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I imagine that everyone has their standard by which they consider a status of a city. That said, I tend to agree with you on Rochester and some other cities mentioned as "major". For me, if a city or its metro doesn't fall into the top 50, it's hard to even consider it a major city. i could even be convinced to double that requirement by saying it has to fall within the top 25.
I imagine that everyone has their standard by which they consider a status of a city. That said, I tend to agree with you on Rochester and some other cities mentioned as "major". For me, if a city or its metro doesn't fall into the top 50, it's hard to even consider it a major city. i could even be convinced to double that requirement by saying it has to fall within the top 25.
By population, it's major region-wise, but nationally it really isnt. It is major in importance, because it is the location of the Mayo Clinic, which makes it an important city, despite the size. It is one of the most medically significat cities in the US. Also, it has a very big downtown for a >200k metro.
When it does get mentioned here it is almost always concerning a negative aspect of the city.
Same with Little Rock, Arkansas. When it gets mentioned, its usually always negative. I wouldn't really call Jackson and Little Rock major cities though. They are only really important to their perspective regions. Little Rock is little more than an excuse to stop for gas and get Mickey D's when driving through on I-40.
And whoever said Charlotte was ignored is off their rockers. Charlotte gets far more national recognition than most cities its size.
Fort Worth is not underrecognized. People always say Dallas-Fort Worth now, especially since both are mentioned in the airport.
I think Greensboro, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Jacksonville are underrecognized. Also San Jose....people do say Silicon Valley but rarely say San Jose. El Paso can be forgotten sometimes as well.
Nashville and Indianapolis are heavily recognized due to entertainment reasons. Nashville is Music Ciity USA lets not forget that. It is a critical city in our popular culture and entertainment. The Indy 500 brings a lot of attention to Indianapolis every year. I think most cities that are less recognized do not have major sports teams, landmarks, major historic events or cultural icons like cuisine (Kansas City barbecue, New Orleans cooking, etc).
Fort Worth is not underrecognized. People always say Dallas-Fort Worth now, especially since both are mentioned in the airport.
I think Greensboro, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Jacksonville are underrecognized. Also San Jose....people do say Silicon Valley but rarely say San Jose. El Paso can be forgotten sometimes as well.
With the explosive growth of Charlotte and Raleigh over the last 3 decades, I agree that Greensboro gets ignored. In fact, the whole metro of Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem seems to get ignored despite its 1.6 million people. As recently as 1980, Greensboro was NC's 2nd largest city; now it's a distant 3rd with the gap between it and Raleigh widening each year. The same is true for the metro; it used be larger than Raleigh/Durham. Now it's almost 200,000 smaller with the gap widening each year. Greensboro has a decent growth rate nationally but it's nothing compared to its "sisters".
Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC both do seem to get overlooked. They both sort of flank Charlotte (Greenville-Spartanburg to the southwest and the Greensboro tri-cities to the northeast), and maybe that's one reason they get overshadowed.
Also, I might have to add San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sure, it's out in the Caribbean. But it's still part of the United States, and the city's metro area is over 2 million people, making it one of the larger cities in the Caribbean basin itself.
Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC both do seem to get overlooked. They both sort of flank Charlotte (Greenville-Spartanburg to the southwest and the Greensboro tri-cities to the northeast), and maybe that's one reason they get overshadowed.
Also, I might have to add San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sure, it's out in the Caribbean. But it's still part of the United States, and the city's metro area is over 2 million people, making it one of the larger cities in the Caribbean basin itself.
I think Greenville, SC gets way to much credit when people talk about it on these boards. I lived in the Upstate for awhile and although I loved Gville, it was only so good compared to the rest of the Carloinas save maybe Charleston and Asheville.
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