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I'd be hard pressed to name a single "sophisticated" major US city. While one can do "sophisticated" things in many cities, I'd hesitate to suggest the average patron of such amenities is a sophisticate.
When I think of sophisticated places in the US, they're usually smaller towns, e.g. Westport, CT; New Hope, PA; Carmel, CA; etc.
I was thinking the same thing.
Cities like Vail,Santa Fe,or places like Sea Island,GA,Boca Raton,FL,Manalapan,FL etc...
Historically Charleston has been known to be more "upscale" than Savannah.It still is like you say when it comes to shopping. However Savannah is more wordly.Largely due to its booming ports.
I find it fascinating to hang out on the bars there and see all the crews come in from the ships from all around the world.
SCAD also brings in quite a bit of culture and sophistication.
That's very debatable. Charleston's port isn't quite as busy, but it's still one of the busiest on the East Coast--even so, that's not a reason I'd call a place "wordly." What works for Charleston here primarily is the annual Spoleto festival for which Savannah doesn't have an equivalent:
I was thinking the same thing.
Cities like Vail,Santa Fe,or places like Sea Island,GA,Boca Raton,FL,Manalapan,FL etc...
Honestly, you can probably find way more sophistication in certain neighborhoods of Atlanta than Vail... A good chunk of the population of Vail are dirty and stoned ski bums working as lift-ops or busboys looking for powder days... Some of the rest are just sort of bored rich people who can afford a second or third home in the mountains...
That's very debatable. Charleston's port isn't quite as busy, but it's still one of the busiest on the East Coast--even so, that's not a reason I'd call a place "wordly." What works for Charleston here primarily is the annual Spoleto festival for which Savannah doesn't have an equivalent:
Im not exactly calling Savannah are Charleston worldly, but they have worldly ambitions and some worldly appearances.
Spoleto Festival has not been as relevant as it used to be IMO.
It could easily be argued that having SCAD is as much an international attraction with its fashion shows,art exhibits and famous guest speakers.
Its not just having a port but the business and people the port brings from around the globe.
Like Ikea with it's huge distribution center.
There is no exact science,This is only an opinion.Either way its not a huge difference.
Honestly, you can probably find way more sophistication in certain neighborhoods of Atlanta than Vail... A good chunk of the population of Vail are dirty and stoned ski bums working as lift-ops or busboys looking for powder days... Some of the rest are just sort of bored rich people who can afford a second or third home in the mountains...
Just by reputation.I don't know well enough about Vail.What about Aspen or Provo UT?
Im not exactly calling Savannah are Charleston worldly, but they have worldly ambitions and some worldly appearances.
Spoleto Festival has not been as relevant as it used to be IMO.
It could easily be argued that having SCAD is as much an international attraction with its fashion shows,art exhibits and famous guest speakers.
Its not just having a port but the business and people the port brings from around the globe.
Like Ikea with it's huge distribution center.
There is no exact science,This is only an opinion.Either way its not a huge difference.
Not sure what you mean by Spoleto not being "as relevant as it used to be," but this year has been an especially international one in terms of performers.
At any rate, ship crews from different countries frequenting bars isn't really a valid standard to measure worldliness. They have little to no cultural impact on the place in any lasting way.
I'd give Charleston the edge in worldliness because it tends to attract more educated and wealthier visitors and residents. I wouldn't say it's a huge chasm between it and Savannah in this regard, but I think there is a difference.
Not sure what you mean by Spoleto not being "as relevant as it used to be," but this year has been an especially international one in terms of performers.
At any rate, ship crews from different countries frequenting bars isn't really a valid standard to measure worldliness. They have little to no cultural impact on the place in any lasting way.
I'd give Charleston the edge in worldliness because it tends to attract more educated and wealthier visitors and residents. I wouldn't say it's a huge chasm between it and Savannah in this regard, but I think there is a difference.
I meant relevant as in it having a huge international impact like it used to have.Its not well known internationally.
Savannah got almost 1 million people last St.Patrick's Day.Yes its a big party but so s Mardi Gras.
Spoleto Festival gets no where near that kinda of notoriety with somewhere between 70,000 to 100,000.
There are a lot of internationals that come to Savannah as it reputation is growing,so does things like St.Pats and other festivals like the Savannah Film Festival.
The Savannah Film Festival also has been drawing an international following as of the last few years.
Not to mention with a company like Gulfstream (The Rolls Royce of private jets and popularized hook "party like a G-6" in a song) is headquartered and built in Savannah does not hurt either.
Also realize that Savannah is the closest city other than Jacksonville near a couple of its world renowned 5 star resorts: The Lodge and The Cloister on Sea Island,Georgia where the G-6 summit was held several years ago.
Either way its not a huge difference which ever way you pick between the two.
Interesting thread. But I'd throw out a PART of a city that I consider cosmopolitan but not, on the whole, sophisticated. That's the New York City borough of Queens. It is the most populous borough of NYC with 2.3 million people, which would make it like the 4th biggest city in the country on its own.
Queens is decidedly international and incredibly diverse, probably more so than anywhere else in the country. The latest census puts the foreign-born population at 48%. And unlike many cities they come from all over the world with no one group dominationg: Colombians, Poles, Guyanese, Pakistanis, Dominicans, Haitians, Chinese, Mexicans... You name it, Queens has it. I'd bet there is NO other large city (considering Queens as a city) that is as diverse. The gateway fro immigration used to be Ellis Island. It's now just as likely to be JFK Airport in Queens. Tons of neighborhoods, many of which are ethnically oriented. But for the most part people get along fairly well. The days of neighborhoods you "can't" go into becuase you're a different race or ethnicity are largely gone.
But when you think of sophistication, high-end shopping, deep familairty with the arts, avant-garde intellectualism, no one will ever put Queens high on their list. It's an aggressively middle-class sort of place -- and I don't say that in a derogatory way. Most non-New Yorkers couldn't name three neighborhoods in Queens. It's a borough that wears its low-key identity with pride, if that makes sense. For sophisticated city offerings people go into "the city" (Manhattan) or more recently to Brooklyn. Queens has little of that. There is some wealth there, but more upper-middle class welath, not millionaires and billionaires.
All in all, cosmopolitan, populous, pleasant, laid-back (compared to Manhattan at least), middle-class, hard-working -- but not what OP would call sophisticated.
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