**This can also be found at Food & Wine Blog, where I am a contributing author.**
Here is a question that has various answers depending on your goals. When you travel do you prefer relaxation and quiet or nightlife and excitement? It’s a tough question, and I’m sure it has many aspects. If you are a single man, like me, you may well prefer traveling to where there is nightlife and very good restaurants. If you are a married individual, escaping the kids for a weekend, you may just want a very quiet and tame experience soaking in the Jacuzzi listening to Vivaldi.
Both are very good things, if that’s what you want. But how can you tell? Nothing is worse, whether on a business trip or personal time, than going to a place and finding out it’s the opposite of what you had hoped for. I’ve found it completely annoying, I’m sure you may agree. Well, in an effort to alleviate those occasions where possible Travelandleisure.com and CNN did a comparison of 25 cities across America.
The list rates the cities on various aspects including nightclubs, happy hour, singles, affordability, peace and quiet, cleanliness, safety, and of course dining among a huge list of other items. The lists were comprised by 60,000 votes (more votes than most Presidential polls quantify) and include the thoughts of locals as well as visitors to each city.
So what is the result? If you want a fun business trip you need to head out to Chicago (personally all business trips I have had there have been abysmal), New Orleans, San Francisco and New York in that order.
For a family trip look for Orlando, Washington D.C., and San Diego. Romance more the idea? Then head out to Honolulu, Charleston, or San Francisco.
But here are a few points I found of interest. Best Pizza was listed as Chicago as #1. I just can’t see that but as I’ve noted I am biased and from the Bronx. The friendliest city would be Charleston (I knew that wouldn’t be NYC). And the top 5 best place for those of us that are single are: Austin, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Miami and New York. Who would have guessed Austin was the place to be.
I’m sure there are many other surprises and items of interest for every type of traveler out there. Take a look and see what works best for you. Let me know if they missed anything on the list and what city you think has the best of it.
1 comment:
And some cities DO surprise you. While I agree with your comment that New York isn't necessarily the friendliest town in the country; to my surprise, the folks there generally are NOT rude.
Another town that's full of surprises is Honolulu: I used to think of it as little more than a beach venue (which it certainly is), but there's a lot more there -- they've got an aquarium, a zoo (both big hits with the kids), tons of historic architectural sites, even iconic religious destinations and museums. Check 'em out the next time you're there!
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