great question. no doubt about it. Pittsburgh is #1. above all, the people are the greatist. also, inexpensive, low crime, abundant culture,compact, lots of entertainment,beautiful terrain. etc. Go visit and you'll see why it's #1.

I have lived in most major and minor cities in the us and Canada and If you are considering "filthadelphia" then you are in for a rough time.
Philadelphia is just like a mini New York only Dirtier.
If you wan't something in the mid atlantic states I would say Deleware is the nicest state.
Most places are within an hour and a half from major cities like, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and Norfolk. Wilmington is the Largest city in the state with about, 120,000 residents.
My favourite place is Texas. Everything under the sun is there, a mild climate, picturesque towns, Scenic Vistas, every type of landscape imaginable.
Just stay away from HOUSTON!!!
It is worse than Detroit.
Another great thing about Texas is It has the best economy in the us because of the oil so no matter where you work you will have high wages.
Harlingen is a nice city down in the south but if you don't like mexican than you wouldn't like it there.
San Antonio is Beautifull but I would have to say my favourite city in Texas is Corpus Christi because of the beach.
If you ever get a chance, take a visit.
Here is a list of the 10 best places to live from my point of view.
note: I have lived in them all
1:Victoria Canada
2:Eugene OR
3:Monterrey CA
4:Evansville IN
5:Tuscon AZ
6over DE
7:Harrisburg PA
8:Wilmington DE
9:Knoxville TN
10ittle Rock AR
Note: All of these places are great!
I hope this will be able to help you select a place to live
Lantell Star
9:

Born and raised in New England: beautiful fall weather; Berkshires; beautiful coast line; colonial and Revolutionary history everywhere; great corn, tomatoes, apples, strawberries and blueberries; steamers and quahoags and lobster to die for; Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox; Downeasters; NOR'easters; out-of-this-world Fourth of July and St Patrick Day celebrations; past and present eccentrics, politicians, writers, artists and musicians. Downside: freeze-your-twillies-off winters.
So I moved to the Southwest: mouth-dropping sunsets and sunrises; the Rockies; Hopi, Navajo, Apache, etc. culture and people; tomatillos, jicama, 10 different kinds of fresh peppers; Thanksgiving dinner served poolside; saguaro cacti decorated in Christmas lights; never having rain dates; Cardinals, Coyotes, Diamondbacks and Suns; OK Corral; Barry Golwater; the Miranda who started it all. Downside: fry-your-twillies-off summers.

Almost anywhere in Minnesota would be good. You can't beat the quality of life
and low cost of living in the rural areas. We have plenty of lakes, trees and clean air! I live in the small town of Detroit Lakes. We have good schools and great community spirit. We are located 200 miles northwest of Minneapolis and 45 miles from east of Fargo, North Dakota which by the way is
a very nice city but no lakes. Good Luck!

I was born and raised in the Northeast,
traveled cross-country to Las Vegas and
lived there for three months. Currently
live in Atlanta.
Here's my scope on the three areas:

New England:
the best of everything( well, almost): food,weather,culture, beaches, history,
close proximity to neighboring states,
trees(I thought I would never miss 'em),
good water and clean air(something I
took for granted), skiing,diversity,did I say excellent cuisine?, education.
Downside:
Highly competitive area for jobs( big
reason why I moved), not
enough good paying jobs. Puritan
atmosphere makes it difficult to meet
genuine friends (people are too much in a rush) But for all it's worth, I still
call it my home.

Las Vegas:

Advantages: Casinos, Casinos, Casinos
(if your a gambler),live shows,dry
weather,diverse population, friendly
people, no state income tax

Disadvantages: Casinos, Casinos, Casinos
(if your not a gambler), intense heat
during summer(it was 120 degrees in
August), flash floods, lacking
educational feel, landscape, dirty,
high crime, radar traps everywhere
(max. speed limit is 45 in city), traffic, high prices in grocery stores,
aweful produce

Before I moved to las vegas, I read that
4,000 people a month were moving to the
area. Unfortunately, they don't tell you
how many of them move out.

