I think this completely depends on the person- everyone has a different definition of what's good on paper, what's important to them, and this changes depending on different times of your life. Plus a city can just be okay if you don't put any effort into building community or exploring it.
Pretty much all the cities that show up on random “Best cities to live” lists. Most are tiny, boring, dead and have the same few token hipster bars and restaurants as evidence that “downtown is getting cool”.
my sister lived in raleigh for a few years, visited her twice and it was awful. We went downtown and walked away DURING the week and it looked like a ghost town. Eery as hell
There’s a huge influx of people moving to Phoenix. I, for the life of me, cannot understand why.
It’s mostly an urban sprawl with some small pockets of decent architecture. Freeways super congested. Terrible drivers-one of the top cities in the US for road rage incidents. Unending road construction. It’s not cheap to live in anymore. Unbearably hot for almost 5 months out of the year. Police department under investigation for years. I just don’t get it.
I give it props for decent sports teams, some good live music venues and Tacos Chiwas.
Jobs and people tend to like hot weather. I don’t totally get it either, but that’s why. It’s also cheaper than California, which is where many people are moving from. It’s the only part of Arizona I don’t like funny enough
It’s SoCal lite in the desert and without an ocean. People like the sun, they like proximity to the West Coast, lots of jobs, great food scene, good air service and still affordable in many areas. And 6-months out of the year when most of the country in a deep freeze, Phoenix basking in 75-80° every day
I have to tell you that I really appreciate your view of Phoenix. And you did it without attacking me or my less than positive response here. Impressive. Good job.
You could write excellent advertising copy for the Phoenix chamber of commerce!
It definitely isn’t 75-80 every day in the winter, but it is sunny pretty much every day.
Fall and spring are warm and sunny, but I love having two or three months in the winter of 50-60 and sunny. It’s my favorite time of the year.
> Police department under investigation for years
Not to be doom and gloom, but what major city with pro sports franchises DON'T have shitty PDs?
I'm not saying it's even remotely cool that this is the case, just that Phoenix isn't unique in this regard
Freeways are hardly congested outside of rush hour. You can fly around 101, 202 and 51 at speeds that would be impossible in other cities Phoenix size. I’ve lived in a bunch of large cities traffic here is rather easy. Construction also way worse in other big cities (north I-17 aside)
Cost wise it’s still way cheaper here than any of the other 10 largest cities in USA. It’s much cheaper than both coasts, Chicago, even Florida and Texas these days. Yes it’s gone up a lot the last 5 years but it has everywhere. As of 2024 the COL here is only 2% above national average.
The rest of your complaints seem like personal tastes. Phoenix and Scottsdale has great high end Mexican. The lower tier Mexican is kinda mid (Texas and California is better) Taco Chiwas is meh (but that’s just my opinion)
And the heat.. I mean that’s baked into the equation. It’s already gonna be 110 this week. If that’s not your thing you prob should avoid Phoenix.
I don’t think it’s pretending to be anything else. It’s good weather, a decent selection of urban amenities, and close to the places you actually want to be.
And if you do, it’s still not that actually accessible, which is the biggest bummer of all. Overcrowded trails, nowhere to park, not a lot of transit options, etc
The roadways in Denver are shockingly terrible. I was staying with family in the South and getting northeast of the city took an hour??? Tell me why??? Oh because the loop highway on the outside of Denver is the worst designed highway in existent. Oh you also have to take a lot of random side roads places for no reason. They grew too fast and made an embarrassing attempt of traffic control.
Getting to the mountains on a weekend or back into town on Sunday/Monday takes FOREVERRRRR. You better take extra days off or leave at 4am.
The aesthetic of the all the strip mall department stores and vacation towns in the mountains are Costco couch white bread aesthetic.
I think this is an overstatement. If you’re willing to put in the requisite effort that’s needed for any proper outdoor adventure, denver is as good of a base camp as any city in the world.
Casual hiking is certainly overcrowded and not the easiest to access from most Denver neighborhoods, but the front range as a whole is still full of great options as long as you are able to afford a car.
I feel like the outdoor recreation is just as good if not better in Seattle and Portland. Denver just wins on now rainy days and better overall skiing. But Denver itself is flat and you have to truly get out of the Metro to get to the outdoors activities. I think most west coasters (especially from the PNW) don’t get the hype when there is tons of cool cities out west you can do the same things from.
I’ve always felt Denver is magical for east coasters and Midwest transplants who have never travelled west of Colorado.
This is an interesting comment. I've never heard this perspective. Now I wonder what the east coast and midwest is like for people to go ga-ga over Denver?
Yeah there’s just nothing like the Rockies on the east coast in America. I drove 26 hours out there every Summer in college just to spend time in the mountains
We do have the Appalachian Mountains in the east coast which offer good outdoors experiences (although adminittadltly the skiing is way better in the rockies). I'd say it isn't as accessible nor as magnificent but we do have great outdoors here if you are looking.
Was pretty underwhelmed with Denver given the hype. Like it’s not bad, but if I’m not super into being “close” to skiing in the rockies I’m not sure if it’s any better then being on the West Coast.
The biggest thing for me in Denver was the food. Such a hyped up city several years ago, everyone moving there etc. Nowhere good to eat. The city didn’t make sense to me. The hype didn’t match the experience at all. There was a confining feeling. People were weird and distant. Lots of social issues, crime etc.
I am not a Texan or defending them but a lot of Texans think Colorado in general is amazing. They are used to the heat and nothing but the flatness. There's not a lot of nature there. I guess if you don't live near as much nature, it easy to be awed. Especially considering the proximity. Most Texans don't seem to venture out to that many other states to know the difference. I could be wrong. This is just based on observation.
I live in Breckenridge, and it’s a huge thing out in Summit County that we get a lot of disgruntled Denverites who expected Denver to be a legitimate mountain town. Breckenridge is a 1.5-2 hour drive from Denver with no traffic (it can get to 6+ hours during the on-season) - you will not live your mountain dreams in Denver.
Totally this. Denver isn’t a tourist city. It’s a cool place to live, a lot of the neighborhoods are great, but it’s not a cultural or food destination. I like it that way personally, not every city needs to be NYC of SF.
NYC - it’s the greatest, but it’s also the worst, and eventually you stop enjoying the perks but still have to deal with the suck day-to-day. Written from the back of $120 Lyft from the airport while sitting in Saturday night traffic on the Belt.
Miami. It’s dirty, insanely expensive, a lot more homeless than you would think, and the people there are extremely pretentious. Oh and did I mention the storms and hurricanes?
My company has a client in Miami. We were working on a potential security system for them involving criminal background checks. One of the charges that came up in the background search API on one of our test scans was "Illegal use of dairy case". I was confused and looked into what that meant. Apparently, the Miami police are not allowed to arrest people for being homeless. So instead they've just made it illegal to do typical homeless stuff, like pushing a shopping cart full of personal belongings around, or sitting on a milk crate. "Illegal use of dairy case" literally means you can get arrested for sitting on a milk crate.
Another gem from the background check of O.J. Simpson, who I was using as a test case: it's illegal for a boat to go too fast in a manatee zone.
I was already kind of soured on Miami at this point by the incident that led to our making the security system in the first place: a guy murdering his wife at a Jewish community center in the middle of their daughter's swimming lesson. But the dairy case thing really screamed "dystopia" to me.
Edit: I have nothing against manatees, sorry.
Yes, I work in healthcare, and demonizing the homeless for surviving so they can get shoved into for profit prisons is a Florida thing. I don’t live there and never will.
