OT: Overrated US cities | Page 4 | The Boneyard

OT: Overrated US cities

Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
13,045
Reaction Score
33,562
I’m generally scratching my head at your depiction of Boston since architecturally it has a very old world feel. Brownstones, colonials, city streets that are not designed for automobiles (obviously) and it also does have a lot of nightlife. Where were you guys hanging out? It’s a neighborhood city. If you were downtown I can see it
I've lived in Boston for over a decade. I enjoy living here. For it's name it punches way below it's weight in terms of nightlife, etc. It's fine and good and whatever, but there are more fun destinations.
 
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Messages
3,923
Reaction Score
9,187
DC stinks. Didn’t know people liked it.
I disagree, to an extent, having lived there for 3 or 3.5 years or so. Once you get past the business card peddlers, career hacks, and social climbers, there is a lot to like about DC. There is a ton jam-packed into such a small city (700K). The National Mall gets a lot of press but there are a lot of (hidden) museums, art galleries, parks (including the huge Rock Creek Park), old mansions that are open to the public (The Mansion on O street, if still open, is a blast to explore around, for example), and other cultural places. Plus just walking around some of the streets around the zoo, like Cathedral ave. The metro, about 91 stops now, makes the city and nearby cities (Arlington, Alexandria, Silver Spring, Rockville, Friendship Heights/Bethesda, etc.) very accessible + the food scene made great strides even in the three years I was there and there are some excellent/authentic Asian (Chinese especially) restaurants in Wheaton and Silver Spring, for example. Once you find your niche and a good group of friends, it is a fun city to live in, very walkable during warmer times of the year, and only getting safer (felt fine going around Anacostia and Capitol Heights, Deanwood, etc. even).
 
Last edited:

Hankster

What do I know.
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
1,912
Reaction Score
3,292
Wall Drug.
LOL oh leave that 10 building town alone. Been there twice when I drove tour bus. The badlands right down the road is very expensive to go in. They wanted to charge $300 for the bus to go in. the tour leader said "nope".
 

CTBasketball

Former Owner of the Pizza Thread
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Messages
9,671
Reaction Score
31,254
I thought Denver was underwhelming. As was Philadelphia.
 
Joined
May 30, 2018
Messages
2,099
Reaction Score
5,739
I don’t understand all this hate for Florida. Beautiful weather most of the year, best beaches in the lower 48, great food, and a ton of things to do. Apart from the bugs and dangerous wildlife and the occasional political extremist, it’s one of the best quality of life states in the country. Maybe northerners are just jealous?
I agree. I moved here 18 months ago and love it. I don't even notice the bugs since we have screened enclosure. I can get in my car and travel without too much traffic unless I go to Miami. More leisurely drive than driving in the Northeast even though there are plenty of maniacs on the road.

I do share other's opinion of Orlando. I avoid that city except for the airport. I have waited in airport lines there as well which makes me appreciate Bradley. Worst traffic in my area and have to pay a toll to travel on 528. I'm not a fan of theme parks and have no kids so not much for me in that city.

Others complain that Ft. Lauderdale has no soul. I travel there multiple times a year to be close to the ocean and also have many options for food or drink in a concentrated area. I'm easy to please.
 
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Messages
6,882
Reaction Score
55,013
New Orleans is all about food and music. Get amazing food and go to Frenchman street (avoiding the French Quarter) and you'll just get sucked in.

Also, have always enjoyed my time in San Fran. Easy base for Sonoma.
San Fran and New Orleans are also on my favorite lists too, however both cities I’ve visited friends and having a guide who avoids certain areas has enhanced my stay.

For example, I spent a week in New Orleans and spent maybe an hour in the French Quarter. My buddy’s house was uptown and some of my favorite bars I’ve ever hung out were in that city. There was a billiards bars w/ uneven cobblestone floors and of course Ms. Mae’s, w/ its ubiquitous $1 drinks and video poker. I also liked the sense of unity amongst its residences: it’s common spaces were a melting pot of all colors and socioeconomic statuses. There was a park by the levee we grilled at, one of the more harmonious days I can remember.

