<p>I’m kind of surprised by the question and even more surprised by the answers.</p>
<p>Look… let’s get real. New York is revered as one the greatest cities of the world. No city on the East Coast can compare to NYC. </p>
<p>Philadelphia? Seriously?! Boston or DC would come up on the list before Philly… and neither DC or Beantown are even close to New York’s stature as a city of the world.</p>
<p>I’m 50-something and I’ve never heard Philadelphia mentioned when listing the great cities of the world…
London
Rome
Paris
Philadephia?!?! I’m sorry, I must have had a mini-stroke. I meant New York.
Tokyo
Hong Kong
Sidney</p>
<p>Again, I’m surprised the question even needed to be asked and further surprised by the answers.</p>
<p>You guys must not get out much. ;-)</p>
<p>Oh… and Chi-Town and the Big Apple have very little in common. Totally different feel. Manhattan is very hip… and fast. It’s the land of immediate gratification and “get it done”. Don’t get in the way… know what you want and get it… etc… It’s the most densely populated place in the country. Things need to flow, so there’s not a lot of tolerance for people gumming up the works. This is the source of the “rude New Yorkers” myth. New Yorkers are plenty friendly… they just don’t suffer fools.</p>
<p>Boston would be my choice for an eastern city, especially in the summer. I don’t have the money really enjoy New York. DC is fun to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. (That would be Chicago.)</p>
<p>On weekend, when most out of towners like me visit, it is actually pretty easy to drive into and around. Parking is also relatively cheap and very convenient compared to what you have to pay to park out somewhere and pay subway fare for the whole family to get in and out of the city. You also have a place to drop off stuff after doing some shopping.</p>
<p>“Many of the retirees who move to Florida eventually return to their northern origins. This article is older, but turned up in a quick search. Reverse migration - MarketWatch They report that for every 1000 retirees headed to Florida 481 were leaving.”</p>
<p>I didn’t read the article but I have several friends and relatives who had had to move their parent(s) back up north because of illness/frailty, etc. They just couldn’t be jumping on a plane every time a crisis came up and then staying until crisis was over. Seems to happen once the parents hit late 80’s early 90’s. They are not moving into fab apartments in NYC, but assisted living in NYC suburbs, NJ or Ct or into the homes they still own up north.</p>
<p>Yes the door swings both ways at the Florida state line, but the net population change is still plus. Florida will always be a retirement destination, but not as much as in past years. Florida residents’ average age is going down.</p>
<p>^ lizard, we had young neighbors who moved down but less than a year later they were back. He couldn’t find a job paying anywhere close to what he was making here, or any that could compete with the bennies he was getting here, either. She moved down first with the kids and had to work two nursing jobs to be on par with one nursing position she had here and she got no bennies in FL, either. He stayed up north and tried to sell their house. Finally sold after 10 months (and several price drops) on the market but by that time they knew he couldn’t get a decent job so back they came and bought a house a few blocks away. What a waste of time and money.</p>
<p>^Sounds like poor planning: people don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan. Florida’s economy, which has been dependent on the “growth” industry for decades, has been crippled with our Florida housing and construction slowdown. It’s foolish to come down here without a job lined up, or having adequate savings.</p>
<p>^ lizard, I agree. it wasn’t thought out at all. I think they had visions of the huge house they could buy for the the price of a shack here with virtually no taxes. I knew when they first told me they were moving it wouldn’t work. </p>
<p>My DH was offered a great job in Broward County about 15 or so years ago. After numbers crunching (and figuring in private school K-12 for my son) we had to turn it down. The salary was very good but the bennies, even then, were terrible. Just didn’t come close to meeting his package here.</p>
<p>Imo, it’s a great place to go live once you’ve made your money up north.</p>
<p>Maikai, OP is not asking info about the greatest cities in the world. OP is requesting info about travelling along the east coast…
</p>
