Which cities did you expect to like, only to feel let down? Which cities did you expect little from but impressed you? (place, Chicago)

[mjtinmemphis]

Most impressed

Cleveland. Beautiful area no out of control sprawl like in southern cities. Lots to do.
Providence. Beautiful architecture and sophisticated people.
Chicago. Is where I now live. Extremely vibrant, progressive city during the summer. Suprisingly friendly people.

Most unimpressed
Atlanta. For boosters to consider it a world class city it isnt. No sence of place suprisingly suburban and dirty city.
Los Angeles. I cant put my finger on it but it didnt seem to work for me.
Memphis. I wasnt expecting too much from it but found it to be a very backwards city and anti progressive. Way too conservative.

[golgi1]

ha..a lot of polarized Philly opinions here. One thing is for sure, and thats that the residents will often take any attack on the area personally.

I'm a lifelong resident of the city. My take is that living in the city itself blows.

The best parts of the city are the suburbs, and the some parts of the downtown. However surrounding this relatively tiny downtown area are vast seas of ghetto. Yes, there is university city. Yes, there are limited parts of South Philly that are still okay, but the average visitor won't venture into them beyond the Italian market area. The defining feature of Philadelphia, at least geographically, is ghetto. Check out a map if you need to. Its true.

Most Philly defenders are either suburbanites that only go to and from specific downtown destinations for dinner or events (if you can do this, great, because it shelters you from what Philly really is), college students that will be here for a short time and then go, urban dwellers that can afford to live in very sheltered neighborhoods, or multi-generational Philly residents (I'm looking at you South and Northeast Philly) who are unabashed cheerleaders for anything and everything Philly but who largely have very little experience anywhere else than the Jersey Shore.

The true reality of the city is that its a high stress hard scrabble place to live for most of its residents.

[kingchef]

not only here, but in several other places, i have noticed a sudden attack on the city of atlanta. does anyone see it?

[Observation]

Originally Posted by kingchef

not only here, but in several other places, i have noticed a sudden attack on the city of atlanta. does anyone see it?

No ones attacking any city. Stop being so emotional.
There just voicing there opinions on the city, and I agree with them BTW.

[wh15395]

Dissapointed:
Columbus, OH-I thought I liked it the first time I went, but that was before I stayed downtown.

Surprised to Like:
Pittsburgh-It's so much nicer than people made it seem. It feels like a much bigger city that what it actually is.

[knrstz]

Disappointed
Washington DC-Too many homeless
LA-Get over yourself
Philly- Just didn't care for it

Surprised-
Washington DC- Although I didn't like the homeless problem, I really liked the subway system, downtown and some really cool areas near the universities.

KC- I think it's a pretty city for the midwest and the plaza is awesome. They are doing a good job with downtown. If you like suburbia, it's got some of the best in the USA.

Orlando- A lot more than just disney.

Phoenix- I guess I think the desert is prettier than most people and kind of like the fact that a lot of stuff is new.

[supermanpansy]

Dissapointed:

I hate to jump on the Philly bandwagon, but I expected more. My girlfriend at the time was from Philly and would rave about it all the time. I had driven through a few times but never really visited for long. Then I went there and was so overwhelmed. I too thought the downtown was tiny for a city that size. It seemed like we walked South st. and the downtown rather quickly and there wasn't that much left to do or see. Was not impressed with their cheese wiz Philly cheesesteaks either. And so much of the city looked run down and dirty. Not to mention three friends back in the nineties all got robbed driving through Philly from concerts. Not walking, but driving. That is very messed up. Plus the people were just not good looking. Seen very few good looking people in that city. Just very unimpressed.

Cleveland-Just didn't like anything about Cleveland. Looked like a dump and I agree with the phrase, mistake on the lake.

Jacksonville Fl--Most boring big city I was ever in. No pedestrian activity at all in the downtown.

Atlanta-Just didn't do much for me. Very unimpressed.

Washington D.C.--Just not my kind of place. Very underwhelming.

Denver,--Seemed too sterile for some reason.

Burlington Vermont--I know it's a small city, but I guess I was expecting a little more. Just too small and boring. Very few minorities.


Liked more than I thought I would:

NYC. I knew I'd love it, but I didn't think that there would be this energy to a place. Of course this is all on first impressions. I first went to NYC many many years ago.

LA--Not for everyone but it was exactly what I thought it would be. And I thought it would be cool.

Richmond--I agree with others, was a pretty cool city. Loved the walkability and layout.

Las Vegas--actually seemed much bigger in person than on t.v. Was kind of cool.

Providence--Seemed really cool. Much more artsy than I thought it would be. Seemed like a cooler, friendlier smaller version of Boston. Or a much larger Portsmouth.

Chicago--I expected to like it, but not as much as I did. I don't understand all the hate for that city on city-data. Very underrated city.



New category, places that seemed cool at first til I was there a while:

Pittsburgh--thought it looked really cool with their downtown and all of the hills. After living there however, I was thoroughly bored and unimpressed. Once the initial impression wore off, I found it to be slower than most big cities and kind of country like.

Boston--the first time I went to Boston I thought it was a really cool city. The more time I spent there, the more I couldn't stand it or their people.

[bhj867]

Expected to like, but disliked:

New York - people are rude.
Chicago - people are rude.
Columbus - People are trashy.

Expected to dislike, but liked.

Chattanooga TN
Nashville TN
Las Vegas NV
LA

[DynamoLA]

Expected To Like But Was Disappointed With --
Orlando: Blah, just a mass of chain restaurants, track housing and theme parks.
San Antonio: The river walk is cute, but there wasn't a lot to "do" in the city.

Enjoyed More Than I Thought I Would --
Portland: Very "livable" city with great bars and restaurants; the rain wasn't that big of a deal
Atlanta: Very much enjoyed the downtown area

[DC's Finest]

Impressed with Chicago everytime I go
Philly is always fun
NYC is a monster

really liked Minneapolis

underwhelmed by
Phoenix
Denver
Houston