Where Should You Live or Move? Take the City Match Quiz

How the city match quiz works

This quiz asks six short questions and ranks cities against your answers. You can skip any question, and you don't need an account to see your results.

1. City size: large city, mid-sized city, small city or town.
2. Region: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Mountain States, South Central, Southwest or West Coast.
3. Type of community: arts and culture, beach life, college town, leafy suburb, outdoor mecca, main street, retirement haven, tech hub, urban center or suburb with a downtown.
4. Everyday priorities: affordability, diversity, public schools, safety and walkability.
5. Housing budget: whether you want to rent or buy, compared with typical local housing costs from Zillow data where available and Census data as a fallback.
6. Your top priority: the one thing that gets extra weight in your ranking.

What you get from your results

Your cities are ranked by personal match, a percentage showing how closely each one fits your answers. Each match also shows its Look Score and a short explanation of why it fits, with a breakdown you can open. From there you can open any city to read the LookyLOO review, honest reviews from locals, its neighborhoods and any relocation incentives.

What is the Look Score?

The Look Score rates a city from the 60s up to 100. It averages three parts: Economy, Lifestyle and Sentiment, which reflects what locals say about living there. Sentiment counts double. The inputs include WalletHub, the AARP Livability Index, City-Data, Walk Score and Niche, plus sentiment analysis from Social Context Labs. Scores are updated once a year. A score of 86 to 100 is "Looky here!", 76 to 85 is "Looks promising", 66 to 75 is "Looks sleepy" and under 65 is "Looks unlikely".

Where should I live? Common questions

Where should I live if I'm not sure where to move?

Start with what you can't compromise on: budget, region and the kind of place, such as a college town, tech hub or beach city. The quiz turns those answers into a short ranked list, so you're comparing a few cities instead of hundreds.

What city should I move to?

It depends on how you weigh cost, safety, schools, walkability and lifestyle. Your answer to the last question gets extra weight, so choose the priority you would least want to give up.

Is the quiz free?

Yes. The quiz and your results are free, with no sign-up needed. If you want to save your matches, along with neighborhoods, articles and incentives you find, and share them with a partner or realtor, create a free LookyLOO account.

How accurate are the matches?

Matches compare your answers with each city's data, so treat them as a starting point, not a verdict. Housing costs use typical local figures, and actual prices vary. Read what locals say and visit before you decide.

How many cities does LookyLOO cover?

More than 400 cities, each with a Look Score, a LookyLOO review, reviews from locals and neighborhood guides.

Explore cities by state

Every city in the quiz has a Look Score, a LookyLOO review, reviews from locals and neighborhood guides.