My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: The Top-10 Most Visited Cities in the US in 2019

Friday, April 19, 2024

The Top-10 Most Visited Cities in the US in 2019

Do you know the top ten most visited cities in the US? How many have you visited? Macrine (RIP) and I have visited all of them and have enjoyed the sights, sounds and taste of these 10 cities from 5 to 7 days during our younger years. We have even resided in the suburb of the 3 cities, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

In the list below I was surprise that New Orleans is not in the list. However, New Orleans is #8 in the top ten best places to Visit in the US this year and the French Quarter in NOLA is #10 on the top ten tourist attractions.

Here's a video of the top ten tourist attraction in US.

Here's a video of the top ten places to visit in the US- It is a different list from top ten cities based on number of visitors. However, some of the cities are in both tourist attraction and places to visit top ten list. Enjoy!

This is the summary of top visited cities in US from the website below for your reading pleasure.

1. New York - 10,288,000 visitors

new york city — A female tourist admiring the skyline of New York City.

The city of New York, and more widely the Metropolitan district of New York-White Plains-Wayne in New York and New Jersey, is by far the most visited American city by people not from within the U.S. More than 10 million people visited in 2019, which is around double the amount of the second most visited city, Miami. Though not the capital, New York City has long been associated with America in general, including its power, prestige and allure to tourists. From the iconic Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, and Broadway, there are so many things to do and see in this city. Neighbourhoods from greenwich to Soho and the upper east side offer shopping, cafes, local cuisine, and the bustling busy allure of New York nightlife.

2. Miami - 5,211,000 visitors

Miami, Florida — Tourist couple enjoying the seaside breeze in Miami.

Warm destinations are some of the most popular on this list, and Miami is no exception, reaching the number two spot. In 2019 a recorded 5,211,000 people visited the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall metropolitan district of Florida from countries outside of the United States. Miami is home to famous Miami beach, which aside from having a gorgeous beach front, is full of life and culture, from street art to amazing foods. The area also includes popular attractions such as the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, the neighbourhood of Little Havana, the Everglades National Park, and the Miami Zoo.

3. Los Angeles - 4,645,000 visitors

The City of Angels, in California, is by far one of the top tourist destinations around the world and ranks number three on the list of most visited U.S. cities. Some 4,645,000 people visited the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan district in 2019, and it was over 5 million in 2018. Los Angeles is an amazing destination for tourists, and it has a little bit of everything. The weather is almost always warm and sunny, and piers, boardwalks and beaches are plentiful. There is also the element of stardom in the Hollywood area, and tourist come to see where the big films and TV shows are made, or to hopefullhy catch a glimpse of one of the stars themselves. On top of this, Los Angeles has impressive sports venues, a wide variety of cultural cuisine, and fantastic art museums and cultural hubs. On top of all this, Disneyland is located about a half hour outside of the city, and many travel to Los Angeles as part of a Disney experience.

4. Orlando - 4,415,000 visitors

The metropolitan area of Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford had 4,415,000 foreign visitors in 2019. Orlando, Florida is especially popular with visitors because it is home to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando. Additionally, Epcot, one of three Seaworld locations, and the Kennedy Space Center all draw tourists to the city and the surrounding area. The combination of warm weather and great attractions make Orlando a top choice for travellers.

5. San Francisco - 3,308,000 visitors

Golden gate bridge san francisco — Tourists photographing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

San Francisco, California has long been a popular city for tourists from around the world. In 2019, 3,308,000 foreign tourists visited the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City metropolitan district. The city is a welcoming and friendly place for locals and tourists alike, and the area is considered to be one of the leading cultural hubs of the country. The impressive Golden Gate Bridge, bustling Fisherman’s Wharf, the Alcatraz Island, and cable cars are all popular attractions for those seeking some fun in the sun.

6. Las Vegas - 2,989,000 visitors

Los Angeles tourists — Tourists posing for a group photo in from of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.

Las Vegas, Nevada and the Paradise metropolitan statistical area ranked number six for tourists from outside the United States. The city pulls in a whopping 3 million visitors on average each year, from all over the world. The lights, sights, shows and gambling facilities in the area are the main draws for tourism. An adult playland, tourists come to experience this unique and exciting environment for special occasions and parties of all kinds.

7. Honolulu - 2,751,000 visitors

Tourists in the Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. Editorial credit: Jeff Whyte / Shutterstock.com

Honolulu, in Hawaii, ranks number seven, as cities visited by non-American tourists. The beautiful scenery, warm weather, luxury resorts and gorgeous beaches drew 2,751,000 tourists in 2019, up from the previous year at 2,588,000. As the capital of Hawaii, it is the most visited of the islands, and serves as a gateway to the rest of the state. Many tourists visit the islands for the climate, sealife, volcanoes, beaches and wildlife, though other historical attractions such as Pearl Harbour are also popular with visitors to Honolulu.

8. Washington - 1,907,000 visitors

Washington dc — Tourists at Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, USA/

With just over 2 million visitors in 2018, and just under in the following year, Washington and the D.C. Metro Area ranks number eight in terms of US cities visited by travellers from other countries. As the capital of the nation, Washington is a draw in itself, and its historical monuments, memorials, and senate buildings are hugely popular. Tourists are generally fascinated by the American government and government buildings such as Capitol Hill and the White House, The Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument.

9. Boston - 1,567,000 visitors

Boston tourists — Tourists to Boston can enjoy aquatic activities like sailing.

The Boston-Quincy Metropolitan district (which includes the city of Boston itself) is the ninth most visited U.S. city by foreigners. In 2019, it registered roughly 1,567,000 visitors, with very similar numbers in 2018 as well. Boston is in the heart of New England in Massachusetts. and has a special kind of charm. Its sports fans are extremely enthusiastic, which is in part why Fenway Stadium (home of the Boston Red Sox) is such a high drawing attraction. Aside from the stadium, other popular attractions include the Museum of Fine Art, the Freedom Trail walk, the Boston Public Garden, and the infamous Boston Tea Party ships and museum.

10. Chicago - 1,491,000 visitors

The city of Chicago, Illinois (including the Joliet-Naperville metropolitan district) ranks tenth in terms of visitors from other countries. In 2019, it had a reported 1,491,000 annual visitors, though the number was slightly higher the year before. These one and a half million tourists come to Chicago to visit one of America’s largest cities, and experience everything from the deep dish pizza to the impressive architecture of this Windy City. Popular attractions include the Navy Pier, Millenium Park, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Each of these cities offers a different view of the great country of America, from the East coast to the West. While most of these cities are the larger ones within the U.S., they are popular to tourists for a variety of reasons, from the geography of Hawaii to the beaches of Miami, and the history in Boston. Each one is a major driver of tourism and economy for its state and the country.

https://www.worldatlas.com/cities/america-s-10-most-visited-cities.html

Personal Bucket List Accomplished:

Top 10 Most Visited Cities: 10 out of 10

Top 10 Popular Places: 9 out of 10

Top 10 Tourist Attractions: 7 out of 10

Meanwhile here's a photo of my recent purchase on line

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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like: