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From what I've heard (I know a few people who are from there), Olympia in Washington state is a small city that offers a lot more than one would expect. It's got a beautiful natural setting next to the Puget sound and lots of parkland and lush forests in and bordering it--I've heard people rave about how good the drinking water is, and that's both awesome and ridiculous. It's host to a very active and adventurous college (Evergreen) and the capital of the state, so the cultural amenities offered there far exceeds expectations with a great live music (mostly rock) scene, a symphony orchestra, multiple playhouses, and a very active film society. It offers a fairly large variety of ethnic cuisines, really fresh fish and produce, beautiful historic houses and a downtown that is actively put to use. Also, when the small town gets to be too much, there is quick and frequent train service to larger cities like Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver.
I second these cities. Portland, I feel, is very underrated in regards to its cultural offerings. A lot of people may disagree with this, but I don't think most people in real life, or even on this forum, would give Portland, Oregon the time of day. When most people out there in the real world think of Portland, I don't think they really think anything of it or know anything about it really except that it exists and is probably just a big forest with a couple people in it. And on here, people are quick to dismiss it or they just think "Oh, a bunch of superliberal hippies..." But really, it's a great, lively little city for the most part with tons of culture of all kinds of character and characters and I don't think it gets the recognition for that as much as it should.
Eugene is also highly underrated and under the radar (thankfully)... A very vibrant town full of laid-back, truly friendly people, with a surprisingly great music and cultural scene, thanks largely to the presence of Oregon's flagship and well-respected University of Oregon. Both Portland and Eugene are among the top 10 greenest cities in America too. And both have very beautiful surroundings and are within an hour and a half of the mountains and the coast.
Both are little cities that I think "could" if given a chance. Northwestern cities are just so far away from America's center of population that I think most people don't have experience with them or know much about them, but if they did... Well, maybe it's better they don't...
Last edited by backdrifter; 06-15-2009 at 12:44 PM..
Boise is an obvious choice. This small to midsized city, 210,000 city and 635,000 metro, is consistently ranked in the various "top 10 best of cities" for quality of life and business climate.
santa fe, asheville, sedona, portsmouth, NH, Portland, ME
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