San Fran is a great base for seeing so much of Northern California. Most of my time there was in the Mission, its street art and food amazing. I’m sure its more gentrified now so there’s that. Its downtown isn’t fun, per se, but just walking up and down the sidewalks of Nob Hill is a unique American experience.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,869
Reaction Score
81,507
I’m generally scratching my head at your depiction of Boston since architecturally it has a very old world feel. Brownstones, colonials, city streets that are not designed for automobiles (obviously) and it also does have a lot of nightlife. Where were you guys hanging out? It’s a neighborhood city. If you were downtown I can see it

I don’t understand the architecturally boring comment at all. North end very different from back bay and so is the South End, Southie, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Charlestown. Plus you’ve got old buildings like the Custom House and very old restaurants like Union Street Oyster and Green Dragon still operating. It’s pretty cool to have a meal and beer where John Hancock and Paul Revere did.

As for nightlife, it’s a pub town not a club town. For me, that’s ideal. The pandemic has hopefully brought a permanent shift to more outdoor places, while many others have been lost. I get what @tzznandrew is saying it’s never wild and crazy, it’s somewhat low key. @superjohn as someone who lived in Southie, the seaport is an improvement over the surface lots that were there before. But the only places with real character are much older. Harpoon, the Rockland Trust Pavillon (best concert venue in the area) and the Barking Crab. Trillium is a nice addition as well.

I don’t like the new skyscrapers that have gone up, and the city has lost some of its former charm, but is still among the best.
 

Pgh2Storrs

In Hurley We Trust
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
666
Reaction Score
5,470
DC and Philly, for me. Obviously tons of cool historical sites in DC, but I did a few trips down for Pirates-Nats series with a group of friends and we were blown away at how the place was a ghost town on the weekends, especially in the evenings. The Metro schedule was wild as well, as I remember our choices being to leave the game early to catch a train or fighting it out with the rest of the crowd for a cab. Maybe things have changed over the last 5 years or so, but I really found it to be a bit of a let down.

Philly has some cool parts as well but the people just kill any charm that city has. My wife and I had a beer thrown at us at a UConn-Temple game at the Linc, then when attending the Pens-Flyers Stadium Series game a few years back one of the cars in our group had a window broken and a tire slashed because they had a Pens sticker in the window. That game was a disaster as anyone I talked to that made the trip ran into some kind of issue with Flyers fans. All fanbases have their issues, but Philly is one of the few that is proud to be utter scumbags.
 

storrsroars

Exiled in Pittsburgh
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
19,718
Reaction Score
38,493
Yeah, but who exactly is rating Detroit highly?

That said, 10 years ago, on a whim, I jumped at the opportunity to volunteer myself off an overbooked flight, because I'd just spent 4 nights at conference marooned at an airport hotel in Romulus, and I'd gotten zero Detroit, and otherwise only a single, large party at a single table Middle Eastern meal in Dearborn.

My game pieces were a hotel room a $100 gift card, a voucher for a future flight sometime in thnext year, and anel early-enough next morning flight. I was a man on a mission.

I instantly rented a sporty Fiat 500 that, by size comparison, was categorized the same as a low end Chevy with roll-up windows, whereupon I hit the highways with not much more than intuition and adrenaline.

For my efforts, I emerged with a solid photo album of 1.3 megapixel flip phone snapshots that I know included Eero Saarinen's Cranbrook Schools campus in Bloomfield Hills, some late vestiges of the annual Woodward Dream Cruise of classic cars, Comerica Park and Ford Field, several of the various Grosse Pointes, a circumnavigation of Belle Isle Parl, GM's new & old headquarters buildings along with the downtown elevated Detroit People Mover, a bit of Eight Mile in homage to Slim Shady, an iconic roadside giant tire, vast tracts of vanished buildings punctuated by clusters of 20-story empty & windowless brick shells with twenty-foot tall trees sprung like overgrown weeds on mid-level roofs, large & solid city mansions on blocks that were otherwise 75% leveled to the ground with empty adjacent streets beyond the empty lots, enormous decommissioned buildings for rent or sale that once housed great manufacturing & warehousing concerns, the Eastern Market (though closed on Sunday), Detroit Institute of Arts and other civic glories, and even a bunch of photos from on-foot wanderings around the Heidelberg Project, explored for the change of pace.


And, keep in mind, that's just what I can remember. Everything was finished before darkness, whereupon I drove back to my hotel, got a good night's sleep, and then flew back to NYC the next morning. It probably added up to 6-7 hours, and I totally loved it.

