Which American city would you recommend to a European?

If I understand correctly you want a big city recommended. Do you want a city where a car is not necessary? Then I say New York city, possibly Chicago. Does climate matter? If you want beach weather you can consider cities in FL, but you will need a car, and the cities are set up differently than NY. It is more like extremely crowded suburbs in my opinion, because the residential tends to be somewhat separate from business. There are many places around America that have a reasonable sized downtown area, but don’t come close to being a city like NY. I think I need more details to know what you are looking for. Which European cities would fit the bill? Then we can come up with something comparable maybe.

Just because someone is from Europe doesn’t mean that they have the same interests as other Europeans. My recommendations would depend on their personality, not their country of origin. I’d start by asking what climate they want, and what activities they enjoy.

San Francisco is smallish, easy to walk around in, has good public tranportation, pleasant weather and international culture.
Everyone loves New York City, at least for a while. But it’s expensive and abrasive, if one isn’t in the mood to tackle a new place head-on it can be rough.
Boston is pleasant and smallish, but cold !

San Francisco.

I’m sorry for the lack of details in this question. I’m of course aware that Europeans are not an entity, of course! We’re as different as everyone else.

I would just like to know what Americans think about their cities, which ones they prefer and why. I guess I should have formulated my question that way.

I’ve never been to San Francisco but everyone I asked about it said it’s very nice. So I would recommend that. Next is Seattle, a city I liked when I visited it once. And then Washington DC. I would also recommend visiting in the summer.

San Francisco

Philadelphia is the most European city of American cities. Easily walkable. Great public transportation. Great art museums and other museums. Fantastic culture from orchestra and ballet to jazz and hip hop—it has everything. The restaurant scene rivals that of NYC. It has amazing brew pubs. American history. Cradle of American democracy. Revolutionary war history sites. Constitutional history sites. Amazing gallery and theater scene. And, of course, lawyers. ;-)

And then, W.C. Field proposed an epitaph for his grave marker, “I’d rather be living in Philadelphia.” I think most people would agree that living in Philadelphia is better than death.

San Francisco is the most European city in America.

Also worth noting with these suggestions is Philly is a little less than 1.5 hour train ride to New York City, Washington, DC is 3–4 hour train ride to New York City (depending on whether you take a fast train), Boston is about a 4 hour train ride to New York City. So, there are many major cities easily visited when you live in that northeastern part of the country. Also, from all these cities there are many many flights at reasonable fares to FL for a quick vacation.

But, I don’t mean to discourage you from cities like San Francisco, which many people have suggested.

Seattle is very close to the Canadian Border, and just a short distance away is Vancouver, BC, Canada, which is one of my most favorite cities to visit. Big negative for me about Seattle is they have many days of overcast weather, but for people from the UK it might feel quite nornal.

I have never been to Denver, but most people I know love it there, if you like the mountains and to ski that might be ideal? They have 300 days of sunshine per year even though they get a lot of snow in the winter.

America is so huge. Your question is similar to an American asking what city in Europe would you recommend? Our country is almost as big as Europe in total. What would you pick? Milan, Rome, Berlin, London, Glasgow, Barcelona, Oslo, Paris, so many choices. I don’t expect you to answer, I am just pointing out that sometimes people outside of the US think of us as a single country with the refernce point of their own country. But, most other countries are much much smaller. I am not assuming that is the case her, but wanted to point it out.

I always imagined I would like Portland Oregon for some reason and perhaps Seattle Washington, too, but I have never been to either.

@JLeslie Hey, thank you for your detailed answer. I know USA is big, but there are many big countries in the world. I do view USA as a country because it is. Europe is a continent with many countries, so I don’t think you can really compare these two things. I am actually just interested in your personal opinions. I know it all depends on the person.

Well, not exactly. The top 5 or 6 countries in the world in terms of land mass size are much much larger than other countries even immediately following those top ones. But, I appreciate what you are getting at in terms of Europe to America is not exactly apples to apples. Not only because one is a country and the other a continent, but the variety of cultures is more apparent and distinct among the many countries of Europe compared to America. And, I can appreciate that maybe you just want to hear various answers and descriptions of the cities. Although, I think many large cities around the world are very similar in many ways. Diverse, cosmopolitan, arts, etc.

I lived in Manhattan for 7 years but I was young, fairly comfortable financially and bursting with stamina.

I loved my 7 years in Boston, however. Except for the very cold winters, it is a wonderful and diverse city with an old and venerable history. Loaded with culture, universities, many diverse ethnic neighborhoods, first-rate public transportation and an easy drive to the ocean and the mountains.

I was not mad about my 14 years in Philly. Perhaps by then I had outgrown urbanity. My next and last move was to the countryside where two cars and a cow is considered a traffic jam.

Austin, Texas.

San Antonio.

The US has so many interesting cities, each with a different flavor. I’ve lived in or near a half dozen of them. I’d suggest Boston. It has a lot of history. The people are quite friendly. The arts are better than in a lot of cities. It’s close enough to New York and Philadelphia to visit. It is not, however, easy to find your way around.
I remember thinking how old Boston seemed when I moved there from Chicago. Coming back from Europe, Boston looked new to me.
I agree that visitors needs to consider what their interests and preferences are.

Orlando Florida

New York City encompasses so much diversity and yet so much of what America is. That’s my choice and that’s why.

Boston is a great American city too. So much history and yet very walk able like many of the best European cities.

Hard to say but I would suggest one of the eastern ones, possibly New York. I would recommend that you go with one that is fairly compact or condensed and has a viable mass transit system.

Most of your western or southern big cities are going to require that you have your own transportation. Your work will not be withing walking distance of your home.

Possible exceptions, Portland or Seattle on the West Coast.

New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Boston, San Antonio, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Denver, Tuscon.