Cities vie for all sorts of distinctions: greenest; friendliest; wealthiest; most innovative. Portland, Maine, is just tickled to bits about topping the "Top-10 Coziest Cities in America." Added bonus: it beat out its regional arch-rival Boston.
Boston may have MIT, Bunker Hill, and an Olympic bid, but there's one thing it doesn't have: maximum coziness. After winning that title last year, it now moves a ways up Interstate 95 to Portland, Maine. Whatever Boston can boast by way of history, walkability, charm, and friendliness, Portland can claim more of. That is, at least, according to Honeywell Heaters, which sponsors the rankings.
Lest a ranking by a heater company seem biased towards cold-weather cities, sunny Santa Barbara, Calif., and slightly-less-sunny Santa Rosa, Calif., took spots Nos. 2 and 6, respectively.
What is Portland's key to success?
“Per capita, we have more restaurants in Portland than any other city in the United States,” said Brennan. “People feel they can come to the city and not have to work very hard to find a restaurant. And they feel a connectedness to the city by the fact that we have so many restaurants, and they are so intermingled with the essence of the city.”
Even if Boston is a little miffed, at least they're not Portland, Ore. Though the northwest Portland is used to being at the top of city rankings, it took only tenth place on the coziness scale.
FULL STORY: Portland Replaces Boston as America’s Coziest City
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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