I went to Zion National Park this past week and I had to fly into Vegas. I had a couple days that I stayed in Vegas and I took my son around to let him see stuff there, so glad to be out of that hellhole. I really couldn't imagine some city even bigger and more crowded like LA etc. The town is just miserable, one soulless strip mall after another. The absolute best part of Vegas was traveling to Red Rock right outside of Vegas, that was beautiful. If you live in a big city would you move out if you had the chance?
I've lived in New City for most of my life, but I have spent time upstate (in Water Town and Potsdam), as well as in Virginia.
In New York City, there are many options for food, recreation, entertainment, and shopping: the variety of restaurants that serve food from every culture that you can imagine; the many parks to play sports or just sit on a bench or walk around while enjoying the scenery; the innumerable movie theaters, one of which has a genuine IMAX screen (AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13, whose IMAX screen is 97ft wide and 76ft tall); and large retail shops such as Best Buy, Target, and Microcenter, where all sorts of electronics are sold.
There's also the convenience of the MTA Subway system, which is the most expansive subway system in the world; a majority of the city can be reached for only $2.75 via the subway, and the few places where the subway isn't available can be reached via the MTA Bus system, to which transfer from the subway is free.
However, in Water Town and Potsdam, there isn't much of anything. Each locality literally has a main street or road along which a majority of the businesses, which are few, are located. Hence, you don't have many options for food or shopping. As for recreation and entertainment, well, each locality has large fields of grass and trees that aren't proper parks and therefore aren't well kept, and one movie theater or so each. Hence, Water Town and Potsdam are very boring. I could not imagine living in those towns.
Also, you have to drive pretty much everywhere, because there are very few paved sidewalks.
As for Virginia, I liked the part of Virginia that I visited (IIRC, it was Richmond). Even though every location is driving distance from residential areas, they are abundant and varied like in the city. Also, because residential areas are so cut off from one another and from business districts via roadways, residential areas are isolated and therefore quiet.
So, I guess I'd have to say that Richmond [?] Virginia and areas like it are the best places to live.
