2017 Best Places to Live in America vol. NYC didn't crack top 20 cities

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These are the 20 best US cities to live in
Feb. 7, 2017 at 6:54 AM
Jordi Lippe-McGraw

The United States is filled with incredible cities, each with its own set of credentials and clout to attract visitors from around the world. But which spots are actually the places to live?

U.S. News & World Report just unveiled their list of 2017 Best Places to Live in America after ranking the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas.

Austin, Texas, ranked as the No. 1 place to live in the United States in 2017.

The new list took into account several factors, including affordability, job prospects and quality of life. A public survey of thousands of individuals across the country was also used to determine which qualities people consider important in a hometown. Then, data from the United States Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Labor Statistics — as well as U.S. News rankings of the best high schools and best hospitals — were considered to make up the final ranking.

“When considering a move people are concerned about finding a job in their field, earning enough to afford a home, sending their kids to good schools and feeling like a part of their community," said Kim Castro, executive editor at U.S. News, in a statement. "The Best Places to Live ranking takes all of that into account — the metro areas that do well are the ones with strong job markets and high quality of life."

So, which city took the top spot this year? Austin, Texas, came in at No. 1, bumping the previous winner, Denver, Colorado, to No. 2. The reason? A lot of people are moving to Austin, and the job market and quality of life scores there also saw improvement. In addition, the metro area received a higher percentage of votes in the desirability survey, in which 2,000 random internet users were asked to choose which of the 100 metro areas they would prefer to live in.

Denver, Colorado, got bumped from No. 1 to No. 2 on this year's list.

Rounding out the top five are San Jose, California, which climbed from No. 10 to No. 3; Washington, D.C., which moved up four spots to No. 4; and surprise city Fayetteville, Arkansas, took the fifth spot. Fayetteville may seem like an odd fit for the top 10, but because Walmart, J.B. Transport, Tyson Foods Inc. and the University of Arkansas call the area home, the city's job market is booming. That’s in addition to the fact the housing market is affordable and there is a high quality of life.

A few other cities saw a boost this year, including Boston, Massachusetts, which moved to No. 8 from No. 30 because of a drop in the unemployment rate, and Salt Lake City, which went from No. 27 to No. 10 after its cost of living improved. Hartford, Connecticut; Syracuse, New York; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, all climbed more than 20 spots into the top 50 as they all had higher affordability scores in 2017.

Washington, D.C., placed in the top five places to live in the United States.

In terms of the worst places to live, San Juan, Puerto Rico, ranked last, while many Southern California cities also filled out the bottom of the list because of especially high home prices coupled with residents not earning enough to balance out the high cost of living. And though New York City jumped from No. 96 to No. 80 because of a slight increase in its value score because of a salary bump, it is still behind many other Northeastern cities, including Philadelphia and Baltimore.

How does your city rank? Check out the top 20 below.
The top 20 best cities to live in the U.S.

1. Austin, Texas

2. Denver, Colorado

3. San Jose, California

4. Washington, D.C.

5. Fayetteville, Arkansas

6. Seattle, Washington

7. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

8. Boston, Massachusetts

9. Des Moines, Iowa

10. Salt Lake City, Utah

11. Colorado Springs, Colorado

12. Boise, Idaho

13. Nashville, Tennessee

14. Charlotte, North Carolina

15. Dallas, Texas

16. San Francisco, California

17. Minneapolis, Minnesota

18. Madison, Wisconsin

19. Grand Rapids, Michigan

20. Houston, Texas

http://www.today.com/home/2017-us-best-cities-live-according-us-news-world-report-t107829

DC :pimp:
 
I mean, it's pretty obvious why NYC would not be on the list. Now I'm a Boston guy and I love NYC, but it's filthy, crowded, expensive, smelly, loud.....shall I go on?
 
All subjective and what you want out of your place of residence. Only thing that has me thinking about leaving NYC is pricing, outside of that other than Miami & idealistically LA i wouldn't wanna move.

Also considering that Fayetville Arkansas is #3 on that list it's safe to say this list doesn't represent much of what i like. However now that that's a "hotspot" maybe people will enjoy their own cities and stop coming to NYC sucking the life out of the culture here
 
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Lol Man Jose is ****** trash. NYC isnt what its cracked up to be at all. Its dope. But its no fun. Back in the day I'm sure it was. The nightlife is just eh. Way to serious for me. After being in sf and NYC. I need booty shaking and nonsense in my life.
 
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Srs question, how is life for a black man in Salt Lake.. curious
When I was out there I didnt see many, I even asked some of people I met out there how it was and they all had good things to say. I was looking at it from mostly a monetary standpoint though.

Also heard good things about Arkansas, specifically Northwest Arkansas 
Fayetteville Arkansas #5
indifferent.gif
You would be very surprised man. Northwest Arkansas is one of the richest places in America. Its super nice from the people I know that move around there. 
 
North Carolina having 2 of the 10 is surprising

Not really...cost of living is low and cities like Charlotte are rapidly growing/creating jobs etc.

A bunch of my friends from high school all moved from NY to NC. Seemed so random to me but they really like it there. Gotta visit soon and see what the hype is about.
 
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North Carolina is dope and growing, but the politics there are rough. You have some very liberal spots surrounded by very conservative spots.
 
list is garbage :lol:

Author went out of his way to not mention NYC. A lot happens in NYC Monday morning than Friday night at some of these places and that is one of the few reasons why NYC >. Job prospects are abundant, earning is based how hard you hustle and affordability is a matter of perspective.
 
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