If you were a pro athlete what city would you want to play in? Rank em

[GroverTheClover]

I don't know what people have heard about Salt Lake City specifically, but I'm sure that whatever it is is outlandish and completely off point.  I have lived out there and it is one of the cleanest places I've ever been and the schools, etc. are top notch in most of the surrounding communities. Yeah, if you are a drinker, you have a much more limited number of places to choose from, but they are certainly there. They have very low crime compared to other cities of comparable size and the one drawback I see is if you hate snow.  If you hate snow, then Boston should be low on your list too.  I rank this way:

1  Boston
2  Phoenix
3  Orlando
4  Salt Lake City
5  San Diego
6  San Antonio
7  Atlanta
8  Dallas
9  Jacksonville
10 Chicago

Yes, I would not want to play in Miami because I've been there and...well, I've been there.  LA is out because...well, it is LA.  So there.  I'm also not a big fan of NY because, well, I like my kids.   

SLC would be a top choice. Alta within driving distance is enough for me.

[RAcker]

I don't know what people have heard about Salt Lake City specifically, but I'm sure that whatever it is is outlandish and completely off point.  I have lived out there and it is one of the cleanest places I've ever been and the schools, etc. are top notch in most of the surrounding communities. Yeah, if you are a drinker, you have a much more limited number of places to choose from, but they are certainly there. They have very low crime compared to other cities of comparable size and the one drawback I see is if you hate snow.  If you hate snow, then Boston should be low on your list too.  I rank this way:

1  Boston
2  Phoenix
3  Orlando
4  Salt Lake City
5  San Diego
6  San Antonio
7  Atlanta
8  Dallas
9  Jacksonville
10 Chicago

Yes, I would not want to play in Miami because I've been there and...well, I've been there.  LA is out because...well, it is LA.  So there.  I'm also not a big fan of NY because, well, I like my kids.   

SLC would be a top choice. Alta within driving distance is enough for me.

And for when you want to go on a bender, Vegas is only 5 hours away...same as Vegas is from LA.   

[guava_wrench]

1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Venice
4. London
5. New York
6. San Francisco
7. Sidney
8. Toronto
9. Chicago
10. Boston

Nice list, though I'm shocked Boston is on it.

[RAcker]

1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Venice
4. London
5. New York
6. San Francisco
7. Sidney
8. Toronto
9. Chicago
10. Boston

Nice list, though I'm shocked Boston is on it.

And while you are overseas, where is Amsterdam?   

[Schupac]

Anywhere is Florida: Warm and no state income tax.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!! Give that man a TP.


Agree 100%. Florida.

I thought about the income tax thing but really it wasn't too large a factor for me.  I figure if I am a professional athlete I'm probably making at least around a million dollars a year.  With that, I could afford to live a great life while paying 5 different state's income taxes.

Think so? Read this:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/12/sports/sp-jock-tax12

If athletes are paying huge taxes to states just because they work there how much do you think it would cost to pay the state tax for Massachusetts as a resident?

Definitely a very interesting read, but the article directly states that all these states hitting the athletes with taxes happens even if they live in a state with no state taxes, so the only incremental difference between Mass and Florida is the tax difference between those two states.

So to me, I'll pay the states taxes to live where I want to live.

[Brickowski]

1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Venice
4. London
5. New York
6. San Francisco
7. Sidney
8. Toronto
9. Chicago
10. Boston

Nice list, though I'm shocked Boston is on it.

And while you are overseas, where is Amsterdam?   

I considered Amsterdam, and also Berlin, Barcelona, St. Petersburg (RU) and Singapore.  But I wanted to limit the list to ten and to include some American cities.

How could anyone pick a place like Salt Lake City?  There isn't a single decent restaurant.  There are some good restaurants in Park City, but that's a 45 minute drive.

As for Boston, the food isn't as good as some other places, but the city has other attributes, such as the universities and the cultural opportunities they present (and of course the Celtics).

[nickagneta]

Anywhere is Florida: Warm and no state income tax.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!! Give that man a TP.


Agree 100%. Florida.

I thought about the income tax thing but really it wasn't too large a factor for me.  I figure if I am a professional athlete I'm probably making at least around a million dollars a year.  With that, I could afford to live a great life while paying 5 different state's income taxes.

Think so? Read this:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/12/sports/sp-jock-tax12

If athletes are paying huge taxes to states just because they work there how much do you think it would cost to pay the state tax for Massachusetts as a resident?

Definitely a very interesting read, but the article directly states that all these states hitting the athletes with taxes happens even if they live in a state with no state taxes, so the only incremental difference between Mass and Florida is the tax difference between those two states.

So to me, I'll pay the states taxes to live where I want to live.

No doubt that that is the only difference but to pay all that plus have to pay the state and federal taxes is a giant chunk of money. Many players would look to minimize that amount of cash being taken out of their pocket by working and living in a state where there are no income taxes. For a player making an average $3 million a year, that could be a lot of money.

Of course, you can always live where ever you want but still have a main residence set up in a tax free state.

[Edgar]

1) San Francisco

1.B) Orlando

[indeedproceed]

I think if it was football, I'd want maybe Baltimore or Seattle.

Basketball I'd want Boston first, then it would be probably Dallas, Portland, Houston, Denver, in that order

EDIT: If Vancouver still had a team, they'd be my #1 option. There is nothing..NOTHING not to like about Vancouver.

[RAcker]

I think if it was football, I'd want maybe Baltimore or Seattle.

