10 simple survey questions for you about cities

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

that reminds of a time when i was visiting colleges in new england and i met a student who asked me where i was from. when i said "chicago", he said "that's out west somewhere, right?". i said, "well it's actually midwest, but yes, it's west of here". and he said, with a noticeable air of pride, "yeah, it's all out west to me. i've never been west of the hudson". he wasn't joking.

I will admit that Northeasterners are often bad in terms of U.S. geography.

I think Californians might be the worst, though. I have found it very common for LA/OC folks to have no clue of anything between the Rockies and Hudson River. Missouri, Georgia, Ohio; it's all the same. Farms and fat people.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by lio45

I have to mention I love St. Louis; it's awfully hard to pick one favorite city.

As far as villages go, I really like Hanover NH.

That's because of Daaahtmuth but the area around it is pretty bleh. Lebanon, West Lebanon, NH and Norwich and White River Jct, VT are depressing. Go northeast and westwards (for VT) and north and south (for NH) and there are a LOT of great great villages and on into Mass and Maine as well as RI. I miss New England horribly. and to a lesser extant New York.

[brickell]

It's going to be way too hard to keep this to one answer per question but I shall do my best.

1. What is your favorite US city? Miami
I've had an on and off affair with the idea of NYC. I'm guess I'm off right now, so I'm going with the homer answer

2. What is a US city that you've not yet visited but would love to visit?
Seattle and environs (emphasis on environs). I'm a nature guy.

3. What is a US city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
I could pile on some of the other cities mention but will go with Savannah. It had it's charms, but it was more of a party destination than I was expecting. Not my scene at all.

4. What's your favorite international city?
International experience is limited but I'd go with London. It's a place that's perfectly scaled to my tastes

5. What international city have you not yet visited but would love to visit?
So many. If money and time were not an issue it'd be Venice (maybe Florence). If I'm being realistic, I've been itching to see Colombia, so Medellin.

6. What's an international city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
Dublin. Very similar to Savannah actually. It had it's charms, but I was disturbed by the amount of alcoholic tourism taking place. I've never seen a place where ugly Americans were quite so ugly.

7. What do you like most about living in your current home city?
It's like a foreign city with US amenities.

8. What do you dislike most about living in your current home city?
Transportation - too much traffic too few transit options. And Costs. Most Miamians can't actually afford to live here.

9. Which continent, on average, has what you consider to be the best cities?
More specifically the Mediterranean version of Europe. I'd give Northern Europe the nod for livability, but they lack the soul. Having been to neither, that's just my impression though.

10. What population size do you consider ideal for the city you would like to live in?
At heart, I'm a small town nature lover. My ideal would be a leafy suburb or neighborhood with transit access to a bigger city and all that it entails. It's not so much about population as it is about scale. Parts of Brooklyn would fit this just as well as a place like Oak Park in Chicago. The primary city should be 3-5M minimum though.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by JManc

That's because of Daaahtmuth but the area around it is pretty bleh. Lebanon, West Lebanon, NH and Norwich and White River Jct, VT are depressing. Go northeast and westwards (for VT) and north and south (for NH) and there are a LOT of great great villages and on into Mass and Maine as well as RI. I miss New England horribly. and to a lesser extant New York.

Great villages (architecturally) are plentiful in the area, I agree. Hanover isn't anything special for that - it's architecturally average but you've got the collegetown vibe that few of these places have.

I sometimes have to go to Barton and St. Johnsbury for banking (they're the closest places) and every time I marvel at how appealing those not-even-that-nice very average places are.

There are hidden gems in western VT as well, when you drive south from Burlington.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i've never been west of the hudson

[JManc]

Originally Posted by lio45

Great villages (architecturally) are plentiful in the area, I agree. Hanover isn't anything special for that - it's architecturally average but you've got the collegetown vibe that few of these places have.

I sometimes have to go to Barton and St. Johnsbury for banking (they're the closest places) and every time I marvel at how appealing those not-even-that-nice very average places are.

There are hidden gems in western VT as well, when you drive south from Burlington.

Hanover definitely has the vibe and the campus certainly has the architecture. St. Johnsbury is a fantastic little town. The main street area has a lot of great old buildings. Old train depot. If you ever make it back there in warmer weather; check out Dog Mountain. Went there with my ex...and her dog. It's park and memorial dedicated to dogs.

I love Vermont and went to virtually every corner except for the islands between NY and mainland. When I lived In New Hampshire, I went at least once a week usually to Brattlebro and Quechee (another must see).

