Pittsburgh . Pennsylvania

For a while, Pittsburgh looked like another notch in America's rust belt, where the once-running steel mills and blast furnaces had all but been closed. But thanks to recent prosperity and creative thinking, it's gained a reputation as being one of the more livable cities in the country, with a mass of green hills rising straight up from the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers connected by beautiful bridges. It's more cultured city than a city of 300,000 would suggest, with world-class museums and universities, greenery, and neighborhoods bursting a with lively restaurant and bar scenes.