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The article acts like its a good thing, but for a twentysomething, non-hipster = backwards and boring. It's no surprise that most of the cities nominated for being 'least-hipster' are some of the worst in the country for young people. Houston and Dallas are large enough to still be cool, and Charlotte is transient enough, but the rest are some of the worst, most uncool places in the country to spend your 20s and offer the least amount of amenities for their size.
1. El Paso, TX
2. Jacksonville, FL
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Oklahoma City, OK
5. Houston, TX
6. Charlotte, NC
7. Memphis, TN
8. San Antonio, TX
9. Indianapolis, IN
10. Dallas, TX
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I would have expected to see Salt Lake City on this list. Maybe being in close proximity to Park City (home of the Sundance Film Festival) helps them avoid it.
Minneapolis may not be thought of as 'cool' but it has the fastest growing black population in the Midwest. Half of it's population growth since 1980 has come from non-whites. If you are from Chicago and you are black you may not think of Minneapolis as cool but you do think of it as a good place to raise your kids. It is not a boutique city like some of the others you name, it is an up-from-your-bootstraps place that tends to draw poor people from the rest of the country. It has a lot of hipsters, but mostly they are from here.
Clearly the "up from your bootstraps" era is probably over for Minneapolis with exception of a few areas like the north side. Even there the Victory neighborhood has become vibrant. There are other hip areas of the city other than just Uptown now (from my 2005 visit and other people I know in the area) and it also is becoming fairly affluent (but not unaffordable like SF, NYC can be) while remaining creative and interesting.
That's sounds interesting. Does the food there have any of the influences of New Mexico? Or is it more TexMex or is it more traditional Mexican?
El Paso is one of those areas of the country that I've always wanted to visit, but it's sort of off the path of where I usually travel to. Probably tie it in with a trip to southern New Mexico and Big Bend some day.
If you go to southern New Mexico, you'll have to check out Roswell. I have never been there, but will some day in the near future. Even if you don't believe in UFO's it is sort of a "bucket list" thing that you can tell people about and it will definitely be "different". I doubt there is a large hipster scene there and that is fine with me. It is mainly about the UFO museums and UFO themed eateries.
It sounds like an enjoyable trip so long as you avoid the summer months.
Of course you can also have areas that are happy mediums between the strip mall/typical and those that try too hard to be funky and artistic to the point of being overly pretentious. The old town section of my city is such a place...not pretentiously funky; just mostly real, regular people (and maybe a few artists here and there) enjoying an area with unique non-chain establishments and that has some activity and a couple of coffee places other than Starbucks.
Almost everyone feels welcome there. You don't have to be a hipster there, but there are a few (definitely not even close to being "hipster central" like Austin, Portland, etc).
So which parts of Portland have you been to? Maybe you missed the more regular neighborhood-people parts of the city.
Of course you can also have areas that are happy mediums between the strip mall/typical and those that try too hard to be funky and artistic to the point of being overly pretentious. The old town section of my city is such a place...not pretentiously funky; just mostly real, regular people (and maybe a few artists here and there) enjoying an area with unique non-chain establishments and that has some activity and a couple of coffee places other than Starbucks.
Almost everyone feels welcome there. You don't have to be a hipster there, but there are a few (definitely not even close to being "hipster central" like Austin, Portland, etc).
Portland has plenty of areas though that aren't just hipster central. People throw out all types of stereotypes but the truth is that even in some of the popular areas like inner SE a lot of bars in Portland are just beers and a shot type of places where people are just watching the Blazers game--you might have younger people in their twenties drinking side by side with grizzled old regulars who've been there for years. Down the street from my house is an old Irish bar, staffed by sort of aging punk rock guys that often has Irish folk music or hippy or bluegrass bands playing--but it's friendly and gets a cross section of people around the neighborhood--but it's definitely not hip--and most of the fruity little hipsters who just got into town wouldn't be caught dead going to that place. Everyone knows where the trendy areas of town are, but it's not as if the entire city is that way.
Hipsters became too mainstream, so the anti-mainstream vigilantes (elitist Hipsters) of the anti-mainstream vigilantes (your general purpose Hipster) turned against their more small-fry brethren. Aside from the whole PBR thing, I don't really mind 'em. I just can't get over PBR, however. That's the swill I used to drink because it was cheap and sold at the gas station that didn't card.
The article acts like its a good thing, but for a twentysomething, non-hipster = backwards and boring. It's no surprise that most of the cities nominated for being 'least-hipster' are some of the worst in the country for young people. Houston and Dallas are large enough to still be cool, and Charlotte is transient enough, but the rest are some of the worst, most uncool places in the country to spend your 20s and offer the least amount of amenities for their size.
1. El Paso, TX
2. Jacksonville, FL
3. Fort Worth, TX
4. Oklahoma City, OK
5. Houston, TX
6. Charlotte, NC
7. Memphis, TN
8. San Antonio, TX
9. Indianapolis, IN
10. Dallas, TX
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I think it is that the cities in TX are known for their booming economies. A 20 something resident is more likely to be climbing the corporate ladder than living the hipster life. Hipsters are there, but they are diluted.
Quote:
Portland does not advertise itself as a city of hipsters.
Minervah - I get your point about there being other aspects to Portland but this statement makes me think of someone saying: "No, I don't have a smudge on my chin, I can't see it at all." :-) .
I have a couple questions for you. Why are you always talking about cities full of hipsters or lacking hipsters? Are you a hipster? Do you want to be a hipster? Do you dislike hipsters and want to avoid them? I'm just curious because its getting old.
I agree with you totally. A "hipster" city does not necessarily equal a overall better environment for the area. It just depends on personal preference. A "hipster" city could be "cool" for one person but could be extremely intimidating to another person.
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