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Tons of Chicagoans here, though. There must be something about the city that draws them. The biggest problem with Phoenix, I think, is that it *does* appear as a gigantic suburb, unlike Chicago, where you can just wander downtown and find stuff. Once you look around and discover that Phoenix has fantastic hiking right within the city limits; a ton of good restaurants; excellent shopping; nice scenery; several good museums; a decent theater and music scene; lots of sports (including spring training with both the Cubs and White Sox) and many art fairs in the winter and spring, it grows on you. It's no Chicago, but it has its benefits.
I did hear about the large sizable Chicagoan population in Phoenix. I think last year on the news, there was a brief story about how a former Chicagoan opened up a Cubs bar (I think). Of course, most people from Chicago went to it, and it was doing pretty well. Not exactly sure on the whole story; it's been a while.
And I agree with you. Phoenix did have great food. The scenery was also breathtaking..and very different from what I've been accustomed to. I got a chance to visit Sedona & the Grand Canyon during my visit, and I would say Arizona has some of the most amazing geographical features in the country.
I like warm weather, but Phoenix was a little too warm for me. If I'm going to be that hot, there has to be some kind of beach around. Another thing is that although Phoenix offers a lot, you have to drive to get there (at least that was my experience). Shopping in Scottsdale, then driving to the mountains, driving to the museums, etc. It's not really compact. I'm not a walkaholic or anything, but I also don't like having to drive everywhere.
As someone else said, it can't be that bad...with over 4.4 million people living in the metro area. There's no doubt that Phoenix has appeal to many people. It just didn't appeal to me in the same way Miami, NYC, Philly, Chicago, etc. appeal. Again, just my opinion.
Location: Austin, TX/Chicago, IL/Houston, TX/Washington, DC
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I honestly would have to go with Jacksonville, Florida.
And Phoenix is in NO WAY boring, I did the same thing there that I did in San Jose, I went hiking, and it was a lot of fun. Especially because the terrain happens to be different.
Although there are many I still need to visit, I'm voting for Charlotte, NC. It's a very nice city, very clean and has quite a few bars, but it's just not very exciting to me. If I lived there, I'm sure I'd find things to do, but I've never been excited when visiting. Aside from the NBA having a presence there, and there being some really good restaurants in the city, I didn't find anything that was particularly unique or thrilling. I'm interested to see how it changes over the next 10 - 15 years...I'm sure once the new dust on the skyscrapers settles and more history is behind it (including at least a little grit), it'll be a little more engaging to me.
I find that almost any larger city with significant history is more exciting. Over time, I think cities identify themselves, but before that happens there is a lack of character and uniqueness (my opinion).
Boston. All they do is be eat beans, talk funny and be jealous of NY.
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