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How to write great reviews and be a valued member of the Rate My City community.
Rate My City exists to help people make informed decisions about where to live, work, or visit. Every review contributes to a collective picture of what life is really like in cities and neighborhoods across America. To keep this resource valuable and trustworthy, we ask all contributors to follow these guidelines.
Share your genuine experience. Instead of "it's nice," tell us what makes it nice — the walkable downtown, the friendly neighbors, the great farmer's market on Saturdays. Specific details help others understand what to expect.
Only review cities and neighborhoods where you have lived, worked, or spent meaningful time. A weekend visit gives a different perspective than years of residency — both are valuable, but please be transparent about the basis of your experience.
Every place has strengths and areas for improvement. We require both pros and cons in every review because one-sided reviews aren't helpful. Even your favorite city has something that could be better, and even a place you didn't love has redeeming qualities.
We ask you to rate all 10 life aspects (Environment, Transportation, Safety, Health, Amenities, Shops, Education, Quality of Life, Cost of Living, and Employment) to provide a complete picture. If you're unsure about a category, rate it based on your best impression — every perspective counts.
All reviews are manually moderated before they appear on the site. Reviews that violate these standards will be rejected:
Content that attacks or demeans people based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
Reviews should be about places, not people. Don't name or target specific individuals, neighbors, landlords, or business owners.
Reviews exist to help the community, not to promote businesses, services, or personal agendas. No ads, affiliate links, or self-promotion.
Don't fabricate experiences or post reviews for places you haven't been. Don't manipulate ratings by posting multiple reviews for the same location.
Keep it clean. You can express strong opinions without resorting to offensive language. Reviews with excessive profanity will be rejected.
Never include personal information — yours or anyone else's. No phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, or other identifying details.
Reviews should relate to the experience of living in or visiting the city/neighborhood. Political commentary, conspiracy theories, or unrelated rants will be removed.
Every review submitted to Rate My City goes through a moderation process before it appears on the site:
You write and submit your review with scores for all 10 life aspects, plus pros and cons.
Our moderation team reads every submission to ensure it meets our community guidelines.
Approved reviews go live on the city or neighborhood page and contribute to the overall scores.
If your review is rejected, it's usually because it violated one of the guidelines above. We don't provide individual feedback on rejected reviews, but you're welcome to submit a new review that follows these guidelines.
Have questions about these guidelines or want to report a review? Contact us at hello@ratemycity.com.
Last updated: March 2026