Chicago Unrated

Rich Daley has taken to bragging lately about how Chicago is the greatest city in the universe at just about everything. Not everyone agrees, though. In the April issue of Men's Journal, for example, Chicago fails to rate in no less than six categories of fun livin' that makes up its Best 50 Places To Live - including Best Downtowns(!).

Not that we put much stock in magazine rankings, but we don't put much stock in the mayor's overblown - and largely unchallenged - sense of Chicago's charms. So just for fun, let's take a look and see where the nation's men of adventure think we're lacking.

BEST DOWNTOWNS
1. Austin. "[A] vibrant setting alongside the banks of Town Lake - actually the dammed-up Colorado River - where the hike-and-bike trail runs past high-dollar high-rises, a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn, and the world largest urban bat colony." And of course, the world-famous music scene that is supported by the city instead of beaten down.

2. San Diego. "There's movement and action now, hustle and flow, a sense of neighborhood and nightlife."

3. Denver. "[A] new mix of lofts, brownstones, and soaring glass high-rises built on an old train yard continues to draw young professionals . . . [and] you can spend late afternoons ripping through the reconstructed kayak chutes or tearing down bike paths toward the reservoirs outside of town."

4. Philadelphia. "No other Northeast city can rival Philly for the organic way in which outdoors and urban blend so seamlessly . . . thanks to magistrates with a jones for development, Philly is riding a condo boom, and it boasts more residents who walk to work than any city in the nation . . . [and] you don't have to live on ramen noodles to make rent."

5. Portland. "[F]amous for its gratis public transportation . . . you're never more than an easy walk from the farmers' market, Powell's books, half a dozen microbreweries, and countless restaurants in which even the bar-menu burger comes from humanely raised cows. Portland vibes like a college town . . . but live like a real (and bigger) city."

BEST ADVENTURE CITIES
1. Los Angeles.
2. Providence.
3. San Francisco.
4. New York.
5. Sacramento.

BEST COMMUTER TOWNS
1. Kent Island, MD (Washington, D.C.).
2. Gainesville, GA (Atlanta).
3. Stillwater, MN (Minneapolis).
4. Nyack, NY (New York City).
5. Fairfax, CA (San Francisco).
6. Hingham, MA (Boston).
7. Parkville, MO (Kansas City).
8. Vashon Island, WA (Seattle).
9. Bandera, TX (San Antonio).
10. Oxford, OH (Cincinnati).

HEALTHIEST PLACES
1. Santa Ana, CA.
2. San Jose, CA.
3. Bethesda, MD.
4. Boulder, CO.
5. Flagstaff, AZ.

SUNNIEST PLACEs
1. Las Vegas.
2. Phoenix.
3. El Paso.
4. Napa, CA.
5. San Luis Obispo, CA.

BEST HIDEAWAYS
1. Truckee, CA.
2. Dahlonega, GA.
3. Ojai, CA.
4. Truth or Consequences, NM.
5. Mount Gretna, PA.
6. Basalt, CO.
7. Fernandina Beach, FL.
8. Hayward, WI.
9. Belfast, ME.
10. Unincorporated Montana.

CLEANEST PLACES
1. Lynchburg, VA.
2. Morristown, TN.
3. Hot Springs, AR.
4. Santa Fe, NM.
5. Dothan, AL.

LEAST STRESSFUL PLACES
1. Logan, UT.
2. Ames, ID.
3. Rochester, MN.
4. Fargo, ND.
5. Harrisonburg, VA.

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