<p>Btw, HK sucks. Everyone seems to be scowling, rude and spitting on the street. Well, the airport is nice and the Chinese food is good but otherwise, it isnt a place you want to stay for even 3 days. I could tolerate it if all I do is stay at the hotel, stare at the HK skyline and eat some dimsum or Peking Duck.</p>
<p>Since you didn’t specify it had to be a U.S. east coast city, I’ll suggest Montreal. It’s not exactly coastal, unless you consider the St. Lawrence an inlet, but it’s only a 5.5 hour beautiful drive from Boston. It’s been one of my favorite cities in the world to visit. Although it’s been a few years since I last visited and costs could have changed in the interim, it’s likely to still be less expensive than any of the other cities mentioned. It’s very easy to bike or walk around the city, the restaurants are excellent (even the cheap ones!) and the people are relaxed and friendly. Favorite neighborhood is Plateau Mont-Royal.</p>
<p>I can’t believe no one’s mentioned Annapolis! One of my favorites. Authentic Maryland seafood…we’re talking cracking crabs on picnic tables, wonderful sailing, great little shops. If you’re looking for museums and a show then it’s not your destination, but then I have that in my backyard.</p>
<p>I agree that Annapolis is very nice. Just had a nice afternoon there a few months ago. People seem to be concentrating more here on larger cities in their responses. But I think St. Michael’s and Easton on Maryland’s Eastern Shore are very nice too.</p>
<p>Or relocate to other retirement destinations. My mom winters in Florida. Many of the people she knows have pulled up stakes in Florida and relocated to coastal Georgia or the Carolinas. South Florida has gotten too congested for them. </p>
<p>It’s like what the great baseball sage Yogi Berra once reportedly said of a popular New York restaurant: “No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.”</p>
<p>I think it can be difficult when elderly people relocate to retirement destinations away from family. It’s fine as long as they’re healthy, but can be very complicated when they become frail.</p>
<p>I don’t consider Annapolis a city. It’s a town in feel. One could point to Marblehead or Newburyport or Rockport, MA as terrific towns. Heck, Portland, ME only qualifies as a city because as the largest city in ME it has a lot of size for a place of under 70k. </p>
<p>If I were choosing to visit the main cities on the east coast, meaning really the northeast coast, you could pick any of the 4 - NYC, Philly, DC and Boston - and be right. Each has tons of reasons to visit.</p>
<p>Baltimore’s Inner Harbor makes a deeply satisfying and beautiful one-day visit - head to the National Aquarium (least crowded in the mornings; can buy tickets online just to save time). I like all the sharks, tortoises and an amazing exhibit of…jellyfish! Surreal beauty there.</p>
<p>Then spend the afternoon walking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, with your choice of moored historic boats to explore, top to bottom: the U.S.S. Constitution, a WWII submarine that saw duty in Pearl Harbor. You can find good Chespeake Bay seafood (Maryland crab cakes) with a choice of restaurants overlooking a huge port. See what great city planning did in the late 1960’s to recharge an older American port city. Within walking distance is Little Italy, for some neighborhood charm.</p>
<p>Elsewere in the City of Baltimore, you can see great collections of ancient art/pottery at the Walters Art Gallery. For modern pieces, visit the Baltimore Museum of Art (near Johns Hopkins University). In their permanent collection, the Cone Collection is simply great - fine individual pieces by Picasso, Matisse. Adding the museums would make Baltimore a 2-day visit (after the Inner Harbor for a day). In the evenings, your choice of classical music concert at the Peabody Institute, or professional sports team events. </p>
<p>You could combine that with a swing to Washington, D.C. as these two cities connect well by train. Or try Baltimore/ D.C./Annapolis for a few days. I think you’d need a car to reach Annapolis.</p>
<p>As for wisecracks about Buffalo and Chicago having nothing in common, not so if you know your architecture. We have a brisk, if arcane, tourist traffic coming here to see the triumvirate of architects Sullivan, Richardson and Frank Lloyd Wright. But yeah, I said it was arcane.</p>
<p>I love all the cities mentioned and have to put in a good word for Burlington, VT, a tiny city but the biggest one we have. Not on the coast, but on a nice big lake with hidden lake monsters. i wouldn’t buy land on the coasts these days. The ice caps really are melting.</p>