Cities with lots of interesting, unique neighborhoods? (violent crime, homes)
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What cities have lots of very interesting, fun and exciting neighborhoods with lots of interesting retail, culture, people and festivals?
-Denver, Colorado: This city really has alot of very nice inner neighborhoods with lots of cultural character. Its known for very strong neighborhood groups, tends to have very close-knit neighborhood groups. Its very outdoorsy so the alot of the neighbors are usually walking or biking around, people seem to be out and about so much more in Denver then other cities its size it just has so much more energy in its inner-neighborhoods then alot of cities of similar size. As far as neighborhood retail scene's Denver doesnt have as many as some other cities but it has several good ones, but it makes up for it in the fact that people tend to be very outdoorsy with-in their neighborhoods enjoying their parks.
-Pittsburgh, PA: This seemed to be a very, very neighborhood oriented city with tons of distinctive neighborhoods. I really want to see Pittsburgh again I think its common knowledge amongst most people that it is very-very under-rated.
-Columbus, OH: The university population I think is alot of the reason for the high vibrancy of Columbus it has in amazing set of great neighborhoods running along High street and alot of up and coming neighborhoods also.
-Louisville, KY: Shares some similarities with Columbus but tends to on a smaller-scale, up and coming city would be nicer if the neighborhoods were friendlier though.
-Cincinnati, OH: Great architecture, Great city except the very high violent crime
Along with Madison Wisconsin, I have found Portland Oregon, Seattle Washington and Minneapolis Minnesota to be quite interesting. Dubuque Iowa and Duluth Minnesota (small cities) are quite appealing as well. As is Marquette Michigan.
I think that the older cities tend to have more of a monopoly on a high concentration of unique neighborhoods, places like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, New Orleans, DC and Baltimore. I've never been there, but from pictures I've seen, I've also been really impressed by many of the quirky little neighborhoods in both Milwaukee and St. Louis as well.
Denver is definitely NOT a city of unique and interesting neighborhoods. There's maybe, oh, three?
Sorry. Suburbia, Wal Mart, and the megachurch are in the drivers seat in Denver.
Quiznos is from Denver! My favorite sandwich shop chain ... white bread, here I come. with Mozzarella cheese, of course ... or stuff that looks like it.
St. Louis definitely has some very unique and and beautiful neighborhoods full of character, but then again it also has its fair share of sprawling bland suburbia.
Quiznos is from Denver! My favorite sandwich shop chain ... white bread, here I come. with Mozzarella cheese, of course ... or stuff that looks like it.
Yep!
I must say, though, that Quiznos was never my favorite growing up. When I was a teenager I worked at Subway and often you'd get a Quiznos employee coming in to eat because he found the whole 'oven-baked' business a little overdone.
A ways down the road now I think I've grown to prefer Quiznos to Subway, however.
Seriously, though, people deride the whole suburban white bread thing--but I don't think it's so bad. I mean, Denver is the stereotypical SUV, 3 or 4 kids, Jesus-fish on the back, big suburban home, vote Republican, etc. kind of city. For tons of people that may just be totally lame. But we've also got the accoutrements of suburban living. Quiznos, Noodles, Chipotle, nice homes, good schools, good roads, etc that you don't get by living in an uber-urban kind of place.
In Denver you miss out on a lot of the character and culture of urban cities like Boston or even Chicago, but you also get the benefits of the Jesus-fish suburban lifestyle.
Basically, the bigger, older, and more immigrant-influenced the city, the more interesting areas you will find.
Personally, I'd say NY wins this one hands down, with maybe Chicago, Boston, Philly and SF as runners-up. New Orleans might be a contender too, but I've never been there so I can't comment first hand.
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