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Hard to say without talking about personal preferences, context (finances, career, family/friend network), etc. It was easier to order these in this topic because there was a fairly specific goal in mind.
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Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz
Between Capitol Hill and Belltown, Seattle has some of the best nightlife on the West Coast. On the weekends, the streets in here districts couldn't be more filled with people attracted to the clubs/bars.
The West Coast in general does not have great nightlife outside of Las Vegas (which isn't technically West Coast) and Portland. Certainly it's better than most cities in the US, but not among cities/metros of its size and larger as well as several smaller cities/metros in the US.
Downtown San Jose is even better than those: so awesome with tons of things to do and many people live there. Not saying it's the biggest by OP metric, though, but the nicest.
Chicago-Quite a large downtown, depending on what you define it as (solely the Loop, or if you include River North, South Loop, and West Loop); insane amount of events in the summer. Weather is usually OK in summer, but can get quite humid. Loop gets a bit sleepy in the nighttime, but it has improved markedly in this regard from say 10 years ago. Still best to get out into other neighborhoods though. Overall, in broader definition of downtown, restaurant and bar scene is outstanding.
Philly-Probably the second best and largest downtown on this list; feels quite small compared with Chicago in terms of size, but not in terms of crowds. Narrow streets and concrete keeps it quite sultry in the summer much of the time, although you get occasional nice evenings in August (not many; more in June to early July), especially towards the end of the month. Decent amount of events, but doesn't hold a candle to Chicago in this regard. Also generally gets deserted on weekends in summer. Restaurant scene is very good to outstanding; bar scene is merely "good".
Boston-Fun place to visit as a tourist in terms of attractions. Quite a fun vibe too. As other have said, restaurants and bars are decent, but not incredible. Seafood can be quite good as you would expect. Don't know as well as some of the others on the list.
San Francisco-Probably the 3rd largest downtown on the list (I'd put it below Philly). I find that San Francisco has a lot of urban problems though and just gives me a skeevy vibe in many ways. If you get out of downtown, some parks and beaches are amazing and the views can be really neat, with nature being relatively close by. Restaurant scene and bar scene is surprisingly meh for the size of the city. Weather is usually cool to nice in August in SF.
D.C.-Hard for me to define what exactly Downtown is in DC, as it is such a neighborhood scene. Weather is quite hot in August (noticeably worse than Philly, if not hugely so). Tourist attractions of course are phenomenal and likely the best outside of NYC in the country (perhaps better than NYC in some regards). Still can be a fun place to visit and has improved massively from 20 25 years ago (largest improvement in terms of downtown and city on this list).
Seattle-Really fun place to visit, with generally really nice weather in August (mid 70s for highs). Good bit smaller downtown than SF, yet feels much cleaner and nicer, and has comparable nature to what you find in SF. Restaurant scene is solid if not amazing; bar scene is probably 2nd for me, after Chicago, but it has its own particular vibe to it. Tourist attractions probably the lowest ranked on this list. But if you just want to go and soak up an interesting vibe, Seattle is a great place to go to with nice beaches, great nature around, and just generally fun.
Slipped yall's minds or do you guys not consider it one of the larger downtown American cities??
Part of it might also be because other people actually read the OP’s post that explicitly stated having already gone to NYC and Miami and was scouting other options. Did you also notice the lack of NYC mentions which would be the obvious common answer?
Part of it might also be because other people actually read the OP’s post that explicitly stated having already gone to NYC and Miami and was scouting other options. Did you also notice the lack of NYC mentions which would be the obvious common answer?
Lots of good downtowns in America and of course NY is the largest city and population center and the most things to do. It’s the obvious answer but this is a homer forum!
Cleveland, of all places, believe it or not, definitely does not rank with the big boys -- NYC, Chicago, Philly, SF, Boston (by day, anyway), etc.-- This is largely because downtown Cleveland is physically small and the shopping aspect basically stinks (though improving slightly) -- the main core is less than 1 mile out Euclid through Playhouse Sq. with some spillover onto Prospect out to around 13th street then west into the Warehouse District, which is only a couple blocks, then down into the Flats... but it's underrated and punches well above its weight.
The fact downtown Cleveland is small, and compact is to its advantage, making it highly walkable supplemented by free RTA trolleys (really small buses made to look like old-time trolleys, but cool nonetheless) which run every 5-10 minutes until 11p. But few cities have as much concentrated weekend energy in its hot areas, like E. 4th (a truly electric block of restaurants with no cars allowed), E. 9th Prospect/Euclid, Playhouse Square and, now, especially the Flats East Bank, which is totally off the hook crazy; and the fact it is along the riverfront will all sorts of freighters, pleasure boats, paddle boats, and even jet skis, adds to the Flats uniqueness.
Another aspect to downtown is Ohio City, which is 1 mile or so away over the Cuyahoga River/Flats; the core areas easily reachable by a ton of bus routes and a stop on the Red Line rapid transit near the OC's Market Square core -- an area where bars are hopping until 2:30a, even on Sundays and weekday nights. Cleveland, like Chicago (but on a lesser scale, of course) is a big neighborhood/bar/restaurant/club city, with many buzzing old-line commercial districts in the city and some close-in suburbs like Lakewood and Cleveland Heights.
Well yeah, the Loop/CBD sub-district of downtown is empty at night for the most part because it's the financial center of downtown, all the entertainment and other activities happen in the other areas of downtown.
Don't most cities have this? I mean I don't go hang out in the financial district of NYC or San Fran as a tourist or after dark. I go to the other hopping areas of downtown (if I'm keeping myself specifically in the downtown area).
No, downtown core of Chicago is not vibrant! The outer neighborhoods are, to some degree. The whole Central area of Chicago is, now what I talk: a cool place and happening!
Downtown Seattle is on the list strictly because of Amazon. There are a lot more towers in and around downtown, mainly offices for Amazon and housing for its employees. Is it a good thing? Meh. You can put a lipstick on the pig but still a pig: Seattle but much crowded with traffic and sky high costs of living
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