So, in my quest to determine which U.S. state capital is the worst (and subsequently, the best), I decided to get some input on the people who've traveled to many capitals, far and wide. How this'll work is I've come up with a rating system, which you can rate your capital city based on some common things people would consider about cities:
Here's the rating system (with code beneath it for easy copy and paste):
- Location (0-10 points) - How well does your capital sit in your state? Is it in a good spot, or one you think could be better?
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - If you could look down the streets of your city, how would you describe it?
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - How well does your capital city offer opportunities in form of educating city children? How well do people have to work in your capital?
- Public School System (0-5 points)
- Employment Opportunities (0-5 points)
- Safety (0-10 points) - How crazy do things tend to get in your capital city?
- Blight1 (0-5 points) -
- Crime2 (0-5 points) -
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - How do others generally feel about your capital city?
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - Does your capital have any famous landmarks that distinguish it from other cities?
- Tourism (0-10 points) - How well does your city do to bring tourists to your capital? What attractions are there for families with kids?
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) - It's a road forum, so this had to be added! :) How well is your capital city transportation network? Are there enough options to keep traffic flowing smoothly, or are all the roads bottlenecked during rush hour?
- Environment (0-10 points) - How well does your capital city fare in environmental areas, such as the climate, precipitation amounts, air pollution, air quality, etc? Can your capital keep up with snow removal (if applicable), and does it prepare well for any natural disasters that could affect it?
- Future (0-10 points) - Do you think your capital city will improve in future, or will it get worse as time goes on?
Please use the following to rate your capital! It would help my data tables so much. Simply copy what's in the box below and change to your liking.
[list]
[li]Location ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[li]Aesthetics ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[li]Opportunities ([b]0-10 points[/b]) -[/li]
[list]
[li]Public School System ([b]0-5 points[/b])[/li]
[li]Employment Opportunities ([b]0-5 points[/b])[/li]
[/list]
[li]Safety ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[list]
[li]Blight ([b]0-5 points[/b]) - [/li]
[li]Crime ([b]0-5 points[/b]) - [/li]
[/list]
[li]Public Perception ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[li]Landmarks ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[li]Tourism ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[li]Transportation Network ([b]0-10 points[/b]) [/li]
[li]Environment ([b]0-10 points[/b])[/li]
[li]Future ([b]0-10 points[/b]) - [/li]
[/list]
At the end, add up your final points (see note 1 below first) then figure out how your capital rates:
0-50 points - :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:
51-60 points - There aren't many worse places
61-70 points - Eh, it has it's ups and downs
71-80 points - Not bad, not bad at all
81-90 points - Such a great place!
91-95 points - Absolutely amazing!
96+ - :sombrero:
NOTES:
1. To get your Safety score, add Vacant Properties + Violent Crime + Property Crime to get your Safety score.
When you calculate your final score, ONLY add the Safety score - DO NOT add any of the subcategories of Safety to the final score.2. At the end, if:
1. If the Safety total rating is 10 or more, add +5 to the final score.
2. If the Safety total rating is 15 or more, add +10 to the final score.
3. If the Safety total rating is 20 or more, add +15 the final score.
My new rating on Trenton coming soon once I get other things done!The data collected here I want to use for a little mini project of mine to determine if my assumption that New Jersey's capital is the worst, or if there are others. And, to learn a little bit of everything about the other 49 capitals in the US! :biggrin: So if you could take the time to do this, that would be great!
SPRINGFIELD
- Location (0-10 points) - 8. Near the center of Illinois.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 3. Other than the Lincoln Home Area and the Old State Capitol, it feels like one large ghetto near downtown. Don't get me started on the neighborhood the IEPA is in.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 2. Other than state government, no. There are no large industries, no large employers (does WalMart count?), other than state government.
- Significance (0-10 points) - 6. Not particularly significant outside of the Lincoln attractions and history. As a side note, it was Lincoln and some other Springfield boosters who moved the capital to Springfield from Vandalia.
- Safety (0-20 points - 10. Not too bad in the south part of town. You'll lose your wallet in the state capitol - oh, wait, that's just the politicians. Did I mention the Lincoln Home and IEPA neighborhoods?
- Vacant Properties (0-10 points) - 5. Not too many vacant, but it varies by neighborhood.
- Crime (0-10 points) - 5. Did I mention the IEPA neighborhood?
- Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - 3. As long as you stay out of the north end of town, it's not too bad.
- Property Crime - (0-5 points) - 2. Lock your car and keep valuables out of sight at the Lincoln Home.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 2. Springfield does not have a good perception in the most parts of the state. That may be more due to inside the state capitol than without.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 9. Did I mention the Lincoln Home and the Old State Capitol?
- Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) - 7. The Lincoln Home is good, and there is an action/water park on the south side of town.
- Future (0-10 points) - 7. It's assured unless some bozo figures out how to move the state capital.
TOTAL: 54
I'd say Trenton has more going for it.
you forgot "intuitive to memorize by six year olds shackled by brain-dead curricula?"
Massachusetts, yes.
Pennsylvania, not so much: overshadowed by at least two other cities in the popular knowledge).
Vermont - the worst; it could be a toss-up between it and precisely one other city.
I'll let Billy F take Montana- I got Boise.
Location - 7
Boise is about as centrally located as a place can be in Idaho without being in the middle of the wilderness. Given the massive mountains and not realistically inhabitiable terrain that divide northern and southern Idaho, it's hard to do too much better than Boise
Aesthetics - 10
Right at the base of the aforementioned mountains. The town itself has a great downtown and several good other neighborhoods (North End, Warm Springs, the Bench), and then your typical McMansion sprawl on the outskirts. No real ghettos.
Opportunities - 8
Hewlett Packard, the JR Simplot Company, Micron, Boise Cascade and U.S. Bank are just a few of the major companies with a presence in Boise. The low cost of living, nice surroundings, and educated workforce continue to draw other large companies to at least have some white-collar presence in Boise.
Significance - 6
Boise has a fairly long history, but not a terribly significant one, and hasn't even been the capital for the entire length of the state. Not much to say here- we've got some Oregon Trail stuff and it is the Basque capital of America which is neat, but that's about it.
Safety - 19
Blight - 10
There's basically no blight in Boise. It is one of the more fast growing cities in the US and is doing quite well. Property values are on the rise- if anything gentrification is a problem in the older neighborhoods.
Crime - 9
Violent - 5
There's very little violent crime in Boise.
Property - 4
There's very little property crime in Boise. I only give it a four because a chick I went to middle school with nearly pulled off a million dollar heist of some rich people on vacation, not getting caught until much later.
Perception - 9
Boise is still relatively unknown, and it really isn't much of a tourist destination, but I guarantee that anybody who has spent any significant time (more than a week or so) in Boise will have a very high opinion of it, especially if you like the outdoors. The access to the outdoors from Boise makes Denver and Salt Lake look like...I dunno...Indianapolis. I've only met two types of people with anything less than a positive opinion of Boise- 1) people who only drove by on I-84 or only very briefly (<1 day) got off the freeway, 2) folks who have lived in Boise their whole lives and have come to take their hometown for granted. The latter folks usually change their minds after a couple years.
Landmarks - 3
Eh, the capitol is I guess a landmark. Boise is more about the natural environment than the built environment.
Family-Friendliness - 9
Boise is very family friendly- there is a lot to do for kids and the substantial Mormon influence keeps things "clean" without it feeling like you're being indoctrinated like you might in parts of Utah. There is a solid liberal population mainly centered around the North End, and downtown Boise is a fun place to go party on Saturday night though, so it's a good balance.
Future - 10
Boise is thriving. My only concern is that too many people find out about it and move there. Boise...gosh. It's not a tourist destination, nor will it ever necessarily be, but for folks looking to live somewhere where they can be safe, have a good job, live cheaply, and have a decent amount of culture with an absolute bounty of outdoor activities, it's nearly impossible to beat.
---
Which gives an 81 which is:
76-85 points - Not bad, not bad at all
and I protest this rating system, Boise is way better than that- I'd venture it is one of the top five capitols in the country.
Here is a list of the bad parts about Boise: http://www.reddit.com/r/Boise/comments/179jfv/what_are_the_worst_things_about_boise/
Thank you for your inputs! Also, if anyone has suggestions on how to improve the rating system, please feel free to leave them as well. I might change it so 76-80 is "Not bad, not bad at all!" while 81-90 will be "Such a great place!". Also, I encourage people to submit multiple ratings about the same capital city - the more data, the better! Data from the same states will most likely be aggregated into a single score based upon the scores of each of the categories by the people submitting them.
Thanks again guys!
Trenton-From a South Jersey Perspective
- Location (0-10 points) 8- Riverfront city, near to major roads and direct access to two major cities via I-95/Turnpike
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) 4 - A blend of historic and Modern that seems to have no rhyme or reason at times. You have the retro ball park right next to modern office buildings
- Opportunities (0-10 points) 2 - City itself is only really there for government jobs, if it isn't government...you might as well live in a better town
- Significance (0-10 points) 10- Crossroads of the revolution. Proximity to various revolutionary war battles.
- Safety (0-20 points 7-Safe as long as you are in the main part of town, but if you are just outside of the capitol area you are taking your life into your hands.
- Vacant Properties (0-10 points) 2- A lot of vacant properties, but many are being redeveloped
- Crime (0-10 points) 2- Better than Camden, but not by much
- Violent Crime - (0-5 points) 1- You cannot feel safe in most places around the city
- Property Crime - (0-5 points) 3- Not as many broken into buildings from what i have seen compared to lets say camden
- Public Perception (0-10 points) 3- "At least it isn't Camden" is generally what I hear
- Landmarks (0-10 points) 5- Around the city not as many as on the outskirts such as the washington's crossing park
- Family-Friendliness (0-10 points)5 - Around the major sights in the city and the train station, fairly safe. Outside of there not safe imho.
- Future (0-10 points) 8- The future for the city is looking better than ever, a lot of redevelopment on the abandoned industrial properties
Gives us a score of 60, There aren't many worse places
Quote from: Zeffy on June 03, 2014, 02:09:28 PM
Indianapolis
- Location (10) - Where does your capital sit in your state? Does this location provide easy access to other major parts of your state?
- Aesthetics (8) - When you look at your capital city, do you think it looks like a great example of a thriving city, or do you think it looks like a good place to avoid?
- Opportunities (6) - Does your capital offer a good amount of job opportunities that people would want to work in?
- Significance (6) - Is your capital city historically significant?
- Safety (0-20 points - broken down into three sub-categories:)
- Vacant Properties (5) - Does your capital city suffer from the blight caused by vacant properties that would make an area unsafe? (Note, 0 means mass amount of vacant properties whereas 10 equals very little to none)
- Crime (0-10 points, separated into two categories:)
- Violent Crime - (1) - Is there a shooting every day, or is a homicide a very rare occurrence? (Note, 0 means violent crime are very common, whereas 5 means violent crime is very rare)
- Property Crime - (1) - If you live there, are you at risk for getting robbed or other crime relating to your property?
- Public Perception (4) - How does the general public feel about your state capital opinion-wise?
- Landmarks (7) - Does your state capital contain any landmarks that others feel are significant, either historically or for other reasons?
- Family-Friendliness (9) - Is your state capital a great place to visit for family-oriented groups?
- Future (8) - In the future, do you think your state capital will thrive, or will it fall into disrepair?
Total score: 65
Quote from: SteveG1988 on June 03, 2014, 04:10:46 PM
Trenton-From a South Jersey Perspective
- Safety (0-20 points 7-Safe as long as you are in the main part of town, but if you are just outside of the capitol area you are taking your life into your hands.
- Vacant Properties (0-10 points) 2- A lot of vacant properties, but many are being redeveloped
- Crime (0-10 points) 2- Better than Camden, but not by much
- Violent Crime - (0-5 points) 1- You cannot feel safe in most places around the city
- Property Crime - (0-5 points) 3- Not as many broken into buildings from what i have seen compared to lets say camden
Those are not separate, and should not be counted separately. They are subcategories.
Quote from: 1 on June 03, 2014, 04:14:10 PM
Those are not separate, and should not be counted separately. They are subcategories.
Yes. So you have:
Location (0-10 points) 8
Aesthetics (0-10 points) 4
Opportunities (0-10 points) 2
Significance (0-10 points) 10
Safety (0-20 points) 6
Vacant Properties (0-10 points) 2
Violent Crime - (0-5 points) 1
Property Crime - (0-5 points) 3
Public Perception (0-10 points) 3
Landmarks (0-10 points) 5
Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) 5
Future (0-10 points) 8
FINAL SCORE: 51
I'm going to add how to get your final score result using the Excel formula I'm using to log the data. Also, I updated the ranking system to be a little bit better IMO. Boise should now be "Such a great place!"