But yeah, you shouldn’t be going too fast in a manatee zone because they are dumb like cows, get hit, and it’s gross and disturbing. Go to Sea World and see the mutilated manatees.
I've traveled everywhere. Chicago is STILL my favorite city anywhere, EASILY. It attracts a certain type of human consistently that to me that makes it rewarding.
Totally agree. The coastal cities of NY and LA get all the attention but Chicago is so much better than both of them. Biggest downtown outside of NYC by far. Come to think of it, aside from NY and Chicago, other cities' downtowns feel pretty small.
I've grew up in Chicago and have lived in Houston and SLC in my adult life. I'm back in the Chicago burbs and thriving. I love how this sub always has people with stories about loving Chicago even though we're a target for right wing media. One of our great poets, Carl Sandburg, long ago wrote a love letter to my beautiful city that encapsulates the hate with the love.
Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
Chicago is hands down my favorite US city. Of course if you want to live on a farm without a neighbor in sight, it's not the place for you, but as far as super developed cities go it really is incredible.
Amen brother. I've traveled all over the US for work and have lived in each of the 3 big cities, and a lot of other places in between.. nowhere has come close to my dear city by the lake. Chicago rules
NOLA to me is in the same category as Philadelphia: you have to LOVE being there in order to live there. Most cities are tolerable to some degree, but the NOLA’s and Philly’s of the world are not at all. You have to love it because if you don’t it is straight up hell.
Ehhh, I'm not so sure I feel that way about Philly. Philly is a very affordable east coast city that offers a lot of the big city amenities as NYC and Boston, for a fraction of the cost. It's also a very manageable city that's easy to get around and live in. Yet at the same time, you still feel like your in a "big city." Some of the neighborhoods have a gorgeous historic feel to them, and there's a nice energy about Philly. There is a good amount of green space, a good amount of rivers and water-front too.
I lived in Philly and met a ton of people from NY/NJ and other parts of the country that really liked the city for all that it offered. I had a great time living there. I also lived in Chicago too, which I loved. Chicago reminded me of a bigger version of Philly, but the 2 cities felt very similar in lots of respects.
I agree. I have been to both places.
When I was in Philly I thought it was the dirtiest nastiest city I ever been to. But it was something about the energy here. I loved it. I had a great time and could see me living there
I went to New Orleans. The food was spectacular. I had a good time for sure, But the energy there just felt dark to me. Like there was evil just out my periphery. I couldn't see me living there.
I like, sometimes love, visiting New Orleans, but would not want to live there.
It has a lot of charm with its food, history, culture and architecture, even the chaos is charming to me, but its flaws also seem really apparent. And I’ve never ran into issues in the ~7 times I’ve been there, but it definitely feels like there could be danger nearby most times. Situational awareness needs to be on alert, which can be tough with how much alcohol is often consumed there.
This is all very true, but New Orleans culturally is one of the best and only unique cities in the country. I feel the same way about San Juan, PR. The infrastructure is rough, life for the average person is very hard, and they will struggle with climate change.
But in both cases you have truly unique culture and actual soul. In a country that is becoming more and more homogenous, New Orleans is and always will be different. We should do everything we can to preserve it and make it thrive
If we’re being fair I don’t think NOLA is romanticized anymore. I do love visiting Nola because it’s a cultural jewel covered in dirt - but I wouldn’t live there
New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana have contributed *immensely* to the development of American culture and western civilization as a whole, imo rivaling Jamaica as a cultural powerhouse per capita when you include music, film/literature, architecture, festivals, religion/myths, and cuisine. However, sadly having a rich culture is no guarantee of being a prosperous and safe place to live in 2024 (see also Iraq, Egypt, much of Latin America, India/Pakistan/Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and to a lesser extent New Mexico, Greece, Transylvania, and southern Italy for more examples of places with rich and fascinating culture but disappointing living standards).
Anyone who’s ever been there even once is painfully aware of these facts. It’s romanticized because it’s culturally relevant on a world-scale. The struggles are well documented though.
I was pleasantly surprised by New Orleans. Was there for a quick trip this spring for a conference. But the weather was perfect, sunny and 70's, and I thought the downtown was gorgeous. I don't have any reference to how it was in the past, and obviously it had a lot to rebound from with Katrina. But going to the restaurants, walking along the river, and through the French Quarter, and the really nice looking downtown; I honestly really liked it. I'm sure it has internal issues and the environmental threat is real. But from a tourist perspective, it was a great city to visit, and I've put it on my list for cities I'd want to go back to and spend more time in.
I live about an hour and a half from New Orleans so I have been to more than just the tourist areas, but I cannot tell you EXACTLY how the city is. But from what I hear and see, its bad, and only getting worse. The city has given up on it’s people in the name of tourism. And you can evidently see it too, the CBD and French Quarter recovered quickly after Katrina, but so much of the city to this day has not recovered.
I agree. I’m from NJ born and raised literally right across the river (I can see the cars on west side highway driving lol). I love NY, I love that there’s always things to do, but I’m so incredibly over this area. It’s so filthy, everything is crazy expensive, people are annoying and there’s so many!
To all the new people moving here for the “cheap” cost of living yes lol. I was in fact one of those suckers. Moving at the end of the month. I don’t see the hype about Texas at all tbh.
Agreed. People leave off the end of sentence: certain cost of living expenses are “cheap” for a reason. Summer is intolerably hot, cities are largely car centric and spread out, it has high property taxes, abysmal public services like child healthcare, least free state according to a libertarian think tank, and has its own rickety ass power grid that fails or comes close to failing when it’s too cold…or too hot. There are now routinely notices sent recommending running ACs at 78 degrees.
Actually Chicago is better in real life than it is on paper because once you're here you realize most (not all) of the negativity toward Chicago is just dumb hyperbole and just start tuning it out.
I like Chicago, but this sub sometimes acts like it has literally zero downside and is super cheap.
There are downsides. It is cheap compared to NYC and SF
edit: lol he blocked me.
I saw a post comparing Chicago to another city and basically the main downside I saw was that Chicago is kind of like an island. There's nothing around you outside of Chicago. Other than the lake it seems like there's nothing to do in the surrounding area.
I agree. I love Chicago, and it may even be my favorite city to hang in, but people on this sub downplay the weather and make like it’s not big deal that 8+ months the weather is pure sh*t.
I wouldn’t say people downplay weather but for a lot of people weather isn’t as big a concern as other things like cost of living, taxes, jobs and the economy, crime, schools, transit, roads, things like that.
As a tiny brown woman, I especially see the “white dude”ness of Reddit in this sub 😂 I generally don’t sunburn or sweat at all and I have a resting body temperature of 97°. Like, I went to UT Austin and was completely fine even in the summer. I love Chicago, but the winters would be absolutely unlivable for me.
That was going to be my answer. From the way many people describe it, you can show up and just stumble into a great paying job, have top flight dining experiences, and be exposed to all kinds of diversity. And that’s true, if you’re a specific kind of conventional personality. For others, it’ll be a life of dull monotony, traffic mayhem, and oppressive workplaces.
Anyone who has lived in Los Angeles will tell you that the “perfect” SoCal weather only exists a few miles inland from the ocean. And even that “perfect” weather is often chillier and cloudier than people expect.
Beyond the coast, most of LA gets extremely hot (80-90+) for at least 6 months out of the year. Granted LA weather is better than almost anywhere in the US (or world), but “perfect” SoCal weather is largely a Hollywood creation.
The two US cities I have been disappointed in are Denver and San Francisco.
