What is your favorite US city that is not located in....

[Dallas star]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

Houston for having the most impressive transportation network in the World, arguably.

LMFAO

[musiccity]

Suburbanist, what about Tucson?

[kingchef]

i have to say that i disagree strongly w/ acosta and the other poster re: atlanta, if the discussion includes the arts. w/ a 40 year history w/ robert shaw at the helm, atlanta became a global stage for the performing arts, particularly in the vocal arts. p. jensen, mezzo, florence kolpeff, contralto, thomas wolfe, bass. these were heavy hitters in the classical music/oratorio world, carneige hall, milan, venice, florence, london, etc. the atlanta chamber singers rivaled fred waring, norman luboff, and philly or new york. wide range of repertoire from classical to pop. he started them on radio, and then they became so popular, they created the atlanta symphony orchestra chorus. he created the school of performing arts at a time when atlanta was a rival of miami. ballet, applied arts, high art, sculptor, public school programs w/ the arts, and then the creation of the atlanta school of performing arts (high school.) in the 60's and 70's they built a wonderful performing arts center. they picked the performers that would come to the atlanta venue---Pavarotti, marilyn horn, kathleen battle, all of the major touring companies of new york, london, moscow, berlin, sydney. the ASO began touring throughout america, and it eventually made several recordings and foreign tours. modern dance entered into the picture and a school of painting, known simply as the atlanta school.

consequently, i think you should read a bit about the cultural history and the arts in atlanta. their symphony was ranked in the top 10 in the world. at one point, it was equal to the boston and philadelphia orchestras.

i just felt that i could not put up a slight defense for this particular area. i know that many find atlanta a bit hard to swallow sometimes, but they really have the right to boast on this particular issue. now, hipster rap, i "ain't" sayin' nothin'!" personally, i can find all i want to do in atlanta, but really, they have lost some of the older clubs, which were clubs you could really have a good time visiting. some of you southerners might remember the great "sweet gum head" dancing, drag shows, and comedy. i was still in h.s., but i was w/ a crowd who enjoyed my company, and i looked older, as i had a very heavy full beard and mustache and an extremely hairy chest. this was toward the end of the wild club years. great dancing and 80's music.

i never cared about underground, and frankly, little ole memphis is more interesting, as far as music venues and entertainment. most of the things one enjoys about atlanta, you see in other big cities. don't get me wrong, they do have some great clubs, but many of them are closed. my aunt is a member of a great club, but i can get in only when she is w/ us. i'm sure there are some really good clubs in the north or north west section of the sub and exurbs, but i don't really care to hop around that much.

[Dralcoffin]

Originally Posted by Suburbanist

Houston for having the most impressive transportation network in the World, arguably.

A hundred miles of freeway and a stub of a light rail line does not make a transportation network, it just means another overly car dependent, swollen, bland Sun Belt mega sprawler.

[funnyhouse88]

DC or Chicago I love them both!!

[svicious22]

Asheville, Charleston, Milwaukee...

[koolio]

Philadelphia; and I would have said the same even if the thread starter hadn't excluded all the other famous cities. Philly just has it all. Has various cool neighbourhoods, has a vibrant student population, good art scene, located in a good time zone, good geographic location, great architecture old and new, decent transit system, rabid sporting culture, non-arrogant mentality unlike certain other cities to its north-east, sprawling suburbs etc. I also like Detroit but it is just too run down and decrepit these days. Hopefully it bounces back to recapture even a fraction of its former glory and I will definitely consider it a top city right away, no doubt.

[pbrdpbrd]

I respect the opinion above, but the fact that Philadelphia is loosing population year after year makes me think that it might not be such a great place

[Xusein]

Minneapolis. Spent a summer there two years ago and had a blast. Much more urban than originally imagined. The only problems that I take issue of it (which are unfortunately beyond it's scope for obvious reasons) is it's winters and isolated location with not much of anything nearby in it's immediate vicinity outside farms. Being in the Northeast, I am somewhat spoiled by the close locations between the cities here.

Granted, I haven't seen much of the US outside the Northeast though. Other than the Twin Cities, the only two major cities in the US outside this region are Chicago and Atlanta. Chicago's out of the question here and I didn't see much of ATL when I visited because I was only there for two days last year.

I also loved DC when I visited it, I may go again in May and I am excited.

[Xusein]

Originally Posted by pbrdpbrd

I respect the opinion above, but the fact that Philadelphia is loosing population year after year makes me think that it might not be such a great place

Philly grew in population in the last census for the first time in 60 years.

And sometimes places do lose population due to their attractiveness, it's called gentrification.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by Dralcoffin

A hundred miles of freeway and a stub of a light rail line does not make a transportation network, it just means another overly car dependent, swollen, bland Sun Belt mega sprawler.