HARTFORD
Location (0-10 points) - 8. I would consider it to be in North Central Connecticut. Hartford is a hub of freeways. Most cities throughout the state are about 30-45 minutes from Hartford. I-91 south provides access to the shoreline and Greater New Haven while I-91 provides access to Bradley Airport and Springfield, Mass. I-84 provides access to Danbury and Waterbury to the west and Worcester and Boston, Mass via I-90.
Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 6. The skyline is decent and makes it look like a large city. Although I haven't experienced it, I have heard it can be quite dead at night.
Opportunities (0-10 points) - 7. There are a lot of major business headquarters in the area. Hartford is known for it's financial jobs. There are also some world-wide headquarters nearby.
Significance (0-10 points) - 9. Hartford was the first capital of Connecticut I believe. Many important state documents were signed here that are still around today from the 1700s. Hartford also was home to many famous people including Mark Twain.
Safety (0-20 points - broken down into three sub-categories:)
Vacant Properties (0-10 points) - 5. Hartford has some bad neighborhoods. I don't know if it is caused by vacant properties, but I'm sure it's somewhere.
Crime (0-10 points, separated into two categories:)
Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - 0. You usually hear about a shooting every night on the news. This is common in many Connecticut cities (New Haven and Bridgeport notably).
Property Crime - (0-5 points) - 3. It depends. Some neighborhoods you should avoid, but anywhere near Downtown or close to West Hartford would be good areas to live in (just knowledge, I don't know what parts are terrible)
Public Perception (0-10 points) - 6. Lots of people within the state have mixed feelings. My personal opinion is that it's a nice city in the day time. :bigass:
Landmarks (0-10 points) - 3. Honestly, there aren't any significant buildings except for the Travelers Tower which is a landmark for the city. One could argue the I-84 and CT-2 bridges, but they aren't anything special.
Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) - 8. There are some nice places within Hartford. For example, the Science Museum which is a big family attraction. Within about 30 minutes of the city are a lot of things family-related such as the Dinosaur Museum in Rocky Hill, or the Essex Steam Train in Essex.
Future (0-10 points) - 9. I think Hartford is slowly rising back to the top. There have been a lot of new projects and reviving projects going on. Now if they add a few high-rises, it would make the city look a lot more appealing. :biggrin:
Final score is 64. This is a fair score, although I would bump it up to 70.
Are we talking about the city itself (within the city's boundaries) or the overall community? As someone who has lived a few years with a Harrisburg address but has never lived within the city limits, I can attest that the results of each question are very different.
HARRISBURG (as a community)
- Location (9 points) - While not at the geographic center of the state, Harrisburg is the hub of its transportation networks, with I-76, I-78, I-81, I-83, US 15, US 22/322, PA 283, and Amtrak's Pennsylvanian and Keystone Corridor lines, plus numerous freight rail lines radiating outward in all directions. And beyond accessing destinations within the state, Harrisburg is within a 3-4 hour drive of New York, Washington, mountain recreation in winter, and the Atlantic in summer.
- Aesthetics (7 points) - The capitol itself is renowned for its Renaissance Revival architecture and is connected to the riverfront by a well-preserved historic district. The riverfront is scenic, not only for Front Street's large historic homes, but also for the numerous bridges that span the Susquehanna. Points taken off for blighted areas within the city.
- Opportunities (7 points) - On the community level, unemployment is relatively low–below the national average, though job growth and innovation are middle-of-the-road. The economy is fairly diversified between government, education, health care, technology, and other industries. Points taken off for PA's somewhat business-hostile policies, high property taxes, and lack of tax-deferred Keystone Opportunity Zones in Harrisburg.
- Significance (7 points) - Harrisburg is certainly quite significant in transportation history, being the main point of departure for either: Pittsburgh and the Ohio Valley via the Allegheny Portage Railroad, or the Shenandoah Valley, Kentucky, and Tennessee via the Great Wagon Road and Wilderness Road. Harrisburg is also important to PA history, not only being the seat of state government, but also as a hub for much of what constitutes Pennsylvania's cultural heritage: Pennsylvania Germans, the Pennsylvania barn, etc. Points taken off for being overshadowed by more significant PA historical sites (Gettysburg, Valley Forge).
- Safety (12 points - If we're considering the entire community, I'll give this something of a split decision. The Capitol Plaza area and the immediately adjoining historic neighborhoods are well-preserved, well-populated in day-to-day business, and reasonably safe. There are other nice neighborhoods within the city (Shipoke, Uptown), but the balance of the city consists of rough areas with property and violent crime rates several times the national average. Neighboring townships have relatively low crime rates.
- Vacant Properties (7 points) -
- Crime (5 points) -
- Violent Crime - (2 points) -
- Property Crime - (3 points) -
- Public Perception (4 points) - The city has grabbed some headlines for its near-bankruptcy and crime stats, and perhaps in the mind of the general public, Harrisburg gets lumped in with the Allentown they know from Billy Joel, the Deer Hunter's Pennsylvania, and the amorphous "Rust Belt" in general, but I think it doesn't have nearly as much baggage as Chester or Camden.
- Landmarks (7 points) - Of course there's the capitol building, the State Museum, and the Farm Show Complex, all of which are something of a tourist draw for varied reasons, but Harrisburg isn't quite a wealth landmarks.
- Family-Friendliness (7 points) - The area ranks well in livability metrics that are typically important to families: health care, affordable housing, etc. A wealth of parks, trails and museums afford many recreational options. Points taken off for quality of life issues in parts of the city and a dysfunctional city school system.
- Future (7 points) - Again, a split decision. The city itself has numerous problems to address, including rising crime, a weak local tax base, and crushing debts from a botched incinerator project. The larger area, though, has a pretty steady economy with moderate growth and more promising prospects.
TOTAL (larger community):
67 pointsClose to "Not Bad" –held back by public perception and crime in parts of the city.
Now if we're looking at this as city limits
only:
- Location (9 points) -
- Aesthetics (6 points) -
- Opportunities (3 points) -
- Significance (4 points) -
- Safety (7 points) -
- Vacant Properties (4 points) -
- Crime (3 point) -
- Violent Crime - (1 points) -
- Property Crime - (2 point) -
- Public Perception (4 points) -
- Landmarks (6 points) -
- Family-Friendliness (4 points) -
- Future (5 points) -
TOTAL (city only):
49 points
Quote from: briantroutman on June 03, 2014, 06:52:11 PM
Are we talking about the city itself (within the city's boundaries) or the overall community? As someone who has lived a few years with a Harrisburg address but has never lived within the city limits, I can attest that the results of each question are very different.
I'm mainly talking about the actual city limits - however, nearby suburbs and communities can influence things like opportunity, but shouldn't be used for crime. An example I would use, Ewing is NOT part of Trenton, nor is Hamilton. So, your score would probably be the second (within the city limits). An easy way to explain this is by clicking on the city's name (or typing it in) to Google Maps and looking at the boundary lines. Everything within those is what I would call should be decided on.
You took Trenton, so, BOSTON
- Location: 3 - Nice port, but out of the way of everything else. You have to be going there to be there.
- Aesthetics: 8 - Back Bay, East Boston, other older neighborhoods and all the historic sites. South Boston, not so much, and downtown could be better.
- Opportunities: 10 - Largest metro area and hub of New England.
- Significance: 10 - Second to Philly in Revolutionary era history.
- Safety: 11
- Vacant Properties: 8 - Roxbury is the worst of it, and not too bad.
- Crime: 3
- Violent Crime: 2 - As the center of activity in New England, it's also one of the only cities with large minority populations as well as populations of urban poor (with some overlap), leading to problems in many neighborhoods. With so many universities around, there are also white-collar crimes on up to felony drug use and rape (often date rape/roofies as opposed to violent, but still fitting in this category). On the whole, it's not inherently dangerous to walk around at night, but there's a very seamy underbelly.
- Property Crime: 1 - Not a lot of broken windows on houses, but plenty in cars, and your iPad will disappear if you leave it in sight, whether in a car, on a bench, or at college. It was pretty rampant back in the 2000s.
- Public Perception: 6 - A nice place to live, but full of assholes who can't drive, and you will hate it there if you don't get along with their sports affiliations. That's my best understanding of the general perception of Boston.
- Landmarks: 9 - A ton of history, but a little short on iconic buildings or other easily recognizable places.
- Family-Friendliness: 8 - No theme park nearby, a downtown that's difficult to access, and high prices if you want to stay near the attractions. On the other hand, pretty much everyone brings their kids here, so I can't take away too many points.
- Future: 7 - Boston's not really going anywhere. It's reasonably strong and will stay there. People aren't migrating north, though.
Total: 72
Quote from: Alps on June 03, 2014, 07:08:40 PM
You took Trenton, so, BOSTON
You can do as many entries for whichever capitals you want, as long as you know a good deal about them. Plus, I'm always interested in what other New Jerseyans think about Trenton... ;-)
Anyway, thanks to Alps, briantroutman and Jake2000 for your data!
PROVIDENCE
- Location: 5 - Central to RI (but it's hard not to be), and at least it's on the way to Boston, but still out of the way of most traffic.
- Aesthetics: 6 - Downtown is actually pretty nice, with Brown up on the hill and a canal down below. The rest of the city just sorta sits there on the plain or the summit.
- Opportunities: 5 - Its best chance is being near Boston. There's some commuting from RI to MA, much less in return. Still beats Woonsocket, though.
- Significance: 6 - More history here than you'd expect at first blush, and Rhode Island occupies a unique niche in the development of the American colonies, but pales in comparison to other capitals already mentioned.
- Safety: 14
- Vacant Properties: 8 - The most I've seen is that some of the industrial areas (mostly light industrial) have some abandoned factories. Not so bad, considering.
- Crime: 6
- Violent Crime: 3 - Interestingly, I rate this higher than Boston, but I wouldn't walk around Pdence at night alone in most neighborhoods. On the other hand, stories of violent crime are a lot less frequent here than in certain Boston neighborhoods.
- Property Crime: 3 - Not nearly as bad as Boston in this regard, with only two colleges and generally a less white-elitist type attitude.
- Public Perception: 4 - It's somewhat like Boston, but people can't figure out what's not like Boston. Why live in tiny Rhode Island when you can live in a bigger state (any of them) and pay less taxes (almost anywhere)?
- Landmarks: 5 - Most of these are part of Brown and the nearby neighborhoods.
- Family-Friendliness: 6 - Not a bad place to visit on the way to or from Boston. Check out whaling stuff... I haven't really been a tourist here, so I don't know what else kids can do, but I'm sure there are things.
- Future: 6 - Potential to grow is limited by its connectivity to Boston, but it also won't fall too far for the same reason.
Total: 57
MONTPELIER
- Location: 8 - Nestled in the Green Mountains, out of the way of Massachusetts, but on the way to Canada. Easy to get to for vacationers in upstate NY, VT, or NH.
- Aesthetics: 10 - Helped greatly by being so small, there's nothing bad here. It's a mini-city in the mountains. Plus there's legal public toplessness!
- Opportunities: 7 - A very stable place to be. If you can find a job within the community, you won't lose it. But at the same time, there aren't a lot of openings for that same reason.
- Significance: 5 - Something something Revolution. Something something Green Mountain Boys.
- Safety: 20
- Vacant Properties: 10 - Where?
- Crime: 10 - Where?
- Public Perception: 8 - The only reason this doesn't rank 10 is because a lot of people just don't even think about upstate Vermont. But anyone who's been here knows how wonderful it is.
- Landmarks: 4 - A little light, and mostly limited to some older buildings.
- Family-Friendliness: 7 - A cute place to stroll, plenty of shops, but not much to entertain the kids. Then again, they're probably skiing or doing other stuff in the nearby mountains most of the time.
- Future: 8 - Very stable.
Total: 77
HONOLULU
- Location: 10 - I don't care how many thousands of miles away it is. You know why this is a 10.
- Aesthetics: 8 - 25 for the scenery, 10 for the downtown, but a lot of the neighborhoods are just jumbled together and aren't particularly attractive.
- Opportunities: 4 - Are you in the tourism industry? If so, aloha! If not, lotsa luck. Considering how poor so many islanders are, this can't be rated very highly.
- Significance: 10 - Anything involving the US in the Pacific comes through here. Pearl Harbor is within the city limits. Then you have hundreds of years of kingdoms prior to all that.
- Safety: 15
- Vacant Properties: 10 - Hawaii has the opposite problem, where the islanders get pushed to the sides because they can't afford to live in the nicer parts of the city.
- Crime: 5 - Most tourists don't have a problem, but unless you dig into the city, you won't see the sad state of its other inhabitants.
