Which cities would you consider to be hidden gems?

[HarborSky]

Which cities have you been to or live near that you would consider to have a great urban environment but most people wouldn't normally consider them. I've been to so many cities that have pleasantly surprised me....from Charleston,SC to Memphis, TN, to Cumberland, MD...All for different reasons.

What cities would you consider to be hidden gems? These can range from small to large cities.

[bobbycuzin]

definitely santa fe, nm

chicago is underrated for large cities but i wouldn't consider it a "hidden gem" like santa fe

[cheesy bob]

Phoenix

the coastal cities always get all of the attention

[edsg25]

Madison (although there is nothing hidden about it in the middle west)

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by bobbycuzin

definitely santa fe, nm

chicago is underrated for large cities but i wouldn't consider it a "hidden gem" like santa fe

Bob, as a Chicagoan, I never see Chicago as underrated. I think people in other places generally are very favorably disposed towards Chicago.

[klamedia]

As a Chicagoan "edsg" you don't see it but it is. A day doesn't go by without hearing a mention of NYC, LA, Vegas or Miami somewhere in the media. I remember my first visit to Chicago during the time that I was living in NYC and thinking to myself that I'm not supposed to think this way, what with all of that NYC indoctrination that you receive on a daily basis. But I was thinking that Chicago's skyline rivals that of NYC's by far especially at night. It's not so much the height and the density of the buildings but the collection of divergent styles that is overwhelming, also the fact that almost anywhere I am in the city I can see the skyline. And I especially appreciated the fact that the city seemed to allow you to remain autonomous in your views and opinions of it. In other words, thank god I didn't have to walk down Michigan Ave and see an ocean of shopping bags that told me 'to love Chicago'. The city is underrated but its best.......it just surprises you everytime you visit.

[Xusein]

Pittsburgh. It's not small, but I still think it gets the shaft. It's a beautiful city.

[tombantdesfoetus]

I personally feel that Duluth is a hidden gem that most outside of the Upper Midwest wouldn't give a second glance due its image as a cold, depressed port city.

In the past 10 years, Duluth has bounced back from decline drastically (although is still has a ways go) and is now a popular summertime resort destination for Minnesotans.


















image hosted on flickr






image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr

[CITYofDREAMS]

Originally Posted by bobbycuzin

definitely santa fe, nm

chicago is underrated for large cities but i wouldn't consider it a "hidden gem" like santa fe

I agree I think Santa Fe is truly a gem...

[HarborSky]

Cool pictures of Duluth! I had no idea it had such extreme topography! People should post pictures of other "hidden gems" too!

Chicago is NOT a hidden gem. It's hardly hidden. It's the third largest city and home to the tallest buildings in the country. Everybody knows and loves Chicago. I don't think the 10 largest cities should even be mentioned on this board.

[Atlman1]

Columbus, GA for sure. It has a large corporate base (Aflac, Synovus, TSYS, Carmike Cinemas, Char-Broil), one of the worlds largest military bases (Fort Benning), and a central location in the Southeast. It is only 90 miles from downtown Atlanta, 80 miles to Hartsfield-Jackson International, 4 hours to the panhandle of Florida, etc. Kia is building its first U.S. plant right up the road creating thousands of jobs. Also, Fort Benning is expanding bringing 33-45,000 new residents to a metro of 500,000.

Any thoughts?

[secondcity1]

It depends. If you refer to TV & media coverage, then yes….its a no brainer since most media outlets are based in the coastal cities. The media coverage of Chicago are mostly about business related news... and perhaps just a small portion on the entertainment side.

TV & media aside, its totally a different thing. Chicago, New York & San Francisco are the only 3 major cities that got lots of love and attention from American people & international travelers. And I am saying this based on facts, not arrogance. As the old saying goes, quality always trumps quantity. There are a few surveys that were discussed in here a while back, which could help the readers to figure out which city is underrated, or overrated.

I do agree with someone that said Santa Fe is a hidden gem.

Originally Posted by HarborSky

Cool pictures of Duluth! I had no idea it had such extreme topography! People should post pictures of other "hidden gems" too!

Chicago is NOT a hidden gem. It's hardly hidden. It's the third largest city and home to the tallest buildings in the country. Everybody knows and loves Chicago. I don't think the 10 largest cities should even be mentioned on this board.