When I was a kid in NY, we lived in Plattsburgh and lived across the lake from Burlington and would head over often.

[tdawg]

1. What is your favorite US city? My home, NY, NY.

2. What is a US city that you've not yet visited but would love to visit? Tie: Portland and San Diego

3. What is a US city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by? Dallas

4. What's your favorite international city? Barcelona

5. What international city have you not yet visited but would love to visit? Tie: Cape Town and Melbourne

6. What's an international city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by? Toronto

7. What do you like most about living in your current home city? The energy

8. What do you dislike most about living in your current home city? Winters

9. Which continent, on average, has what you consider to be the best cities? Europe

10. What population size do you consider ideal for the city you would like to live in? 5-10 million.

[initiald]

1. What is your favorite US city?
Atlanta. I've always lived in the South and have spent more time in Atlanta than any other major US city, so Atlanta is a city I could see my self living in (and had planned to move there after college but ended up getting married). So while I love to visit cities like Miami, NYC, Chicago, etc. I'd have to say Atlanta. Plus I hate, HATE cold weather.

2. What is a US city that you've not yet visited but would love to visit?
I've never been to the west coast so maybe SF but really any major west coast city would do.

3. What is a US city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
Philadelphia. I'd rather just visit Baltimore and Baltimore honestly has better cheesesteaks.

4. What's your favorite international city?
Tokyo. 10 days exploring it wasn't nearly enough.

5. What international city have you not yet visited but would love to visit?
London.

6. What's an international city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
Toronto. Other than the CN tower it was just okay, but I wasn't there very long so my initial impression is probably off.

7. What do you like most about living in your current home city?
Raleigh is really growing fast so being in a growing city I feel is more exciting than a city that isn't rapidly growing.

8. What do you dislike most about living in your current home city?
It's a bit small. Wake county has a million residents but if money or career were of no issue I'd choose to live in a larger city.

9. Which continent, on average, has what you consider to be the best cities?
Asia. I've been to Hong Kong and Tokyo but I'd love to visit so many others.

10. What population size do you consider ideal for the city you would like to live in?
Depends on a lot of factors and there are big difference between metro and city populations and area size but maybe 3 to 5 million metro is good (I currently live in 1.3 million metro, 2.2 million CSA)

[Nouvellecosse]

I'm surprised Toronto receives so much "hype" in the US now. At one time the complaint was that it was so low profile and under-publicised.

[streetscaper]

I really don't think it receives that much hype in the US... at least I haven't noticed. I think it receives a lot of hype on this forum, however.

[Hockeyfan85]

Anyone else unaware of this hype Philadelphia gets?

I think you have it confused with Boston.

I've never heard of Philadelphia being overrated, ever. Boston yes. Philadelphia gets the underrated treatment.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Hockeyfan85

Anyone else unaware of this hype Philadelphia gets?

I think you have it confused with Boston.

I've never heard of Philadelphia being overrated, ever. Boston yes. Philadelphia gets the underrated treatment.

I think people are conflating SSP talk with talk in general. I have never found Philly (or Toronto) to be remotely "hyped".

[streetscaper]

^^ Agreed... which is why I made the distinction of "hyped up in the outside world" vs "hyped up on SSP" in my responses. Toronto and Philly are very, very hyped on this forum

[maru2501]

I see toronto dissed more than anything

I assume the reality is somewhere between how awesome TO people say it is on here and how much flak it takes from others

[Emprise du Lion]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I'm surprised Toronto receives so much "hype" in the US now. At one time the complaint was that it was so low profile and under-publicised.

It's been getting some love from people who I know just because there are quite a lot of deals in terms of airfare, especially during winter. If you're coming from another cold American city, then popping into Toronto for a weekend to have a good time is pretty easy to do.

It's also a bit odd because it seesaws back and forth from being different and foreign into being extremely familiar. It's the little things that make it seem different rather than a big picture thing, or at least that was my perspective upon my first visit.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Cirrus

INSTRUCTIONS: Give ONE (1) city as an answer to each question. Provide additional details as you see fit. Do not get offended by anyone else's answers. Do not turn this into a versus thread. Play the game and don't ruin it for everyone.

HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS:
Some of these are stolen from @BougieLA on Twitter.

