Let's Discuss Cities In Terms Of "Cool." OK, I Realize This Forum

[qualster]

isn't of the utmost importance when it comes to making a decision on where to attend, but it does matter. Now, I'm not saying I'm cool (I'm not), but I do like to be around cool people and events, etc.

New York
LA
Chicago
Philly
Miami
Seattle
Indianapolis
Atlanta
San Fran
Phoenix
Dallas
Houson
Minneapolis
Kansas City
Detroit
Denver
Cincinnati
Portland
Austin
etc.

What cities are the "coolest?" Rank a top 5-10 if you feel like it.

(I'm fully aware that this thread is lame and the antithesis of cool. And this thread probably = fail)

EDIT: So, which US cities have you spent time in? How did you feel about those cities in comparison to others?

[prezidentv8]

San Francisco
Philly
Millbrae
Petaluma
Cotati
San Diego
Durham

[fortissimo]

Seattle
Portland
London
Paris
NYC

[OneKnight]

Oxford
Cusco
New York
Vancouver
Paris
Tokyo
Sydney
Amsterdam
London
Osaka
Seattle
Prague

[daesonesb]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.
Seattle is pretty well dead as far as music centers go. Artistically it's had it's heyday (early nineties with grunge, post punk and Gus Van Sant). This is coming from a Washingtonian too.
Portland is probably number one as far as underground music per capita goes right now, but it's not total package cool like New York is.

Montreal takes it for Canada without much competition.

[qualster]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.
Seattle is pretty well dead as far as music centers go. Artistically it's had it's heyday (early nineties with grunge, post punk and Gus Van Sant). This is coming from a Washingtonian too.
Portland is probably number one as far as underground music per capita goes right now, but it's not total package cool like New York is.

Montreal takes it for Canada without much competition.

OK. I agree with you on Seattle. It is now becoming a parody of the cool Seattle that it once was. People keep moving there to live in the Seattle that once existed, and it is becoming more and more expensive. It is no longer a hip/grungy/edgy place. It's still kind of hip but it is very yuppy (and the weather is attrocious). These are new yuppies, however, disguised as free spirited 20 and 30 somethings. Seattle is, IMO, still much better than LA or Vegas, unless one is dead set on being a part of showbiz, but that's just kind of a different thing altogether.

So, what other cities are cool, in your opinion, and which cities are crap?

I'm going to edit the OP, as I should have laid out a more well defined goal for what I'm trying to do. I'll just add: Please rate and describe major US cities you've spent more than a day in. That might make this more useful to others trying to gauge cities in different regions. I know it would help me.

[luhrenzo]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.
Seattle is pretty well dead as far as music centers go. Artistically it's had it's heyday (early nineties with grunge, post punk and Gus Van Sant). This is coming from a Washingtonian too.
Portland is probably number one as far as underground music per capita goes right now, but it's not total package cool like New York is.

Montreal takes it for Canada without much competition.

one could argue that Austin holds this crown. after all the, "Keep Portland Weird" campaign was jacked from the "Keep Austin Weird" philosophy that has permeated the streets in that city for over a decade

[qualster]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.
Seattle is pretty well dead as far as music centers go. Artistically it's had it's heyday (early nineties with grunge, post punk and Gus Van Sant). This is coming from a Washingtonian too.
Portland is probably number one as far as underground music per capita goes right now, but it's not total package cool like New York is.

Montreal takes it for Canada without much competition.

one could argue that Austin holds this crown. after all the, "Keep Portland Weird" campaign was jacked from the "Keep Austin Weird" philosophy that has permeated the streets in that city for over a decade

Nice.

Austin, San Fran, Portland, Seattle, and New York are probably the usual suspects that will pop up over and over in a "cool cities" discussion.

[BoomBoom1986]

1.) San Francisco

2.) New York

3.) Boston/Philadelphia

4.) Seattle

5.) Minneapolis

This is just my opinion, btw

[AngryAvocado]

San Francisco
Philly
Millbrae
Petaluma
Cotati
San Diego
Durham

Durham? Srsly?

[fortissimo]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

[lewis louis]

Austin is not cool. this is coming from someone who has lived there 10+ years.

1)Chicago
2)Seattle
3)Portland
4)everythign else

[fortissimo]

San Francisco
Philly
Millbrae
Petaluma
Cotati
San Diego
Durham

Durham? Srsly?

