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Underrated US Cities

burningbright

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Can anybody speak about their experiences with Asheville, NC? I know somebody mentioned it briefly in here but didn't have much to say about it.

I passed through the place while helping move a friend from Chicago to Greenville, SC and liked what I saw. Kind of struck me as a sort of strange cross between a bohemian artsy town and a retirement community though, which is a weird combo.

The wife and I are looking for a "middle ground" between her family in Alabama and mine in DC and Asheville seemed like a good in-between spot. Like so many others in this thread I love Chicago, but 8 winters here has been enough to wear my wife down to the point where she wants to live somewhere warmer.

Alabama is NOT an option for me and I think she understands that.
 

mr. magoo

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Originally Posted by burningbright
Can anybody speak about their experiences with Asheville, NC? I know somebody mentioned it briefly in here but didn't have much to say about it.

I passed through the place while helping move a friend from Chicago to Greenville, SC and liked what I saw. Kind of struck me as a sort of strange cross between a bohemian artsy town and a retirement community though, which is a weird combo.


My sister loves it and wants to retire there, but then she's artsy and bohemian.

Do a NY Times search. Asheville was a darling of the paper a few years ago, and they wrote a couple of "lifestyle" pieces about how great it is.
 

olualbert

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If and only if I come I come back home, Im thinking of moving back to Austin....get a modest townhouse and chill....
 

JesseJB

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Anyone here ever gone west of Texas?
 

MBreinin

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Originally Posted by leftover_salmon
Philly. Took me four years of living there before I really came around to it...and now I miss it. Probably the best bars per capita of any U.S. city I've been to. Good food too. Nice walking city.

I guess you have not visited New Orleans.

Originally Posted by gnatty8
uhoh.gif


Yeah, isn't Tal. Florida dry??

Originally Posted by Bhowie
I really liked NOLA
frown.gif


Why the long face? New Orleans is doing great! Come back.

Originally Posted by Beaune Head
I think that New Orleans, as famous as it is, is underrated. New Orleanians did themselves a disservice by talking about Katrina too much and too long, because outsiders apparently think that NOLA is a bombed-out war zone, which is not at all the case. Culturally it's not like any other city in the US, and it's a real cornucopia of all sorts of delights.

NOLA is far from a bombed-out war zone. Still some places that fit that description, but they weren't exactly shining beacons to begin with.

I say NOLA is underrated because many people don't get to know the real NOLA. There is much to see and do outside of the French Quarter.

Mike
 

js4design

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+1 to Baltimore and Richmond

and I'll add Raleigh as well. A fun city with a lot to do and many involved residents.
 

FLMountainMan

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Originally Posted by MBreinin
Yeah, isn't Tal. Florida dry??

Mike


WTF? Are you serious? T-Pain is from here bro. You think that motherfucka grew up in a dry county? Florida State has long ranked among the nation's best party schools and FAMU has a pretty crazy party scene too. Drinking is rampant here. Certainly not a dry county, although we don't allow strip clubs.
 

Gibonius

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Originally Posted by L'Incandescent
Really? What are its good qualities, other than being home to Penn State? I spent seven years of my life there, and I found the city to be okay, but nothing better than that.

I looked into going to grad school there, and was seriously underwhelmed by the "city." There's just nothing there other than the university and stuff that sprouted up because of the university.

There are so many better "college towns" that actually provide you with some more options.
 

crazyquik

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Originally Posted by burningbright
Can anybody speak about their experiences with Asheville, NC? I know somebody mentioned it briefly in here but didn't have much to say about it.

I passed through the place while helping move a friend from Chicago to Greenville, SC and liked what I saw. Kind of struck me as a sort of strange cross between a bohemian artsy town and a retirement community though, which is a weird combo.

The wife and I are looking for a "middle ground" between her family in Alabama and mine in DC and Asheville seemed like a good in-between spot. Like so many others in this thread I love Chicago, but 8 winters here has been enough to wear my wife down to the point where she wants to live somewhere warmer.

Alabama is NOT an option for me and I think she understands that.


That is exactly what Asheville is. Asheville has a huge number of attorneys, per capita; but they are all retired.

It used to be a bit of a resort community, I mean, the Vanderbilts liked it. There was a lot of good infastructure put up from the late Gilded age until the Depression. Lots of Art Deco architecture. Asheville boomed, and then went bust. It had one of the highest per capita loads of public debt during the Depression, which I think took ~50 years to pay off. As a result, many old buildings remain there today as they couldn't afford to tear them down.

