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There's one with Nashville, what about Memphis vs Indianapolis
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Indianapolis? (boring/fun/depressing/vibrant/progressive/etc)
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Memphis? (boring/fun/depressing/vibrant/progressive/etc)
-Most Historical
-Best Sports Town
-Most Fun/Things to do
-Best Downtown
-Best Local Culture
-Best food
-Most Famous
There's one with Nashville, what about Memphis vs Indianapolis
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Indianapolis? (boring/fun/depressing/vibrant/progressive/etc)
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Memphis? (boring/fun/depressing/vibrant/progressive/etc)
-Most Historical
-Best Sports Town
-Most Fun/Things to do
-Best Downtown
-Best Local Culture
-Best food
-Most Famous
Went to high school and college an hour from Memphis and have lived in Indy for 20 years. Memphis arguably is more culturally important, but Indy's offers a much better quality of life, IMO.
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Indianapolis? boring
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Memphis? depressing
-Most Historical- Indianapolis
-Best Sports Town - Indianapolis
-Most Fun/Things to do - Indianapolis
-Best Downtown - Indianapolis
-Best Local Culture - Indianapolis
-Best food - Indianapolis
-Most Famous - Indianapolis
There's one with Nashville, what about Memphis vs Indianapolis
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Indianapolis? (boring/fun/depressing/vibrant/progressive/etc) Corporate, boring, not a lot of regional culture
-The Vibe I Get when I'm in Memphis? (boring/fun/depressing/vibrant/progressive/etc) - Southern, delta, slower paced.
-Most Historical - Memphis
-Best Sports Town - Indy
-Most Fun/Things to do - Toss up - Indy has better sports scene, museums, etc, Memphis better music, food
-Best Downtown - Indy
-Best Local Culture - Memphis - but both cities themselves are very violent.
-Best food - Memphis
-Most Famous - Memphis
I can hardly imagine desiring Indianapolis over any other sizable city, but this is really a tough decision for me....
I visited Indianapolis once, in '05, and while I realize that was a long time ago, it was more than enough. There is absolutely zero desirability Indy has for me; nothing I have seen online (and I'm a city nerd like everyone else here) has garnered interest or raised appeal for that city. My mother was living in Edinburgh at the time, and we spent two days in Indy---zoo, go-karts, eating out, malls, that horse ride downtown, etc. I was 16, so I have very clear memories of that visit, but that city was, and still is, the most boring of large cities I've ever seen...
And actually, I did have a layover in that airport back in '11, ironically on my way back to New York from a family reunion in Memphis. I will say Indy's airport is much larger and nicer than Memphis'...
I'm a lot more familiar with Memphis; haven't been since that family reunion in '11 but my mom graduated from high school there, and her mom's family is all there, so I visited frequently as a child and lived there my eighth grade school year...
The vibe in Indy was definitely boredom, bland, and average on pretty much every scale, although I can admit the airport had a different air, and at any rate the adult version of myself could possibly have a different take on the city. The vibe in Memphis is definitely one of a much more charming city, more character, but yes, very depressing. There is such widespread poverty in Memphis that I've only witnessed Baltimore on such a truly depressing scale. And while Memphis definitely has soul, the urban blight renders sections of the city completely lifeless...
Certainly Memphis feels more historical, if for nothing other than music and its legacy as a river city...
I would not say Indy is a better sports town. Indy has the edge in NASCAR and football (Memphis is not a football town), but Memphis is without question a bigger golf and baseball town. I equal them in basketball--yeah, Indy is a hotbed of basketball but Memphis is probably the biggest basketball city in the entire South, all things considered (prep/college/pro). Basketball is king in Memphis...
Most fun and things to do: likely equal, both have enough entertainment to even each other out....
I will say Indianapolis feels larger, particularly downtown. Memphis has such a small downtown for its size, and while downtown Indy is not particularly impressive in comparison to many cities, it has a livelier heartbeat than downtown Memphis. Memphis has Beale Street, which beats any singular avenue in Indy---but that's it...in the rest of the cities, Indy feels more urban and built out, but Memphis feels more urban in the sense of city grittiness, and the blight does make it appear urban as well...
