State capital of Arizona (in fact the largest state capital in the United States in terms of population), Phoenix has seen in the last two decades an important population growth. With a warm climate in winter, Phoenix benefits from seasonal tourism and recreation. Numerous high-tech and telecommunications companies have also relocated to the area.

The city of Phoenix is frequently mentioned in “best city” surveys, based on different criteria. All worldwide and regional surveys where Phoenix appears in the rankings presented on this site are listed below. Continue reading »

With its annual 2007 survey for Best Small US Cities to Live In, CNN/Money Magazine posted also an online poll, for big cities. At the time of this article, there have been almost 400,000 user votes and the rankings give winner the city of San Diego (California), followed by Chicago (Illinois) and Phoenix (Arizona).

It is not clear how publishers selected the 10 big cities for this poll, but the results may be relevant enough to get an idea where people think is best to live. American cities do not usually rank in the top spots in worldwide surveys mainly because of some relatively high criminal rates. However, this does not mean that life can not be great there. Continue reading »