- Violent Crime: 2 - Mostly falls into the category of domestic abuse, which I consider violent. There are occasional rapes, murders, armed robberies, etc.
- Property Crime: 3 - Again, tourists won't notice this for the most part.
- Public Perception: 10 - If you don't know the bad, you assume it's all good!
- Landmarks: 9 - Scenery and military dominate, assuming you count spotless beaches as scenery.
- Family-Friendliness: 10 - Enough to keep your kids occupied for a week, easily.
- Future: 7 - Built on tourism, Honolulu is subject to economic fluctuations, and the hope for those not involved in the tourism industry is dim. But like Las Vegas, the bright flashy parts will always be there.
Total: 83
Thanks Alps! I'm noticing that the scores are looking a little low for places with virtually no crime, so, to see if this gives places a boost, here's what I propose:
1. If the Safety total rating is 10 or more, add +5 to the final score.
2. If the Safety total rating is 15 or more, add +10 to the final score.
3. If the Safety total rating is 20 or more, add +15 the final score.
NOTE: If you meet more than one category here, you only use the highest point addition.
So, with that being said, here's what gets changed here:
Honolulu, HI - 83 + 10 = 93 final score
Montpelier, VT - 77 + 15 = 92 final score
Boston, MA - 72 + 5 = 77 final score
Providence, RI - 57 + 5 = 62 final score
Boise, ID - 81 + 10 = 91 final score
This should help separate the cities that stand out versus the ones that are crumbling slowly.
Even though I worked in Frankfort every day for six years and still go there several times a year for work, I'm not knowledgeable enough about the specific criteria used in this ranking system to give an honest opinion. All I can give are general observations.
It's pretty well-located in the center of the state, although if the capital was going to be the geographical center as well, it would be somewhere near Springfield or Lebanon (about an hour southwest of Frankfort).
In many ways, it's a small town. Lots of the state employees who work there live in adjoining counties, or even Lexington or Louisville. On evenings and weekends it can seem like a ghost town, even though it's one of those regional centers that has stores like Walmart, Kmart, JC Penney, Lowe's, etc. It also has lots of the "fast-casual" dining places like Chili's, Applebee's and the like. It also has a college (Kentucky State University, which is considered to be one of those "historically black" colleges).
To be a state capital, it has a dearth of hotels/motels. (Oddly enough, I've also noticed this about Charleston, WV, which is a much larger city). Frankfort has a Best Western and a Fairfield at the US 60 exit, and a HI Express, Hampton Inn, Days Inn and America's Best Value (former Super 8) on US 127 on the west side of town. There's also the Capital Plaza Tower located on the edge of downtown (was a Holiday Inn for awhile) and a couple of independent motels that I'm not brave enough to try when I'm there overnight.
If not for being the state capital, Frankfort would probably look a lot like Lawrenceburg, Paris or Versailles, which are nearby towns in the Bluegrass area of the state that are not located on an interstate.
I'm not really sure that most Kentuckians have an opinion about Frankfort the town. Their perception is of Frankfort the seat of state government. I'd say that unlike Boston or Providence or Hartford or even Charleston or Albany, nothing is special about the place except that it's the capital city and the State Capitol is located there.
Quote from: Thing 342 on June 03, 2014, 07:41:09 PM
Richmond, VA:
- Location (9) - Well centered within the state. Located at the intersection between an important national corridor (I-95) and an important intrastate corridor (I-64). Most important routes tend to radiate outward. Roughly equidistant between Norfolk and DC.
I think many people in Virginia, especially the southwestern portion, would disagree with you. I certainly do. I was at a press conference with a Virginia state trooper from Wise, and he was complaining about how far it is to Richmond and how long it takes to get there. He was noting how he's closer to Frankfort and Charleston, and maybe even Nashville or Raleigh, than he is Richmond.
I'd give Richmond a 3 at best.
CHARLESTON
-Location (0-10 points) - 10. Considering the odd geography of the state, you really cannot do any better.
-Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 4. Typical rust belt mill town that peaked in the early 50s. Main industry, besides government is not coal, but chemicals, which looks scary to the uninformed.
-Opportunities (0-10 points) - 2. West Virginia, as a whole is the only state to lose population over the last 70 years (when the US population increased nearly 4 fold) and, but for the geopolitical accident of the 3 eastern counties, would have joined Michigan as the only state to actually lose population between 00 and 10 censuses. Charleston is a part of that. Nothing left for the blue collar person. Down almost 15K since 50s.
-Significance (0-10 points) - 3. None.
-Safety (0-20 points - broken down into four sub-categories:) 7
◦Vacant Properties (0-10 points) - 4. Not as bad as Detroit or such, but all those people that used to live here and moved away lived somewhere. Plenty of vacant properties.
◦Crime (0-10 points, separated into two categories:)
■Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - 1. Along with nearby Huntington, bombed out by meth and crack addicts.
■Property Crime - (0-5 points) - 2. Only the core downtown during daylight hours, and the middle class Kanawha City and ultra-rich South Hills sections are safe. Rest of town is a place you do not go.
-Public Perception (0-10 points) - 2. Most of state uses "Charleston" to mean "the state government" like you use "the Pentagon" or "the White House" and such. No one outside the area really cares about the town one way or the other.
-Landmarks (0-10 points) - 1. Other than government buildings (the capitol itself is nice) nothing of significante.
-Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) - 2. There is a mall. And a Chucky Cheese.
-Future (0-10 points) - 1, War on Coal. Take out the coal and the three counties, and WV is a mixture of the worn out Rust Belt towns along the Ohio and its tributaries and unpopulated mountain counties with nothing there to support a family.
34
Quote from: hbelkins on June 03, 2014, 07:52:18 PM
I think many people in Virginia, especially the southwestern portion, would disagree with you. I certainly do. I was at a press conference with a Virginia state trooper from Wise, and he was complaining about how far it is to Richmond and how long it takes to get there. He was noting how he's closer to Frankfort and Charleston, and maybe even Nashville or Raleigh, than he is Richmond.
where would you put the capital? Virginia is oddly shaped, with its spur to the southwest. further to the south would cause it to move away from the population centers that define its being the south end of the northern megaplex. further north or east and it would alienate the west of the state even more.
further west is the only choice that would have some merit, but I happen to disagree. Lynchburg may be a bit more geographically logical, but then you'd get people from the populated northern and eastern part of Virginia (which would now include Richmond) complaining.
Lynchburg may have made sense geographically if WV had not broken away in 1862.
I don't know enough for a detailed ranking, but "location" for Juneau AK has to be sub-zero if that's even possible. It was centrally located when the then-territorial capital moved from the even more remote Sitka ca. 1906, but now it's hundreds of miles from the state's main population centers in the "Railbelt" (Seward to Fairbanks along the Alaska Railroad). And the only "road connection" for most of the state's population is via auto ferry plus a long drive through Canada, except the occasional cross-gulf ferry between Whittier and Juneau via Yakutat. The state offsets that to some extent by using Anchorage as a de facto second administrative capital, kind of like how some California state agencies have their main offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles rather than Sacramento.
Is there any other state where there is strong sentiment for moving the state capital to a more central or otherwise better location?
Since I don't live in a place with a state capital, I'll choose the capital of the state where I grew up.
ANNAPOLIS
- Location - 10. As good as you can get in such an oddly shaped state. It is near the Bay Bridge and has good road access to DC and Baltimore.
- Aesthetics - 8. It is beautiful in the sense in which a beetle in amber can be beautiful.
- Opportunities - 8. It is within commuter range of DC, but I deducted points for the commute. Closer by, forget about it.
- Significance - 5. It was a big deal during colonial times and in the early days of the United States. Since then, maybe not.
- Safety - 20
- Vacant Properties - 10.
- Crime - 10.
- Violent Crime - 5
- Property Crime - 5
- Public Perception - 0. Below most people's radar.
- Landmarks - 5. The Naval Academy and a historically significant state house.
- Family-Friendliness - 5. It's not family-hostile, but what would your family do there?
- Future - 10. We'll always have
Paris DC.
71 + 15 bonus points for safety = 86.
My thoughts on Atlanta:
- Location (0-10 points) - From the perspective of America and the world at large, I'd call it a 10 if only because of how trivially easy it is to get here either by land or air. From the perspective of the state, I'd say a 6 - it's a pretty good hike from south Georgia, though maybe not so bad if you're near I-75 or I-16. I'll split the difference here and say it's an overall 8.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - Certainly has its warts, but there's a good amount of greenspace and (IMO) a very nice-looking skyline. Overall I'll say about a 7.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - Great job market. Low cost of living. Not hard to make it here at all. Straight to a 10.
- Significance (0-10 points) - Probably the most significant city in the South. Olympic host. Played a major role in the Civil War, and also during the mid-20th century civil rights movement. Easily a 7.
- Safety (0-20 points -
- Vacant Properties (0-10 points) - There are certainly some, but not really an enormous number or anything. I'll call this a 7.
- Crime (0-10 points) -
- Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - Plenty to talk about on the evening news, but not so bad that I generally fear for my safety. Depends on what part of town, of course. Let's call it 2 points.
- Property Crime - (0-5 points) - About the same. 2 points.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - Often thought of as a city of transplants, the general idea being that nobody is really "from" Atlanta. Often if anyone not from Atlanta thinks of the city, they think of their experience changing planes here. I'd say 5 points, right down the middle.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - Pretty decent number, though not really a lot in the way of places instantly recognizable to someone who's never been here. Maybe a 6.
- Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) - The attractions that the city does have, though, can be easily enjoyed by visitors of all ages. Call it an 8.
- Future (0-10 points) - The Atlanta metro area is known for its ever-expanding suburban sprawl (Atlanta itself contains less than 10% of the population), but people are beginning to move back into the city more and more. If everything continues into the near future the way it's been going for the last few years, the sky's the limit. 9 points.
Total:
71 + 5 safety bonus points =
76 points. Not bad, not bad at all.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 03, 2014, 08:31:22 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 03, 2014, 07:52:18 PM
I think many people in Virginia, especially the southwestern portion, would disagree with you. I certainly do. I was at a press conference with a Virginia state trooper from Wise, and he was complaining about how far it is to Richmond and how long it takes to get there. He was noting how he's closer to Frankfort and Charleston, and maybe even Nashville or Raleigh, than he is Richmond.
where would you put the capital? Virginia is oddly shaped, with its spur to the southwest. further to the south would cause it to move away from the population centers that define its being the south end of the northern megaplex. further north or east and it would alienate the west of the state even more.
further west is the only choice that would have some merit, but I happen to disagree. Lynchburg may be a bit more geographically logical, but then you'd get people from the populated northern and eastern part of Virginia (which would now include Richmond) complaining.
Lynchburg may have made sense geographically if WV had not broken away in 1862.
Farmville's closer, but too small and would be too prone to jokes. The geographic center of Virginia is in Buckingham County, which is the middle of nowhere. There's enough room that a new capital could be built from the ground up a la Burma.* I'd rate Richmond a 5 on the location scale since it's more cenral from a population standpoint than a geographic one. I'm still thinking about most of the other categories.
*please don't take this suggestion seriously
QuoteThe geographic center of Virginia is in Buckingham County, which is the middle of nowhere. There's enough room that a new capital could be built from the ground up a la Burma.*
I finally have found my purpose in life. I'm moving to Virginia this evening and will commence this operation.
SACRAMENTO
- Location (5 points) - The northerly location might have made sense when much of the state's population was comprised of grizzled old prospectors, but now the center of population is some 250 miles to the south. The city is connected to the state's major population centers via mostly direct freeway connections, but its remoteness disconnects it from much of the state both physically and culturally. If states were ranked by the percentage of residents who have visited the state capital, I would guess California would be at or near the bottom.
- Aesthetics (5 points) - California has a handsome neoclassical capitol building (as do many states) and some interesting individual sites like the Crocker Art Museum, Ziggurat Building, and the Tower Bridge, but as a whole, the clashing architectural styles and "gratuitous palm trees meet generic middle-America town" appearance come across as disjointed.
- Opportunities (4 points) - For about a decade, Sacramento's unemployment rate has been above the both the national and state averages, and it now stands at nearly double that of San Francisco. Sacramento suffers from the same high taxes and generally anti-business climate of the rest of the state but lacks much of the innovation incubators, natural beauty, and cultural attractions that still draw people to the Bay Area and Southern California.
- Significance (4 points) - The city figures prominently in much of the state's early history but has become less relevant in all regards as the 19th century gave way to the 20th.
- Safety (9 points) - Murder rates are a little higher than the national average, but property crimes and assaults are about double.
- Vacant Properties (5 points) - The housing bubble has hit much of the Central Valley harder than most the U.S., although Sacramento isn't in quite the terrible shape Modesto, Stockton, or Fresno are.
