Businessweek announces best cities

Culture, entertainment, good schools, low crime, lots of green space - all these hallmarks of a great place to live were considered by Businessweek as it prepared its first-ever best cities list, which was announced September 20.

"We looked at a range of positive metrics around quality of life, counted up restaurants, evaluated school scores, and considered the number of colleges and pro sports teams," the publication explained. "All these factors and more add up to a city that would seem to offer it all."

Moving trucks may be a common sight in the city that topped the list: Raleigh, North Carolina. The city is home to 867 restaurants, 11 bars and 51 museums, not to mention North Carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The city's population of about 400,000 is spread around 114 square miles with 12,512 acres of green space.

The city's average listing price for homes is nearly $308,000, but the median sales price is just shy of $200,000. But for the list, Businessweek didn't consider cost and home prices.

Other high-ranking cities include Arlington, Virginia; Irvine, California; and Scottsdale, Arizona. The highest-ranked city with more than 1 million residents was San Diego. At the bottom of the list were Detroit; Stockton, California; Akron, Ohio; Laredo, Texas; and Cleveland.