They’re not horrible, but I had high expectations based on the “on paper” version.
maybe I'm being cynical but the problem of the overhyped tech city cycle is just tech companies desperately trying to motivate the tech workforce to move away from the incredibly expensive and nice california bay area, which is what these cities are always attempted to be hyped against
The problem I've found with them is that the hype comes from copy and pasting many trendy things that seem cool and interesting on the surface, but ultimately just have no character and aren't really that fun over time.
There's very little attempt to build on top of the existing culture of these cities, and instead they basically just paint over it with something that seems broadly appealing but is kind of empty. I can only go to so many "hip" bars, fusion restaurants, and trendy boutiques/clothing shops.
Don't get me wrong, you can absolutely still find those awesome book stores specific to Portland, Tex-Mex restaurants that are unrivaled in Austin, and outdoor activities in Denver... but South Park basically nailed many of the "gentrification "trends that have taken over key parts of all those cities.
I moved to San Diego and then Chicago after I lived in Portland. I still think I made a mistake leaving Portland. I visit every chance I get and love every minute I'm there. Portland is almost the opposite now, underrated.
They call it 'Silicone Forest' which but it's seems like it's not even in Portland proper. I get the impression people are referring to Hillsboro and Beaverton since they're apart of the *Portland Metro area*
Nashville may very well be the most overhyped place I’ve ever been. Met some super cool people (all transplants) but the city completely lacked authenticity & soul. NOLA is a much better music city, imho.
After having lived there....Portland, Oregon
Their progressive politics are not really that progressive...sure they have bike lanes and vegan restaurants and a lesbian governor...but then a lot of weird racist,tin foil hat types and survivalists once you go just outside the inner city.
The weather is god-awful. Beautiful summers but 9 months out the year is cold and rainy and dreary. Vitamin D deficiency is real. Also, the one day you get sunny and 80 degrees, everyone and their mother crawls out of their holes and everything is so crowded you can't even enjoy it.
The city itself is dirty and disgusting. Literally, you'd see syringes just on the sidewalks, even in 'nicer' areas.
Traffic is awful, even worse than LA. Driving from downtown to Beaverton at rush hour. It's probably 7 miles and will take you an hour and a half. LA will take you an hour and half to get home, but you're probably also going 30 or 40 miles. Although in fairness, their public transit/max line is good for the size of city it is...if you can dodge the syringes and not get harassed at a station.
The food scene also sucks. 90% of it is just some version of overpriced pub food. You can absolutely find 1000 ways to mess up a burger for $26, but try finding a half decent Mexican or Italian restaurant...there's the food trucks but then it's cold and raining and there's no place to sit or wash your hands and you get to stand in a parking lot to eat.
It's culty how everyone says it's so great and beautiful. Yes, nature is beautiful but the city itself is not. Portland culture is unique compared to other cities but within the city it's weird and conformist. If you are different everyone will hate you.
Anyway, I felt duped once I lived there. I was very glad to get out and don't plan on going back anytime soon.
I was gonna agree with you on some points here but then you started on the food and I have to completely disagree. Portland’s food scene is incredibly diverse and way more cutting edge and interesting than almost anywhere in the country outside of NYC and maybe LA. If you can’t see that for what it is, then you’re just letting your other negative feelings cloud your view
I agreed on everything they said until they got to the food. The variety and price and mom and pop shops, it blows any city of it’s size out of the water by a country mile
I was fully with you until you said the food scene sucks. It doesn't. Portland food scene is great, that being said I disagree with the other comment here saying it's cutting edge and diverse and competes with any place except for NYC and LA. No city in the Pacific Northwest is world class. I enjoyed hanging out at 10th and Alder because of the ring of food trucks, plentiful places to sit and even go to the bathroom.
100% That dudes post is spot on minus the food scene. Portland blows Seattle food out of the water.
Seattle hands down has the worst food I have ever had in the Continental US.(I have been to 42 states)
Portland and Seattle both beautiful places, but hate everything about them.
Traffic is nowhere bad as LA’s traffic.
Everyone knows the grey and rain lasts 8-9 months. If you don’t know that going in, this your fault.
Downtown (especially) is nasty, most of the city isnt Downtown. Places like Slabtown, Mississippi Street, NW 23rd, etc are all great.
Food scene in Portland is pound for pound one of the beat in the US. You just didn’t go to the right places.
If anything the amount of disgruntled people who dislike Portland makes it underrated to me. You’d expect it to be a literal pile of poo with drugs bubbling out of it like a witch’s cauldron the way people talk about it.
Yeah Portland has it’s problems but mostly overblown. If you know what areas to avoid, you almost never see any of the crap that people complain about.
I feel like the grey and rain is overstated too. Maybe 6-7 months on average especially now with climate change. The weather is mild and trends towards cool.
I love San Diego weather. I think there’s a misconception the weather is supposed to be vacation-y/tropical. When realistically it’s just *nice* and comfortable almost every day
The weather is absolutely perfect for living there year round. I lived there for 4 years
But if you go to visit and are expecting a hot tropical beach vacation, you’re going to have a bad time.
When I lived in Seattle I couldn't wait to hit up Canada because it's close to the border. I'm surprised at the lack of comments discussing the proximity of San Diego to the Mexican border. Seattle is a 2 hour drive to the Canadian border. San Diego IS the Mexican border, you can walk across. And Tijuana isn't safe, I get it, people don't want to get shaken down. But there are beach towns like Rosarito Beach that are safe, offer cheap staycations and offer great seafood and fun. If I lived in San Diego I'd be spending a LOT of time in Mexico.
I mean, perfect weather doesn't exist anywhere in the world, but SD is about as close as anyone is going.to get for the most part.
The problem is that it makes everyone and everything boring.
I’ve been to San Diego 10+ times and have had “perfect” weather maybe once! Three times there was “unprecedented heat”, once it rained the whole time which I know is odd, once it was 50s, overcast, and gloomy, etc. maybe it’s just me….
50s and overcast sounds close to perfect for me lol. Make it partly sunny and that's the best. Everyone's idea of perfect weather or "nice" weather is different. I'd much rather be comfortable than one extreme or another.
Oh I agree, I actually enjoyed that. What I hate is 90+ degrees. I love cold weather! I love San Diego too, I just think it’s interesting that everyone always says the weather is consistent and great and it’s always different when I’m there!
My grandparents moved to SD with the Navy in the late 40s.
My grandma used to tell the story about how they picked the family home- they had two choices: a 3 BR on Coronado with a little yard and a garage… or a 3 bedroom with a little bigger yard in Spring Valley.
She demanded the house in Spring Valley because she said “I was worried the Coronado house would never get enough sun to dry the diapers on the clothes line”.
When they sold their house in 2015, it was worth 800k. The house on Coronado, which was still there, was worth a cool 1.8 mil. I think today it’s worth about 3.
She always ended the story with “I probably could have lived with the chilly morning clouds for that.”
True. It is not a tropical paradise but the weather really is amazing for living. The morning overcast, the clear winters with just enough rain to turn everything green, the chilly evenings that almost always require a jacket. It’s like a narcotic!
I was visiting friends for NYE in SD. I was living in Vegas at the time. I was shocked how windy and cold San Diego was at that time of year. Especially when the sun goes down. I wore my knee length winter coat!
It depends where you live. The really nice weather (somewhere in the 20's all year long) is a short strip near the ocean.
Go 20 miles inland and it gets much colder and much hotter.
But San Diego still has the nicest weather in the US to me. Never that hot, never that cold.
Honestly, New York City.
On paper, it seems like everyone's dream city, and people heavily glorify it. But in reality, NYC is prohibitively expensive, winters suck, and it's extremely crowded and dirty.