Local culture, again I was 16, but there was nothing impressive about Indy's local culture. We weren't just downtown. It just came across as a very, very average city. On the other hand, Memphis is rich in culture, and kicks Indy's ass in food as well....
How do you quantify "famous"? Indy really has no profile that is commonly recognized outside of the world of sports. Memphis is recognized as a musical hotbed, is recognized for being an extremely violent city, is recognized for its astronomical poverty, it's importance in black history, for King's death, Elvis and Graceland, etc. So, at least domestically, Memphis is the far more recognized and famous city....
All that said, I am not saying if choose Memphis over Indy. Both cities, as far as I'm concerned, are amongst the worst cities with a million-plus metros, albeit for different reasons. If someone made me pick one, I guess I'd flip a coin and just deal with the consequences of the winner...
I can hardly imagine desiring Indianapolis over any other sizable city, but this is really a tough decision for me....
I visited Indianapolis once, in '05, and while I realize that was a long time ago, it was more than enough. There is absolutely zero desirability Indy has for me; nothing I have seen online (and I'm a city nerd like everyone else here) has garnered interest or raised appeal for that city. My mother was living in Edinburgh at the time, and we spent two days in Indy---zoo, go-karts, eating out, malls, that horse ride downtown, etc. I was 16, so I have very clear memories of that visit, but that city was, and still is, the most boring of large cities I've ever seen...
And actually, I did have a layover in that airport back in '11, ironically on my way back to New York from a family reunion in Memphis. I will say Indy's airport is much larger and nicer than Memphis'...
I'm a lot more familiar with Memphis; haven't been since that family reunion in '11 but my mom graduated from high school there, and her mom's family is all there, so I visited frequently as a child and lived there my eighth grade school year...
The vibe in Indy was definitely boredom, bland, and average on pretty much every scale, although I can admit the airport had a different air, and at any rate the adult version of myself could possibly have a different take on the city. The vibe in Memphis is definitely one of a much more charming city, more character, but yes, very depressing. There is such widespread poverty in Memphis that I've only witnessed Baltimore on such a truly depressing scale. And while Memphis definitely has soul, the urban blight renders sections of the city completely lifeless...
Certainly Memphis feels more historical, if for nothing other than music and its legacy as a river city...
I would not say Indy is a better sports town. Indy has the edge in NASCAR and football (Memphis is not a football town), but Memphis is without question a bigger golf and baseball town. I equal them in basketball--yeah, Indy is a hotbed of basketball but Memphis is probably the biggest basketball city in the entire South, all things considered (prep/college/pro). Basketball is king in Memphis...
Most fun and things to do: likely equal, both have enough entertainment to even each other out....
I will say Indianapolis feels larger, particularly downtown. Memphis has such a small downtown for its size, and while downtown Indy is not particularly impressive in comparison to many cities, it has a livelier heartbeat than downtown Memphis. Memphis has Beale Street, which beats any singular avenue in Indy---but that's it...in the rest of the cities, Indy feels more urban and built out, but Memphis feels more urban in the sense of city grittiness, and the blight does make it appear urban as well...
Local culture, again I was 16, but there was nothing impressive about Indy's local culture. We weren't just downtown. It just came across as a very, very average city. On the other hand, Memphis is rich in culture, and kicks Indy's ass in food as well....
How do you quantify "famous"? Indy really has no profile that is commonly recognized outside of the world of sports. Memphis is recognized as a musical hotbed, is recognized for being an extremely violent city, is recognized for its astronomical poverty, it's importance in black history, for King's death, Elvis and Graceland, etc. So, at least domestically, Memphis is the far more recognized and famous city....
All that said, I am not saying if choose Memphis over Indy. Both cities, as far as I'm concerned, are amongst the worst cities with a million-plus metros, albeit for different reasons. If someone made me pick one, I guess I'd flip a coin and just deal with the consequences of the winner...
No, that's not true anymore Memphis has added Beale Street Landing along it's riverfront, reopened the memphis pyramid as a tourist destination, adding a ice skating rink along riverside drive, and adding a movie theater to it's downtown along with beale street
Indy is much more liveable than Memphis. I live in Memphis. Memphis has better history though.
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