NOW you can say it was overrated.
And yet you didn't get Detroit pizza?
 

storrsroars

Exiled in Pittsburgh
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
19,718
Reaction Score
38,493
DC and Philly, for me. Obviously tons of cool historical sites in DC, but I did a few trips down for Pirates-Nats series with a group of friends and we were blown away at how the place was a ghost town on the weekends, especially in the evenings. The Metro schedule was wild as well, as I remember our choices being to leave the game early to catch a train or fighting it out with the rest of the crowd for a cab. Maybe things have changed over the last 5 years or so, but I really found it to be a bit of a let down.
Haven't been to Philly in years, but I like DC. First off, it has National Park attractions that no other city has. That alone keeps it interesting. Second, there are cool places in DC where residents hang and tourists typically don't, such as the area where Eastern Market is behind the Capitol. Lots of great small indie ethnic restaurants with a far more relaxed vibe than Adams Morgan (which I also still love for the food and the zoo). I commuted from Pgh to Alexandria on a consulting gig for more than a year and kept a studio apt down there, so I got to know DC pretty well. I still enjoy going there, and let's face it, it's by far the best city to visit that's within a 4 hour drive from Pittsburgh (sorry, Cleveland and Columbus).
 

Pgh2Storrs

In Hurley We Trust
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
666
Reaction Score
5,470
Haven't been to Philly in years, but I like DC. First off, it has National Park attractions that no other city has. That alone keeps it interesting. Second, there are cool places in DC where residents hang and tourists typically don't, such as the area where Eastern Market is behind the Capitol. Lots of great small indie ethnic restaurants with a far more relaxed vibe than Adams Morgan (which I also still love for the food and the zoo). I commuted from Pgh to Alexandria on a consulting gig for more than a year and kept a studio apt down there, so I got to know DC pretty well. I still enjoy going there, and let's face it, it's by far the best city to visit that's within a 4 hour drive from Pittsburgh (sorry, Cleveland and Columbus).

Im with you on Cleveland, but give me Columbus over DC any day. Awesome, awesome city and the drive from Pittsburgh is incredibly easy.
 

HuskyNan

You Know Who
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Messages
24,507
Reaction Score
194,218
People hating on Orlando because of the parks? Disney isn’t in Orlando, it’s in Lake Buena Vista, to the southwest of the city.

I moved down from Connecticut 2 1/2 years ago. Originally, the intent was to live on the east coast but my husband and I LOVE Orlando. There are many neighborhoods - Paramour, College Park, Baldwin Park, Lake Nona, etc that each have their own personality and feel. There are no tourists in our neighborhood, just friendly folks out walking their dogs and enjoying the weather.

I’m 10 minutes from the center of the city, close to the Dr. Phillips Theater where I can see touring Broadway plays, the ballet, or the symphony. Just a couple minutes from there is the Amway Center for NBA games or rock concerts. Division I sports can be seen down the road at UCF. There are comedy shows and festivals and fund raisers...something every weekend, a billion times better than the dead downtown that’s Hartford.

Maybe next time go into the actual city before deciding you hate a place. You might be surprised.
 

McLovin

Gangstas, what's up?
Joined
Dec 3, 2018
Messages
2,770
Reaction Score
17,531
My revulsion for country music aside, regarding the culinary scene in Nashville, just no. Sorry, I know you live there and I like the city (travel there about once a quarter), but the culinary scene is not even close to Chicago or NYC. The quality and variety is just not remotely in the same league. Its just not.
For a city of 700K, it’s got a great culinary scene. Of course it’s isnt NYC or Chicago, but comparative in size to those cities we hold our own. What are you looking for here that you can’t find?

We have world famous chefs & James Beard winners who have spots here of who have collaborated on spots here - Maneet Chauhan, Sean Brock, Marcus Samuelson, Aaron Sanchez, Michael Mina (to name a few) - plus a bunch of great regional culinary cuisines that you can’t get legitimately in cities like Chicago or NYC.
 

WestHartHusk

$3M a Year With March Off
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
4,559
Reaction Score
13,680
People hating on Orlando because of the parks? Disney isn’t in Orlando, it’s in Lake Buena Vista, to the southwest of the city.