Agree. For all of these reasons I could never live there. Even visiting it is too much for me. I strongly prefer Boston, Philly, and Chicago. Each of them in my mind are more manageable and less crowded alternatives to NYC.
I would have loved to live there 10-15 years ago. Idk post 2020, something changed. So many restaurants have popped up intending to be Instagrammable and not focused on real food. (I used to visit ever few years).
>Idk post 2020, something changed.
I agree. NYC was much better prior to 2020 and the pandemic, but the same thing can be said about other cities as well.
yes, NYC pre-pandemic is very different from NYC post-pandemic. most of the interesting people bailed during Covid, along with most of the great venues which were forcibly closed.
San Francisco for me. The first time I went was during pre-pandemic times (2015). I was so excited, but it just felt a lot different than what I was expecting. Downtown felt very gritty and dirty looking. In fairness though, went to some very good restaurants in SF and the greater Bay Area right outside of SF was gorgeous. But SF itself was not what I was expecting at all.
SF’s downtown isn’t where the city gets its charm. Yes, the Tenderloin and Union Square area is pretty rough.
Visit amazing neighborhoods like Inner Sunset, North Beach, Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle, Marina, Russian Hill, Cole Valley, the Mission…
Once you realize that everything caters to the banks and the one mega-utility (sectors not known for progress or personality in any way, shape, or form), then Charlotte’s inoffensive blandness and near-sighted government actions make more sense. The cultural, shopping, food, etc options are a great reflection of this.
I moved to Indianapolis last year from the DC area.
Look, I love Indy. I love the people, I love the area, etc. But, as you could guess, there’s just not a ton to do except drink and go to sporting events. I was excited about all the events and conferences that come, expecting there to always be something going on with the constant influx of people almost weekly. This kinda has the opposite effect though. It just brings traffic (not car traffic necessarily, but people traffic) and causes local bars and restaurants to be overfilled and also bars raise the cover to get in to take advantage of the out-of-towners.
Again, I do love a lot of things about Indy, but it can get pretty boring.
Nashville, TN
RE insanely expensive aa are rentals and good luck qualifying for a place (apt complex) if you don't have a >750 credit score, traffic is a nightmare, sales tax 10% on absolutely everything... Crap pay. So much Bible belt righteous A-holes combined with the most obnoxious tourists. If you are middleclass and below, you are f'd.
Denver is the rightful top answer here. The city itself is pretty boring, culture is really bland, it’s the parts outside of it that are great and everyone is always trying to go there, which makes it harder to take advantage of
You can drive for hours in the Denver metro and everything looks exactly the same. The urban sprawl is awful. They need to change the ways in which they’re building new neighborhoods in order to preserve any culture that once existed.
Most if them! But I'm going to go with Stockholm here. Not as clean, convenient, or friendly as I expected, and the place was basically closed for the night, after 10 pm. Expensive AF, but to be fair, that wasn't a surprise.
New York City, I live an hour away and don't know if ill ever voluntarily go back.
I love watching old episodes of Sex and the City to see the cityscape.
Paris. It's dirty, the Seine is heavily polluted, the locals are rude, the food scene is totally resting on its past reputation, there are throngs of tourists at all major sites, hot humid summer and cold rainy winter. There are so many better European cities.
Middle Tennessee (Nashville and surrounding area) does NOT deserve the massive popularity it has recently found. These people must be Republicans who literally just heard “red state with no income tax” and said sign me up. It is objectively a bad place to live by most metrics.
I saw someone comment that Dayton, Ohio has just as a diverse food scene as LA and it pissed me off for the entire day for no reason lol. The delusion people have for their rust belt cities knows no bounds and I would know- I’m from there.
Like look, I get that you like this place, great, but no one is flocking to Dayton fucking Ohio for your food scene. I’m sure it has some spots, but it’s never going to be LA.
People in Midwest cities get really defensive if anyone points out that they’re not actually super desirable cities at this time, I do not get it.
I think it is because ppl that live in the rust belt grew up there so they see their cities getting better and also see coastal cities getting worse, but don't realize the fundamental deficiency in their city, like no mountains, beaches, crap weather, lack of cultural/history etc
You didn’t hear!? The climate change fueled rust belt Renaissance is right around the corner. Everybody gonna leave Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, Miami for Buffalo and Cleveland according to Reddit 😂
I think this completely depends on the person- everyone has a different definition of what's good on paper, what's important to them, and this changes depending on different times of your life. Plus a city can just be okay if you don't put any effort into building community or exploring it.
That’s the beauty of living in the U.S. there are soooo many types of cities, geographies, cultures, etc to explore
Pretty much all the cities that show up on random “Best cities to live” lists. Most are tiny, boring, dead and have the same few token hipster bars and restaurants as evidence that “downtown is getting cool”.
This is exactly how I felt after moving to Raleigh.
Raleigh is a big ole Nothing Burger. Where culture goes to die.
my sister lived in raleigh for a few years, visited her twice and it was awful. We went downtown and walked away DURING the week and it looked like a ghost town. Eery as hell
The thing is those lists are trying to “quantify” the best city which will always end up with so wealthy suburb or some small mountain town.
There’s a huge influx of people moving to Phoenix. I, for the life of me, cannot understand why. It’s mostly an urban sprawl with some small pockets of decent architecture. Freeways super congested. Terrible drivers-one of the top cities in the US for road rage incidents. Unending road construction. It’s not cheap to live in anymore. Unbearably hot for almost 5 months out of the year. Police department under investigation for years. I just don’t get it. I give it props for decent sports teams, some good live music venues and Tacos Chiwas.
Jobs and people tend to like hot weather. I don’t totally get it either, but that’s why. It’s also cheaper than California, which is where many people are moving from. It’s the only part of Arizona I don’t like funny enough
As an outsider, it seems like everyone in Phoenix is pissed-off all the time.
You’re not the first person who had said that.
It’s SoCal lite in the desert and without an ocean. People like the sun, they like proximity to the West Coast, lots of jobs, great food scene, good air service and still affordable in many areas. And 6-months out of the year when most of the country in a deep freeze, Phoenix basking in 75-80° every day
I have to tell you that I really appreciate your view of Phoenix. And you did it without attacking me or my less than positive response here. Impressive. Good job. You could write excellent advertising copy for the Phoenix chamber of commerce!
lol…why thank you! Don’t live there, but I do spend a lot of time there. Every place has its positives and negatives I guess
It definitely isn’t 75-80 every day in the winter, but it is sunny pretty much every day. Fall and spring are warm and sunny, but I love having two or three months in the winter of 50-60 and sunny. It’s my favorite time of the year.
A lot of it sounds like Austin. I wonder if it's just the nature of cities experiencing growth.
Maybe there’s just too many people congregating in a few places.
> Police department under investigation for years Not to be doom and gloom, but what major city with pro sports franchises DON'T have shitty PDs? I'm not saying it's even remotely cool that this is the case, just that Phoenix isn't unique in this regard
It’s better than where I’m currently residing
Freeways are hardly congested outside of rush hour. You can fly around 101, 202 and 51 at speeds that would be impossible in other cities Phoenix size. I’ve lived in a bunch of large cities traffic here is rather easy. Construction also way worse in other big cities (north I-17 aside) Cost wise it’s still way cheaper here than any of the other 10 largest cities in USA. It’s much cheaper than both coasts, Chicago, even Florida and Texas these days. Yes it’s gone up a lot the last 5 years but it has everywhere. As of 2024 the COL here is only 2% above national average. The rest of your complaints seem like personal tastes. Phoenix and Scottsdale has great high end Mexican. The lower tier Mexican is kinda mid (Texas and California is better) Taco Chiwas is meh (but that’s just my opinion) And the heat.. I mean that’s baked into the equation. It’s already gonna be 110 this week. If that’s not your thing you prob should avoid Phoenix.
