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I agree, DC gets very little love on this forum. I also find Atlanta the same as it's rarely thrown out as a recommendation for anyone relocating to a major metro.
This is also true. Atlanta gets knocks for traffic and sprawl and what not, but guess what? That's America. Atlanta has a lot of quality attractions, culture, and quality jobs. Atlanta city proper actually has more Fortune 500 presence than any city in the country other than NYC and the Texas big 2.
Both Atlanta and DC deserve more respect. I wouldn't retire in either area, but I'd definitely work and raise a family. Good jobs and good schools aplenty.
Overrated: Pittsburgh
-Its a fine city but it is the 'go to' for everyone thats making a top 10 list of pretty much anything. Ive seen it top lists online for : Food(what a joke), best places to retire(uh..yeah cuz old people love driving up and down hills on ice), Affordability(not anymore), 'Livability' (whatever that means, i am here and i still live..i dunno.)
I mean, there are still a few that haven't payed attention since 1985 and think its a 'sneaky cool cheap city' but, guess what...most people figured that out 15 years ago, its not cheap to live here, and you can't get a good deal on housing unless you want to live in a pretty sketchy (or just dirty/inconvenient/out of the way) neighborhood. There is just no way it should be on some of the lists, let alone #1?(i mean food here getting better but top 10, let alone #1 is a joke)
Underrated
Columbia SC for a wild variety of reasons to me anyway but just the fact its preobably the biggest city that has been mentioned in this thread the least(if at all, im still on page 8) should say something about being overlooked.
Pittsburgh may be slightly overrated on this forum, but in the real world most people think it's a step above
Flint. And for all the talk about how it's not affordable anymore, you can still find a 2 Br condo in some of the city's most desirable neighborhoods for under 200k.
I think the reason Philly is underrated is because it is overlooked and a bit forgotten about, due to it being so close to NYC and DC to a lesser extent. I have a lot of family in the area and lived in South Jersey for a little while, so I am pretty familiar.
I don't think it's a bad thing at all though. It probably helps keep the area affordable. And you can just go to NYC and DC whenever you feel like it. I have friends from there that will just wake up one day and decide they wanna come to NY so they just hit me up and crash at my apartment.
For the people saying NYC is overrated, I personally disagree, but I can totally see how people can come visit and think that. Especially if they stay in Midtown and spend most of their time in Midtown, which a lot of people do.
lol I'm just gonna stop there before I go on another Midtown rant ...
I'm just gonna say NYC is a huge place and I think you really need to live here for a while to get to know it. This can probably be said for a few other cities as well
I think the reason Philly is underrated is because it is overlooked and a bit forgotten about, due to it being so close to NYC and DC to a lesser extent. I have a lot of family in the area and lived in South Jersey for a little while, so I am pretty familiar.
I don't think it's a bad thing at all though. It probably helps keep the area affordable. And you can just go to NYC and DC whenever you feel like it. I have friends from there that will just wake up one day and decide they wanna come to NY so they just hit me up and crash at my apartment.
For the people saying NYC is overrated, I personally disagree, but I can totally see how people can come visit and think that. Especially if they stay in Midtown and spend most of their time in Midtown, which a lot of people do.
lol I'm just gonna stop there before I go on another Midtown rant ...
I'm just gonna say NYC is a huge place and I think you really need to live here for a while to get to know it. This can probably be said for a few other cities as well
Philly is so completely underrated. I think people on this site fixate too much on median household income as if that would actually affect them. Your career pays roughly what your career pays, with a reasonable variance from city to city. Most people's income isn't going to go up that much if they move to Seattle, DC or San Francisco. Philly offers a top-notch urban lifestyle with the cost of living below Denver or Minneapolis. I'd rank it behind only Chicago for best bang for your buck, but then again I don't get off on the percentage of my neighbors who have graduate degrees.
^^True. More people from Europe know about Philadelphia than Americans.
Pathetic. Just like Boston. They're overshadowed by New York and Chicago in this general region of the country.... ignorance is bliss, i guess.
Very true. Friend of mine came to NYC from Sweden to open a bank account, so I met him there and when asked about other cities like Philly, he says he really wants to go there because of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. No joke.
On this forum, you have people suggesting that doesn't happen. Such BS.
Yes If your from Monaco , French Riviera or northern Italy you know Grace Kelly was from Philadelphia . She was very popular in that region and her family still has ties in Philadelphia .
I think the reason Philly is underrated is because it is overlooked and a bit forgotten about, due to it being so close to NYC and DC to a lesser extent. I have a lot of family in the area and lived in South Jersey for a little while, so I am pretty familiar.
I don't think it's a bad thing at all though. It probably helps keep the area affordable. And you can just go to NYC and DC whenever you feel like it. I have friends from there that will just wake up one day and decide they wanna come to NY so they just hit me up and crash at my apartment.
For the people saying NYC is overrated, I personally disagree, but I can totally see how people can come visit and think that. Especially if they stay in Midtown and spend most of their time in Midtown, which a lot of people do.
lol I'm just gonna stop there before I go on another Midtown rant ...
I'm just gonna say NYC is a huge place and I think you really need to live here for a while to get to know it. This can probably be said for a few other cities as well
Oh god, are there really still people who just stay in Midtown? I think with the internet now, people would figure out to check out Lower Manhattan and Northern Brooklyn as well.
I went to a bar in Midtown Manhattan once (forgive me) and there were these 3 British dudes who I talked to, they said NYC's nightlife is way better than London's and I'm pretty sure they haven't even gone downtown yet! I told them to go to the East Village or Lower East Side, I hope they went.
I'm so proud of NYC's nightlife that I love it when tourists ask me about it, some people from Utah randomly asked me when the bars close and I said 4AM like and they were pleasantly surprised.
And Philly is awesome! I went like 4 times since 2014 and want to go back again. It's such a cool city, I love the vibe.
Same here. This thread is making me want to book a trip soon! Although I think I'd rather wait til it gets warm out.
I think the older stereotypes still affect it for some people, no matter how ridiculous they are.
I don't know if people that go to Philly are expecting East St. Louis or what, but its hilarious.
It's closest relative is Boston and New York. Its an American version of Montreal.
A lot of people I know love it because it's very quirky and gritty like Brooklyn. The mix of history and public art adds such a unique element that gives it its own local flair.
Philly is a great example of a large city that is very provincial so it feels like a small town.
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and they were pleasantly surprised. 