I moved down from Connecticut 2 1/2 years ago. Originally, the intent was to live on the east coast but my husband and I LOVE Orlando. There are many neighborhoods - Paramour, College Park, Baldwin Park, Lake Nona, etc that each have their own personality and feel. There are no tourists in our neighborhood, just friendly folks out walking their dogs and enjoying the weather.

I’m 10 minutes from the center of the city, close to the Dr. Phillips Theater where I can see touring Broadway plays, the ballet, or the symphony. Just a couple minutes from there is the Amway Center for NBA games or rock concerts. Division I sports can be seen down the road at UCF. There are comedy shows and festivals and fund raisers...something every weekend, a billion times better than the dead downtown that’s Hartford.

Maybe next time go into the actual city before deciding you hate a place. You might be surprised.
I actually doubly hate Orlando if I account for the parks.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

Undecided
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
12,788
Reaction Score
30,679
And yet you didn't get Detroit pizza?
Hadn't even heard of it, and this was pre-smart phone: no Google, Maps, Yelp, etc. Plus, no idea I'd even be around to do this, until they said the flight was oversold, so no prior research.

A couple people from the conference had gone to the Heidelberg Project. I'd learned in 1970 that Cranbrook's girls school was named Kingswood, as was where I'd gone to school in West Hartford. I generally knew that Detroit had shrunken so much that it had "ruins" that were a source of fascination for urban explorers. And a college prof who'd gotten his PhD at Michigan had made some stray, mid-70s comment about excellent highways that lodged in my head. That's it.

The only thing I knew about and missed was Hamtramck, an oddball, once-Polish, separate municipality that is contained within Detroit's boundaries, much like a working class analogue to Beverly Hills being separate but contained within Los Angeles.

I have no idea IF I ate, let alone what. And still haven't followed the curiosity sparked by Pizza Hut's Detroit style commercials, even though I'm intrigued toward the concept, whether by them or somebody else, even though I'm a near cultist as to New Haven Apizza.

Finally, my view of the 3 Rivers Stadium implosion was from a stopped-traffic highway across one of the rivers, after exiting a too-clogged downtown while the commercial radio crew was hyping Point State Park.

My traveling companion was my ex-wife's second husband, and he was an engineer-type who'd licked his finger, held it aloft, and disbelieved both the reported wind direction and the official gathering spot's air safety that was premised on a thorough water soaking of the structure in order to contain dust.

From a safe distance, with an unimpeded view, we watched the detonation, the collapse, and then a rising cloud of 'smoky' air that almost immediately moved precisely atop the gathered masses. We were quite relieved not to have been there, went quickly to our 2-car caravan and headed back to Fairfield Country from a brief trip to Louisville in which we drove out in one 300,000 mile Volvo 240, and returned in one with 200k and another with 100k.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

Undecided
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
12,788
Reaction Score
30,679
Haven't been to Philly in years, but I like DC. First off, it has National Park attractions that no other city has. That alone keeps it interesting. Second, there are cool places in DC where residents hang and tourists typically don't, such as the area where Eastern Market is behind the Capitol. Lots of great small indie ethnic restaurants with a far more relaxed vibe than Adams Morgan (which I also still love for the food and the zoo). I commuted from Pgh to Alexandria on a consulting gig for more than a year and kept a studio apt down there, so I got to know DC pretty well. I still enjoy going there, and let's face it, it's by far the best city to visit that's within a 4 hour drive from Pittsburgh (sorry, Cleveland and Columbus).
Have you not read the love for Buffalo in the other thread?
 
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
1,290
Reaction Score
2,686
Go between April and October and don’t drive. Follow those rules and it’s the best city in the country imo.

But yes, the winter weather sucks.
My most recent trip there was in late December. I might be jaded but I've been to Chicago ~10 times. Wrigley is also a dump and underwhelming. United Center is nice though.
 

storrsroars

Exiled in Pittsburgh
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
19,718
Reaction Score
38,493
sPeople hating on Orlando because of the parks? Disney isn’t in Orlando, it’s in Lake Buena Vista, to the southwest of the city.

I moved down from Connecticut 2 1/2 years ago. Originally, the intent was to live on the east coast but my husband and I LOVE Orlando. There are many neighborhoods - Paramour, College Park, Baldwin Park, Lake Nona, etc that each have their own personality and feel. There are no tourists in our neighborhood, just friendly folks out walking their dogs and enjoying the weather.