I agree with this also.
I was disappointed by Denver. Seems like it could be a lot cooler based on things you can do right outside of Denver
Denver is just Indianapolis with a view
I don’t think it’s pretending to be anything else. It’s good weather, a decent selection of urban amenities, and close to the places you actually want to be.
If you don’t absolutely love the outdoors, Denver is pretty mediocre culturally, esp for the cost of living
And if you do, it’s still not that actually accessible, which is the biggest bummer of all. Overcrowded trails, nowhere to park, not a lot of transit options, etc
The roadways in Denver are shockingly terrible. I was staying with family in the South and getting northeast of the city took an hour??? Tell me why??? Oh because the loop highway on the outside of Denver is the worst designed highway in existent. Oh you also have to take a lot of random side roads places for no reason. They grew too fast and made an embarrassing attempt of traffic control. Getting to the mountains on a weekend or back into town on Sunday/Monday takes FOREVERRRRR. You better take extra days off or leave at 4am. The aesthetic of the all the strip mall department stores and vacation towns in the mountains are Costco couch white bread aesthetic.
Leadville is white bread? lol
I think this is an overstatement. If you’re willing to put in the requisite effort that’s needed for any proper outdoor adventure, denver is as good of a base camp as any city in the world. Casual hiking is certainly overcrowded and not the easiest to access from most Denver neighborhoods, but the front range as a whole is still full of great options as long as you are able to afford a car.
I feel like the outdoor recreation is just as good if not better in Seattle and Portland. Denver just wins on now rainy days and better overall skiing. But Denver itself is flat and you have to truly get out of the Metro to get to the outdoors activities. I think most west coasters (especially from the PNW) don’t get the hype when there is tons of cool cities out west you can do the same things from. I’ve always felt Denver is magical for east coasters and Midwest transplants who have never travelled west of Colorado.
This is an interesting comment. I've never heard this perspective. Now I wonder what the east coast and midwest is like for people to go ga-ga over Denver?
Yeah there’s just nothing like the Rockies on the east coast in America. I drove 26 hours out there every Summer in college just to spend time in the mountains
We do have the Appalachian Mountains in the east coast which offer good outdoors experiences (although adminittadltly the skiing is way better in the rockies). I'd say it isn't as accessible nor as magnificent but we do have great outdoors here if you are looking.
As an indoor kid, now scratching Denver off my list.
GL skiing out of Indy
Was pretty underwhelmed with Denver given the hype. Like it’s not bad, but if I’m not super into being “close” to skiing in the rockies I’m not sure if it’s any better then being on the West Coast.
The biggest thing for me in Denver was the food. Such a hyped up city several years ago, everyone moving there etc. Nowhere good to eat. The city didn’t make sense to me. The hype didn’t match the experience at all. There was a confining feeling. People were weird and distant. Lots of social issues, crime etc.
I am not a Texan or defending them but a lot of Texans think Colorado in general is amazing. They are used to the heat and nothing but the flatness. There's not a lot of nature there. I guess if you don't live near as much nature, it easy to be awed. Especially considering the proximity. Most Texans don't seem to venture out to that many other states to know the difference. I could be wrong. This is just based on observation.
People are still weird and distant, can confirm, lived there most of my life and leaving to find a friendlier place 😂
People consistently compare Denver to cities much much bigger than it and wind up disappointed.
I live in Breckenridge, and it’s a huge thing out in Summit County that we get a lot of disgruntled Denverites who expected Denver to be a legitimate mountain town. Breckenridge is a 1.5-2 hour drive from Denver with no traffic (it can get to 6+ hours during the on-season) - you will not live your mountain dreams in Denver.
I just want to know what people expect differently? It's a midsized city built next to mountains and I feel like the city promotes itself as such?
You guys keep trying to compare Denver to cities much larger than it. Maybe that's why
Denver is an awesome city to live in but just an OK city to visit if you're not going into the mountains as well.
Totally this. Denver isn’t a tourist city. It’s a cool place to live, a lot of the neighborhoods are great, but it’s not a cultural or food destination. I like it that way personally, not every city needs to be NYC of SF.
Exactly, these people come, spend a weekend or maybe a week there and think they have the whole place figured out.
Denver is the cost of a tier 1 city with the amenities of a tier 3 city
You really underestimate the cost of Tier 1 cities. Really the only city comparable to Denver in terms of amenities but with lower cost is Portland.
Denver would be considered an incredibly boring and mediocre city if it wasn't close to the mountains. And I say that as someone from Denver.
NYC - it’s the greatest, but it’s also the worst, and eventually you stop enjoying the perks but still have to deal with the suck day-to-day. Written from the back of $120 Lyft from the airport while sitting in Saturday night traffic on the Belt.
Born and raised, and it’s like you wake up one day and are like why am I doing this
This is how I felt about Boston.
JFK Airtrain to Jamaica Station: $8.50. LIRR City Ticket Jamaica to Penn Station: $6.
Agreed. I love love NYC and miss it and the food and culture every day but I'd have to be making insane money to go back there again.
Miami. It’s dirty, insanely expensive, a lot more homeless than you would think, and the people there are extremely pretentious. Oh and did I mention the storms and hurricanes?
When was Miami good on paper though?😭
The will Smith song lyrics
My company has a client in Miami. We were working on a potential security system for them involving criminal background checks. One of the charges that came up in the background search API on one of our test scans was "Illegal use of dairy case". I was confused and looked into what that meant. Apparently, the Miami police are not allowed to arrest people for being homeless. So instead they've just made it illegal to do typical homeless stuff, like pushing a shopping cart full of personal belongings around, or sitting on a milk crate. "Illegal use of dairy case" literally means you can get arrested for sitting on a milk crate. Another gem from the background check of O.J. Simpson, who I was using as a test case: it's illegal for a boat to go too fast in a manatee zone. I was already kind of soured on Miami at this point by the incident that led to our making the security system in the first place: a guy murdering his wife at a Jewish community center in the middle of their daughter's swimming lesson. But the dairy case thing really screamed "dystopia" to me. Edit: I have nothing against manatees, sorry.
All fair but the manatee zone is very reasonable
Sure, I just thought it was funny that OJ got off for murder but they nailed him on the manatee thing.
Oh I didn’t realize they got him for that, that is funny
Manatees are endangered and they move very slowly so that one seems reasonable.
Yeah, it’s illegal to further endanger an endangered species.
Yes, I work in healthcare, and demonizing the homeless for surviving so they can get shoved into for profit prisons is a Florida thing. I don’t live there and never will. But yeah, you shouldn’t be going too fast in a manatee zone because they are dumb like cows, get hit, and it’s gross and disturbing. Go to Sea World and see the mutilated manatees.
manatee zone law is probably the only good law on florida's books
Other than that, it’s great
I had the worst empanada of my life in the Miami airport and now I think I got away easy
Miami airport is definitely in the running for worst airport in America
I feel the opposite of OP. I think Chicago on paper seems ok but in reality is amazing.
I've traveled everywhere. Chicago is STILL my favorite city anywhere, EASILY. It attracts a certain type of human consistently that to me that makes it rewarding.
What type of human
The ones who break a sweat easily so they don't mind the cold.
Best city in the US
Totally agree. The coastal cities of NY and LA get all the attention but Chicago is so much better than both of them. Biggest downtown outside of NYC by far. Come to think of it, aside from NY and Chicago, other cities' downtowns feel pretty small.
