and want to go to Ala Mo... Read More
NYC is the MOST environmentally friendly city
Think about it: 95% of the city travels by public transportation or walks. Apartment dwellers share resources like heat, and live in compact spaces without a lot of waste. #30? Crazy. Making a big show about recycling and bike-riding, and wearing baggy hemp clothing doesn't mean you win!
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