America's most overrated, overhyped, or overpriced cities to live (construction, places to live)

[sweetclimber]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Well, that is not the worst I've heard on this forum. There are many people who have never been to City X, but tell everyone what it's like. Plus the people who are moving somewhere who wax on about it, again, though they've never been there except perhaps for their house hunting trip (if that).

Certain posters on this site do this about Houston all the time!

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Wait, wait, wait. So you think Chicago is "overrated" just because you like smaller cities (that might be slightly underrated)??? What sense does that make?

Personally for me, it makes a lot of sense. I find that Chicago may be a bit overrated for a number of reasons. I personally am not to keen on the city once you leave the lakefront and the downtown areas. People forget that Chicago is also a pretty dirty city with vast areas of poverty and industrial decay. Yes, it has a great downtown but nowhere near the nightlife of NYC. For that reason, I think Chicago is overrated; regardless of the reason that I happen to prefer Boston to it.

[Billiam]

Originally Posted by hillside

atl, dc, cleveland

if anything, DC is underrated imho. people go there and see the national mall and that's all they see and then they think they can speak about the city when they really truly aren't even close to seeing the true city. i mean ive said this before that if i went to the mall and that's it i would think its overrated but truth be told its underrated (well in my opinion)

[lndigo]

Originally Posted by Billiam

if anything, DC is underrated imho. people go there and see the national mall and that's all they see and then they think they can speak about the city when they really truly aren't even close to seeing the true city. i mean ive said this before that if i went to the mall and that's it i would think its overrated but truth be told its underrated (well in my opinion)

If you're partly referring to the time I called Houston more ethnically diverse than DC based on what I saw at the mall there, would it make you feel better to know that it wasn't even the touristy national mall that I was in? It was some mall in Arlington or somewhere else in Virginia.

[Billiam]

^ no don't worry i was quoting hillside

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by SWB

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but can somebody please tell me why North Carolina has become so unbelievably popular on this forum? From what I've seen from Microsoft Virtual Earth, the vast majority of the central 1/3 of the Tarheel State seems to be incessant urban sprawl, especially in Raleigh/Cary and Lake Norman. There are more important things in life than having a bigger house for less money, aren't there?

Originally Posted by Greatday

I am incredulous that you would draw a conclusion as to how, or why, one would like an area without knowing anything but a satellite picture of it?

Impossible

Ironically, SWB's "satellite impression" is somewhat accurate. Especially for the Raleigh/Cary area - this was the impression I developed after 5 yrs of living there. A lot of the NC piedmont has that middle-of-nowhere, sprawly kind of feel, except for Chapel Hill.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by lndigo

If you're partly referring to the time I called Houston more ethnically diverse than DC based on what I saw at the mall there, would it make you feel better to know that it wasn't even the touristy national mall that I was in? It was some mall in Arlington or somewhere else in Virginia.

You can't really judge a city based on one mall. Get in the right part of town anywhere and you may find yourself making a false impression. DC is mostly black with a large white population and just a sprinkling of others. That definitely doesn't include visitors, diplomats, or other out-of-towners, and likely doesn't include many students, eiter. Fairfax County is mighty diverse, too.

I haven't spent a whole lot of time in Houston, but I wouldn't judge the city on the few places I went.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by Billiam

if anything, DC is underrated imho. people go there and see the national mall and that's all they see and then they think they can speak about the city when they really truly aren't even close to seeing the true city. i mean ive said this before that if i went to the mall and that's it i would think its overrated but truth be told its underrated (well in my opinion)

I agree. People all to often think of monuments and boring politicians when they hear DC, but there really is a vibrant city of over half a million people beyond the National Mall. While I could do without the pretentiousness of the people and high cost-of-living, DC tons to offer in the way of nightlife, restaurants, and shopping. It also has a dense, although low-rise, downtown that people often neglect to acknowledge in lieu of the typical big cities full of skyscrapers.

[imaterry78259]

These pictures are nice but they are in suburban Austin. There are many areas around the Hill Country and suburban SA that are just as nice.

[Nafster]

Originally Posted by jonjj

Personally for me, it makes a lot of sense. I find that Chicago may be a bit overrated for a number of reasons. I personally am not to keen on the city once you leave the lakefront and the downtown areas. People forget that Chicago is also a pretty dirty city with vast areas of poverty and industrial decay. Yes, it has a great downtown but nowhere near the nightlife of NYC. For that reason, I think Chicago is overrated; regardless of the reason that I happen to prefer Boston to it.

I'm sorry you feel that way, hope you give it another chance sometime soon

Anyway, I found the nightlife to be extremely vibrant all over the city and it to be clean in most areas, except of course the poorer areas.

I'm glad you enjoy Boston though!!