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

[EclecticEars]

I can elaborate more on my below choices if you're interested. Here they are, based on personal experience:

Expected to like but instead found disappointing:
1. Louisville, KY (the biggest surprise of all, to me)
2. Cincinnati (live here now and trying to get out)
3. Nashville (not so much disappointment as just overrated)
4. Columbus, OH (good impression first visit, more negative impression second visit)

Expected to dislike (at least skeptical) but instead enjoyed:
1. Orange County, CA (the biggest surprise)
2. Los Angeles (although I didn't care for the west side, I found L.A.'s people to be friendly overall)
3. San Francisco (the beauty alone is...wow! Not that I expected it to be ugly, though.)
4. Chicago (the locals can either be brash or super helpful)

[BacktoBlue]

Expected to like but instead found disappointing:
-Dallas
-San Francisco
-Oakland
-Portland

Expected to dislike (at least skeptical) but instead enjoyed:
-Albuquerque
-Santa Fe
-San Antonio
-Tucson
-San Jose
-Phoenix

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by Footballfreak

Expected to like but instead found disappointing:
-Dallas I've only driven through it. However, while I already like Ft. Worth to begin with, I've never had a Dallas "experience", so to speak.
-San Francisco A beautiful city that is an architectural feast and urban planner's paradise, but it doesn't seem to be as friendly or tolerant as it purports itself to be. Still, nice place.
-Oakland I've only driven through it. Looked rather depressing from I-880, but that's also not a fair judgment.
-Portland Never been

Expected to dislike (at least skeptical) but instead enjoyed:
-Albuquerque Never been, but I'm not sure I would like it.
-Santa Fe Sounds like a cool place, actually.
-San Antonio Nice town, albeit overrated IMO.
-Tucson Never been
-San Jose Never been, although I've been close-by.
-Phoenix Never been and doesn't interest me.

Answers ^.

[Phxguy]

Expected to like but instead found disappointing:
-Los Angeles
-Pittsburg
-Dallas
-Charlotte
Expected to dislike but instead enjoyed:
-Phoenix (live here anyways)
-Tucson
-San Fransisco
-Chicago
-Virginia Beach

[Smtchll]

I was also surprised & dissapointed with Nashville. I've heard good things about it my whole life because people in Memphis and around TN like to talk up Nashville like it's a utopia or something. I expected it to be clean, crime free, and just better-looking. But I saw just as many ugly, shady areas as Memphis, and the very low density is also unattractive for a city. Not saying it's a bad city, it's certainly going places that Memphis isn't, but I just had very high expectations.

[sweetsparkle]

Expected to like but found disappointing:
San Francisco (moved up there for a job)
Boston (went to college there)
Chicago

Expected to dislike but instead enjoyed:
New York City (lived there for 6 years and miss it so much)
Miami
Atlanta

[costello_musicman]

Expected to like but instead found disappointing:
1. Jacksonville, FL
2. Orlando, FL

Expected to dislike (at least skeptical) but instead enjoyed:
1. Charleston, SC
2. Richmond, VA

[PDX_LAX]

Expected to like but instead found disappointing:

1. New Orleans
2. Boston (didn't dislike it, but it was kind of meh to me)

Expected to dislike (or at least be skeptical) but instead enjoyed:

1. San Diego
2. Las Vegas

[johnnybgood1999]

Expected to dislike:
1. Pittsburgh-I still expected to see the sooty and dirty steel city. Pittsburgh was anything but. It was much cleaner than I anticipated and downtown was gorgeous. The huge hills all around town really make the city pretty.

2. Omaha-It has a pretty cool western vibe. I didn't think I'd like it, but it's nice. The zoo is world class too.

Expected to like:
1. Las Vegas-I liked the social scene when I lived there, but could never get past how arid it is. When my buddy invited me to come and live with him, I expected a desert that had some cactuses and other vegatation. The Mojave around Vegas was literally devoid of vegatation. It was also too hot.

2. Lynchburg, VA-It's right at the foot of the Appalachians and that's right up my alley. However, the city is an engineering and education hub, which diminishes the southern charm the city could have. Competition for jobs requiring a degree is very high, due to the large educated population. Unless you have an engineering degree.

[NCOriolesfan]

Originally Posted by johnnybgood1999

Expected to dislike:
1. Pittsburgh-I still expected to see the sooty and dirty steel city. Pittsburgh was anything but. It was much cleaner than I anticipated and downtown was gorgeous. The huge hills all around town really make the city pretty.

That's what I was thinking when I went to Pittsburgh. I was pleasantly surprised.

I thought Charlotte would be more than it was. To have over 700,000 people and be that damn boring is beyond me.