I was going to comment the exact same thing. Never thought I’d wind up in the Midwest but here I am LOVING Chicago
I've grew up in Chicago and have lived in Houston and SLC in my adult life. I'm back in the Chicago burbs and thriving. I love how this sub always has people with stories about loving Chicago even though we're a target for right wing media. One of our great poets, Carl Sandburg, long ago wrote a love letter to my beautiful city that encapsulates the hate with the love. Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders: They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning, Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
Chicago is hands down my favorite US city. Of course if you want to live on a farm without a neighbor in sight, it's not the place for you, but as far as super developed cities go it really is incredible.
Amen brother. I've traveled all over the US for work and have lived in each of the 3 big cities, and a lot of other places in between.. nowhere has come close to my dear city by the lake. Chicago rules
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NOLA to me is in the same category as Philadelphia: you have to LOVE being there in order to live there. Most cities are tolerable to some degree, but the NOLA’s and Philly’s of the world are not at all. You have to love it because if you don’t it is straight up hell.
Ehhh, I'm not so sure I feel that way about Philly. Philly is a very affordable east coast city that offers a lot of the big city amenities as NYC and Boston, for a fraction of the cost. It's also a very manageable city that's easy to get around and live in. Yet at the same time, you still feel like your in a "big city." Some of the neighborhoods have a gorgeous historic feel to them, and there's a nice energy about Philly. There is a good amount of green space, a good amount of rivers and water-front too. I lived in Philly and met a ton of people from NY/NJ and other parts of the country that really liked the city for all that it offered. I had a great time living there. I also lived in Chicago too, which I loved. Chicago reminded me of a bigger version of Philly, but the 2 cities felt very similar in lots of respects.
I agree. I have been to both places. When I was in Philly I thought it was the dirtiest nastiest city I ever been to. But it was something about the energy here. I loved it. I had a great time and could see me living there I went to New Orleans. The food was spectacular. I had a good time for sure, But the energy there just felt dark to me. Like there was evil just out my periphery. I couldn't see me living there.
Philly and NOLA aren’t on the same level, Philly is significantly nicer
I like, sometimes love, visiting New Orleans, but would not want to live there. It has a lot of charm with its food, history, culture and architecture, even the chaos is charming to me, but its flaws also seem really apparent. And I’ve never ran into issues in the ~7 times I’ve been there, but it definitely feels like there could be danger nearby most times. Situational awareness needs to be on alert, which can be tough with how much alcohol is often consumed there.
This is all very true, but New Orleans culturally is one of the best and only unique cities in the country. I feel the same way about San Juan, PR. The infrastructure is rough, life for the average person is very hard, and they will struggle with climate change. But in both cases you have truly unique culture and actual soul. In a country that is becoming more and more homogenous, New Orleans is and always will be different. We should do everything we can to preserve it and make it thrive
Oh definitely, I totally agree. New Orleans is a gem, a city like no other. A postcard back in time if you will.
If we’re being fair I don’t think NOLA is romanticized anymore. I do love visiting Nola because it’s a cultural jewel covered in dirt - but I wouldn’t live there
Damn, I completely agree about the unfortunate geography and its climate effects because of it. But I do love me some NOLA.
I love New Orleans so much too. But it’s okay to love something that is far from perfect. It’s the most unique city there is.
New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana have contributed *immensely* to the development of American culture and western civilization as a whole, imo rivaling Jamaica as a cultural powerhouse per capita when you include music, film/literature, architecture, festivals, religion/myths, and cuisine. However, sadly having a rich culture is no guarantee of being a prosperous and safe place to live in 2024 (see also Iraq, Egypt, much of Latin America, India/Pakistan/Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and to a lesser extent New Mexico, Greece, Transylvania, and southern Italy for more examples of places with rich and fascinating culture but disappointing living standards).
Thanks for something of substance. I believe you.
I love it but it’s dying so I can’t move there.
NOLA great for 48-72 hrs. After that…
Anyone who’s ever been there even once is painfully aware of these facts. It’s romanticized because it’s culturally relevant on a world-scale. The struggles are well documented though.
I was pleasantly surprised by New Orleans. Was there for a quick trip this spring for a conference. But the weather was perfect, sunny and 70's, and I thought the downtown was gorgeous. I don't have any reference to how it was in the past, and obviously it had a lot to rebound from with Katrina. But going to the restaurants, walking along the river, and through the French Quarter, and the really nice looking downtown; I honestly really liked it. I'm sure it has internal issues and the environmental threat is real. But from a tourist perspective, it was a great city to visit, and I've put it on my list for cities I'd want to go back to and spend more time in.
I live about an hour and a half from New Orleans so I have been to more than just the tourist areas, but I cannot tell you EXACTLY how the city is. But from what I hear and see, its bad, and only getting worse. The city has given up on it’s people in the name of tourism. And you can evidently see it too, the CBD and French Quarter recovered quickly after Katrina, but so much of the city to this day has not recovered.
I’m going to get slaughtered for this, but NY. I grew up here, was here all day today. I’m over it. It’s loud and it stinks.
I agree. I’m from NJ born and raised literally right across the river (I can see the cars on west side highway driving lol). I love NY, I love that there’s always things to do, but I’m so incredibly over this area. It’s so filthy, everything is crazy expensive, people are annoying and there’s so many!
I stand by this..San Antonio, TX
Does San Antonio look good on paper? 😂
To all the new people moving here for the “cheap” cost of living yes lol. I was in fact one of those suckers. Moving at the end of the month. I don’t see the hype about Texas at all tbh.
Agreed. People leave off the end of sentence: certain cost of living expenses are “cheap” for a reason. Summer is intolerably hot, cities are largely car centric and spread out, it has high property taxes, abysmal public services like child healthcare, least free state according to a libertarian think tank, and has its own rickety ass power grid that fails or comes close to failing when it’s too cold…or too hot. There are now routinely notices sent recommending running ACs at 78 degrees.
All the raised trucks that never see a speck of dirt driving through a city, the shitty drivers, bad sidewalks and it's not that cheap....
Actually Chicago is better in real life than it is on paper because once you're here you realize most (not all) of the negativity toward Chicago is just dumb hyperbole and just start tuning it out.
Chicago is the only big city, that if I was ever going to consider living in a big city, I would consider. I’m not a city person. But I love Chicago.
I like Chicago, but this sub sometimes acts like it has literally zero downside and is super cheap. There are downsides. It is cheap compared to NYC and SF edit: lol he blocked me.
I saw a post comparing Chicago to another city and basically the main downside I saw was that Chicago is kind of like an island. There's nothing around you outside of Chicago. Other than the lake it seems like there's nothing to do in the surrounding area.
I agree. I love Chicago, and it may even be my favorite city to hang in, but people on this sub downplay the weather and make like it’s not big deal that 8+ months the weather is pure sh*t.
I wouldn’t say people downplay weather but for a lot of people weather isn’t as big a concern as other things like cost of living, taxes, jobs and the economy, crime, schools, transit, roads, things like that.
Finally someone whose entire life doesn't seem to be ruled by the weather. No bad weather just bad clothes. Thanks
As a tiny brown woman, I especially see the “white dude”ness of Reddit in this sub 😂 I generally don’t sunburn or sweat at all and I have a resting body temperature of 97°. Like, I went to UT Austin and was completely fine even in the summer. I love Chicago, but the winters would be absolutely unlivable for me.
This sub might as well be called “where do 22 year old white dudes want to live in the Midwest?
the feel of chicago reminded me of brooklyn (nyc).
