Top 20 time-saving cities in the United States

How easy is it to live in your city?

How difficult is it to find a doctor? Get through traffic? Find a restaurant with takeout?

Real Simple magazine conducted a survey to figure out which cities in the United States are the most convenient.

Judging America’s urban centers by five categories — transportation, health services, information technology, green resources and lifestyle services — the magazine picked the best overall towns.

Here’s the list:

• 1.) Seattle, Washington
• 2.) Portland, Oregon
• 3.) San Francisco, California
• 4.) Boston, Massachusetts
• 5.) Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 6.) Denver, Colorado
• 7.) Washington, D.C.
• 8.) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• 9.) Miami, Florida
• 10.) Atlanta, Georgia
• 11.) Baltimore, Maryland
• 12.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 13.) New York, New York
• 14.) Chicago, Illinois
• 15.) Austin, Texas
• 16.) Cleveland, Ohio (tie)
• 16.) Dallas, Texas (tie)
• 16.) Los Angeles, California (tie)
• 19.) San Diego, California
• 20.) Houston, Texas

Why did Seattle top the list? The magazine cited “extensive public transit,” “on-time airports” and “50 miles of new bike lanes in the last two years” as reasons, as well as its many Wi-Fi hotspots, coffee shops and easy doctor appointments.

Another feature the magazine liked: the city’s signal-optimization program that synchronizes hundreds of traffic lights throughout the city.

You can read explanations for each city’s inclusion on the list on Real Simple’s website.

Image: TDCinSeattle/Panoramio