- Crime (4 points) -
- Violent Crime - (2 points) -
- Property Crime - (2 points) -
- Public Perception (6 points) - Split decision–Among Californians, it's a boring town in the middle of nowhere. Among people who don't know anything about California: "Ooh...it's California."
- Landmarks (5 points) - There's the state capitol, some museums, and Old Sacramento, but I wouldn't rate the city particularly high on landmarks.
- Family-Friendliness (5 points) - There are parks, museums, sporting events, and recreation activities on the river, and housing costs are well below the state average, making the city a little more livable in some regards. But it's not the most kid-friendly place...
- Future (4 points) - See "Opportunities" above.
TOTAL:
47 points
Quote from: briantroutman on June 03, 2014, 09:26:05 PM
SACRAMENTO
...
- Family-Friendliness (5 points) - There are parks, museums, sporting events, and recreation activities on the river, and housing costs are well below the state average, making the city a little more livable in some regards. But it's not the most kid-friendly place...
When I spent the summer there as a student in 1979, we called Sacramento "a nice place to raise a family". That was not intended as a compliment.
My guess is that the city has become a bit livelier in the past 35 years.
I'll let someone else take Albany, but whoever does should factor in Albany being the oldest continuously chartered city in North America.
Quote from: briantroutman on June 03, 2014, 09:26:05 PM
Safety (8 points) - Murder rates are a little higher than the national average, but property crimes and assaults are about double.
Vacant Properties (5 points) - The housing bubble has hit much of the Central Valley harder than most the U.S., although Sacramento isn't in quite the terrible shape Modesto, Stockton, or Fresno are.
Crime (4 points)
4+5=8?
Quote from: 1 on June 03, 2014, 10:02:32 PM
4+5=8?
Whoops. I bumped the Vacant Properties rating from 4 to 5 and updated the total at the bottom but not the "Safety" subtotal above. It's fixed now.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 03, 2014, 08:31:22 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 03, 2014, 07:52:18 PM
I think many people in Virginia, especially the southwestern portion, would disagree with you. I certainly do. I was at a press conference with a Virginia state trooper from Wise, and he was complaining about how far it is to Richmond and how long it takes to get there. He was noting how he's closer to Frankfort and Charleston, and maybe even Nashville or Raleigh, than he is Richmond.
where would you put the capital? Virginia is oddly shaped, with its spur to the southwest. further to the south would cause it to move away from the population centers that define its being the south end of the northern megaplex. further north or east and it would alienate the west of the state even more.
further west is the only choice that would have some merit, but I happen to disagree. Lynchburg may be a bit more geographically logical, but then you'd get people from the populated northern and eastern part of Virginia (which would now include Richmond) complaining.
I guess some would make the same argument for Topeka, even though geographically Salina would probably make more sense. Salina would be too far from Kansas City or Lawrence.
Quote from: SP Cook on June 03, 2014, 08:17:49 PM
■Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - 1. Along with nearby Huntington, bombed out by meth and crack addicts.
■Property Crime - (0-5 points) - 2. Only the core downtown during daylight hours, and the middle class Kanawha City and ultra-rich South Hills sections are safe. Rest of town is a place you do not go.
Charleston never struck me as an unsafe place. Of course I have not really been off the numbered routes (60, 119, 21, 61, 25, 114, 601, etc.) but I never really felt uneasy anywhere -- unlike some sections of Louisville and Cincinnati I've been in.
I guess I see Charleston as being one big area with South Charleston, Dunbar, Institute, St. Albans, etc. included, and the main drag (US 60) through St. Albans appeared more seedy to me than anyplace I've been in Charleston proper.
Apparently, Trenton is an exciting place according to a list published by Movoto.com.
http://www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/most-exciting-places-in-new-jersey/
I will give it props for mentioning all the reenactments that Trenton does, as well as mentioning a fine Jersey product known as Pork Roll.. yummy! But it got a high nightlife rating? The city turns into a ghost-town past dark, and noone should be out there.
Anyway, onto the lists. Trenton's score has been combined into one from My and SteveG1988's scores by averaging the scores.
Worst (Currently):
1. Charleston, WV - 32
2. (tie) Harrisburg, PA - 48
2. (tie) Sacramento, CA - 48
3. (tie) Springfield, IL - 54
3. (tie) Trenton, NJ - 54 [57, 51] :thumbdown:
4. Providence, RI - 62 points
5. Hartford, CT - 64 points
Best (Currently):
1. Honolulu, HI - 93 points
2. Montpelier, VT - 92 points
3. Boise, ID - 91 points
4. Annapolis, MD - 86 points
5. Boston, MA - 78 points
This result was obtained from multiple entries about the same city. The numbers in the [brackets] are the original final scores.
Not bad! More entries are always welcome, and remember, just because someone posted one for your capital, doesn't mean you cannot as well!
ALBANY
- Location: 9 - Given NY's crazy shape, Albany does a great job of being connected to just about all of it. The one quibble is that it's a bit off the beaten path for most travelers, but moving it farther south would put it farther from the Northern Tier.
- Aesthetics: 3 - The Egg is about all Albany has going for it. It's otherwise unremarkable in about every aspect, though the skyline has a couple of reasonably good views.
- Opportunities: 6 - Upstate NY in general is opportunity-poor, but Albany is definitely better off than Syracuse, Rochester, or Buffalo. This may be at least in part due to being the state capital.
- Significance: 9 - At the crook of the Erie Canal, the railroad that replaced it, and the Thruway that replaced the railroad in turn, as well as the junction of just about every direction (north to Montreal, east to Boston, west to Ohio and beyond, southwest to Pennsylvania and beyond, south to New York). One of many stopping points along Indian and military trails used during the French and Indian, Revolutionary, and other early wars. The only reason it's not a 10 is that most historical events happened a few to several dozen miles away.
- Safety: 14
- Vacant Properties: 8 - Mostly alright, though there are some abandoned warehouses and factories very close to downtown, which is not cool. They may be gentrifying, though.
- Crime: 6
- Violent Crime: 3 - Depends where you are. Not especially notable for it, but that's because the city tends to die at late hours. I was going to give a 4, but I wouldn't walk around many neighborhoods at night.
- Property Crime: 3 - About the same boat as violent crime.
- Public Perception: 3 - To most people, Albany is a waypoint between NYC and Montreal. To those in the Hudson Valley and below, it's way up there in the nebulous "Upstate". Otherwise, it's in the "Capital Region," which describes something approximating Albany and Washington County. New Yorkers know it as where the governor screws up and lawmakers waste time. Out of staters have barely any idea what's there at all.
- Landmarks: 6 - There are some, especially if you go to immediately adjacent towns, but nothing particularly notable besides that Egg.
- Family-Friendliness: 2 - I can't for the life of me figure out why you would drag the family here. I've had many good times there, but that's doing adult things in the sketchy bar neighborhood.
- Future: 8 - It never fell as badly as other Upstate cities, and with the government situated there, Albany will always have something driving it. With more overturn in formerly downtrodden neighborhoods, I'm predicting an upside.
+5 bonus for safety rating between 10 and 15
Total: 65
JUNEAU
- Location: 3 - I'm going to be less harsh than Oscar. It's beautiful, and in a sheltered port, and about the best climate you can get in Alaska by being along the Pacific Ocean and south of 99.9% of the land mass. That said, inaccessibility will deduct a majority of the points.
- Opportunities: 2 - Alaska is growing, but mostly up by Anchorage. Juneau has government, fishing, and tourism. And it may lose at least one of those in the future. Plus, in order to take advantage of an opportunity, you have to get there somehow.
- Significance: 3 - Glorified fishing town chosen for no reason in particular.
- Safety: 18
- Vacant Properties: 10 - None to really speak of.
- Crime: 8
- Violent Crime: 5 - Like any relatively small town.
- Property Crime: 3 - Because of the tourist turnover - and the tourism employees who serve them - you do get some less violent crimes.
- Public Perception: 9 - Alaska! Remote wilderness! Rugged excitement! Juneau is just as far as Anchorage or Nome to the layperson, and just as interesting. Those who have been there on cruises will love the picturesque miniature city on a hill without realizing how far from the rest of the world it is - or they like it for precisely that reason.
- Landmarks: 4 - Nothing in particular, but the whole "northern fishing village" vibe is fun.
- Family-Friendliness: 7 - Because of the tourism industry. I think it would get boring very quickly for more than a quick visit.
- Future: 2 - The government may leave someday, and then Juneau will be like Ketchikan or Homer - a couple of museums and a lot of cruise ship dependence.
+10 bonus for safety rating between 15 and 20
Total: 58
P.S. Zeffy, when you're listing the bottom five, if you have ties, it should be 1. 2. 2. 4. 4., and done. The bottom five should not have seven unless there are multiple ties for 4th or 5th place.
I've only stopped in Des Moines once (all other times were just passing through), so I'll do what I can. This isn't going to be complete.
Location: 9 - The center of the state is somewhere in Story County, about 20 miles north of Des Moines. For a state that's roughly 200 x 300 miles, that's close enough. Off the top of my head, I think it also lines up with the population center of the state in the 1850s.
Significance: 5 - Insurance is big in Des Moines, and it never hurts to be the capital of the state with the first presidential caucuses.
Public Perception: 5 - People from other states view Des Moines as a small town (generally), people from rural Iowa view Des Moines as a bustling metropolis (generally), and people from other urban centers in Iowa view it as just another city (generally). Interpret that how you will.
Future: 9 - Des Moines has established itself as state capital and insurance boomtown (the Hartford of the West, according to some), two distinctions that likely won't go anywhere anytime soon.
Unfortunately, I don't know enough about opportunities, safety, landmarks, or family-friendliness to include in this post.
We've got a lot of Wisconsinites on AARoads, but I'll take the first crack at Madison.
Location: 8/10
While not near the center of the state (that would be up in Wood County), Madison is easy to get to from most places and is sort of the crossroads of Wisconsin. It's a reasonable trip from the state's population centers.
Aesthetics: 9/10
Madison is a vibrant, growing city with lots of offer visitors and residents alike. Tons of parks, extremely bikeable, outstanding nightlife and the lakes are a huge asset unique among state capitals.
Opportunities: 10/10
Lots of stuff going on there. UW plays a huge role in that with their large bioscience program. Everything from genetics to agriculture. Relevent to our hobby, there are a lot of geospatial opportunities there. The company I work for is based in Madison, for example.
Significance: 6/10
There are more historically significant places in Wisconsin. Madison's location was chosen specifically to be the capital before statehood. So everything historic that has happened there happened because it was the capital.
Safety: 18/20
There's very little violent crime in Madison and I never hear much about property crime. Abandoned buildings are few and far between. There are no "ghetto" areas. I'll dock it two points for any ruckus caused by drunk college students.
Public Perception: 8/10
This one is always going to be biased by one's own politics. Madison is a very liberal city so if that rubs you the wrong way, so will the city at times. I imagine some of my more conservative fellow cheeseheads will jump at the chance to point out everything they don't like about Madison. I'll only give 8 because sometimes the city gets in its own way and most people are going to bitch about the traffic.
Landmarks: 6/10
The famous buildings and such are mostly related to the state government or UW. The capitol building itself is basically a knock-off of the one in Washington and its rotunda is the second largest in the US, after its role model.
Family-Friendliness: 8/10
The low crime, numerous parks and bikeablity are all great assets for raising families. As far as I'm aware, the public school system in Madison is pretty good for a city of a quarter million. With the University right there, they have easy access to a steady stream of newly minted, enthusiastic young teachers. UW is always ranked highly among public universities in the nation, so much so that your kid better have his or her shit together to get in. Because it has this huge college and vibrant population of young adults, there will be some drunken rowdiness to deal with at night. So just like the safety category, I'll dock it two points because of the drunks.
Future: 10/10
There's a lot of momentum behind the city, no matter the political climate. In a knowledge-driven economy, any city with a big university will always have a strategic advantage. In larger cities, it might not be as noticeable, but Madison's size means UW is a huge influence. Madison is not completely surrounded by incorporated suburbs so it can continue annexing new land to the west and east for the time being. I have high confidence in the city's continued success and growth.
Total score: 81/100
Quote from: triplemultiplex on June 04, 2014, 12:58:39 AMSafety: 18/20
There's very little violent crime in Madison and I never hear much about property crime. Abandoned buildings are few and far between. There are no "ghetto" areas. I'll dock it two points for any ruckus caused by drunk college students.
I completely agree, except for the crime part. Madison actually has a few spots one would not want to find ones self walking alone at night through (Allied Dr, Meadowood/ Raymond Rd, Badger Rd, south Park St, and most of the Northport Dr area). However, these areas are relatively isolated and are not near any touristy or visitor centric places. The city also has a very visible, significant homeless population (for its size) and most of said people spend there time on the streets surrounding the Capitol (The Square), City-County Bldg, and State Street. Most of the shelters and services are coincidentally located right around there as well.
