The most underrated and overrated communities in California? (San Diego, San Francisco: middle-class, crime rate)
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Sacramento is Ok - definitely the best among central valley towns. I grew up there and enjoy visiting my parents who still live there. Midtown is awesome and I do like the small-town feel, the Victorian homes, and tree-lined streets. But nothing exciting. Sacramento is nice place to raise a family. I think you get more bang for your buck because its biggest attribute is its close proximity to many places. But Sacramento is just meh.
San Francisco: We've all heard that claim. So I'll try to differentiate my inclusion here. I've been to many cities in the U.S. and abroad (including Sydney, Vienna, Rome, Paris, London, Auckland, Vancouver, Honolulu, New Orleans, LA, DC, Miami, Boston, NYC, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, SD, Vegas, et al) and none -- none -- were as uniformly dirty as SF. (Boston and Vienna struck me as surprisingly clean, in fact.) Rubbish, graffiti, and more than anywhere else, the pervasive smell of urine. Yuck. I find the prices high in most of those places but those in SF can be the most outrageous of all in some aspects, especially parking. And the ultra-aggressiveness of the homeless doesn't help. I do think that SF is nestled in a very beautiful physical location, has nice museums, good public transportation, a great airport, and great food. So I'm not saying it's terrible. Just that I think it's overrated compared to other major places I've been. If you picked up and moved SF to another location as is, I think it would tumble in the rankings. Its geographic location both masks its drawbacks and exaggerates its appeal.
Hollywood: Dirty and run down.
L.A.: L.A. itself is dirty and congested.
Pismo: Not that bad but just not as nice to me as some other central coast locations that get less attention.
Santa Cruz: This was mentioned above and I'd agree with the reasons cited.
Underrated
Sacramento: I agree with the posting above, though I do wonder why the OP included the aspects of Sacto's surrounding burbs in its plusses while not doing so for SD. I don't like a lot of parts of Sac itself though agree that its environs are nice. Love all the trees and the river.
Thousand Oaks/Ventura/Oxnard: The area flies under the radar but is nice, scenic, and quiet.
San Luis Obispo: The secret seems to be getting out but still not fully appreciated.
San Clemente: Pretty area.
Last edited by HereThereEveryware; 08-06-2012 at 02:26 PM..
San Francisco - It's rated so highly for good reason; it's very vibrant and urban, very cosmpolitan, great architecture, great natural beauty, great restaurants, etc.. But even though it packs a lot in a small space it's pretty small overall. It's expensive like many comparable cities but to the point of being as expensive as NYC except it doesn't come close to offering what that city does. The transit system is fairly pathetic considering how dense it is. Lot of overpriced bars that kind of old and dumpy yet not cheap at all and many places that are cash only. Not sure why so many people like and rave about the street festivals there when they are generic and like one's in every other city. Not a fan of the weather overall. I don't like to generalize or stereotype the people as that can be so subjective, but personally don't really care for the scene there and some types of people you see around. I used to love the city but it's just lost it's appeal to me over the years, still an amazing city that deserves plenty of praise but not as much as some people give it imo.
Underrated
Sacramento - Old Town and the Downtown/Midtown area are fairly decent. Decent nightlife. But I like all the recreational opportunities with the lake and rivers in the area, really helps with options during the summer having areas for swimming compared to the Bay Area.
San Francisco: We've all heard that claim. So I'll try to differentiate my inclusion here. I've been to many cities in the U.S. and abroad (including Sydney, Vienna, Rome, Paris, London, Auckland, Vancouver, Honolulu, New Orleans, LA, DC, Miami, Boston, NYC, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, SD, Vegas, et al) and none -- none -- were as uniformly dirty as SF. (Boston and Vienna struck me as surprisingly clean, in fact.) Rubbish, graffiti, and more than anywhere else, the pervasive smell of urine. Yuck. I find the prices high in most of those places but those in SF can be the most outrageous of all in some aspects, especially parking. And the ultra-aggressiveness of the homeless doesn't help. I do think that SF is nestled in a very beautiful physical location, has nice museums, good public transportation, a great airport, and great food. So I'm not saying it's terrible. Just that I think it's overrated compared to other major places I've been. If you picked up and moved SF to another location as is, I think it would tumble in the rankings. Its geographic location both masks its drawbacks and exaggerates its appeal.
