I've always considered myself a city person. With tons to do (museums, food, parks, events, bars), tons of diversity both in terms of culture and interests, and lots of public transit, it's always been important to me to live in a city I love. Currently I'm in Brooklyn and don't plan to leave anytime soon, but I keep a running sheet of cities I have spent time in and their strengths / weaknesses. I then take those "objective" facets and weight them according to what I personally value in a city (the sheet can handle many different sets of weights, from friends or others). The sheet then spits out an ordering and a single number that means little but is fun to look at. As of 3/29/26, this is the current order it spit out for me:
- Paris
- Brooklyn
- Tokyo
- Copenhagen
- Taipei
- Lisbon
- Manhattan
- Stockholm
- Amsterdam
- London
- Seattle
- Oakland
- San Francisco
- Osaka
- Budapest
- Toronto
- Barcelona
- Kyoto
- San Sebastian
- Madrid
- Boston
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- New Orleans
- Prague
- Portland (OR)
- Reykjavik
Factors considered: Architecture, Bike Friendliness, Cleanliness, Daylife, Diversity, Food, Green Spaces, Nightlife, Progressiveness, Public Transit, Walkability, and Weather