My Own Best Place(s) to Live

We've seen so many of them - surveys and scientifically compiled lists of places that supposedly are best for us to inhabit. But guess what - we are all individuals with preferences not on any best-places lists.


With this in mind, I provide not places, but items that would rate as things I would want in my cities/places of choice.


Good Jewish bakery. Would bake challah, raisin pumpernickel, several kinds of rye bread, cheese danish, babka, rugelekh, khomentashn, Linzer torte cookies, mandelbreyt, black-and-whites, Chinese cookies (only baked by Jewish bakeries in NY, so you can see that they're not Chinese at all, but are called that), charlotte russes, those amazing bakery cookies with chocolate on top and jelly in the middle and colored pink or green, bugaches (small pastry with thick dough sweetened with honey) and different kinds of gooey chocolate cakes.  Hell, this kind of bakery would top the list of things wanted and would probably rate as a reason to live in a city all on its own.

Good Jewish delicatessen. Pastrami, corned beef, tongue, kosher salami, stuffed cabbage, kugels of all kinds, blintzes, matzo bray/brei, rye bread, pumpernickel, good mustard, Enough already? Not quite..

Good pizza place. New York pizza. And no, this does not mean toppings until one can't see the pizza. Best:  no topping except the sauce and cheese, with the right distribution of sauce and cheese and oil and a well done crust.

Good Indian/Pakistani restaurant. Preferably buffet, but as long it has really good biryani, kebabs, tandoori chicken, and fish curry, as well as excellent naan, that would be just fine.

Good dairy restaurant. Mushroom cutlets and thick, uncompromisingly creamy and dense cream cheese cake.

Good supermarket(s) and food stores, both fresh produce and packaged.

Park. Lots of trees and benches facing away from traffic. Good place to watch sunsets.

Lake or river.

Bridge(s).

Public transport, especially but not only trains.

Railroad station.

Art fairs/artists who sit in parks and paint.

Coffee houses (not chain).

All night diners.

Night time safety so I can walk around at night and not feel threatened.

Candy stores.

Chocolate place(s)..

Ice cream place(s).


Lots of wonderful old buildings (apartments and houses).

Library.



And last but oh so not least:  Tolerant of people of all ethnicities, races, genders, orientations, sizes, ages.



Does such a place exist?


The way I look at it, there are a few that come close. (And they do not necessarily follow my Favorite Cities List, although they may kind of intersect with it).


Brookline, MA

Forest Hills, NY

Madison, WI

Burlington, VT

New Paltz, NY

Ann Arbor, MI