Next time an out-of-town friend claims your city isn't "cool," you have a list to back it up--or not.
Forbes compiled a list of "America's Coolest Cities," and 20 large cities from all over the country made the cut. You may be thinking, "Hey, why does Forbes get to decide what cities are cool?" but their method involved some pretty intense number-crunching. Some factors weighed in more than others, but here are the questions they asked to decide which cities are the place to be:
After taking all these into account, Forbes named these cities to the top 20:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. Seattle, Wash.
3. Austin, Texas
4. Houston, Texas
5. San Francisco, Calif.
6. San Diego, Calif.
7. Denver, Colo.
8. Riverside, Calif.
9. Boston, Mass.
10. Dallas, Texas
11. New York, N.Y.
12. Oakland, Calif.
13. Miami, Fla.
14. Sacramento, Calif.
15. San Antonio, Texas
16. TIE: San Jose, Calif. and Los Angeles, Calif.
18. Raleigh, N.C.
19. Bethesda, Md.
20. Santa Ana, Calif.
Do you think Forbes' method truly determines the coolest cities? What other factors would you include? Let us know in the comments!