[SalesForce] Output Raw Text in VF page without HTML from Visualforce Controller

Visualforce has two types of elements: managed and unmanaged. Managed elements can be referenced through $Component, while unmanaged elements cannot. You can tell if an element is managed because it will have a namespace, such as c or apex. For example, <apex:outputPanel> is managed, <select> is not. Visualforce cannot re-render any element that is not managed by the view state. It is for this reason that the apex:action* elements support an onComplete attribute that will call a JavaScript function once Visualforce has finished modifying the DOM. Simply specify the function to call after the callback, and use that function to update the DOM with your own custom rendering.

Use <apex:selectlist> and <apex:selectOption>

Use selected/disabled attribute of <apex:selectOption>

<apex:selectlist value="{!city}" size="1"> 
      <apex:selectOption itemlabel="City" itemValue=""/>
      <apex:selectOption itemlabel="City A" itemValue="City A"/>
      <apex:selectOption itemlabel="City B" itemValue="City B"/>
      <apex:selectOption itemlabel="City C" itemValue="City C"/>
</apex:selectlist>

Or

Use <apex:inputHidden>

<apex:inputHidden value="{!city}" id="cityId"/> 

<select onchange="document.getElementById('{!$Component.cityId}').value = this.value;"> 
      <option value="" selected="selected" disabled="disabled">City</option> 
      <option value="City A">City A</option> 
      <option value="City B">City B</option> 
      <option value="City C">City C</option> 
</select>