I think the rest of the list outside of SF is a joke. Millbrae is a shithole. So is Philly. Nobody likes Petaluma, at least nobody sane.

[daesonesb]

5.) Minneapolis

What does Minneapolis have going for it aside from Rhymesayers? Which, IMO, hasn't been cool since 2003-2004.

[qualster]

1.) San Francisco

2.) New York

3.) Boston/Philadelphia

4.) Seattle

5.) Minneapolis

This is just my opinion, btw

That's awesome. This is kind of the idea. I've heard that Minneapolis is very cool. I visited Philly a couple of years ago and I thought it was awesome (well, the old part of downtown that's been restored was cool). I've lived in Seattle and a few other West Coast cities, but I don't know many others.

IMO, LA is awesome for three weeks, and then it kind of goes down hill.

[AngryAvocado]

5.) Minneapolis

What does Minneapolis have going for it aside from Rhymesayers? Which, IMO, hasn't been cool since 2003-2004.

There must be something to the Twin Cities because people I've met from there all love it despite the fact that it's a barren, icy wasteland.

[qualster]

Austin is not cool. this is coming from someone who has lived there 10+ years.

1)Chicago
2)Seattle
3)Portland
4)everythign else

What do you like most about Chicago? I've never been there but my buddy, who is an attorney, moved back there when he got bored of Seattle.

[im_blue]

5.) Minneapolis

What does Minneapolis have going for it aside from Rhymesayers? Which, IMO, hasn't been cool since 2003-2004.

There must be something to the Twin Cities because people I've met from there all love it despite the fact that it's a barren, icy wasteland.

I'd like to know as well, because I've seen 3 different TLS posters state that the Twin Cities is better than Chicago.

[daesonesb]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

Truth, but LA style is glamorous... as in LA cool generally involves designer clothing/ looking kind of GQ for guys. There is definitely a fixation on flashy cars in LA too, which is glamorous, but not cool IMO.

Another city I've got a bit of experience with is Vancouver. They've got a pretty strong film scene going, and the modern art gallery there gets amazing shit on the regular. Last I was there they had a gigantic collection of Andy Warhol. The only detraction I can think of for Vancouver is the surrounding areas to the south, which can be pretty hickish and conservative. Also, the Vancouver douchebag is of an especially shitty kind. Vancouver club douches give Jersey Shore types a run for their money. That said, however, its a pretty good place to live.

[autarkh]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

LOL. Humid? When it rains (rarely), maybe... When gets really hot, it gets so dry your skin begins to hurt.

And those illegals? They make awesome grub.

[daesonesb]

And those illegals? They make awesome grub.

Agreed. The nice thing about this is that Mexican/Central American food is good all the way up the west coast though. I went to highschool in Northwestern WA, but the mexican and salvadorian places in town were great. There was a huge latin community where I lived.

This doesn't cross into Canada though. The Mexican food just north of the border is pretty awful and scarce as a general rule. Indian, Chinese and Japanese food is better in Van than in Seattle though, IMO.

[qualster]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

LOL. Humid? When it rains (rarely), maybe... When gets really hot, it gets so dry your skin begins to hurt.

And those illegals? They make awesome grub.

Best burritos I've ever had.

[autarkh]

And those illegals? They make awesome grub.

Agreed. The nice thing about this is that Mexican/Central American food is good all the way up the west coast though. I went to highschool in Northwestern WA, but the mexican and salvadorian places in town were great. There was a huge latin community where I lived.

This doesn't cross into Canada though. The Mexican food just north of the border is pretty awful and scarce as a general rule. Indian, Chinese and Japanese food is better in Van than in Seattle though, IMO.

There's lots of good food in Vancouver of other varieties, though. And great coffee.

I still can't get over how green it is up there. Love it.

[autarkh]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

LOL. Humid? When it rains (rarely), maybe... When gets really hot, it gets so dry your skin begins to hurt.

And those illegals? They make awesome grub.

Best burritos I've ever had.

Burritos. Real tacos. Sopes. Tamales. Posole. Mmmmm.

You should also try Salvadorean "pupusas" and fried yucca root.

[qualster]

Burritos. Real tacos. Sopes. Tamales. Posole. Mmmmm.

You should also try Salvadorean "pupusas" and fried yucca root.

I'll have to the next time I'm in La La.