February 10, 2004

• Here are the top 50 fun cities, ranked from top to bottom:

  
  

  
  
  1. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
     
  2. Orange County, California
     
  3. San Jose, California
     
  4. Atlanta, Georgia
     
  5. Chicago, Illinois
     
  6. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina
     
  7. Washington, DC
     
  8. Oakland, California
     
  9. Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
     
  10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington

  
  

  Interesting how less than one hour's drive can make so much difference (with reference to Tacoma being the most stressed city in the nation).

  
  

  
  

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  Since a couple of you are wondering where I got that list from...click the title (for a complete top 50 list), or just read on for more information.

  
  

  Most Fun U.S. City Is...

  
  

  It's not New York, New Orleans, or even Las Vegas. The city where you'll have the most fun is...Minneapolis.

  
  

  That's the word from game maker Cranium, Inc., which commissioned Bert Sperling, who masterminded the "Best Places to Live" feature for Money magazine, to rank 50 cities for their fun factor. This was determined by the city's number of sports teams, restaurants, dance performances, toy stores, and the amount of the city's budget that is spent on recreation, among other factors.

  
  

  And why did Minneapolis beat out cities known for the classic fun factors of sin and sun? According to Cranium, the goal was to find a city that is an "outrageously fun experience with something for everyone." Minneapolis won because it's the home of Mary Tyler Moore, four professional sports teams, and the best mall in America. Minneapolis has more theaters than Boston, more parks than Denver, more golfers per capita than any other city in America, and with 10,000 lakes in the state, Minnesota, has more coastline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined. It even has 15 dog parks. Woof! Cranium CEO Richard Tait said, "It's almost a no-brainer" to crown Minneapolis the Most Fun City.

  
  

  Perhaps even more startling than the fact that Minneapolis is No. 1 is that New Orleans is No. 50. Does that mean a trip to the Mall of America is more fun than Mardi Gras? You decide.

  • 5:42 pm
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