I am a litte upset to not see Kansas City on the list. I may be a bit biased as I have lived here my whole life, but I must say Kansas City is a great city. While many equate KC with Bar-B-Q there is so much more to the city. IT has a downtown on the cusp of a rennissance great urban neighborhoods within close proximity to downtown, the Beautiful Country Club Plaza with all its shops, resturants and fountains. Kansas City has a spirit all its own and is one of the greatest mid-west cities.
Well, KC may not be on the list because it is not really "under-rated" per se Most people know a lot about the city's charms, so...Originally posted by kc_roo
Norwich?! NEW LONDON? Talk about two big yawners of "cities". I second whoever put up Providence, that city is definitely underrated.
Charleston, SC - a kindler, gentler, cleaner New Orleans
Portland, ME - spent summers there as a kid... maybe a bit nostalgic, but I miss the place
Lord forgive me, but Breed I'll go go farther and nominate Greenville. Because even as conservative, and oftentimes "backward," as the local politics can be, the City has done an incredible job on their downtown. And, frankly, there have been too many articles in Southern Living to quantify Charleston as under-rated.
Even though I love that city...
Last edited by biscuit; 09 Nov 2005 at 12:38 AM.
In defense of these picks this is a thread about underrated cities - the little yawners in which you see value or potential. I've always seen New London as a place with great potential, although I hope they don't waste it away with stupid political decisions. Norwich has the backbone of a great little city with tons of historic architecture and a nice natural setting. It's still kind of a depressing backwater but its getting better. Its been growing like crazy (which is rare for a small NE city) and downtown is slowly seeing redevelopment.
Maybe I underrated Charleston as a northerner. I made my first trip there a little over a year ago. I wasn't expecting much when I went, but came away in awe. It's now a rite of summer in the Breed family... last weekend of the summer, we go to Charleston.Lord forgive me, but Breed I'll go go farther and nominate Greenville. Because even as conservative, and oftentimes "backward," as the local politics can be, the City has done an incredible job on their downtown. And, frankly, there have been too many articles in Southern Living to quantify Charleston as under-rated.
Even though I love that city...
I probably would nominate Greenville as well, but considering that's where I am, I don't think I can consider it underrated. I do know that most of my relatives would if posed with the same question. When we first moved down here, they couldn't understand it, and quickly expected us to move back north. Until they visit... then they understand.
of course Buffalo needs to be on this list if it is to be at all complete.
We will be relocating to Wilmington, NC at the end of the month. We plan to take many weekend trips to nearby cities. Any specific recommendations for Charleston and/or Greenville (neighborhoods, museums, clubs, restaurants, sites, etc.)?
Charleston... just go there. There's so much to do that you can't go wrong. A bunch of beaches (personally, I go to the Isle of Palms... it's a little farther off the path, but it's a more family-friendly beach), then there is a strong military presence (USS Yorktown, CSS Hunley, loads of US history), a good vibrant downtown that hasn't changed much aesthetically. The downtown has a great aquarium as well, very similar to New Orleans's.
Charleston is undoubtedly the cultural center of South Carolina. Greenville is probably more the economic center. If you come to Greenville, it pales in comparison to Charleston, I think... at least from a tourism/visiting standpoint. I'd recommend trying to time a visit with one of the city's significant festival events. Assuming that you are interested in planning, their downtown is very impressive. It shows what committed leadership in a medium-sized city can accomplish in a relatively short period of time.
I checked out some of the bars on College Street last Wednesday. Not bad for a Wednesday. One place I went had a hip hop orientation. Another had comfortable benches in the back where I lounged with some of the people there, college students mostly. Probably they were there because they're taking easy majors like urban planning enabling the opportunity to avoid homework and still earn good grades. The rest were normal bars showing hockey games. Next time I'll try to check out the Drake Hotel.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Bigger cities: Louisville, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Richmond, Baltimore (hovering at the point were the effects of past decline aren't finished unfolding but improvements are building up noticeably), Pittsburgh.
Mid-sized cities: Chattanooga (in recent years), Evansville (I've heard good things about it here), possibly Mobile.
How about Kelowna British Columbia??
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
San Antonio!!!!
Oakland, Ca
It gets a bad rap for its crime rate and Raider's fans, but Oakland is a beautifully diverse city, rich in history, with varied neighborhoods and a great arts community. The Oakland hills provide quick access to a vast network of natural lands with spectaclur views and rich in natural and cultural resources. Downtown is coming back with some great restaurants and nightlife.
Santa Fe, NM
Boston, MA
Work hard, play hard.
Listen carefully, see broadly.
Good people, great environment, wonderful life.
Goteborg (Gothenburg) Sweden - better weather than Stockholm, fun port city, ferry jump to Copenhagen
Winnipeg, Manitoba - weather is tough but its a pleasant place, alot of old Victorians, and more cosmopolitan than you'd suspect
Tacoma WA - has long had bad reputation (high violent crime rate, no downtown life) but is turning things around with new waterfront renovation and future transit, and there are nice enclaves with plenty of Victorian/Craftsman houses that are wayyyy more affordable than Seattle which is only 30 miles away
Awesome melodic death metal, too Dark Tranquillity rocks!!!!!
They could just extend the "el" all the way. I totally agree about rockford.
Oakland and Berkeley both live in SF's shadow. Great little cities.
It would be possible to extend the BNSF line to Rockford for not much cost (the rail line goes through there already anyway) and I believe that it has, indeed, been proposed (but I can't remember by whom, now.
Also I believe the extension (along with most Metra extensions) was opposed by Metropolis 2020 on the grounds that it would promote sprawl west of Aurora.
My sister lives in Oakland. At the top of the hills, but I am constantly in Oakland and Berkeley.
Berkeley, I might point out, is one of the few cities able to actually implement some of the ideas we talk about. i.e., an old commercial strip of fading 1950s and 60s crapola is steadily (if slowly) becoming a corridor or 4-6 story URBAN buildings with housing above. Rents are actually dropping now, because of the new supply.
America's 3 most underrated cities:
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Saint Louis
ST. LOUIS: The City is Back. Back the City.
Louisville is a little underrated. The downtown leaves some to be desired, but is making improvements. Yes, the real attraction is the Highlands, where it doesn't get much more unique. The size of Louisville is great. It is just big enough. Unfortunately they are trying to legalize gambling here, which I hope doesn't happen.
Savannah is underrated as well. Although I hear about bad crime rates, its nothing to avoid the city for. The downtown is fabulous.
Flagstaff, Arizona is a nice smaller city. It had a quaint downtown with some nice shops.
Silver City, NM is a great small town. Good little shops and lots of Art.
Sacramento is nice and clean, but a little bland.
Sausalito/Northern Peninsula of San Francisco is absolutely beautiful.
Pittsburgh is a great city that has a bad reputation as industrial-only. The Univ. of Pittsburgh is a great campus and the downtown was pretty impressive. Lots of character!
OK, Columbus, Ohio...I think it's the largest city with no archetypal images attached. What do you think of when you think Columbus? OSU? It's nice, but doesn't seem to have much appeal. Where is the unique part of this city?
The Highlands has a great music store (CDs)!
When I think of Columbus, I think "Phoenix of the Midwest" with all that entails (good and (mostly) bad). Although, there are some very lovely older neighborhoods.
Quote