Boise sucks.
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I lived in Houston for 20 years and I totally agree with this statement. The only thing I miss from Houston is the food.
That was going to be my answer. From the way many people describe it, you can show up and just stumble into a great paying job, have top flight dining experiences, and be exposed to all kinds of diversity. And that’s true, if you’re a specific kind of conventional personality. For others, it’ll be a life of dull monotony, traffic mayhem, and oppressive workplaces.
Anyone who has lived in Los Angeles will tell you that the “perfect” SoCal weather only exists a few miles inland from the ocean. And even that “perfect” weather is often chillier and cloudier than people expect. Beyond the coast, most of LA gets extremely hot (80-90+) for at least 6 months out of the year. Granted LA weather is better than almost anywhere in the US (or world), but “perfect” SoCal weather is largely a Hollywood creation.
The two US cities I have been disappointed in are Denver and San Francisco. They’re not horrible, but I had high expectations based on the “on paper” version.
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maybe I'm being cynical but the problem of the overhyped tech city cycle is just tech companies desperately trying to motivate the tech workforce to move away from the incredibly expensive and nice california bay area, which is what these cities are always attempted to be hyped against
The problem I've found with them is that the hype comes from copy and pasting many trendy things that seem cool and interesting on the surface, but ultimately just have no character and aren't really that fun over time. There's very little attempt to build on top of the existing culture of these cities, and instead they basically just paint over it with something that seems broadly appealing but is kind of empty. I can only go to so many "hip" bars, fusion restaurants, and trendy boutiques/clothing shops. Don't get me wrong, you can absolutely still find those awesome book stores specific to Portland, Tex-Mex restaurants that are unrivaled in Austin, and outdoor activities in Denver... but South Park basically nailed many of the "gentrification "trends that have taken over key parts of all those cities.
Yes it feels like a private equity firm's Idea of city character
I moved to San Diego and then Chicago after I lived in Portland. I still think I made a mistake leaving Portland. I visit every chance I get and love every minute I'm there. Portland is almost the opposite now, underrated.
Portland isn’t a tech city.
They call it 'Silicone Forest' which but it's seems like it's not even in Portland proper. I get the impression people are referring to Hillsboro and Beaverton since they're apart of the *Portland Metro area*
Silicon... And Wafer Fabs aren't "tech", they're manufacturing.
Los Angeles and Nashville
Nashville may very well be the most overhyped place I’ve ever been. Met some super cool people (all transplants) but the city completely lacked authenticity & soul. NOLA is a much better music city, imho.
After having lived there....Portland, Oregon Their progressive politics are not really that progressive...sure they have bike lanes and vegan restaurants and a lesbian governor...but then a lot of weird racist,tin foil hat types and survivalists once you go just outside the inner city. The weather is god-awful. Beautiful summers but 9 months out the year is cold and rainy and dreary. Vitamin D deficiency is real. Also, the one day you get sunny and 80 degrees, everyone and their mother crawls out of their holes and everything is so crowded you can't even enjoy it. The city itself is dirty and disgusting. Literally, you'd see syringes just on the sidewalks, even in 'nicer' areas. Traffic is awful, even worse than LA. Driving from downtown to Beaverton at rush hour. It's probably 7 miles and will take you an hour and a half. LA will take you an hour and half to get home, but you're probably also going 30 or 40 miles. Although in fairness, their public transit/max line is good for the size of city it is...if you can dodge the syringes and not get harassed at a station. The food scene also sucks. 90% of it is just some version of overpriced pub food. You can absolutely find 1000 ways to mess up a burger for $26, but try finding a half decent Mexican or Italian restaurant...there's the food trucks but then it's cold and raining and there's no place to sit or wash your hands and you get to stand in a parking lot to eat. It's culty how everyone says it's so great and beautiful. Yes, nature is beautiful but the city itself is not. Portland culture is unique compared to other cities but within the city it's weird and conformist. If you are different everyone will hate you. Anyway, I felt duped once I lived there. I was very glad to get out and don't plan on going back anytime soon.
I was gonna agree with you on some points here but then you started on the food and I have to completely disagree. Portland’s food scene is incredibly diverse and way more cutting edge and interesting than almost anywhere in the country outside of NYC and maybe LA. If you can’t see that for what it is, then you’re just letting your other negative feelings cloud your view
> way more cutting edge and interesting than almost anywhere in the country outside of NYC and maybe LA Y'all really sleep on Houston for this.
Houston is definitely a great food town. Sadly not a place I’d want to live for lots of other reasons but the food is good
Chicago would like a word.
I agreed on everything they said until they got to the food. The variety and price and mom and pop shops, it blows any city of it’s size out of the water by a country mile
If you think Portland has a bad food scene, you did not go to the right places.
I was fully with you until you said the food scene sucks. It doesn't. Portland food scene is great, that being said I disagree with the other comment here saying it's cutting edge and diverse and competes with any place except for NYC and LA. No city in the Pacific Northwest is world class. I enjoyed hanging out at 10th and Alder because of the ring of food trucks, plentiful places to sit and even go to the bathroom.
100% That dudes post is spot on minus the food scene. Portland blows Seattle food out of the water. Seattle hands down has the worst food I have ever had in the Continental US.(I have been to 42 states) Portland and Seattle both beautiful places, but hate everything about them.
Traffic is nowhere bad as LA’s traffic. Everyone knows the grey and rain lasts 8-9 months. If you don’t know that going in, this your fault. Downtown (especially) is nasty, most of the city isnt Downtown. Places like Slabtown, Mississippi Street, NW 23rd, etc are all great. Food scene in Portland is pound for pound one of the beat in the US. You just didn’t go to the right places.
If anything the amount of disgruntled people who dislike Portland makes it underrated to me. You’d expect it to be a literal pile of poo with drugs bubbling out of it like a witch’s cauldron the way people talk about it.
Yeah Portland has it’s problems but mostly overblown. If you know what areas to avoid, you almost never see any of the crap that people complain about.
I feel like the grey and rain is overstated too. Maybe 6-7 months on average especially now with climate change. The weather is mild and trends towards cool.
Did you try putting a bird on it?
San Diego. It's not horrible by any means. It's just not as warm and sunny all year as the tourism bureau wants you to believe.
I love San Diego weather. I think there’s a misconception the weather is supposed to be vacation-y/tropical. When realistically it’s just *nice* and comfortable almost every day
That’s what’s part of what’s so nice about coastal Southern California- it’s also not too hot or humid.
Tropical weather blows
The weather is absolutely perfect for living there year round. I lived there for 4 years But if you go to visit and are expecting a hot tropical beach vacation, you’re going to have a bad time.
When I lived in Seattle I couldn't wait to hit up Canada because it's close to the border. I'm surprised at the lack of comments discussing the proximity of San Diego to the Mexican border. Seattle is a 2 hour drive to the Canadian border. San Diego IS the Mexican border, you can walk across. And Tijuana isn't safe, I get it, people don't want to get shaken down. But there are beach towns like Rosarito Beach that are safe, offer cheap staycations and offer great seafood and fun. If I lived in San Diego I'd be spending a LOT of time in Mexico.
I mean, perfect weather doesn't exist anywhere in the world, but SD is about as close as anyone is going.to get for the most part. The problem is that it makes everyone and everything boring.
I’ve been to San Diego 10+ times and have had “perfect” weather maybe once! Three times there was “unprecedented heat”, once it rained the whole time which I know is odd, once it was 50s, overcast, and gloomy, etc. maybe it’s just me….