There's a minority of old money Ashevillites still there. There are a ton of dope smoking hippies. There are tons of microbrews. There's a public university (UNC-Asheville) but it's small (4-6k kids I think) and very liberal artsy. And, there are lots of retirees.

Go visit for a weekend, don't stay at the Biltmore hotel (bed & breakfast or Grove Park Inn), and nose around town.
 

Tokyo Slim

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Originally Posted by JesseJB
Anyone here ever gone west of Texas?

I hear that's ***** country.
 

crazyquik

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Originally Posted by inq89
How about Durham, NC?

I am biased because I grew up around there but I am liking the new changes. They're renovating the old tobacco buildings and the city is getting a quaint southern charm to it. We get a bad rap for crime but it's not as bad as before. RTP is down the road, Raleigh and Chapel Hill aren't far away either. Good universities, healthcare, weather, cheap standard of living. And the growing population in central NC is making the whole area pretty exciting.


Durham is under-rated in NC, but doesn't compete with the other cities in this thread.

Yes, my neighbor was murdered. Yes, there was a shootout with the US Marshalls last night. But we've got better restaurants than Raleigh! And you can't swing a Nalgene bottle without hitting a lesbian. Lately the NYTimes has had a hard-on for Durham; I suppose because parts of it are Brooklyn-esque.
 

BlackToothedGrin

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Re: NOLA

Having just moved from New Orleans to Houston (which is rated exactly where it should be, at the bottom), and I miss it a lot. The food, music, history, and people give it a character that is unique to America. I'm seriously considering quitting my job and moving back. The only negatives are the heat and the lack of outdoor activities and beauty. You do have nice beaches 3 hours east, which I miss much more than I expected
 

tagutcow

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Originally Posted by crazyquik
Durham is under-rated in NC, but doesn't compete with the other cities in this thread.

Yes, my neighbor was murdered. Yes, there was a shootout with the US Marshalls last night. But we've got better restaurants than Raleigh! And you can't swing a Nalgene bottle without hitting a lesbian. Lately the NYTimes has had a hard-on for Durham; I suppose because parts of it are Brooklyn-esque.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later. I AGREE

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Sheesh, there's not a single lacrosse player in sight!
 

inq89

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Originally Posted by crazyquik
Durham is under-rated in NC, but doesn't compete with the other cities in this thread. Yes, my neighbor was murdered. Yes, there was a shootout with the US Marshalls last night. But we've got better restaurants than Raleigh! And you can't swing a Nalgene bottle without hitting a lesbian. Lately the NYTimes has had a hard-on for Durham; I suppose because parts of it are Brooklyn-esque.
I agree that it doesn't compare with many of the cities mentioned in this thread, but if anything it fulfills more of what I'd think of as criteria for an "underated city" on both the state and national level. It is a relatively unknown town with lots of negative perception, much like Detroit. The city is known for its crime (ex. post below lol) and I've been asked multiple times if I've ever been shot at when people learn I grew up there which makes me laugh. The perception is blown out of proportion IMO. Granted I stay away from east Durham, where the majority of the crime occurs, but I did attend a few semesters at NCCU (which is in a bad area) and even then I didn't fear for my safety any more than at any other college. Yes you do hear stories of stuff happening but it's no different than at any other mid sized town. But yet people still think of Durham as the most ghetto place ever and do everything to stay out, which is why it is an underrated place. My hope is that its repuation will improve in the near future, kind of like NYC pre-Giuliani to now. The town does have that Brooklyn-esque feel to it from the old tobacco buildings that are being renovated, which is what gives Durham its unique character. You won't see that kind of warehouse district architecture in Raleigh or Charlotte. Lots of cool projects going on downtown, and in 10 years I expect Durham to be in a very thriving position. Not directed to you Crazyquik, just adding more of my opinion.
Originally Posted by tagutcow
IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later. I AGREE

TIP: to embed Youtube clips, put only the encoded part of the Youtube URL, e.g. eBGIQ7ZuuiU between the tags. Sheesh, there's not a single lacrosse player in sight!

I was in high school when that 'Welcome to Durham' came out, and was on my lax team when the whole Duke scandel came out. (The DA's son went to my school too). Fun times haha
 

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