What is hip?

We in Sacramento are obsessed with how we measure up against other cities. It’s understandable since Sactown has always been in the shadow of its older, more sophisticated sister, San Francisco. But lately it’s been Portland, Ore., that we wish we could be more like. Well, Forbes magazine’s latest ranking of “Best Cities for Singles” probably won’t help our collective identity crisis any.

Last year, our “nightlife” ranking tanked. Sacramento got its highest score in the one year that Forbes decided to give more weight to restaurants than to bars and nightclubs—the same year that Portland earned its lowest nightlife score.