Quote from: hbelkins on June 03, 2014, 10:22:59 PM
Charleston never struck me as an unsafe place. Of course I have not really been off the numbered routes (60, 119, 21, 61, 25, 114, 601, etc.) but I never really felt uneasy anywhere -- unlike some sections of Louisville and Cincinnati I've been in.
I guess I see Charleston as being one big area with South Charleston, Dunbar, Institute, St. Albans, etc. included, and the main drag (US 60) through St. Albans appeared more seedy to me than anyplace I've been in Charleston proper.
I was doing just the town, my opinions would be almost exactly the opposite if I were doing the whole area. In fact, I cannot think of a "bad" area outside the city, including St. Albans, which is just a lower middle class working people suburb that looks a bit down because it got bypassed by the interstate and is kinda stuck in the 50s in terms of when everything was built.
Off the numbered routes is where the action is. Other than middle class Kanawha City, ultra rich South Hills and few other pockets, you just don't walk around, even in the daytime. Downtown changes as soon as the sun goes down.
Quote from: briantroutman on June 03, 2014, 09:26:05 PMSACRAMENTO
If states were ranked by the percentage of residents who have visited the state capital, I would guess California would be at or near the bottom.
Isn't a lot of the this the Harrisburg, or Jefferson City trap that there are two large population centres, and it is in neither of them? I guess, unlike the other two I mention, it's not on (Harrisburg), or not far from (Jefferson City), the way between the major met areas so scores lower there.
Obviously not a State Capital, but
LONDON
- Location (0-10 points) - 4: it sits in one corner of the country. However access from other parts is rather easy, due to the dominance of London, and the country's population is weighed towards the SE
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 6: it's London, bits are incredibly beautiful. bits are incredibly ugly, dull suburbia is meh
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 10: it's the employment capital of Europe, there's low unemployment and masses of economic migration to the city
- Significance (0-10 points) - 10: OK, it lost out the world title to New York some time after WW2, but held it for a good 150 years, if not more. It's been the dominant city in England for about 1000 years, and an important one for nearly 2000.
- Safety (0-20 points - 17
- Vacant Properties (0-10 points) - 10: with sky high house prices due to huge demand and little supply, stuff doesn't stay vacant for long. Unless you count the empty mansions of the uber-rich when they are off elsewhere, but even then there's the staff, etc
- Crime (0-10 points) - 7: docked another one as 8 seems too high!
- Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - 4: compared to the rest of the country, other than a few other cities, it tops this. Still rather low though, and its gangs (mostly using knives) that causes the increase (typical murders happen more in London only due to the large population, not a higher rate than the rest of the country) so you are unlikely to get caught up in it. Therefore only dropping a point, especially as we're comparing with American cities, and the much higher homicide rate over there.
- Property Crime - (0-5 points) - 4: highly unlikely to get mugged (much more likely to just be beaten up for some other reason and then have your wallet stolen, and even then unlikely), possibility of home burglary is slightly higher than other UK cities though
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 5: depends. Here in the commuter belt, we love London, we don't particularly dislike it. In most of the country, however, they don't like it as it is over-dominant, aloof and different. The elections 2 weeks ago tomorrow showed that, politically, the capital is a totally different place (apparently). Certainly that's a big feeling, though most don't begrudge London's role as capital, just dislike how everywhere else seems second rate in comparison - especially true in England, given the democratic deficit in not having devolved powers.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 11: the streets are clogged with tourists taking photos, the top tourist attraction is something designed so that you can see as many landmarks as possible in a short time, etc, etc...
- Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) - 10: tourist capital of the world, is it not? Tons to do for all ages. I cannot remember a time I didn't used to go and have fun in London and apparently I went and had fun even before then.
- Future (0-10 points) - 9: the biggest obstacle is the jealousy of other EU countries trying to cripple London's economy via legislation
I make that 82
Tallahassee
2/10- Location- Given where it is at being in the Panhandle of the State, and not at all on the main peninsula, it is way off center.
10/10 Popularity- Given it is much as a college town as much as a government seat for our fine state, FSU is a well known college with good athletic teams so it is pretty much known throughout our country.
Quote from: Zeffy on June 03, 2014, 02:09:28 PM
TRENTON
- Location (0-10 points) - 5 - Center of New Jersey, easy access to many other major cities and towns, but not much else.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 4 - Historic colonial-era architecture, but dilapidated buildings make you wonder about safety.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 7 - There are a lot of places to work in Trenton, or the surrounding suburbs of Ewing and Hamilton.
- Significance (0-10 points) - 9 - The Battle of Trenton was considered by many to be the turning point of the American Revolution, and after the Colonists captured the city, they would go on to win many more battles and eventually the war.
- Safety (0-20 points - 5
- Vacant Properties (0-10 points) - 2 - Um, Trenton, you have a lot of buildings that just sit there, attracting unsavory types of people.
- Crime (0-10 points) - 3
- Violent Crime - (0-5 points) - 1 - It's either a shooting or a stabbing it seems in Trenton.
- Property Crime - (0-5 points) - 2 - Lock your doors at night people! And keep a weapon handy by the bed too.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 6 - Used to be great, now is a ghetto. However, more people seem to care about the capital of New Jersey than before.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 8 - The Trenton Makes Bridge is an iconic landmark in the city, as is the Trenton Battle Monument.
- Family-Friendliness (0-10 points) - 6 - Great if you want to take your family to visit the state capitol or the old Barracks downtown, but other than that the other neighborhoods aren't the best places to be wandering around.
- Future (0-10 points) - 7 - The city has created it's own website (http://www.trenton250.org) to gather input from residents on how to improve the city. It has been selected to receive federal aid in a pilot program under the Obama administration. I think the city could really turn around.
TOTAL: 57 :-(
Not sure how to avoid this, but you've used safety as a determinant in several other categories besides its own–aesthetics, public perception, and family-friendliness–accounting for 29 of the 43 points you marked off. They are necessarily related factors, to be sure, but it looks to me like safety gets disproportionately weighted, especially with the bonus system.
Of course, if you're creating a ranking of the
safety of capital cities, then great! But I thought you were looking for something more all-encompassing.
Quote from: empirestate on June 04, 2014, 10:20:29 AM
Not sure how to avoid this, but you've used safety as a determinant in several other categories besides its own–aesthetics, public perception, and family-friendliness–accounting for 29 of the 43 points you marked off. They are necessarily related factors, to be sure, but it looks to me like safety gets disproportionately weighted, especially with the bonus system.
Of course, if you're creating a ranking of the safety of capital cities, then great! But I thought you were looking for something more all-encompassing.
The reasoning I have behind safety is, given the chance to live there, would your life be great, or, would it be miserable hoping every passing hour you don't get shot/stabbed/robbed, etc? Safety's also huge, because a lot of people tend to tour capital cities looking to learn more about their state. I know for a fact no one would dare walk around north of the Battle Monument in Trenton, let alone any place that's not in the Downtown area of the city. Aesthetics could mean that the city itself looks great, but in reality, it's a crime-ridden ghetto. Perception is just what people
think of the city, not what actually is. Family-friendliness does encompass safety lightly, but it's more about the
activities that kids and their families could do. Examples in my capital would be touring the State House, visiting the Old Barracks Museum, the State Library and the Planetarium, the William Trent House, etc.
Safety is rated as high as it is, because from what I've read the biggest issues with living/visiting cities is the crime rates. If those are high, you don't get too many visitors unless it's an event with police protection, and people living there generally are doing so because they are forced to.
I will comment in general terms on Topeka, but I don't really feel comfortable picking numbers out of the air for a rating system.
Topeka is about 60 miles west of the eastern border in a state that is roughly 250 miles north-south and 400 miles east-west, so while it is fairly near the center of population of the state, it is quite a long drive from western Kansas and there is a long-standing perception that politicians in Topeka are not really interested in that region or in rural affairs generally.
Topeka has some buildings that are of architectural interest, such as the State Capitol, Cedar Crest (not normally open to the public), and the Kansas History Center, but as a whole the urban landscape is fairly bland. The State Capitol and the Kansas History Center are long-standing AAA "star" (now "GEM") tourist attractions. Another important visitor destination is the Brown v. Board of Education national historical park at the former Monroe Elementary in what was and still is the black part of town. (Kansas never had full-bore segregation, but the Topeka BOE is part of the case caption because it exercised an option--then permitted by state law--to operate segregated elementary schools.)
Compared to other large metropolitan areas in the state, Topeka is sleepy. It is an excellent place to raise a family because the cost of living is low, but the local economy is in a state of long-term stagnation since landmark employers like the AT&SF business offices and the Menninger Clinic have either closed or transferred operations elsewhere. State employment in Kansas is low-paid and insecure. Like most second-tier cities, Topeka is in the position of having to give generous business incentives in order to attract expanded private-sector employment, and job growth successes (such as the recent opening of a new factory to produce M&Ms and other packaged candies) tend to be few and far between. Among incorporated cities in Kansas, Topeka is in long-term relative population decline, and was overtaken by Overland Park a decade or two ago as the state's second most populous city.
The public safety picture in Topeka is mediocre at best. For example, the murder rate is about 12 per 100,000 population, versus 6 per 100,000 in Wichita and 4.8 per 100,000 in the US as a whole. (The US rate compares very unfavorably with Canada and the EU-15, where murder rates range from 1.6 per 100,000 in Canada and 1.2 per 100,000 in the UK down to 0.8 per 100,000 in Spain.) By this measure, however, Topeka still does much better than Kansas City (22.6 per 100,000 population).
Topeka public schools are fair but, unlike the Shawnee Mission schools, not superlative in national terms.
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 10:58:25 AMThe reasoning I have behind safety is, given the chance to live there, would your life be great, or, would it be miserable hoping every passing hour you don't get shot/stabbed/robbed, etc?
I don't think there are very many large cities (even ones with very high average crime rates, like Detroit) where casual visitors or college-educated middle-class residents in stable employment would live in that kind of fear. Crime is very anisotropic by neighborhood. For example, I live in a ZIP code which has had just 18 murders in the last 25 years for a population of about 44,000, or an average of 1 per 2445 persons. The countywide average over the same time period is 1 per 642 and in the worst part of the city it is 1 in 79. An individual's vulnerability to violent crime also varies considerably according to whether he or she is "citizen" or "street."
QuoteIf those are high, you don't get too many visitors unless it's an event with police protection, and people living there generally are doing so because they are forced to.
A lot of that has to do with income potential net of living expenses. In very high-crime cities it is often hard to buy into safe neighborhoods using the income that is available from the sorts of jobs that are easy to find in the city. In Detroit, for example, you can buy a house for about $3,000 but a house in a safe neighborhood costs considerably more, and jobs that pay enough to allow you to afford such a house are scarce.
In such cities it is actually much easier to come as a visitor since you are not entangled in this housing/employment tradeoff. I never worry about going to Kansas City although its murder rate is almost four times Wichita's.
Quote from: J N Winkler on June 04, 2014, 11:24:22 AM
I don't think there are very many large cities (even ones with very high average crime rates, like Detroit) where casual visitors or college-educated middle-class residents in stable employment would live in that kind of fear. Crime is very anisotropic by neighborhood. For example, I live in a ZIP code which has had just 18 murders in the last 25 years for a population of about 44,000, or an average of 1 per 2445 persons. The countywide average over the same time period is 1 per 642 and in the worst part of the city it is 1 in 79. An individual's vulnerability to violent crime also varies considerably according to whether he or she is "citizen" or "street."
I'm aware that crime is generally targeted crime, and not random crime, but at the same time, I've seen examples of crime that aren't fueled by gang affiliation, drugs, etc. From what I've read, even wearing a color of a gang in a city is a generally bad idea (well that sucks, that eliminates 1/4 of my wardrobe), and some people are targeted based on race, they can be a citizen with a perfect track record, yet they still get targeted. From past experience, black gang members don't appreciate normal white kids strolling through their hood, often getting loud and issuing threats to said person. Granted, rule #1 of urban cities is do not establish eye contact with anyone and don't stop moving unless you have to. And even then, if your life is in danger, keep moving anyway. My visits in Trenton have not been anything that I would describe as harrowing, but homeless people among others asking for money is nothing short of discomforting.
Quote from: J N Winkler on June 04, 2014, 11:24:22 AM
A lot of that has to do with income potential net of living expenses. In very high-crime cities it is often hard to buy into safe neighborhoods using the income that is available from the sorts of jobs that are easy to find in the city. In Detroit, for example, you can buy a house for about $3,000 but a house in a safe neighborhood costs considerably more, and jobs that pay enough to allow you to afford such a house are scarce.