1. What is your favorite US city?

2. What is a US city that you've not yet visited but would love to visit?

3. What is a US city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?

4. What's your favorite international city?

5. What international city have you not yet visited but would love to visit?

6. What's an international city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?

7. What do you like most about living in your current home city?

8. What do you dislike most about living in your current home city?

9. Which continent, on average, has what you consider to be the best cities?

10. What population size do you consider ideal for the city you would like to live in?

1) LA - Born and raised here, traveled to many places... cant ever see myself living anywhere else. Ive been molded by this place and nowhere else offers an abundance of what i love like LA. Amazing food everywhere from every corner of the world, remarkable variety in natural settings from 11,500 foot forests to remarkable beaches and so much more.

2) Embarrassed to say ive never been to Chicago.

3) I dont know how much hype Denver gets, but it wasnt anything to write home about for me. It was nice, but nothing amazing. Portland too

4) Paris, no doubt. Felt like home to me. Loved it

5) Tokyo

6) London... I dont know why, but i didnt like it at all. I cant put my finger on it

7) LA - The food, the weather, the nature and the women

8) The lack of attention to aesthetics on a city scale. Simple things that could make LA look so much better dont get any attention. Also, the huge and growing homeless situation.

9) North America... LA, NYC, SF, Chicago, SD, Las Vegas, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle, Miami, Mexico City... talk about variety and uniqueness

10) 9 months of the year in a megacity, 3 months of the year in the sierras secluded in a cabin

[kgbnsf]

I'll play:

1. What is your favorite US city?
New York

2. What is a US city that you've not yet visited but would love to visit?
I've been to most of the major cities.... probably something in AL or MS as I have never been.

3. What is a US city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
Austin, TX Sorry. Just didn't feel it.

4. What's your favorite international city?
Sydney, but that is due to my limited travel experience. Many European cities really intrigue me and would likely be at the top of the list.

5. What international city have you not yet visited but would love to visit?
Most major European cities. Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and major Middle East cities would be great, too.

6. What's an international city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?

7. What do you like most about living in your current home city?
SF Bay Area- Diversity, outward looking people, natural recreation opportunities and beauty (mountains, ocean)

8. What do you dislike most about living in your current home city?
Traffic, limited public transit- there are many options available, but I would like to see more regional, state and national rail options.

9. Which continent, on average, has what you consider to be the best cities?
Europe

10. What population size do you consider ideal for the city you would like to live in?
Always gravitated to metro areas of 5m or more. But, now I am appreciating smaller metros of 1m.

Just want to mention that I am surprised by Chicago visitors being underwhelmed. I was just there again last month. Love that city!, love the architecture, entertainment areas, felt safe, walkable, etc

[dc_denizen]

Austin getting some knocks here.

[Lipani]

1. What is your favorite US city?
San Francisco. If southern California didn't have such great weather, I'd live in SF in a heartbeat.

2. What is a US city that you've not yet visited but would love to visit?
New Orleans. Despite being a smaller city, it has had an incredible amount of influence on the country (especially music and food).

3. What is a US city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
Portland, Oregon. I get the appeal, but it didn't do much for me. I'm a bigger fan of Oregon's smaller coastal cities.

4. What's your favorite international city?
Barcelona. The food, architecture, weather, history, football, density, beaches -- this city has it all.

5. What international city have you not yet visited but would love to visit?
Buenos Aires. The Paris of South America. Nuff said.

6. What's an international city you've visited that receives a lot of hype but that you were underwhelmed by?
Milan. Maybe I'm a bit biased against those pesky northerners (coming from a Sicilian background), but Milan felt stale. Okay food and boring people.

7. What do you like most about living in your current home city?
The weather, obviously. Close second being that I love being outdoors (especially cycling); San Diego isn't too big and isn't too small and there's plenty of open space to relax within a short commute.

8. What do you dislike most about living in your current home city?
The apathy of its residents. Almost every proposal that could make the city better is often met with a collective shrug from people here.

9. Which continent, on average, has what you consider to be the best cities?
Europe. North America has better geography, but Europe's cities (of all sizes) beat almost everything here.

10. What population size do you consider ideal for the city you would like to live in?
300,000 seems ideal. Just enough to keep things interesting and not too crowded.

[kgbnsf]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Austin getting some knocks here.

Austin seemed nice enough in itself. But, it really is hyped up. I can see why people in TX might hype it up compared to their other cities. Nonetheless, I just found it to be like other cities of that size, granted it's got some music and is more progressive than the rest of Texas.

A couple other cities I have been impressed with: Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Portland ME, Pittsburgh, & Cincinnati. All interesting cities worth visiting!