Define "best". Best for partying, attending concerts, making and saving money, dating, buying a house, going to school, getting a job, or for smokin up? Here's my shortlist
1. San Francisco
+ great weather all year round (except maybe 1 month in teh winter when it rains sporadically. But when it rains in frisco, it snows in Taho, so it's good for skiing/boarding I guess)
+ fun outdoors stuff - hiking, skiing, running, biking
+ tons of bars, restaurants, clubs
+ music scene vibrant
+ lots of young cool ppl
+ hi-paying jobs, esp in hi-tech
+ great universities (well 2)
- expensive
- Everywhere else is far
2. New York City
+ Tons of stuff to do - clubs, broadway shows, etc.
+ hi paying jobs, esp in financial services
+ subway
- expensive
- crazy ppl encounterd, but u get used to it
3. Boston
+ Nice cafes, bookstores
+ fun stuff to do, but u need to know ur way around I guess
+ great schools
- a little expensive
- summers hot and humid, winters cold (I guess this is true for all of New England)
4. Seattle
+ Good bands
+ Warm weather
- It rains like a bi*ch
-/+ microsoft
5. Austin
+ Great bands, live music
+ tons of young folks
+ fairly cheap
+ With the $$ for a crappy studio in manhattan, you could get a mansion here
- Arid and dry
- Need to drive everywhere
- rednecks
6. DC
+ Fun things to do esp in and around Georgetown, Dupont circle
+ Lots of young folks
+ Jobs in government (?)
+/- tons of nepali folks in VA/MD/DC
7. Chicago
+ Metropolitan
+ jobs in finance
- cold and windy in winter