America's Favorite Cities!
 

Just found this article titled America's Favorite Cities on Travel and Leisure Magazine's site. It's very interesting, check it out.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/afc/

Polls always seem to generate controversy, but maybe that's why I find them interesting.

Looking at the methodology is important to understanding any poll. The T&L poll was only for AOL users, asked readers to rate 25 pre-selected cities, and included San Juan Puerto Rico, but failed to include cities like Houston (the 4th largest city in the USA), St. Louis, Charleston DC, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Kansas City, etc.

I note these curious findings in the T&L poll of over 500,000 people:
Rated as the BEST VALUE in travel: NYC (!)
WORST PEOPLE in the city: Los Angeles
LEAST PROUD of THEIR CITY: Los Angeles
MOST ROMANTIC: San Juan PR (?)
MOST DANGEROUS: Miami and LA
CLEANEST: Portland and Minneapolis
MOST ATTRACTIVE: San Francisco, Washington DC, Honolulu
FRIENDLIEST: Nashville

Yeah, there were some curious results in the survey. NYC as "Best Value" is baffling-- awfully fun, yes, but not a "value" destination. But I think people just naturally cut NYC some slack, especially given that the magazine's offices are probably IN Manhattan and the media perpetuate the myth of New York City: The Center of All Human Existence for All Time And Don't You Forget It, Cletus!!

People just like to slam LA in general-- but, since the area barely has any kind of cohesive self-image as a "city", having "pride" in it is a bit difficult.

I do take issue with Angelenos (or people in the metro area) being "worst people". If natives have difficulty giving directions to certain tourists, I would say (in my experience) it's because the tourists have no concept of the area and, thinking the LA area is just Disneyland with ZIP codes, get angry that it may take longer than a 3-block walk to get from Mann's Chinese to the Santa Monica Pier. (I'd say that the people in my neighborhood are some of the nicest I know-- but then again, that's why I live there.)

And who knows how much data tweaking occurred after, say, receiving a little advertising money from a given city's Convention and Visitors' Bureau...?

If you know where to eat, stay, and shop, Manhattan can be very cheap. Shopping, dining, and staying in Midtown or Times Square is what is so expensive.

Go: That's true, of course. And for the record, I LOVE New York. Me, I'll spend the extra money and really enjoy myself!