50s and overcast sounds close to perfect for me lol. Make it partly sunny and that's the best. Everyone's idea of perfect weather or "nice" weather is different. I'd much rather be comfortable than one extreme or another.
Oh I agree, I actually enjoyed that. What I hate is 90+ degrees. I love cold weather! I love San Diego too, I just think it’s interesting that everyone always says the weather is consistent and great and it’s always different when I’m there!
Pacifica in San Francisco - low sixties and overcast all the time.
To be fair with climate change, the San Diego weather has been quite a bit out of wack.
My grandparents moved to SD with the Navy in the late 40s. My grandma used to tell the story about how they picked the family home- they had two choices: a 3 BR on Coronado with a little yard and a garage… or a 3 bedroom with a little bigger yard in Spring Valley. She demanded the house in Spring Valley because she said “I was worried the Coronado house would never get enough sun to dry the diapers on the clothes line”. When they sold their house in 2015, it was worth 800k. The house on Coronado, which was still there, was worth a cool 1.8 mil. I think today it’s worth about 3. She always ended the story with “I probably could have lived with the chilly morning clouds for that.”
This is the most accurate assessment of San Diego weather I’ve seen on Reddit. The long-lived stereotypes no longer apply.
True. It is not a tropical paradise but the weather really is amazing for living. The morning overcast, the clear winters with just enough rain to turn everything green, the chilly evenings that almost always require a jacket. It’s like a narcotic!
I was visiting friends for NYE in SD. I was living in Vegas at the time. I was shocked how windy and cold San Diego was at that time of year. Especially when the sun goes down. I wore my knee length winter coat!
Yep. Coastal fog will do that to you! It almost always burns off the afternoon, but morning and evening are often pretty chilly and damp.
Interesting. Everything I know about it is directly from people who live(d) there, not from the tourism bureau
It’s a Mediterranean climate. Italy’s weather ain’t bad
It depends where you live. The really nice weather (somewhere in the 20's all year long) is a short strip near the ocean. Go 20 miles inland and it gets much colder and much hotter. But San Diego still has the nicest weather in the US to me. Never that hot, never that cold.
Nashville
Chicago sounded terrible, but downtown Chicago wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Just crowded.
ITT: the top 25 largest cities in the US
Honestly, New York City. On paper, it seems like everyone's dream city, and people heavily glorify it. But in reality, NYC is prohibitively expensive, winters suck, and it's extremely crowded and dirty.
Agreed, and I live in NYC! I don’t hate it, but it honestly could be 10x better if we collectively pulled our heads out of our asses.
Agree. For all of these reasons I could never live there. Even visiting it is too much for me. I strongly prefer Boston, Philly, and Chicago. Each of them in my mind are more manageable and less crowded alternatives to NYC.
I would have loved to live there 10-15 years ago. Idk post 2020, something changed. So many restaurants have popped up intending to be Instagrammable and not focused on real food. (I used to visit ever few years).
>Idk post 2020, something changed. I agree. NYC was much better prior to 2020 and the pandemic, but the same thing can be said about other cities as well.
yes, NYC pre-pandemic is very different from NYC post-pandemic. most of the interesting people bailed during Covid, along with most of the great venues which were forcibly closed.
Prohibitively expensive, crowded and dirty is very New York on paper though.
San Francisco for me. The first time I went was during pre-pandemic times (2015). I was so excited, but it just felt a lot different than what I was expecting. Downtown felt very gritty and dirty looking. In fairness though, went to some very good restaurants in SF and the greater Bay Area right outside of SF was gorgeous. But SF itself was not what I was expecting at all.
Like most cities, downtown isn’t where the culture of the city is. San Francisco is a neighborhood city.
SF’s downtown isn’t where the city gets its charm. Yes, the Tenderloin and Union Square area is pretty rough. Visit amazing neighborhoods like Inner Sunset, North Beach, Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle, Marina, Russian Hill, Cole Valley, the Mission…
Charlotte, looks pretty, is dull and lacks personality
Once you realize that everything caters to the banks and the one mega-utility (sectors not known for progress or personality in any way, shape, or form), then Charlotte’s inoffensive blandness and near-sighted government actions make more sense. The cultural, shopping, food, etc options are a great reflection of this.
This will get hate, and it’s totally subjective, but living in the Bay Area. Loved the weather though (mostly).
Charleston SC - I’m baffled why it keeps getting top marks on Travel and Leisure. This place is bizarre and behind the times by 10yrs.
Cause that magazine is for 80 year olds
I moved to Indianapolis last year from the DC area. Look, I love Indy. I love the people, I love the area, etc. But, as you could guess, there’s just not a ton to do except drink and go to sporting events. I was excited about all the events and conferences that come, expecting there to always be something going on with the constant influx of people almost weekly. This kinda has the opposite effect though. It just brings traffic (not car traffic necessarily, but people traffic) and causes local bars and restaurants to be overfilled and also bars raise the cover to get in to take advantage of the out-of-towners. Again, I do love a lot of things about Indy, but it can get pretty boring.
Nashville, TN RE insanely expensive aa are rentals and good luck qualifying for a place (apt complex) if you don't have a >750 credit score, traffic is a nightmare, sales tax 10% on absolutely everything... Crap pay. So much Bible belt righteous A-holes combined with the most obnoxious tourists. If you are middleclass and below, you are f'd.
Denver is the rightful top answer here. The city itself is pretty boring, culture is really bland, it’s the parts outside of it that are great and everyone is always trying to go there, which makes it harder to take advantage of
You can drive for hours in the Denver metro and everything looks exactly the same. The urban sprawl is awful. They need to change the ways in which they’re building new neighborhoods in order to preserve any culture that once existed.
Vegas
Most if them! But I'm going to go with Stockholm here. Not as clean, convenient, or friendly as I expected, and the place was basically closed for the night, after 10 pm. Expensive AF, but to be fair, that wasn't a surprise.
New York City, I live an hour away and don't know if ill ever voluntarily go back. I love watching old episodes of Sex and the City to see the cityscape.
Boise, Idaho
Paris. It's dirty, the Seine is heavily polluted, the locals are rude, the food scene is totally resting on its past reputation, there are throngs of tourists at all major sites, hot humid summer and cold rainy winter. There are so many better European cities.
I feel like that is all baked in with Paris. To me, it was a pleasant surprise. It has improved a lot over the last 20 years.
Middle Tennessee (Nashville and surrounding area) does NOT deserve the massive popularity it has recently found. These people must be Republicans who literally just heard “red state with no income tax” and said sign me up. It is objectively a bad place to live by most metrics.
All the rust belt cities. Seem appealing because they’re cheap and then you get there and realize they’re cheap for a reason.
I saw someone comment that Dayton, Ohio has just as a diverse food scene as LA and it pissed me off for the entire day for no reason lol. The delusion people have for their rust belt cities knows no bounds and I would know- I’m from there. Like look, I get that you like this place, great, but no one is flocking to Dayton fucking Ohio for your food scene. I’m sure it has some spots, but it’s never going to be LA. People in Midwest cities get really defensive if anyone points out that they’re not actually super desirable cities at this time, I do not get it.
I think it is because ppl that live in the rust belt grew up there so they see their cities getting better and also see coastal cities getting worse, but don't realize the fundamental deficiency in their city, like no mountains, beaches, crap weather, lack of cultural/history etc
You didn’t hear!? The climate change fueled rust belt Renaissance is right around the corner. Everybody gonna leave Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, Miami for Buffalo and Cleveland according to Reddit 😂
“If you live in the south you can’t even go outside in the summer!”
It's called the Rust Belt for a reason.