Hollywood: Dirty and run down.
L.A.: L.A. itself is dirty and congested.
Pismo: Not that bad but just not as nice to me as some other central coast locations that get less attention.
Santa Cruz: This was mentioned above and I'd agree with the reasons cited.
Underrated
Sacramento: I agree with the posting above, though I do wonder why the OP included the aspects of Sacto's surrounding burbs in its plusses while not doing so for SD. I don't like a lot of parts of Sac itself though agree that its environs are nice. Love all the trees and the river.
Thousand Oaks/Ventura/Oxnard: The area flies under the radar but is nice, scenic, and quiet.
San Luis Obispo: The secret seems to be getting out but still not fully appreciated.
San Clemente: Pretty area.
Hollywood is a neighborhood of the city of LA.
San Clemente and Thousand Oaks/Ventura/Oxnard are part of what is considered the greater Los Angeles metro area. The very outer reaches of greater LA (CSA) but still part of greater LA nonetheless.
What I like about the LA area, is the cumulative beauty between these two far reaches of greater LA. However, if I were to judge greater LA based SOLELY on downtown or Hollywood, I can understand what people are getting at. greater LA is best experienced by traversing the whole region from Pasadena to Long Beach and from Laguna Beach to the Sespe Condor refuge/Oxnard farms.
San Clemente and Thousand Oaks/Ventura/Oxnard are part of what is considered the greater Los Angeles metro area. The very outer reaches of greater LA (CSA) but still part of greater LA nonetheless.
What I like about the LA area, is the cumulative beauty between these two far reaches of greater LA. However, if I were to judge greater LA based SOLELY on downtown or Hollywood, I can understand what people are getting at. greater LA is best experienced by traversing the whole region from Pasadena to Long Beach and from Laguna Beach to the Sespe Condor refuge/Oxnard farms.
I know. The title says "communities" not "cities" or "towns" so I thought it was valid to list them as separate entities, especially given the fact they have their own reputations -- especially Hollywood.
Not that its a bad place, it just seems to consistently get hyped out of proportion to what it actually offers. When cost/convienience is taken into consideration, the argument can be made that Tijuana/Rosarito/Ensenada has more to offer than SD county.
2. Berkeley
Went there expecting big things but was a little surprised at its normal-ness.
Underrated:
1. Los Angeles
Consistently bashed by people who either have only been there once or have some kind of agenda. At some point it just became socially correct to bash this amazing city(and to overhype San Diego).
I've had the opportunity to travel a LOT throughout this state. While obviously it's huge and many places require multiple visits or travel throughout various neighborhoods to get more of a feel, we all have an idea of the places we feel are, well, underrated or overrated.
Which cities do YOU feel are underrated, overrated?
I'll start:
Underrated
Oakland: This city is becoming more and more "discovered." With a mostly safe down, easy accessibility to BART, sharing a border with Berkeley, accessibility to Alameda, actually having an airport barely outside the city limits, and neighborhoods such as Lake Merritt and Rockridge, Oakland is a pretty cool place. And don't forget about the hills...and Green Day. I thoroughly understand why a lot of people don't like or are scared of Oakland, but it also doesn't have the full speed yuppie-fication of San Francisco. Their Chinatown is also superior to SF's!
Sacramento: OMG, a Central Valley city?! Yes, Sac-town. I like the Capitol Mall, capitol, downtown, Sutter's Fort, Old Town, and the general Midwestern-looking setting around the area. Yet, it is very diverse and the diversity doesn't seem to be so segregated by socioeconomic class, unlike in the Bay or L.A. The new $1B airport terminal is supposed to be out of this world, the city is very clean, and it's the only California metropolis in which the middle class can actually afford a home in a safe neighborhood less than ten miles from the city center. Even though it looks kinda Midwestern, with its setting in the valley and proximity to wine countries in Napa, Sonoma, Lodi and Livermore, as well as places like Chico, Mt. Lassen and Tahoe, it certainly is a very Californian city.
