The 10 Best Cities to Be Quarantined at Home

This story was written by Kathy Morris and originally appeared on Zippia.com.

While it appears that quarantining for the coronavirus pandemic is finally starting to ease, it’s not over till it’s over. Will it happen again? Hopefully not, but you never know.

If you are going to get stuck at home, however, some cities are better places than others. We often think about what cities have to offer in terms of nightlife, dining out and exciting things to do. However, for the millions of Americans stuck at home in formerly exciting cities, the nearby theme park or vibrant theater scene isn’t doing much.

What do they care about? Spacious apartments, speedy internet, plentiful take-out options and nearby green space.

We set out to find the cities where those sheltering in place have it the relative best. We ranked each city from 1 to 99 in four areas:

• Average apartment size
• Amount of parkland per person
• Percent of residents with broadband internet
• Number of takeout options

Average apartment size comes from RENTCafe. The bigger the apartment, the better for stir-crazy quarantiners. This doesn’t take into consideration city house size or homeowners, just apartment rentals. The amount of parkland came from the Trust for Public Land. For takeout options, we looked at the number of restaurants listed for each city on Doordash. Finally, we used the trusty U.S. Census to see the percentage of residents in each city with broadband internet — including cable, fiber or DSL.

Keep reading to see the top 10 cities that made the grade. Bonus: If you’re looking for a job in any of these cities, click on the highlighted city name to learn the top companies to work for in that city!

1. Scottsdale, Arizona

Parkland per 1,000 people: 124.3 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 81.8%
Average apartment size: 946 square feet
Takeout options: 1,060

Scottsdale is the best city in the U.S. to be quarantined. Why makes being stuck at home sweeter in Scottsdale than other places?

First, those homes are pretty big. The average Scottsdale apartment is 964 square feet. That’s almost double the size of what they’re coping with in Honolulu. Throw in over a thousand restaurants with delivery and lots of public land, and it’s easy to see that things could be a lot worse than Scottsdale.

2. Irvine, California

Parkland per 1,000 people: 39.1 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 86.1%
Average apartment size: 912 square feet
Takeout options: 1,695

In second place, we have Irvine, California. In this city, 86% of residents have broadband internet — the third-highest rate in the nation. That speedy internet means more folks in Irvine can prop their feet up, stream Netflix and order from one of the many delicious restaurants a stone’s throw away.

3. Las Vegas

Parkland per 1,000 people: 70.5 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 71.6%
Average apartment size: 884 square feet
Takeout options: 1,755

Las Vegas is known for its vibrant nightlife, but apparently it’s also a good place to stay home. The third-best place to stay home in the nation, to be precise. What makes Vegas so great? Outside of the strip, there’s lots of beautiful, sprawling nature for the perfect staycation. Las Vegas has the seventh-highest amount of parkland per resident.

4. San Diego

Parkland per 1,000 people: 34.9 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 80.7%
Average apartment size: 848 square feet
Takeout options: 2,463

San Diego residents may have small apartments, but they also enjoy great internet, world-class food and one of the nicest beach vistas in the world.

5. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Parkland per 1,000 people: 54.9 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 81%
Average apartment size: 973 square feet
Takeout options: 540

Virginia Beach residents have the third-largest apartments. If that isn’t enough, Virginia Beach has a large amount of public land for people to take in some fresh air when they get too stir crazy.

6. Chandler, Arizona

Parkland per 1,000 people: 23.4 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 82.4%
Average apartment size: 922 square feet
Takeout options: 910

The booming city of Chandler may have slowed down significantly amid the pandemic, but residents at home have a lot to be grateful for. For one, roomy housing gives them more space to live their lives at home. Chandler also has the fifth-best internet access of any city.

7. San Jose, California

Parkland per 1,000 people: 15.8 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 81.6%
Average apartment size: 879 square feet
Takeout options: 1,458

San Jose is in the heart of Silicon Valley, where many tech workers are now working from their smallish apartments. Lucky for them, 81% of the city has broadband internet, so when they complain to their friends about those tiny apartments, the video picture has great quality.

Throw in some great dining options, and the apartments aren’t so bad.

8. Raleigh, North Carolina

Parkland per 1,000 people: 29.6 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 79.2%
Average apartment size: 962 square feet
Takeout options: 550

In eighth place we have Raleigh, North Carolina, edging out its sister city of Durham by over 60 spots.

Raleigh’s roomy apartments, excellent internet and high amount of public leisure space make it one of the best cities to be quarantined.

9. Orlando, Florida

Parkland per 1,000 people: 10.8 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 73.5%
Average apartment size: 949 square feet
Takeout options: 1,596

While Orlando has been economically rocked by theme park closures, residents sheltering in place there have some advantages of those in other cities.

Orlando is a sprawling city, with spacious housing. The city also has a surprising amount of takeout options, 1,596 to be exact.

10. Austin, Texas

Parkland per 1,000 people: 22.9 acres
Residents with broadband internet: 80.9%
Average apartment size: 859 square feet
Takeout options: 1,564

In 10th place we have Austin, Texas. While Austin is known for keeping it weird and having a vibrant tech scene, it is also the 10th best city to be quarantined.

Although Austin has the second smallest apartments in the top 10 (only smaller than San Diego), they also have fast internet and a decent amount of outdoor space per resident for a nice change of scenery.

Want to see the entire list of cities? Click here.