In such cities it is actually much easier to come as a visitor since you are not entangled in this housing/employment tradeoff. I never worry about going to Kansas City although its murder rate is almost four times Wichita's.
There are some decently high-priced (for a city like Trenton) properties in the south Trenton neighborhoods, ($85k+), while some houses that are in disrepair (generally in the northern section of the city) can be bought for 1/6 of that price. As for visitors to Trenton, the high crime rate and very high presence of street gangs is enough deter visitors unless the event is being watched by the police department. It is a little ridiculous that people think visiting a populated area of the city puts their lives in danger just because of the high crime rate. I've been to Trenton 11 times, and every time I've never seen a crime or heard the pop of a gunshot. I think part of the fear could be of the perception that the media provides of Trenton, and the countless articles of "x shot in Trenton", and if the victim survives the shooting (as is often because gangsters aim is... questionable at best), they are mostly uncooperative with police, because usually, they aren't a model citizen.
Of course, in regards to Trenton, as mentioned before, they have launched a website (http://www.trenton250.org (http://www.trenton250.org)) to gather inputs on residents and visitors to Trenton to improve the city. It's a great first step to show the people that the city cares about how it's perceived and what goes on in the city.
As said before, my rating system is always open to changes and suggestions by people.
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 10:58:25 AM
[Family-friendliness does encompass safety lightly, but it's more about the activities that kids and their families could do. Examples in my capital would be touring the State House, visiting the Old Barracks Museum, the State Library and the Planetarium, the William Trent House, etc.
Family-friendly just for visits/tourism, or for living there? These examples are great for the former, but for the latter there is much more involved, namely good schools, environmental quality, access to health care, parental/social support systems, affordability, etc. A lot of these are general "quality of life" indicators, which seems to only be represented in the original question by safety factors.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on June 04, 2014, 12:07:22 PM
Family-friendly just for visits/tourism, or for living there? These examples are great for the former, but for the latter there is much more involved, namely good schools, environmental quality, access to health care, parental/social support systems, affordability, etc. A lot of these are general "quality of life" indicators, which seems to only be represented in the original question by safety factors.
Generally tourism for this category. However that is something I did overlook before, and I will try to figure out how to fix the rating system to distinguish between tourism / living in the city.
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 11:47:33 AMrule #1 of urban cities is do not establish eye contact with anyone and don't stop moving unless you have to.
I've taken photos in some pretty terrible neighborhoods (hey, it's where the old signs are) and I've never had any trouble with a friendly small wave and nod of acknowledgement. the residents are
people, not wild animals. I'm okay with being perceived as eccentric but harmless. the worst that's ever happened to me is I've been offered drugs.
I've always been a bit skeptical about using murder rates as a judge of the safety of anywhere, simply because if you are in an area with a small population and you have a couple of murders, that's going to skew the rate upwards. Let two people get killed in a year in a small town and it jacks the rate up a lot higher than it might be in, say, a larger city where, say, 20 people get killed. The reality is probably that the smaller town is safer, but the statistics might show otherwise.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 04, 2014, 01:15:27 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 11:47:33 AMrule #1 of urban cities is do not establish eye contact with anyone and don't stop moving unless you have to.
I've taken photos in some pretty terrible neighborhoods (hey, it's where the old signs are) and I've never had any trouble with a friendly small wave and nod of acknowledgement. the residents are people, not wild animals. I'm okay with being perceived as eccentric but harmless. the worst that's ever happened to me is I've been offered drugs.
Yeah, pretty much this...I've had much more problems with suburban folk with nothing better to do than to harass you, and virtually no problems within inner cities. There's a big difference between strolling though a city and not making a scene, blending in with the area, keeping your wits about you, and intentionally making yourself a mark or running off at the mouth.
Violent Crime typically does not happen to the rare passerby, it many cases it haunts and finds those who habitually co-exist with those of a violent nature or live recklessly.
Quote from: formulanone on June 04, 2014, 02:21:30 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 04, 2014, 01:15:27 PM
I've taken photos in some pretty terrible neighborhoods (hey, it's where the old signs are) and I've never had any trouble with a friendly small wave and nod of acknowledgement. the residents are people, not wild animals. I'm okay with being perceived as eccentric but harmless. the worst that's ever happened to me is I've been offered drugs.
Yeah, pretty much this...I've had much more problems with suburban folk with nothing better to do than to harass you, and virtually no problems within inner cities. There's a big difference between strolling though a city and not making a scene, blending in with the area, keeping your wits about you, and intentionally making yourself a mark or running off at the mouth.
Violent Crime typically does not happen to the rare passerby, it many cases it haunts and finds those who habitually co-exist with those of a violent nature or live recklessly.
Well, I would agree with you, but one of my 11 visits to Trenton a group of (thugs) men who were sitting on a porch started pointing at me, not really getting violent but as I strolled by their houses not paying attention to them, one of them remarked "look at that <censored> just walking through our turf like nothing's wrong", while another said "man leave that <censored> alone he's probably just visiting with his family, I ain't got no beef with him, he ain't wearing colors, he ain't acting tough, besides that kid doesn't even look like he's a threat". I guess that was reassuring. I didn't turn to acknowledge them or say anything, I just minded my own business and moved on. That was my only bad experience in Trenton, and, to be fair, I did wander a bit out of the downtown area.
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 02:47:12 PM
Well, I would agree with you, but one of my 11 visits to Trenton a group of (thugs) men who were sitting on a porch started pointing at me, not really getting violent but as I strolled by their houses not paying attention to them, one of them remarked "look at that <censored> just walking through our turf like nothing's wrong", while another said "man leave that <censored> alone he's probably just visiting with his family, I ain't got no beef with him, he ain't wearing colors, he ain't acting tough, besides that kid doesn't even look like he's a threat". I guess that was reassuring. I didn't turn to acknowledge them or say anything, I just minded my own business and moved on. That was my only bad experience in Trenton, and, to be fair, I did wander a bit out of the downtown area.
the second one has the attitude of 99% of people.
that last 1% is sociopathic and is gonna show up regardless of race, environment, upbringing, etc.
Quote from: hbelkins on June 04, 2014, 01:47:48 PMI've always been a bit skeptical about using murder rates as a judge of the safety of anywhere, simply because if you are in an area with a small population and you have a couple of murders, that's going to skew the rate upwards. Let two people get killed in a year in a small town and it jacks the rate up a lot higher than it might be in, say, a larger city where, say, 20 people get killed. The reality is probably that the smaller town is safer, but the statistics might show otherwise.
This is why it is helpful to look at total homicides over a number of years. The Wichita
Eagle chose a 25-year period in its latest foray into database journalism, which is where my numbers come from. As it happens, the Wichita road meet in July 2013 started and ended in the ZIP code that had 1 homicide per 2445 persons, but featured multiple stops in the part of the city that had 1 homicide per 79 persons. More refined analysis showed that many of the deaths in this latter part of town happened at certain premises near arterial intersections which have had bars (or poolrooms with liquor availability) in operation for much of the 25-year period. Nearly all of those places are now boarded up, and with the exception of 13th and Grove, I don't think any of them was on our driving route. We did drive along a part of Ninth Street which used to have a reputation as an open-air emporium for illegal stuff.
I'm enjoying reading these, but have a couple of thoughts:
-First, on safety/crime, since these have quantifiable numbers available from law enforcement sources, couldn't we just decide what numbers/statistics go into this and have a subjective rather than objective score? Subjective opinions could go into perception, aesthetics, etc.
-Also, since we have the opportunity for 50 (or more) different people creating these rankings, isn't it disingenuous to stack them up against each other? For example, on significance, Trenton is given a 9 based on that events during the American Revolution, without reference to anything since, but Sacramento is given a 4, based on events that fueled the Gold Rush and Western migration, but because "nothing" has happened since. Seems to me those scores should be the same or similar based on those statements.
That said, it's a fun exercise, and I'll come up with a second opinion on Sacramento.
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 11:47:33 AM
Of course, in regards to Trenton, as mentioned before, they have launched a website (http://www.trenton250.org (http://www.trenton250.org)) to gather inputs on residents and visitors to Trenton to improve the city. It's a great first step to show the people that the city cares about how it's perceived and what goes on in the city.
As said before, my rating system is always open to changes and suggestions by people.
I only meant to suggest that, if safety is the main focus of your question (and that's perfectly fine if it is), maybe consider rolling "aesthetics", "perception" and the rest into the "safety" section as sub-categories. Just going by your own answers for Trenton, that seemed to be your inclination. But it could also be that Trenton in particular has such safety issues that they pervade other aspects of evaluating the city, which is also cool.
Okay, so, after thinking about the rating system a bit, I would like to know if the following changes make this list less safety oriented and more about the overall feelings of the capital city in it's current shape. As much as I love history, I feel like this will give a lot of cities an advantage over one another, so I've removed it entirely. Here's the changes...
- Location (0-10 points) -
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) -
- Opportunities (0-10 points) -
- Public School System (0-5 points)
- Employment Opportunities (0-5 points)
- Safety (0-10 points) -
- Blight1 (0-5 points) -
- Crime2 (0-5 points) -
- Public Perception (0-10 points) -
- Landmarks (0-10 points) -
- Tourism (0-10 points) -
- Transportation Network (0-10 points)
- Environment (0-10 points)
- Future (0-10 points) -
1 Refers to the % of abandoned properties, or property values in general
2 Encompasses both violent and non-violent (property) crimes
My intention was to not focus solely on safety. I want to focus on all the aspects of our state capitals, and I believe this list is a much closer step to that vision.
Also, for everyone who submitted data before, I am perfectly fine with you not wanting to edit it, I should've probably considered this before I posted. Still, if you wouldn't mind, it would be great!
Quote from: formulanone on June 04, 2014, 02:21:30 PM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 04, 2014, 01:15:27 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 11:47:33 AMrule #1 of urban cities is do not establish eye contact with anyone and don't stop moving unless you have to.
I've taken photos in some pretty terrible neighborhoods (hey, it's where the old signs are) and I've never had any trouble with a friendly small wave and nod of acknowledgement. the residents are people, not wild animals. I'm okay with being perceived as eccentric but harmless. the worst that's ever happened to me is I've been offered drugs.
Yeah, pretty much this...I've had much more problems with suburban folk with nothing better to do than to harass you, and virtually no problems within inner cities. There's a big difference between strolling though a city and not making a scene, blending in with the area, keeping your wits about you, and intentionally making yourself a mark or running off at the mouth.
Violent Crime typically does not happen to the rare passerby, it many cases it haunts and finds those who habitually co-exist with those of a violent nature or live recklessly.
I've had my share of generally skittish, paranoid, troubled, or just plain defensive people come up and demand to know what I was doing taking pictures that might or might not have included them.
I've had about the same number of people attempt to pose or ask to have their picture taken.
Takes all kinds, as they say.
My new ratings for Trenton...
TRENTON
- Location (0-10 points) - 6 - Decently placed along the Delaware River, and basically the center point of New Jersey.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 4 - You have a mix of colonial-era architecture with modern era office buildings. Oh, and then you have Arm and Hammer Park.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 4
- Public School System (0-5 points) - 2. Trenton's public school system isn't anything to be proud of. Low graduation rates and a faltering budget means the school system is struggling badly.
- Employment Opportunities (0-5 points) - 2. - If you like New Jersey government, you can work in Trenton, otherwise... there's not much.
- Safety (0-10 points) - 5
- Blight1 (0-5 points) - 3 - Vacant buildings that are more concentrated in some areas compared to the others, but otherwise property values are fluctuate too much across the city.
- Crime2 (0-5 points) - 2 - Nighttime in Trenton is a badtime in Trenton.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 5 - Most are ashamed of it being New Jersey's capital, while others still find it one of the most historic places in the US.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 7 - The Trenton Battle Monument is still relatively well maintained, the Trenton Makes bridge is still standing strong, and you can't forget about the Capitol building either.
- Tourism (0-10 points) - 6 - Lots of New Jersey history the family can learn about, or they can enjoy a Trenton Thunder game at Arm & Hammer Park. Either way, not too bad for people stopping by.
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) - 7 - Trenton is associated with the infamous gap in I-95, even though it's really not in Trenton, but still, the combination of NJ 29, US 1, I-195 and I-295 serve the city well and prevent any real traffic. The NJ Turnpike while not in Trenton still serves many people through Exit 7a.
- Environment (0-10 points) - 6 - It's New Jersey, which can mean horrible winters and very hot summers. Air pollution is a little bit hazy, but nothing too bad. The snow removal effort in Trenton is decent enough to give this a 6.