[Unionstation13]

I think most midwestern cities outside of chicago are pretty underrated.

[Third of a kind]

Richmond without a doubt

[jacobboyer]

Duluth Minnesota would be number one in my opinion.

[Geaux Tigers]

Little Rock is definitely a hidden gem and an up-and-coming city.

[Suburbanite]

Tulsa, OK

It always strikes me as a city that could have and should have been much bigger than it is, but just never really took off.

[xzmattzx]

How small can we go down to?

In terms of towns, there are a few that I've been to. I've taken pictures of each of these places so links are provided to my photos. I tried not to be too Delaware-centric.

New Castle, DE: My best example of an underrated town. This town is one of the best-preserved colonial areas in the country, right up there with Old City Philadelphia and Annapolis, Maryland. Yet, it is somewhat unknown even by Delawareans, much less the region and the nation. That's a good thing, in a way, though. The town acts just like any other small town, with few tourists clogging up the place. It's a self-sustaining residential town first, a colonial tourist attraction second.
New Castle photos: HERE (1), HERE (2)

Lewes, DE: An old whaling town with a good amount of Victorian architecture. It's not as good as Cape May, across Delaware Bay, but Cape May is very well-known, and Lewes is viewed to be just another beach resort.
Lewes photos: HERE

the Wildwoods, NJ: A booming post-war resort town that has preserved it's past. Doo Wop arhcitecture form the 1950's and 1960's gives all 4 municipalities on the island a feel that 1950's architecture usually doesn't do. My favorite of the 4 Wildwoods is Wildwood Crest.
Wildwood Crest photos: HERE

Chestertown, MD: A river port town in the Chesapeake Bay area that captures the Chesapeake culture. Located on the Eastern Shore about halfway between Annapolis and Middletown, Delaware, it is in an area that doesn't see as many tourists or exurbanites, although it looks like that may be changing in the next 10 years.
Chestertown photos: HERE

Ellicottville, NY: A ski resort town that in my opinion doesn't have quite the great architecture of the four places mentioned above, but has as much charm as the others. Looks like many other Upstate New York towns, but the skiing and subsequent nightlife and other entertainment in the town, make this place a little bit more special than other Upstate places.
Ellicottville photos: HERE

Moving on to cities large and small:

Annapolis, MD: One of the nation's great colonial treasures. Annapolis is the only city in the U.S. to be laid out in a Parisian (radial) street pattern only, which leads to interesting building shapes and driving patterns that just aren't found in any other place in the country.
Annapolis photos: HERE

Philadelphia, PA: Overshadowed by New York City and Washington DC, some people even consider the city to be a distant suburb of New York City (sometimes referred to as "New York's 6th Borough", which enfuriates Philadelphians). Crime is still extremely high, but many places are safe to live in and have an urban culture that few cities in the U.S. have.
Philadelphia photos: HERE

Buffalo, NY: A city that has as many economic and political problems as any place in the country, but has architecture that reflects its vibrant past. The architecture rivals that of any top-ten-populated city in the U.S., because Buffalo was a top-ten-populated city at one time that flourished with the shipping trade using the city as a hub.
Buffalo photos: HERE (1), HERE (2), HERE (3), HERE (4)

Wilmington, DE: A city that is lumped in with the Philadelphia metro, without taking into account the separate culture that Delaware has from the Philadelphia metro and the places in Southeast Pennsylvania. The city benefits from being located literally in the middle of it all, halfway between Baltimore and Philadelphia, and also halfway between New York City and Washington DC. Being centrally located between 4 of the nation's most important cities has allowed for Wilmington to see much of the culture, character, and architecture found in it's neighbors that are 10 or 20 times the size.
Wilmington photos: HERE (1), HERE (2), HERE (3), HERE (4), HERE (5), HERE (6), HERE (7), HERE (8)

[bobbycuzin]

your whole list consists of cities in the northeast!

but i agree with philadelphia in comparison to other big cities, it's up-and-coming just you wait

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by bobbycuzin

your whole list consists of cities in the northeast!

but i agree with philadelphia in comparison to other big cities, it's up-and-coming just you wait

The Northeast is where I live and travel around. I'm not going to comment on places in the South or West that I've really never seen.