metro conglomerations, Canada south

[Portia]

1 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area 20,092,883 19,567,410 +2.69% New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area
2 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 13,262,220 12,828,837 +3.38% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area
3 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area 9,554,598 9,461,105 +0.99% Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area
4 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 6,954,330 6,426,214 +8.22% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area
5 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area 6,490,180 5,920,416 +9.62% Houston-The Woodlands, TX Combined Statistical Area
6 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area 6,051,170 5,965,343 +1.44% Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area
7 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area 6,033,737 5,636,232 +7.05% Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area
8 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area 5,929,819 5,564,635 +6.56% Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL Combined Statistical Area
9 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area 5,614,323 5,286,728 +6.20% Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area
10 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,732,161 4,552,402 +3.95% Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area
11 San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,594,060 4,335,391 +5.97% San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area
12 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,489,109 4,192,887 +7.06%
13 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,441,890 4,224,851 +5.14% Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA Combined Statistical Area
14 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,296,611 4,296,250 +0.01% Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI Combined Statistical Area
15 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area 3,671,478 3,439,809 +6.73% Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area

So here are the top 15 metro areas. I will contribute what I know from firsthand experience or very close friends.

1. New York is cold in the winter, hot in the summer, and humid all year round. Large Latin America diaspora population -- this is the place for Dominican brunch. They favor monochrome wardrobes. Housing is ridiculous -- everyone is being priced out of even the dinky apartments, especially in the pat 7 years. Hub of publishing, fashion, and those who want to rack up six figure debt for a grad degree at NYU. Who fits: seekers of artisanal cocktails, those who want a tub in their sleeping quarters, cockroaches. Highlight: Met. Eat: ethnic food, like tostones.
2. Lost Angeles has been in a major water crisis. Attracting young people who want year-round sun, crash diets, and to study and work in the film and music industries. Sprawly -- feels like the Point of the Mountain, just as much smog, fewer Mormons. Santa Monica is quickly becoming trendy and walkable, and Venice is the birth of serious longboarders. Who fits: attractive tanned people, artsy entrepreneurs, Bel Air magnates who spend $90,000 watering pristine lawns. Highlight: I find the Union train station to be gorgeous. Eat: an amazing burger at The Counter.
3. Chicago has the worst weather of any major metropolis. Large amount of racial and income inequality -- I think it's the most segregated city in terms of day-to-day street life I've been to. The best American city for serious museum goers. The elevated train smells like urine and sadness. Right on Lake Michigan. Who fits: Friedmanesque economists, provincial Midwesterners who don't want to leave the Midwest, large people. Highlight: Second City. Eat: everything and hate yourself.
7. The weather in D.C. is no picnic either, but the spring is gorgeous. Huge concentration of cultural sites. A must-see to really grasp U.S. history. Who fits: social science majors, aspiring lobbyists, type A people. Highlight: Smithsonian. Eat: I have strong memories of loving the cafeteria in Williamsburg.
11. The weather in the Bay Area is perfect. October is the best time to visit. Gently rolling hills, spectacular water views, and the best concentration of restaurants, stores, and good universities I've ever experienced make this by far my favorite destination. With the tech boom, it will also be the least affordable to live on the list. Who fits: brogrammers, activists pushed out by brogammers, liberal Mormons whose social views are scorned in Utah. Highlights: biking up to Lawrence National Laboratory and the botanical gardens, UC Berkeley campus, Legion d'Honneur, Golden Gate Park. Eat: Italian food, craft cocktails and coffee, amazing pupusas.
12 Phoenix is WEIRD. Unlike Salt Lake, which is constrained by the Wasatch, Phoenix is like if a 1950s urban planner pulled a Ron Swanson and let a city grow like a virus. You can go on a two hour jog and still see pretty much nothing. People tend to be very conservative (brace yourself for Fox News-ism over dinner) and never walk, ever. Summers are brutal. Dogs are universally beloved. High quality universities around. The Normons post on Mesa is the funniest thing you'll read. Who fits: Republicans who love dogs and drive SUVs and golf. Highlights: Mesa Temple does a nice Christmas display. Good fresh citrus on people's trees too, make lemonade. Eat: citrus and Indian food.
14 I want Concorde to give us the low down
15 This is the only conglomeration I lived in. Bellevue is very new and very, very wealthy. You'll fit in well if you're a 35 year old with a preschooler and Lululemon pants and a husband who works for Microsoft. Infamous Seattle freeze. Lots of Midwesterners who despise the Midwest. The only temperature/cool climate I've mentioned. Summer is gorgeous. Good city for walking, pretty good transit. Job hunting is hard with no degree. The rain can get to you if you're not used to it. Evergreens everywhere. I miss that. Who fits: Democrats, atheists, Asians, introverts. Most people are very committed to a cause or another. Not nearly as extrovert friendly as SLC. People work long hours. Highlight: Seattle Asian Art Museum, baseball right on the waterfront, tons of cute antique shops, their local journalism is feisty. Eat: GOOD KOREAN WHILE YOU CAN, Chattanee, El Guacho, seafood for days.

[Emiliana]

4. Very hot summers with mild winters. DFW Airport (2nd or 3rd busiest in the nation) is notorious for falling to pieces whenever there's snow or ice. Fort Worth is nicknamed "Cowtown." The schools let out for a day each year for the Stock Show and Rodeo and there's a whole strip of the north side that's devoted to cowboy-themed bars and shops. Dallas has a more generic Big American City feel to it, with better public transport and more variety in the nightlife. Things you'll find a lot of include restaurants (more per capita than anywhere in the country), Tex Mex, ethnic diversity, Baptist churches, and gun enthusiasts.

[Violet]

5. As I'm currently sitting in my friend's house in this area I guess I'll chime in. It's humid. The place my friend's house is seems to be perpetually rainy. Class lines seem to run deep geographically. A lot of generic big city stuff in Houston proper, but the suburbs are very suburby. Similar to Phoenix in the huge amounts of urban sprawl. Oil country, so gas is cheap and public transportation can't even touch the urban sprawl.