Downtown Raleigh has definitely changed for the better even if, like a lot of similar cities, the gentrified core with its craft cocktails and trendy restaurants is fairly small.

I'd also say NYC--for all the complaints about Disneyfication. As a visitor, I'd much rather have today's 42nd Street, Lower East Side, Chelsea, etc. than I would the 1980s version. People have certainly been priced out but, then, it's not like Manhattan was cheap even in the 80s.

I preferred early 2000s to mid 2010s Manhattan than now.

Can you please elaborate why? I worked in Manhattan for many years, lived a few as well, and moved out in 2009.

My biggest reason is the ratio of quality of service and product (such as food) to price went way down. I imagine more and more resources are going towards rent and taxes than to the quality of what people are buying.

Next reason would probably be general cleanliness and drastic increase in homeless.

Thanks for a counter-example. Much needed.