Tiers of US cities

[A2]

For me, it's essentially these:

1)

[cheeriokid61]

Not every family in America is going to know what Rio de Janeiro is either.

And I agree, Atlanta's airport is what gives Atlanta its recognition, and it needs more, I believe, to become tier 1.

Now that I think about it, same goes for Nashville. It will need more to bring it to tier 1 status. I think that both Nashville and Atlanta should be in tier 2 at the moment, but I think that both could easily make it to tier 1 within the next decade.

[ATL4EVER]

I think all of Our southern cites have something that could make them tier one, but they are just missing one element .

[urbanplanetuser]

For me, it's essentially these:

1)

[CtownMikey]

I only hate atlanta b/c an a**hole played with my head for about a year from there and everyday.. I seem to hear something about that place.

But it's good that you reply to everything ATL4EVER..

My opinion of Atlanta is that since the Music scene is hot down there right now with lil' jon recruiting all of these new artists and having the skyline in music videos, It probably has the best chance to become more known than any other city... at least through the eyes of people in the music business.. which is huge.

BUT music scenes seem to change about every 4 years or so.. which means that hotlanta may not be so hot after that changes. And that isn't a bad thing, thats just the nature of how trends shift.

[Martinman]

I only hate atlanta b/c an a**hole played with my head for about a year from there and everyday.. I seem to hear something about that place.

But it's good that you reply to everything ATL4EVER..

My opinion of Atlanta is that since the Music scene is hot down there right now with lil' jon recruiting all of these new artists and having the skyline in music videos, It probably has the best chance to become more known than any other city... at least through the eyes of people in the music business.. which is huge.

BUT music scenes seem to change about every 4 years or so.. which means that hotlanta may not be so hot after that changes. And that isn't a bad thing, thats just the nature of how trends shift.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

CNN, Coke (one of the worlds most recognized products), one of the biggest convention industries in the country, one of the largest trademarts in the world which draws international retailers and the Olympics

all will have a bigger impact that lil john

[jazzman]

We're loosing track again.

Look at is this way; If you gave a list of US cities to a shopkeeper in France, a hotel clerk in Brazil or and a policeman in New Zealand which ones would they recognize? Yes, Coke is in Atlanta but nobody reads the fine print on the can. Just like Kellogg

[caravan70]

I think your list is pretty good, I'm not sure exactly what criteria you're using for Tier 1 status, but if it's national or international recognition, you might want to add D.C. to the list.  There's nobody I've ever met overseas who doesn't know what Washington is and the same goes for anybody in the U.S.  Just my opinion. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I don't know what the hell I was thinking forgetting about D.C. You're absolutely right, and thanks.

Darren

[cheeriokid61]

Tier 2 is where most of the cities we've been fighting over belong. For example:

Atlanta

Nashville

Dallas

Boston

Philadelphia

and so on and so forth

By the way, I would add San Francisco in there somewhere. It should be higher than tier 2.

[A2]

Tier 2 is where most of the cities we've been fighting over belong. For example:

Atlanta

Nashville

Dallas

Boston

Philadelphia

and so on and so forth

By the way, I would add San Francisco in there somewhere. It should be higher than tier 2.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

R U saying Nashville is in the same category with the cities you mentioned above ??? You are kidding right. They are as different as night and day as far as population and International prominence goes. I am not trying to be mean, but Nashville is along the lines of a Birmingham, Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, Tampa, Memphis etc....NOT a Philly or a Boston. Let's be realistic guys.

A2

[atlrvr]

You would think that if Nashville was an "international city", it would have AT LEAST ONE international flight. I mean not to be a homer, but Charlotte serves 27 international destinations with non-stop flights......3 of which are trans-oceanic.

That said, Charlotte isn't a Tier 1 or Tier 2 city either.

There is a lot more than name recognition to make a place top tier.....Timbuktu or Giza both have name recognition, but they certainly are not important cities in the world.

[A2]

You would think that if Nashville was an "international city", it would have AT LEAST ONE international flight.  I mean not to be a homer, but Charlotte serves 27 international destinations with non-stop flights......3 of which are trans-oceanic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[MrSmith]

I have not read all 35 pages of this section, but it seems to me the question is flawed. How can you rank cities when you have no criteria specified?

Without criteria the results will alwasy be skewed to the more touristy destinations or just the largest.

Certainly some cities are better known than others --but just because a city is a tourist destination does not neccessarily make it a great city to live in. (Take Las Vegas and Orlando for example).

Ranking cities by size is probably the most accurrate way to rank a city, but then again, LA is one of the worst cities in the country...it's more like a big suburb. If it was not for the weather and hollywood it would never even rank.

I travel a lot and have found that the "best cities" -- the ones I would consider living in are those that have a thriving central core and nice public amenities such as parks, lakes, beaches, sports teams. I also find that i like a city much more if they have good public transportation.