Avila Beach: Very close to the beaten path (101) and San Luis Obispo, yet it feels so far away. It's just a nice, meandering drive into the town. This is little more than a tiny hillside community with a small harbor and beach, pier, nice downtown, the occasional street festival, and some friendly people. The beauty is not just in the surrounding natural setting but in the simplicity of the place. I'd live there...if I could telecommute and earn $125k+ per year.
Overrated
San Diego: I didn't dislike it, but I also wasn't impressed. I visited various communities in the area on the 5 all the way from San Ysidro to Oceanside. I like Torrey Pines, Ocean Beach, Coronado, Old Town, and Balboa Park, and it's a very beautiful, clean and safe city in its own right. However, I came away with a very poor impression of its people. From service in the motel (acceptable, but not friendly) to surprisingly aggressive driving, and to just a general, surly demeanor among the people I encountered there in three days, it wasn't nearly as "laid back" and "friendly" as many on this forum suggest. Plus, it felt more like Des Moines meets the Pacific, it almost felt like Florida and not very "Californian" to me (subjective, I know)...and but just not so "laid back" away from the immediate coast. Maybe if I visit Encinitas, Poway, etc. and visit for longer than three days, I'd have a different opinion. Yes, there is a lot of, if not even more, attitude in San Francisco, but at least SF's a world class city with an exciting pulse (that I'm gradually beginning to come to appreciate).
Berkeley: I actually like Berkeley as a whole. However, much of the town is dirty, especially downtown. I'm a grown male and wouldn't feel safe on parts of UC's campus at night. Even though I like the UC/downtown area's symbiosis with neighboring Oakland, it is also fairly close to Northwest Oakland/Southwest Berkeley which has some dangerous areas. The people there are more of the Prius-driving/eco-hypocritical/East Coast pseudo-intellectual snob types which aren't very pleasant to be around. The downtown area's vibe itself is cool, funky and eclectic, but then that's largely populated by the people mentioned. And, honestly, there is a real intolerant, almost anti-American attitude to the place whether you want to admit it or not. Nonetheless, I like the hills and neighborhoods, but I just don't think of the city as the "bee's knees" like its residents seem to.
Excellent description of San Diego. I love Ocean Beach, Hillcrest, and Torrey Pines, but somehow SD just has a prevailing un-California feel to it.
TOTALLY agree with you on San Diego. I visited all over OC, LA, and SD 2 years ago and SD was my least favorite (unfortunately it was the cheapest of all school options and thus i am here). The beaches aren't that great (too much marine layer compared to farther north) and the people aren't as attractive as most people say there are.
Santa Barbara is pretty overrated too. I've been there on 2 separate occasions (1 time including a 5 day stay) and it was gloomy and depressing. The beach wasn't even that great.
Personally, I think most beach communities in OC are underrated. People always say the area is boring and has no diversity but after visiting it a few days ago.. they are totally wrong. They have the best beaches (newport, dana point, laguna, etc). Huntington Beach was AWESOME.
Yeah I had a bad Santa Barbara experience too. The traffic situation at the time I went was horrible. I had a much better experience in Carpinteria.
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Originally Posted by Losfrisco
Overrated:
1. San Diego
Not that its a bad place, it just seems to consistently get hyped out of proportion to what it actually offers. When cost/convienience is taken into consideration, the argument can be made that Tijuana/Rosarito/Ensenada has more to offer than SD county.
2. Berkeley
Went there expecting big things but was a little surprised at its normal-ness.
Underrated:
1. Los Angeles
Consistently bashed by people who either have only been there once or have some kind of agenda. At some point it just became socially correct to bash this amazing city(and to overhype San Diego).
I've had the opportunity to travel a LOT throughout this state. While obviously it's huge and many places require multiple visits or travel throughout various neighborhoods to get more of a feel, we all have an idea of the places we feel are, well, underrated or overrated.
Which cities do YOU feel are underrated, overrated?
I'll start:
.
In my personal viewpoint, I would say the Bay Area is overrated. It's always windy, wet, and cold, mixed with bright sunshine. Also, the people and attitudes appear sheltered and they remind me of bumpkins. No offense.
Underrated, would be the central valley.
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