I’m 10 minutes from the center of the city, close to the Dr. Phillips Theater where I can see touring Broadway plays, the ballet, or the symphony. Just a couple minutes from there is the Amway Center for NBA games or rock concerts. Division I sports can be seen down the road at UCF. There are comedy shows and festivals and fund raisers...something every weekend, a billion times better than the dead downtown that’s Hartford.

Maybe next time go into the actual city before deciding you hate a place. You might be surprised.
I'm not hating on the parks. For years I'd spend between 10-15 days in Orlando working on setting up and managing conventions. It was BY FAR (except Tulsa) my least favorite area for downtime (bars/restaurants/fun). Even the golf wasn't that interesting. Many people like that kind of environment, I'm not one of them.

Since you're posting here, any idea why I've been banned from the Women's board for most of the past decade?
 

HuskyNan

You Know Who
Joined
Aug 15, 2011
Messages
24,507
Reaction Score
194,218
I'm not hating on the parks. For years I'd spend between 10-15 days in Orlando working on setting up and managing conventions. It was BY FAR (except Tulsa) my least favorite area for downtime (bars/restaurants/fun). Even the golf wasn't that interesting. Many people like that kind of environment, I'm not one of them.

Since you're posting here, any idea why I've been banned from the Women's board for most of the past decade?
Don’t remember. I do know that people that usually post primarily on the men’s board will come over the women’s board after a loss and let us know how sucky the team is and how stupid we are for liking the players as people. It’s like being jerks to your grandparents.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,869
Reaction Score
81,507
New York City and Las Vegas are incredibly overrated IMO. Spent plenty of time in both and would never step foot in either again if I had a choice.

I get if people don’t like country they probably wouldn’t like Nashville - I live here now so I’m biased - but I think it’s a great city. I like country, but I’m not really a music fan in general. I never step foot on Broadway as a local because it’s just a tourist trap of drunken bars with bands play covers (but used to do it all when we used to visit before we moved here).

Also, as someone who has traveled a bunch (I’ve been to 41 states) the culinary scene here in Nashville is second to none, especially considering the size of the market compared to the renowned culinary cities (LA, Chicago & NYC). The only thing I haven’t found down here is an Italian spot that reminds me of the tri-state area. But then again, I haven’t really tried to find Italian because I don’t think anyone can do Italian like the northeast.

Since I'm visiting in the fall, where should we go besides Broadway? We do want pubs/bars/breweries and some live music.

As for the Culinary scene, I saw the response to this. Some people view food differently than I do. I go to a nice restaurant, meaning it requires pants that aren't jeans and a collared shirt, maybe 3-4 times a year. I go to a truly upscale place maybe once every two years. I like pizza, I like BBQ, I like bar/pub food, I like good Mexican food, I like decent seafood. I guess I'm just not a foodie. Upscale I tend to like Northern Italian.
 

storrsroars

Exiled in Pittsburgh
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
19,718
Reaction Score
38,493
Don’t remember. I do know that people that usually post primarily on the men’s board will come over the women’s board after a loss and let us know how sucky the team is and how stupid we are for liking the players as people. It’s like being jerks to your grandparents.
Thanks for the un-ban. I never criticized players, perhaps plays. I honestly don't recall why I was banned, but it wouldn't have been beyond me to go after a poster. Not like Tom hasn't banned me a dozen times ;-)
 

storrsroars

Exiled in Pittsburgh
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
19,718
Reaction Score
38,493
Have you not read the love for Buffalo in the other thread?
Yeah. I haven't spent a ton of time there, but I do know that I don't care for Buffalo pizza and I truly do not understand the love for beef on weck, which is one of the most boring regional sandwiches I've ever encountered.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,869
Reaction Score
81,507
Rivals El Centro in terms of worst places I've been in the US, and I grew up in Albany.

I knew you were being sarcastic, but doubt many have been there. I will add that that it produced my ex's best friend, who was stunning. So it's not all bad.
 

Online statistics

Members online
584
Guests online
4,052
Total visitors
4,636

Forum statistics

Threads
155,816
Messages
4,032,345
Members
9,865
Latest member
Sad Tiger


Top Bottom