SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – Time Out crowned San Francisco as the “world’s best” city to live in for 2021.

The Media & Entertainment company surveyed more than 27,000 city people about dining, nightlife, friendliness, and environmental initiatives to come up with a list of the greatest cities in the world.

“Living in a city during a pandemic seems kind of pointless,” Time Out wrote. “Except, this past year, somehow, it hasn’t actually felt that claustrophobic. In cities worldwide, people have pulled together. And what came out of the doom? A whole load of positive stories and amazing ideas that could define the future of urban life.”

San Francisco was praised for its progressive politics, community initiatives, and readily available weed.

Amsterdam, Manchester, Copenhagen, and New York were listed next.

As you can imagine, the list provoked a lot of traction on the internet about who submitted survey responses.

“Honestly, I don’t know why it’s number one. Some people that live here were very protective last year. But from a visitor’s perspective, it was quite different,” said San Francisco resident Andy Farrington.

“The high cost of living, disparity between rich and poor, homeless, and political challenges are all reasons to count SF out. But moderate all-around weather, access to the outdoors and career opportunities have made it a contender on a global scale over the years. It’s a city that provokes strong emotions from both sides of the fence. I am a Brit who has lived in the U.S. for the last five years including NYC, Chicago, and SF. It wouldn’t be my number one, but there are a lot of people who live here who are protective over the city and want to see it back to its glory days,” Farrington said.

Time Out didn’t disclose whether or not those surveyed had been in San Francisco long-term or if they were seeing the city with fresh eyes.

They did however combine answers from the survey to determine which city showcased the best adaptability to COVID-19.

San Francisco was known for having strict COVID responses in the United States. It was the first in the nation to lock down which pushed the city to get creative to stay afloat.

The city also ranked first in Time Out’s ‘progressive’ category – “with 73 percent of respondents describing it as such – and second in ‘sustainability’. It was also the most likely to be called ‘accepting,” according to Time Out San Francisco’s Clara Hogan.

When it comes to rent prices, San Francisco was knocked out of the way this year for having the most expensive rent in the United States due to the pandemic.

This is according to an August 2021 Zumper report, which says New York has risen to being more expensive for renting than San Francisco for the first time since the company started tracking this type of data in 2014.

New York was ranked number one by Time Out in 2019 prior to the pandemic’s lasting impacts.

If you want to have your voice heard in Time Out’s next global survey, you can share your thoughts here.