The other thing i've found is that state or national Capitols, although often full of monuments are generally more dull and staged than cities that are built on commerce (like NYC and Chicago). It's why NYC is better than London (although London is nice). Another striking example is Minnneapolis vs. Saint Paul. Hnads down --Minneapolis is a more vibrant dynamic city than their neighbor Saint Paul.

However, Minneapolis probably never ranks in a top 15 list because it is not at all a tourist destination.

[NorthStar]

Tier 1 Cities

A. New York City

B. Chicago, Los Angeles

C. Washington D.C., Detroit, San Francisco,

Tier 2 Cities

A. Boston, Philadelphia

B. Houston

C. Atlanta, Dallas, Miami

Tier 3 Cities

A. Seattle, Minneapolis

B. Denver, St. Louis

C. Newark, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland

Tier 4 Cities

A. Hartford, San Diego, Phoenix

B. Portland, Kansas City, Baltimore

C. Sacramento, Orlando, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Nashville, Austin

[jazzman]

I have not read all 35 pages of this section, but it seems to me the question is flawed.  How can you rank cities when you have no criteria specified?

Without criteria the results will alwasy be skewed to the more touristy destinations or just the largest.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You don't need to read all 35 pages. If you read the last few you would know the criteria.

The criteria: US Cities which are internationally recognized.

If you gave a list of US cities to a shopkeeper in France, a hotel clerk in Brazil or and a policeman in New Zealand which ones would they recognize?

Tier 1:

(Based on Size)

New York

LA

Chicago

(Based on government & space program)

Washington DC

Houston (we have a problem)

(Based on international tourism)

Miami

Honolulu

Vegas

San Francisco (good suggestion from CheerioKid)

Many folks on this thread want their city to be on tier 1. I have given this subject much thought and if you read back a few pages, you'll see that I have altered my list based on observations offered by some of the more astute members. I think we have whittled it down nicely.

Concerning Tier 2, I don't have the energy, but, like CheerioKid said, that's where most of the cities that everyone is arguing about would go.

Concerning Detroit, I do think that most average folks abroad know Detroit due to American cars. Hey forum, what do you think...should it be Tier 1?

B)

[NorthStar]

Concerning Detroit, I do think that most average folks abroad know Detroit due to American cars. Hey forum, what do you think...should it be Tier 1?

B)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you're right about Detroit. I will edit my last post.

[monsoon]

I will remind everyone again this is a thread based on opinion. That means feel free to express your opinion on what cities go into what tiers. This DOES NOT mean you bash other's opinions on this. I am going to start passing out some suspensions for anyone who continues to fail to understand this.

[cheeriokid61]

In my opinion, yes Detroit should be in tier 1.

And now, trying to tread softly, as I would not like to be suspended, there are some adjustments I would make to NorthStar's list, but it is overall quite good.

Here goes nothin:

Tier 1 - You had it down just right.

A. New York City

B. Chicago, LA

C. Washington DC, Detroit, San Francisco

Tier 2 - Move Miami and Seattle up a notch.

A. Boston, Philadelphia

B. Houston, Miami

C. Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle

Tier 3 - Close, but not perfect.

A. Minneapolis

B. Denver, St. Louis, Pittsburg

C. Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, San Diego

Tier 4

A. Phoenix, Nashville, Jacksonville, Portland, Indianapolis

B. Kansas City, Baltimore, Hartford, Providence, Austin, San Antonio

C. Newark, Sacramento, Orlando, Milwaukee

D. A bunch of other cities

As you can see, I just moved around a couple cities, and used the same structure you did. I hope I'm not offensive to you NorthStar.

[NorthStar]

As you can see, I just moved around a couple cities, and used the same structure you did. I hope I'm not offensive to you NorthStar.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not at all.

Where would you place Honolulu and Las Vegas?

[cheeriokid61]

Honolulu - probabaly 3A

Las Vegas - I would say 3C

Las Vegas is really difficult to place, though, because it is so different. Truly, it could be anywhere from 2C to 4A, but I'll stick with 3C.

[hudkina]

Detroit may be famous for cars, but it is also famous for its music, especially in Europe (Techno and Motown are huge over there).

It's also infamous due to its historical rise and fall. Regardless of how accurate the views are, people in Brazil, Poland, or Japan all have heard about the infamous Detroit.

[cheeriokid61]

I find that kind of funny. I would hate for my city to be known by its techno music and its now historical rise and fall. Infamous is one word I would not want infront of my cities name.

[hudkina]

Nobody does either, but thanks to American media demonizing the city everyone seems to think that Detroit is some wartorn hellhole.

[cheeriokid61]

That's true. Detroit really is a wonderful city whose main problem is what all cities deal with, sprawl. Really, the only the thing I don't like about Detroit is its highways and traffic. It's horrible! I hate traveling through Detroit. It's a nightmare.

[hudkina]

Detroit's sprawl isn't that bad, at least in terms of what you'll see in the sunbelt. In fact, Detroit's inner-ring suburbs are denser than most southern cities. In what Houston fits barely 2 million, Detroit fits over 3 million.