Basketball I'd want Boston first, then it would be probably Dallas, Portland, Houston, Denver, in that order

EDIT: If Vancouver still had a team, they'd be my #1 option. There is nothing..NOTHING not to like about Vancouver.

I had a college buddy from up that way and he said that Vancouver is one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities there is in North America.  He raved about it.  Haven't been yet, but hope to someday.

[RAcker]

1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Venice
4. London
5. New York
6. San Francisco
7. Sidney
8. Toronto
9. Chicago
10. Boston

Nice list, though I'm shocked Boston is on it.

And while you are overseas, where is Amsterdam?   

I considered Amsterdam, and also Berlin, Barcelona, St. Petersburg (RU) and Singapore.  But I wanted to limit the list to ten and to include some American cities.

How could anyone pick a place like Salt Lake City?  There isn't a single decent restaurant.  There are some good restaurants in Park City, but that's a 45 minute drive.

As for Boston, the food isn't as good as some other places, but the city has other attributes, such as the universities and the cultural opportunities they present (and of course the Celtics).

I hear ya on the SLC food.  I was just thinking about the family friendly environment and the fact that there is never a professional athlete getting into trouble there (i.e. too much temptation).  Any place where they put fruit and/or vegetables in Jello is just not high on my list of places to eat.  However, Park City is top notch.

[indeedproceed]

1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Venice
4. London
5. New York
6. San Francisco
7. Sidney
8. Toronto
9. Chicago
10. Boston

Nice list, though I'm shocked Boston is on it.

And while you are overseas, where is Amsterdam?   

I considered Amsterdam, and also Berlin, Barcelona, St. Petersburg (RU) and Singapore.  But I wanted to limit the list to ten and to include some American cities.

How could anyone pick a place like Salt Lake City?  There isn't a single decent restaurant.  There are some good restaurants in Park City, but that's a 45 minute drive.

As for Boston, the food isn't as good as some other places, but the city has other attributes, such as the universities and the cultural opportunities they present (and of course the Celtics).

I hear ya on the SLC food.  I was just thinking about the family friendly environment and the fact that there is never a professional athlete getting into trouble there (i.e. too much temptation).  Any place where they put fruit and/or vegetables in Jello is just not high on my list of places to eat.  However, Park City is top notch.

Don't you live in alabama? They put fruit in their jello don't they?

[RAcker]

1. Paris
2. Milan
3. Venice
4. London
5. New York
6. San Francisco
7. Sidney
8. Toronto
9. Chicago
10. Boston

Nice list, though I'm shocked Boston is on it.

And while you are overseas, where is Amsterdam?   

I considered Amsterdam, and also Berlin, Barcelona, St. Petersburg (RU) and Singapore.  But I wanted to limit the list to ten and to include some American cities.

How could anyone pick a place like Salt Lake City?  There isn't a single decent restaurant.  There are some good restaurants in Park City, but that's a 45 minute drive.

As for Boston, the food isn't as good as some other places, but the city has other attributes, such as the universities and the cultural opportunities they present (and of course the Celtics).

I hear ya on the SLC food.  I was just thinking about the family friendly environment and the fact that there is never a professional athlete getting into trouble there (i.e. too much temptation).  Any place where they put fruit and/or vegetables in Jello is just not high on my list of places to eat.  However, Park City is top notch.

Don't you live in alabama? They put fruit in their jello don't they?

No, that's possum.   

But seriously, not from my experience.  It seems like a midwest/western thing and all of my Canadian friends did that.  I will only eat straight Jello the way Bill Cosby intended.  I don't want a smooth refreshing snack as a side with my main course.  It's ****' dessert and should not have junks of stuff floating in it.

[GroverTheClover]

I think if it was football, I'd want maybe Baltimore or Seattle.

Basketball I'd want Boston first, then it would be probably Dallas, Portland, Houston, Denver, in that order

EDIT: If Vancouver still had a team, they'd be my #1 option. There is nothing..NOTHING not to like about Vancouver.

I had a college buddy from up that way and he said that Vancouver is one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities there is in North America.  He raved about it.  Haven't been yet, but hope to someday.

Vancouver is awesome, lots of culture, plenty of outdoors stuff to do. Whistler-Blackcomb > my version of Vegas.

[Schupac]

Anywhere is Florida: Warm and no state income tax.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!! Give that man a TP.


Agree 100%. Florida.

I thought about the income tax thing but really it wasn't too large a factor for me.  I figure if I am a professional athlete I'm probably making at least around a million dollars a year.  With that, I could afford to live a great life while paying 5 different state's income taxes.

Think so? Read this:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/12/sports/sp-jock-tax12

If athletes are paying huge taxes to states just because they work there how much do you think it would cost to pay the state tax for Massachusetts as a resident?

Definitely a very interesting read, but the article directly states that all these states hitting the athletes with taxes happens even if they live in a state with no state taxes, so the only incremental difference between Mass and Florida is the tax difference between those two states.

So to me, I'll pay the states taxes to live where I want to live.

No doubt that that is the only difference but to pay all that plus have to pay the state and federal taxes is a giant chunk of money. Many players would look to minimize that amount of cash being taken out of their pocket by working and living in a state where there are no income taxes. For a player making an average $3 million a year, that could be a lot of money.

Of course, you can always live where ever you want but still have a main residence set up in a tax free state.

Yeah.  I think my decision speaks more to my own lack of frugality.  I just can't imagine making ~1million dollars a year for 10 years and not finding that to be more than enough for my entire life.  You consider most people don't make more than 50K a year before taxes, that's 20 years to earn what an athlete makes in 1 year.  At this point I'm not thinking of trying to avoid some taxes.