Money magazine rated locales that combined the best of city and suburban life.  A poll found that ample job opportunities, good schools, and low crime are the most important characteristics people look for in a place to live.  Meanwhile, the most disliked attributes are congestion, high crime and lack of job opportunities.  They ranked cities on economic opportunity, taking into account income, job growth and affordability; quality-of-life indicators, including risk of violent crime and property crime, quality of public schools, arts and leisure, park space and incidence of stress-related ailments; and “ease of living” gauges such as commute time, divorce rates, population density and weather.  They also included housing prices, taxes, ambience, natural surroundings, vibrancy of town centers and sense of community.

The 10 Best Big Cities and their populations:

1. Colorado Spring, CO    369,800
2. Austin, TX                     690,300
3. Mesa, AZ                      442,800
4. Raleigh, NC                  341,500
5. San Diego, CA           1,255,500
6. Virginia Beach, VA        438,400
7. Omaha, NE                   414,500
8. Columbus, OH              730,700
9. Wichita, KS                   354,900
10. New York, NY             8,143,200

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