On March 17, we celebrate that great American holiday known as St. Patrick’s Day. To many of us, it is a mid-week excuse to get out and party with our friends, watch parades, and act silly. But in many U.S. cities, it is one of the biggest events celebrated all year long.
Here are the best cities to live in for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations:
1. Boston, Mass.: Of course Boston is number one on our list! Boston claims the largest Irish population of any U.S. city at 20.4 percent, making the city a great place for residents to celebrate their heritage. Every year, the city’s numerous apartment residents can walk or drive to the huge St. Patrick’s Day parade, knowing the best vantage points to watch and enjoy. After the parade, they can walk to one of the many Irish pubs that Boston is famous for to celebrate the holiday.
2. Savannah, Ga.: This great Southern city hosts a historic St. Patrick’s Day Parade that draws around 300,000 residents and visitors. But it is most well known for “turning the river green” during its popular St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on the River. This event has grown into a huge music festival that draws many of Savannah’s 142,000 residents annually. The city’s apartment residents, especially those who live near River Street, have the added bonus of simply taking a short walk to one of the biggest – and most fun – festivals in the South.
3. New York, N.Y.: The city hosts the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the nation, attracting more than two million spectators annually. Much different from the popular Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, this one does not allow floats or cars – only bands and people marching by foot – and is led by a military unit. It lasts nearly six hours and residents have several great vantage points to view the parade along the route, which starts at 44th Street and continues through Fifth Avenue.
4. Chicago, Ill.: This great Midwestern city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is always on a Saturday and spans from Columbus Drive through Grant Park. While this fun parade features bagpipers and horses, one of the biggest events on Parade Day is the turning of the Chicago River green.
5. New Orleans, La.: Never a city to shy away from a party, New Orleans also sports one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the country. Just a month after Mardi Gras, this historic city features a week of parades with floats that throw potatoes, cabbages and carrots, instead of beads. The result is a unique Irish-Italian celebration of both St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day and residents get to enjoy it all.
If you would like to have more fun in your life, consider moving to one of these cities that not only celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but hold fun parties, events and parades all year long. Visit ApartmentSearch and we can easily help you find your new home. Pick your city, price range and desired amenities, and let the site create your own customized list that you can then narrow down by price, area of town, Walk Score and other factors that are important to you. We will even give you up to $200 in rewards when you let your new apartment community know that you found them on www.apartmentsearch.com.