What is the best place to live in skyrim?

Both Riften and Whiterun.

Solitude is nice but i recently got the butchers house which is bigger. My wife and a jarl is in solitude but i think i will stay with the blades or in the butchers house in markath ! Need to display my weapons there (lot of display cases)

I'm like a butterfly, travelling around with no fixed place to be...unless those dragons with their butterfly nets appear to catch me.

Markarth, the house there is the best in the game, second largest house, and ten times better looking then the house in solitude

whiterun is simple and relaxing then when im doing the evil i do i make my home at nightingale hall

I have a house in both Whiterun and Solitude. I still have to tell my spouse that we are moving to Solitude though,

I have all the houses apart from Riften but here are my findings:

Whiterun - Very basic, my display racks dont work and there isnt much room to display spoils and rewards

Solitude - Intricate, Very big and set over three floors - far too much random crap around and it looks untidy. Im going to have to clear everything out and throw it into the street before i can start storing all the goodies i have. Also a shame the only good places to display stuff are in the basemant which is crowded.

Markarth - Great House! Probably the best looking with great amounts of storage and display areas. Most of the items in the house - cups plates etc look good and makes it homely.

WIndhelm - Best house, In My Opinion. I am a little biased as I'm a Stormcloak but it is massive! Downstairs in a secret room you have you Enchanting and Alchemy tables, at the top of the stairs you have 3 manequins loads of plaques to display weapons and shield racks. Also weapons racks that work and it just looks awesome

On Topic - My opinion for the best house is Windhelm due to the amount of space, storage and display areas

-Daragrav
(Altmer Mage, Hoarder)

I have all the houses in the game, and choose to live in Solitude. I would live in Whiterun, but I don't want Sylgja to see all the damn blood and bones in there. Markarth is IMO the best house, but unfortunately the Markarth housecarl is a dude and I don't live with no damn dude.

I live in the wilderness, esp caves is my thing. Dont like being around peoples much.

Solitude, because of the big expensive Manor you can get there.

Whiterun,got everything i need.

I like the Riften house a lot
Only complaint is lack of storage next to the crafting stations.

I wanna live in Dawnstar but there doesn't seem to be any house for sale there.
Guess I'll have to wait for house mods..

Markarth - the view was just too lovely to pass up

Still Whiterun, and spend a few nights here and there at inns between travels.

I live in a country where the retail version of Skyrim is still not available because of Bethesda. The good part is that I share Steam games/accounts with my cousin so now he got to finish Witcher 2 and I got to finish Skyrim.

On a more serious note and on topic I live in Whiterun for I really enjoy the atmosphere there and recently bought the house in Riften cz I fell in love with the view on the lake.

What I really looking forward is a mod that will allow me to have a tent/camp in the forest/wilds as I play as a shaman-nature nord guy.

Whiterun for me, but I've not seen the inside of the other houses so I'm kinda biased. Whiterun is nice and central in the world which I like, plus the house is really close to the city gate. The only complaint I have about it is it can get slightly crowded with all the stuff that comes with it. You'd have to clear out all the food and plates and stuff if you wanted to display anything properly.

Whiterun is the most convenient house. Full blacksmith facilities (plus forge) 10 metres from your house, enchanting and alchemy at the Jarl's place. Lots of shops nearby. However the house itself looks a bit rubbish.
The house in Riften is very nice too. You get enchanting and alchemy stations, a garden with lots of stuff growing in it, lots of storage and racks. This house too looks a bit "country" however and there's no forge nearby.

Markath has an amazing house in an amazing city - so does Solitude.

Windhelm is the obvious choice if you're a stormcloak person.

I live in Windhelm, the house is very big, with a lot of Mannequins and Cases, but theres still blood everywhere and the unholy altair is making me nervous sometimes

You can pay 500 Septims to have that cleaned up at the Jarls blokey - Joliff i think.

I've bought houses in both Whiterun and Riften, but the house in Riften is my favourite--particularly as my current character has much business in Riften, or more specifically at the Ragged Flagron

I want Evergreen Grove as my house just need to mod in storage stuff and all my working tables and I will be good to go.

Markarth?

Breezehome is the one. Good choice people.