- Future (0-10 points) - 10 - Trenton has been down ever since the riots in the 1960s, but there's a lot being done to improve life in the capital city. Trenton continues to serve as an excellent venue for events in the city, and with more steps being taken to reduce the crime rate in Trenton and improve the life of current and future residents, the future may certainly be bright for Trenton.
FINAL SCORE: 60
OKLAHOMA CITY:
- Location (0-10 points) - 10, centrally located geographically, as well being the largest city in the state. It's only 90 minutes from the Tulsa, second-largest city in the state, and the third-largest city is functionally one of its suburbs. About the only place that would make more sense is Stroud or thereabouts if you placed importance on wanting it to be midway between Tulsa and OKC.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 6, not an eyesore, but there's little that's architecturally unique
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 7
- Public School System (0-5 points) - 2, education in Oklahoma perennially faces budget shortfalls and Legislative monkeying with the curriculum, and OKC public schools have to deal with this too
- Employment Opportunities (0-5 points) - 5, headquarters of several major companies: Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, Hobby Lobby, Sonic Drive-In. Chesapeake and Devon have a reputation for being an excellent place to work (maybe not quite on the order of Google, but close). Oklahoma City tends to be less affected by economic downturns than other US cities. While not in Oklahoma City proper, aside from the exception of Remington Park, the casino gaming industry has a strong presence in the metro area.
- Safety (0-10 points) - 7
- Blight1 (0-5 points) - 4, very little blight; the city actively works to redevelop areas declared "blighted"
- Crime2 (0-5 points) - 3, murder rate is around 14 per 100,000. Most crimes reported in Oklahoma City are burglaries and other thefts.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 4, Oklahoma City's reputation is tied to that of Oklahoma; most people see the state as backward, behind the times, full of stupid rednecks, etc.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 7, plenty of things to see and do
- Tourism (0-10 points) - 8, with the MAPS Projects and its sequels, Oklahoma City has aggressively worked to make itself, especially its downtown area, more appealing to the outsider. This was triggered by Oklahoma City being passed over in favor of Indianapolis for a major airline facility due to the latter's more vibrant downtown. As a result, downtown Oklahoma City has been extensively redeveloped, resulting the Bricktown entertainment district, which includes the canal, the Bricktown Ballpark, etc.
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) - 8, freeways available just about everywhere that you'd want to go, ODOT does a good job at keeping ahead of demand, so even at rush hour things never come to a complete standstill, even if they do slow down some. About the only improvement that could be made is a freeway along the NW Expressway corridor. However, the car is pretty much the only transportation option in town; your only transit opportunity is the bus service, which sucks (no Sunday service). Only passenger rail destination is Amtrak to Fort Worth. Not many facilities for biking, but biking in Oklahoma City weather is probably ill-advised anyway (see below). Will Rogers World Airport is good, and cheap airfare to several major cities is available. There are several minor general aviation airports as well (chiefly Wiley Post in northwest Oklahoma City, but Max Westheimer in nearby Norman is an option).
- Environment (0-10 points) - 2, Oklahoma City has some of the worst weather in the country. It is generally either uncomfortably hot or cold, heat is usually accompanied by humidity (last time I checked today, it was 93°F with 47% relative humidity). Severe storms are frequent. Wind is often excessive, to the point where even if the temperature is comfortable, some outdoor activities are hampered. The Oklahoma City area is usually visited by a tornado at least once per year, although tornado preparedness is at an all-time high, as many new houses are being designed to withstand weaker tornadoes, and storm shelters and safe rooms are increasingly common. Snow is not very frequent, but when it happens, the city basically shuts down until it melts. Total closure of the freeway system is not uncommon. At least your boss usually forgives you if you call in.
- Future (0-10 points) - 9. Due to its aggressive self-improvement plans, its strong employment situation, and low cost of living, Oklahoma City is likely to remain an attractive option to visitors and potential residents in the near future.
- Intuitive to memorize by six year olds shackled by brain-dead curricula - 10 (we are the freebie, kids love us)
TOTAL: 68
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 04, 2014, 05:47:56 PM
Intuitive to memorize by six year olds shackled by brain-dead curricula - 10 (we are the freebie, kids love us)
I never trusted my intuition on this one. the only other freebie is Indianapolis; everywhere else, assuming X City or another variant is either a very bad pothole (New York, Kansas), or some obscure town that no one outside of it has heard of (California, Oregon, etc). hell, Kansas City isn't even the capital of Missouri!
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 02:47:12 PM
one of them remarked "look at that <censored> just walking through our turf like nothing's wrong", while another said "man leave that <censored> alone he's probably just visiting with his family, I ain't got no beef with him, he ain't wearing colors, he ain't acting tough, besides that kid doesn't even look like he's a threat".
They didn't call you a hep cat, did they? :-o
Quote from: roadman65 on June 04, 2014, 09:26:39 AM
Tallahassee
2/10- Location- Given where it is at being in the Panhandle of the State, and not at all on the main peninsula, it is way off center.
Well, when Florida was first established, the two main population areas were St Augustine and Pensacola. Tally is about halfway between them.
Now the population center is much farther down the peninsula, but would you really want to move the capital into the Orlando area? Isn't that enough of a mess as is?
I left Tallahassee almost 15 years ago and have only passed through a couple of times since then, so I'll let someone else finish it up if they want.
Quote from: getemngo on June 04, 2014, 07:42:18 PM
They didn't call you a hep cat, did they? :-o
Yes, but I've never actually cared what someone called me. Words don't hurt me. I've been called every deragatory term there is and never cared. If you don't like what I do / look like, too fucking bad.
Quote from: getemngo on June 04, 2014, 07:42:18 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 02:47:12 PM
one of them remarked "look at that <censored> just walking through our turf like nothing's wrong", while another said "man leave that <censored> alone he's probably just visiting with his family, I ain't got no beef with him, he ain't wearing colors, he ain't acting tough, besides that kid doesn't even look like he's a threat".
They didn't call you a hep cat, did they? :-o
Hep cat? You mean while smoking a jazz cigarette?
Indianapolis Revised
Quote from: Zeffy on June 04, 2014, 04:04:26 PM
- Location (10) -
- Aesthetics (8) -
- Opportunities (6) -
- Public School System (3)
- Employment Opportunities (3)
- Safety (3) -
- Blight1 (2) -
- Crime2 (1) -
- Public Perception (4) -
- Landmarks (7) -
- Tourism (7) -
- Transportation Network (5)
- Environment (5)
- Future (7) -
1 Refers to the % of abandoned properties, or property values in general
2 Encompasses both violent and non-violent (property) crimes
Total = 62 points
I'm going to disagree with the rating of Hartford earlier in the thread.
- Location (0-10 points) - 8 It's a small state, so location isn't that critical. Hartford is in the middle-ish of the state geographically, but not on a population-center basis.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 5 The skyline is OK for a city its size, although it is marred by the former "mount trash" along I-91 to the north. The Capitol, the Colt Building, Bushnell Park, and the remnants of Nook Farm are all OK. Thankfully, the "Butt Ugly Building" along I-84 was torn down a few years ago. However, you don't have to go very far to find blight.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) -
- Public School System (0-5 points) - 0 While there is a network of charter schools to help parents that care get their kids out of Hartford Public Schools...really, if you have school-aged children, you either live in a suburb, or you plan to send them to private school.
- Employment Opportunities (0-5 points) - 3 Picking 3 mostly because I don't know what to put here. It's a mixed bag. There's decent opportunities fueled by the insurance industry, aerospace tech, and the state government...but since so many other answers here are based on "Hartford proper" as opposed to "Hartford metro", it should be noted that many of those opportunities are either in the suburbs, or are at risk of moving to the suburbs. A few of the towers downtown have low occupancy rates.
- Safety (0-10 points) -
- Blight (0-5 points) - 1 There are a few pockets holding their own, but they are few and far between
- Crime (0-5 points) - 1 The best that can be said is that it's not Baltimore, Memphis, or Bridgeport.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 2 There are a few pro-Hartford advocates in Hartford, but a common theme among residents of the surrounding area is to avoid Hartford when possible.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 7 Decent for a city its size: Travelers Tower, Connecticut Science Center, Connecticut State Capitol, Colt Building, The Old State House....
- Tourism (0-10 points) - 3 This rating suffers because I'm answering for Hartford proper. You've got the Connecticut Science Center (if you have kids), the Mark Twain House and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House...and that's about it. Non-scary hotel options within the city limits are limited to a few places downtown.
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) - 2 A lack of 4-lane surface thoroughfares and an underbuilt freeway system plague the City of Hartford. Parking downtown is an issue, but not as bad as it once was. The local bus system is decent, however.
- Environment (0-10 points) - 7, assuming your preference is more for cool weather than warm. Hartford has all four seasons, with a humidity kicker. Winters can be long and snowy. Summers are generally less oppressive than points further south, but air conditioners will get used. Certain weather conditions can trigger air quality alerts, but it's not that bad. Snow removal is pretty good but-for that one storm every few years that dumps snow at too great a rate for the plows to keep up. There is a hurricane risk, but the infrastructure in the city itself is fairly robust. Hartford mostly had power back faster (if it was lost at all) after both "Snowtober" and Irene as compared to nearby towns.
- Future (0-10 points) - 4 Hartford has a long history of making bad decisions. However, there are some signs of improvement for the future, including the development of the Main Street entertainment district, near the new Convention Center and Science Center. There's the potential for filling in / cleaning up blight on the north side of I-84 with the stadium that will apparently be built for the just-announced move of AA Rock Cats from New Britain to Hartford. And, the "Riverfront Recapture" project and the slow development of regional trails along the Connecticut River are promising. Offsetting those reasons for optimism are recent examples of the city reversing course / deëmphasis on some plans to improve livability (e.g., just try shopping for groceries in town), ongoing challenges with city finances, etc.
Total:
41However, as is the case in many different surveys, it should be noted that Hartford suffers because Connecticut is different than other parts of the country, with the entire state being incorporated into one of 169 towns. Hartford's never been able to annex surrounding areas, and in fact has had parts of its former self split off to form new, neighboring towns.
So, when you compare Hartford to other cities, on a "within city limits basis", there's a bit of an unfair comparison. For apples-apples, you almost have to look at Hartford versus "downtown and inner neighborhoods" of other cities, or you have to compare metro area to metro area.
If rating the Hartford metro area...it'd score about a 60 on this scale.
Carson City, NV
- Location (0-10 points) - 3. Nevada doesn't have any good choices. Not having it in Las Vegas forces the ~75% of the politicians who come from there to spend time each term in another part of the state, which is a good thing, at the cost of all those Nevadans being about 6 hours drive away. In Northern Nevada, Reno would be better.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 2. Considering how close it is to some gorgeous scenery, it's a remarkably drab, scruffy desert town. The capitol grounds and the older residential area just to the west of it are OK; otherwise it's trailer parks and Walmart.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) -
- Public School System (0-5 points) - 3. Average.
- Employment Opportunities (0-5 points) - 1. None outside of government. It might have had some potential as a college town but Reno was selected as the location of the public university.
- Safety (0-10 points) -
- Blight (0-5 points) - 3. During the recession there were several holes in shopping centers but most of them have been re-occupied. There's still a derelict former Kmart at the north end of town. Also, trailer parks as mentioned above.
- Crime (0-5 points) - 4. Typical small-city problems of alcohol and meth leading to things like burglary and sexual assault, but in general no major issues.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 2. I've never spoken to anyone who said they wished they lived in Carson City.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 2. That seems like the minimum score for a state capital. There's a small railroad museum. The few casinos are dumpy.
- Tourism (0-10 points) - 3. There are inexpensive motels which provide an alternative to the overpriced places up the hill at Lake Tahoe, but nobody would vacation in Carson City itself. Check out the capitol and surrounding government center, have lunch, get back on the road.
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) - 5. Access to Reno (and its airport) improved when that Blood Alley stretch of US 395 was bypassed a few years ago. Construction of the freeway bypass of Carson City itself is proceeding slowly, in phases, with 2017 looking likely for completion, and that will alleviate congestion on the two streets where it's a bit of a nuisance.
- Environment (0-10 points) - 8. Clean air in a dry desert town with mountains nearby. The altitude helps keep the summer heat from becoming too oppressive, but there are enough mild days in the winter to keep it from being icebound.
- Future (0-10 points) - 3. That freeway bypass is going to take some business away from the south end of town, and refugees from California are much more likely to go to Reno, or possibly Douglas County to the south, for the foreseeable future.
Total score:
39. Certainly the worst in the west, and I'd think bottom 5 in the country, though comparisons to larger cities are difficult. There's just nothing to recommend about it. Reno has a few of the same drawbacks but is by and large a decent place; go there instead.
JACKSON, MS
-Location (0-10 points) Centrally located, with straight shots to surrounding big cities. Location: 9
-Aesthetics (0-10 points) Horrible! I've been on dirt roads in the Delta that's better than some of these streets. But we just passed a 1-cent sales tax earlier this year to help alleviate this. Aesthetics: 3
-Opportunities (0-10 points)
◦Public School System (0-5 points) White flight (and subsequent "other" flight) has done a lot of damage. Still some good schools in the system, though. Public schools: 4
◦Employment Opportunities (0-5 points) Really good when it comes to health-related employment. Someone decent in other fields. I'll score it a 4.
-Safety (0-10 points) - How crazy do things tend to get in your capital city?
◦Blight1 (0-5 points) - Lots of inner city blight, but it's slowly getting better. I'll give it a 3.
◦Crime2 (0-5 points) - Lots of violent crime. I don't feel scared, but do watch where you are. I'll be brutal and give it a 1.
-Public Perception (0-10 points) -Many outsiders feel we don't stand a chance. Go on any TV station's Facebook page and any story about us, people will spin it to something negative. Despite this, 5.
-Landmarks (0-10 points) - Does your capital have any famous landmarks that distinguish it from other cities? Not really. I'll give it a 3.
-Tourism (0-10 points) - Needs improvement here, but it's OK. This gets a 5.
-Transportation Network (0-10 points) - It's pretty easy getting around. While great to have, this city isn't married to interstates. City bus system could better. A 7 in my book.
-Environment (0-10 points) Very humid summers, but the air is relatively good. We don't deal with a lot of snow. Whatever falls usually melts in no time. We were all caught off guard when Katrina struck here. Overall, a 8.
-Future (0-10 points) I really believe we will. There are things that are slowly coming together here. Really need to work on the crime situation. Since I'm an optimist, I'll score the future as a 10.
Overall score: 62
I'm going to disagree with the location score for Sacramento above. I think it's a 10. It's near the center of California's land mass both north to south and east to west. It's at the intersection of a transcontinental east-west route, and a lower-48 north-south route, and a second all-season route to the east besides. It's also a port, with good water navigation to hinterlands north and south as well as to the sea. Where else could you put the capital with these advantages? Maybe Stockton, because it's closer to the center of population, but doesn't have even one all-season route going east, and is getting pretty far from Redding and Red Bluff.
Quote from: mefailenglish on June 04, 2014, 11:06:58 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 04, 2014, 09:26:39 AM
Tallahassee
2/10- Location- Given where it is at being in the Panhandle of the State, and not at all on the main peninsula, it is way off center.
Now the population center is much farther down the peninsula, but would you really want to move the capital into the Orlando area? Isn't that enough of a mess as is?
If Florida's capital was at the geographic middle, then New Port Ritchie would be about right. But realistically, if it were in the population "center", in would probably wind up somewhere around Okeechobee or Sebring. State capitals don't really move anymore.
Well, I'll contribute what I can for Albany...
- Location (8) - Smack at the junction of water-level routes from New York Harbor to the great lakes–all six of them. :-D Also convenient to New England, but perhaps a little far east for true centrality. Syracuse better fits that benchmark. Still, for the time it was founded the location shows pretty good foresight (cf. Juneau).
- Aesthetics (6) - Lots of history in its housing stock, but much of it lost. Empire State Plaza, while it's a very brutalist aesthetic, is at least among the more successful examples. Riverside location allows for some expansive views, such as they are. I've given an extra bonus point to nice residential neighborhoods that I assume exist in parts of the city.
- Opportunities (8) - Just going by law of averages on the school system. I have no direct knowledge of the district, but it's in a city and therefore must be lousy. Then again, if you took those same kids and teleported them into a suburban school building, would they do any better, in which case is the city school system actually to blame? Opportunity-wise, this will be high for any capital because of state government, but the opportunity level differs for transplants and city natives, because the latter is dependent on educational opportunity. So I'll give it a 5, assuming this is from the viewpoint of an already-educated transplant looking to settle in the city.
- Public School System (3)
- Employment Opportunities (5)
- Safety (5) - Again, not a lot of direct knowledge, but there's less apparent blight in Albany than in Troy, Rensselaer or Schenectady, and there seems to be a reasonable stock of 20th-century housing still extant. Crime is commensurate with a small- to mid-sized Upstate New York city.
- Public Perception (4) - Mostly ho-hum. Enough of a humdrum perception that it was worth a joke on "The Simpsons". Cities like Schenectady and Cohoes have much worse perceptions, and of course suburbs have better ones. I will opine, however, that reality greatly exceeds perception.
- Landmarks (6) - The Capitol and Empire State Plaza, SUNY headquarters and the SUNYA campus, and let's not forget the Circle Stack Interchange. But not a city-wide spread of known landmarks, considering the city's age.
- Tourism (10) - Unlike Landmarks, I take this category to apply to tourism opportunities accessible from the city, not just in it. So: Berkshires, Adirondacks, Lake George, Saratoga, Hudson Valley, Catskills, all within easy reach. Overnight destinations like New York City, Montreal, Boston, Niagara Falls can all be reached from Albany.
- Transportation Network (8) - It's a hub of Interstates, rail, and water. Some traffic issues and not much of an airport–which I might actually see as a good thing, given the overall annoyance of large air hubs.
- Environment (7) - Sort of guessing here. You can be the rivers are cleaner than they were fifty years ago but still not perfect. It's far enough from major population centers that air quality isn't affected as much. The climate is what it is for the Northeast; snow will be less than places on the lakes like Syracuse or Buffalo, but topography makes flooding a greater concern. Summers are highly tolerable, and autumns outstanding.
- Future (7) - A cautiously optimistic score. Like all core cities in the state, it's restricted to how much it can directly reap the benefit of its very viable metro area. But at the same time, core cities in general are seeing a modest resurgence nationwide.
Total:
69 - Probably about as high as any capital city will score, barring a few outliers (like Boise, apparently).
Quote from: formulanone on June 06, 2014, 07:55:30 AM
Quote from: mefailenglish on June 04, 2014, 11:06:58 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on June 04, 2014, 09:26:39 AM
Tallahassee
2/10- Location- Given where it is at being in the Panhandle of the State, and not at all on the main peninsula, it is way off center.
Now the population center is much farther down the peninsula, but would you really want to move the capital into the Orlando area? Isn't that enough of a mess as is?
If Florida's capital was at the geographic middle, then New Port Ritchie would be about right. But realistically, if it were in the population "center", in would probably wind up somewhere around Okeechobee or Sebring. State capitals don't really move anymore.
It seems like Orlando is more centrally located; thus, it would make more logical sense. It seems better to reach Orlando from other areas of the state easier than Tallahassee.
Sorry about not responding for a few days. Thursday night I became violently ill when I projectile vomited my entire dinner up for no reason at all. The next day I was feeling shitty to not really check the forum except for using my phone, and Saturday I was just being lazy. :bigass:
Anyway, thank you for submitting your opinions on your capitals! I'll incorporate them into my spreadsheet later today when I wake up.
Annapolis, Maryland:
Location (0-10 points) - 10 (on the Chesapeake Bay, has (sometimes congested) freeway connections to Baltimore and Washington, D.C.)
Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 10 (as quaint as can be)
Opportunities (0-10 points) -
Public School System (0-5 points) 5 Anne Arundel Co. public schools are some of the best in the state
Employment Opportunities (0-5 points) 3.5 not so much in the city
(most state offices are not in Annapolis), but plenty if you
want to drive or take the bus to D.C. or to Fort Meade
Safety (0-10 points) -
Blight1 (0-5 points) - 3 (some blighted public housing in the city)
Crime2 (0-5 points) - 4 (most crime in the city seems to be in the housing projects, otherwise pretty safe)
Public Perception (0-10 points) -
Landmarks (0-10 points) - 10 (oldest state capitol building in use, the Naval Academy, plenty of quaintness, the Bay and the Bay Bridge (nearby))
Tourism (0-10 points) - 10
Transportation Network (0-10 points) - 8 (some congested spots,
and a few city streets are (IMO) dangerously and badly designed)
Environment (0-10 points) - 7 (Bay's health needs a lot of improving)
Future (0-10 points) - 9 (IMO, the state capitol and the Naval Academy will always be there)
Quote from: roadman65 on June 04, 2014, 09:26:39 AM
Tallahassee
2/10- Location- Given where it is at being in the Panhandle of the State, and not at all on the main peninsula, it is way off center.
10/10 Popularity- Given it is much as a college town as much as a government seat for our fine state, FSU is a well known college with good athletic teams so it is pretty much known throughout our country.
I'll try to expand on this...
- Location (0-10 points) - 2/10: Back when Tallahassee was named the capital it was about halfway between the big population centers in Jacksonville and Pensacola. The peninsula was mostly unpopulated.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 7/10: Tallahassee doesn't really look like what the average person thinks Florida would look like, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 7/10: I'm just throwing out a number here. I don't really know what the schools or job market are like. But it seemed to handle the recession better than the bigger cities in the state.
- Safety (0-10 points) - 7/10: Again, taking another guess here. Tallahassee doesn't seem to have the more sensational crimes that happen in Florida's bigger cites.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 6/10: FSU fans love Tallahassee. Everyone else doesn't really know much about the city other than it's the state capital and has two public universities. That's likely due to the far-flung location.
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 1/10: Except for the FSU campus, Tallahassee doesn't have much going for it architecturally speaking. Big points taken off for the monstrosity that is the "new" capitol building. It is a 22-story tower built in the late 1970's. On each side of the tower are the domed chambers for the state house and state senate, making the structure look sort of, well, phallic.
- Tourism (0-10 points) - 2/10: Pretty much non-existant. It's hard to compete with the beaches and theme parks that other parts of Florida are famous for.
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) 7/10: From my limited experience visiting Tallahassee it doesn't appear too bad, although I've only been when the universities were on break. The state roads around town seem to get pretty good attention. I have to think that being the seat of government helps a lot here.
- Environment (0-10 points) 8/10: Since there is pretty much no manufacturing in Tallahassee and it's fairly close to the coast the air quality is pretty good. Summers are hot and humid, and winters are mild compared to just about everywhere else in the country. The city does get threatened from time to time by tropical storms.
- Future (0-10 points) - 7/10: No reason for things to get markedly better, but no reason for things to get markedly worse.
- TOTAL 54
Since no one has done anything for Lincoln, Nebraska, I guess I will have to, even though I may have no idea what I'm talking about:
- Location (0-10 points) - 6/10: Lincoln isn't the most centrally located city in Nebraska (that would either be Grand Island or Kearney), but it is close to the population center of the state, which may be a way of saying it's close to Omaha. It is on I-80.
- Aesthetics (0-10 points) - 5/10: Lincoln is basically flat and has a grid street plan, which is boring. Lincoln looks like a typical midwestern city.
- Opportunities (0-10 points) - 7/10: I don't have much familiarity with the job market in Lincoln, so I can't say for sure, but since the state capital and state university (University of Nebraska) are there, it's got to be pretty good.
- Safety (0-10 points) - 8/10: I never hear much about crime in Lincoln, unless some Husker football player got arrested, but that's just people being stupid. I do imagine people have been murdered there, but I've driven through Lincoln many times and can't really name a bad area of town.
- Public Perception (0-10 points) - 7/10: Most people in Nebraska know Lincoln almost exclusively as the state capital and home of the Husker football team. Husker game day is awesome, but if the football team didn't exist, what else is there?
- Landmarks (0-10 points) - 3/10: This, to me, seems a chicken or the egg type of thing. If Lincoln was not the capital, would there be anything there? That said, I do like the capitol buiding, even if it appears to be phallic in nature.
- Tourism (0-10 points) - 4/10: There's Husker game day and that's pretty much it. Most of the good touristy type of stuff in Nebraska is in Omaha.
- Transportation Network (0-10 points) 6/10: Like I said, it is on I-80. There are 4 lane divided highways going north, south and southeast from Lincoln. The airport has flights to the Twin Cities, Chicago and Denver, and will get one to Atlanta in September. Lincoln has BNSF and UP for rail. Lincoln has a bus system. The main roads in Lincoln appear to be well maintained. There should be a bypass route on the east and south side of the city for out-of-towners passing through Lincoln. Also, the city is mostly a grid, so there isn't much in terms of diagonal traffic.
- Environment (0-10 points) 7/10: The environment seems to be all right in Lincoln, but some industry is agricultural-related and the ADM plant at the NE corner of the city just smells awful when near it. Since it's the Midwest, blizzards and tornados are potentially a problem.
- Future (0-10 points) - 7/10: As long as the capital stays in Lincoln, and people keep moving to Lincoln, the future looks bright there.
- TOTAL 60