Just so you guys know Houston is expanding their light rail network with three lines already under construction which will open around 2015.


image hosted on flickr


The rail system will eventually look like this once it is completed, probably by 2025 although no date is set.

And regarding your criticism of the city as "bland", I would advise you to at least visit the city first before making such assinine comments.

[Skyrazer]

Originally Posted by pbrdpbrd

I respect the opinion above, but the fact that Philadelphia is loosing population year after year makes me think that it might not be such a great place

Ummm, Philadelphia grew in the last census (2000 - 2010) from 1,517,550 to 1,526,006 - a +0.6% growth. Yeah it ain't much to brag about, but atleast it's a turn for the better after a half-century or so of decline. I like to think that the worse is behind for Philly and that it'll grow from here.

[musiccity]

Originally Posted by pbrdpbrd

I respect the opinion above, but the fact that Philadelphia is loosing population year after year makes me think that it might not be such a great place

I personally dislike Philadelphia, it's very grungy and it's not the city you would like to accidentally make a wrong turn! I nearly moved there a few years ago and we frequently came to Philly during that time and we just didn't like the city.

Anyways, I respect the opinions of others though. We are all different and I'm not surprised to see a lot of people liking Philly on a forum like SSC.

[Quall]

DC - was there in 2006 and loved every minute. Beautiful city.

[Dralcoffin]

Originally Posted by diablo234

And regarding your criticism of the city as "bland", I would advise you to at least visit the city first before making such assinine comments.

I have. The appeal of that city is completely lost on me, especially considering that up north cities a quarter of its size have much more varied attractions. I'd even say Kansas City is a more worthwhile city to visit. There are some nice pockets of urbanness and density developing amidst the never-ending sprawl, but not nearly enough to make it a worthwhile city to revisit in my eyes.

[joshsam]

Albany and Troy, NY

Go to street view in these cities and you'll understand why. They reflect how Amercian cities could have been If little more respect for the old city core.

[diablo234]

Originally Posted by Dralcoffin

I have. The appeal of that city is completely lost on me, especially considering that up north cities a quarter of its size have much more varied attractions. I'd even say Kansas City is a more worthwhile city to visit. There are some nice pockets of urbanness and density developing amidst the never-ending sprawl, but not nearly enough to make it a worthwhile city to revisit in my eyes.

Yeah, and I would bet you did nothing but stayed in your hotel room while there too, just like 99% of the people who made those same exact statements.

Let me ask you something, did you even bother checking out the different neighborhoods such as Rice Village, Montrose, The Heights, etc or even visit the various (and quite good as well) museums here?

[Somnifor]

Originally Posted by joshsam

Albany and Troy, NY

Go to street view in these cities and you'll understand why. They reflect how Amercian cities could have been If little more respect for the old city core.

I grew up an hour west of Albany and Troy (and Schenectady). They had a great 19th century and have the urban fabric and architecture to prove it, but unfortunately these places are dead today. They have stagnant economies and an insular culture. They are the sorts of places intelligent, ambitious or creative types leave.

[urbanpln]

Originally Posted by apinamies

Philadelphia and Washington. Baltimore is also nice. Detroit is also fascinating.

Washington D.C. should not be on that list. It is a worldly superstar city on the east coast.

[chicagogeorge]

Excluding the cities NYC, LA, San Fran, Miami that are out of this contest.....NYC and Miami are my two favorite by far.....

Out of the cities I visited one of my favorites was Philadelphia. Being a history teacher I was able to soak up a lot of Philly's rich American historical sites. Furthermore, it sort of has a comparable grit to it with NYC and Chicago which I also like.

I thought Denver had a great natural backdrop, but I wan't that thrilled with the city itself. Then again I was only 19 when I visited back in 1991.

Kansas City nothing to see there....

Indianapolis is ok

Tampa Bay was beautiful

San Diego gorgeous

I hated Phoenix with a passion.

Dallas didn't do it for me.

St. Louis was just ok with a nice little downtown area.

Milwaukee clean, neat, but too close to Chicago, only about 80 miles away... Almost like a satellite city.

Detroit was a wasteland, but I went through some nice suburbs.

I REALLY enjoyed my stay in Houston. Nothing stuck out such as skyline, or it's urban design (or rather lack thereof), but the people who we stayed with, went out of their way to show us a good time. I was there in the summer, so every day was nearly 100F/38C with 98356236% humidity, but I like that sort of heat Plus it was about a 45 minute drive to the coast from where we stayed.



Btw,

My next stop will be DC and probably Atlanta sometime this year.