Atlanta:

Advantages: friendly people(as long as
their not driving), low housing costs,
low airfares from Hartsfield to many
domestic and international destinations,
pleasant fall, winter, and spring temps.
excellent job opportunities

Disadvantages: The traffic (down here,
there are No rules of the road. People
speed excessively, pass you in the
emergency lane, and have absolutely no
patience when it comes to driving-
boaderline dangerous!!!), uncontrolled
growth(I don't think Georgia has any
zoning laws), everything too spread out,
smog days during summer months(extremely
unhealth!), quality of food outside of
the downtown Atlanta area is lacking
(A lot of southern fried everything, not
a good place if your into health food and a healthy environment), expensive
apartment rentals, income tax(why do they even have one in this state- you
even have to pay for your own garbage pick-up if your a homeowner), extremely
high crime,shooting,rapes,drive-bys,
and cars running over pedestrians,
lack of effective public transit to
outlying areas, lack of standarization,(
shelf tags missing in stores, products
out of stock for weeks sometimes months
at a time, many unknowlegeable clerks
whose favorite response is I don't know,
extremely frustrating environment if
your a conscious consumer)
These sentiments of living in Atlanta
are not my own, I have met people who
have moved here from the northeast and
west and feel the same way.

In a couple of years, I hope to check
our Austin or Denver...there has to be
a place that has friendly people, good
job opportunities, an educational feel,
a place where you don't have to wait
2 months for dental floss.

Couldn't help but reply to the ridiculous comment by Lantell Star "I have lived in most major and minor cities in the US and Canada....".
Huh?!?
You've lived in all 400 odd cities with populations over 75000?
If so, I'll bow down to your suggestions as being the last word on things. But Little Rock, Eugene, Evansville, and Wilmington, certainly with their own redeeming qualities, are curious Top 10 in North America choices. Hmmmmmmm.

California without a doubt. Many great cities ( large and small ) as well as many very desireable rural areas.

no one has mentioned long island, ny! if you are currently in north NJ, it is probably too similar to what you have now, but with the exception of high house prices, it's a great place to live. you can easily work and play in NYC, and come home to a town that no matter what is never more than 20 minutes from some of the best beaches, and don't laugh but we have great shopping here, as well as restaurants that rival NYC or other large cities and beat the pants off many small cities. i am partial to the north shore, but that's b/c i live on the sound.

I can't help but start off with Indianapolis...healthy economy, a well laid out town without many of the huge traffic snarls of bigger cities (this is starting to change, though). Other nice towns I've been to include Burlington Iowa, Eau Claire Wisconsin, Bowling Green Kentucky, and Holly Springs Mississippi.

Christy,

The best places to live are those
where you can grow palm trees outside all year.

Hey guys. Talking about living in the US, how's San Diego (particularly La Jolla) like? I've heard quite a bit about the great climate and places to see, but how's the place in terms of composition of the community and safety?

I live in San Diego but have also lived in many other places in the US as well as other countries. No, I am not in the military. I just have gotten around a bit. San Diego is home and this time we have been here for 15 years now.

We far prefer San Diego over any other place that we have been and we live here by choice. La Jolla is not a separate city but is part of San Diego. It is quite nice, though fairly congested and expensive. San Diego is the safest large city in the US. It has the best weather with a large variety of recreational activities available.

Seriously folks!

The San Francisco bay area is rated
by a number of Magazines to be the
best all around place to live in the
United States.We have the best economy
( Silicon Valley ).We have the most
scenic places in the United States.
Here are just a few listed.
The Golden Gate bridge,Napa Valley,
Lake Tahoe,Yosemite and Monterey bay.
We also have some of the best Weather next to Hawaii and San Diego in the
United States.This is why we have the
most expensive real estate in the
United States.We have too many people
who want to live here,unfortunatley.



Sincerly, Edward Strine

For the person moving to Oregon soon. I have lived in many places in the U.S but this is the best. Look at my Oregon website and this should help you? If you need anything else please feel free to email me.

PLEEEASE do not move to Austin. We are friendly and we love you, but the encroaching growth is destroying (as in so many other places) the very things that make this city unique. In a few years it won't be at all beautiful or livable; it certainly isn't cheap anymore...

Moving this up for Vinícius.

I lived most of my life in the NYC area and have spent the last 7 years in Southern California. I love to visit NY but the lifestyle in California can't be beat, weather is spectacular and there is so much to do. Of course I miss the cultural advantages of NY but an occassional visit takes care of that.

Up up & away!

Wow! All the places recommended are to me large town! I like in a small town in southern MN. No traffic lights, 900 people, everyone knows you and helps you out if you need it, close to Rochester and easily withing driving of the Twin Cities cultural items. I travel and see the traffic the "big" towns have and I wouldn't trade my small town for a large town anyday!!

Those of you who are so happy with where you live are very blessed.