Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What cities from your personal experiences were the biggest disappointment and the biggest surprise? Explain your experience.
Disappointment:
Los Angeles - Before going to L.A. I heard both good and bad things about it. When I arrived I was definitely disappointed. I felt that it was too much revolved around the media/hollywood, the architecture horrendous and just plain weird. It didn't feel like a world city to me.
However, I loved the beaches, the mountains and the weird vibe certainly made it unique. In my opinion, it isn't a city worth going out of my way to visit again, but I could definitely live there if I had to. It has culture and plenty of entertainment opitions, it's just as a 'city' it's not really my type. I am just the dense east coast type of person where I like places like Boston, New York, D.C. and Philly.
Surprise:
Las Vegas - For some reason, before visiting Las Vegas, I didn't think I was going to like the gimmicky, showy and very fake atmosphere it would provide. However, I never realized how much fun that place is! It definitely is like a Disney World for adults and when going out it so cool that everyone that is at the club, bar, wherever is from all over the U.S. and the world. I met people from everywhere! It's a place I am dying to go back for some more!
However, I have to admit, outside the strip (and the strip is not all that beautiful, just showy) the city is FUGLY and boring and really lacks culture or it's own vibe outside the strip. Unlike L.A., even though I was surprised, this is a city I would never live in. It's good for a couple of days but that's it.
Last edited by Bo; 02-04-2011 at 11:13 PM..
Reason: moved from General US - competitive comparison
Orlando was my Las Vegas. I thought it was all about Disney. It's really a pretty cool city.
Kansas City- I think it's a really pretty city. Not flat like people think.
Dallas- On one hand Dallas is nice because it has almost anything you could want. However I just don't care for it. It's nice. New. Clean in many parts. Good entertainment. However for some reason it seems plain to me.
Philadelphia- I didn't hate it but it didn't really like it.
Surprising
Burlington, VT - fun city with a bunch to do considering its small size. Very clean & very nice.
Cleveland - a lot nicer than its reputation.
Kansas City - great nightlife, very good food.
Disappointing
Houston - traffic, traffic & more traffic to add to the heat & humidity
Phoenix - just a very bland & unattractive metro which is a shame because the state of Arizona is so scenic. Doesn't seem to have a lot going on considering its growth. Endless sprawl where everything is way too spread out.
Colorado Springs - While I love the state of Colorado the Springs was the worst place I've ever lived. Boring city with absolutely no nightlife, inflated prices on cookie cutter homes & too strong of a fundamental Christian influence.
I agree with Jblake above on two. Burlington has an amazing array of things to do for a city of around 40K, and Cleveland is nothing near what everyone one lead you to believe it is. It has some very nice neighborhoods. In the same vein, Indianapolis gets bashed much the same ways as Cleveland. Indy has a beautiful downtown area and some cool neighborhoods as well. One more stand out for me is Richmond. It's a real city with a formidable skyline and distinctive historic neighborhoods.
Disappointing:
Baltimore. People talk great things about the Inner Harbor area and redeveloped neighborhoods but like Philly, it has that grimy, unwashed feeling about it. I'm not a "grit-loving" kind of guy.
Atlanta. It's the megalopolis of the Southeast US and people either seem to love it or don't. IMO, it doesn't seem to have a "soul". Maybe it's the lack of a cohesive core, or all the relative newness and suburban sprawl.
Atlanta- actually my first impression (during a work trip) was what the other poster said, that it was kind of bland, just a big city but then I went back and visited friends who took me to some of the coolest neighborhoods, saw some great local live music and really "experienced" Atl.
Sedona/Flagstaff- I had the mind set that the entire state was a desert. WOW so beautiful.
Pittsburgh PA- at the time I visited I was living in Buffalo NY and I pictured Pitt as a replica of Buffalo without the lake. So surprised that it was not a bunch of abandoned steel mills and was actually somewhat scenic.
NYC- surprised at how large it really is, also how big Central Park really is, how cheap a cab is at night
Disappointed
Santa Fe/Albuquerque- just not as nice as I imagined (granted I had real high expectations)
NYC- the smell.
Cape Cod- other than Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard disappointing.
Disappointing - Seattle. Yes, Seattle. It just seemed like a sanitized knock off of San Francisco only with pine trees. Pretty, but kind of boring.
Surprising - Baltimore. I walked around the old row house neighborhoods near downtown (the safe ones - asked a lady at a visitor's booth for info), ate great seafood and met a lot of nice people. Its a very interesting old city.
San Diego - As an angeleno I hated this place for a long time. Actually, hate is too strong a word. I just thought it was incredibly boring. And I still believe that most of the suburban areas pretty much are. But, as I've spent more time there I've fallen in love with OB and all of the "urban mesa" neighborhoods around the park. I'm a big fan of the "craftsman bungalow in the california sunshine" lifestyle and it truly abounds there. Downtown still sucks, though.. (no flavor).
Seattle - I thought it was going to be kinda sterile like downtown SD (endless condo boxes) but there's a real diversity of architecture there which I really love, and downtown has a great mix of neighborhoods and all of them are well connected.
Greenville, SC - Such a nice little city! I love the river flowing through town.
DC - pretty damn boring and expected downtown (federal overpowering greyness..) But as you get further out there's some interesting stuff here. Especially love the awesome topography in the northwest -- I had no idea there was a canyon running through town. The hilly neighborhoods are truly spectacular, and obviously georgetown is a sight to behold. I could never imagine living there, but I'm glad it exists in the US.
Disappointments:
Boston - For having so many college students, you'd think this place would be a hopping culture hub. Why oh why is it so boring?!? Everyone in boston seems to be either a total square or a "haadcore" idiot or some ******* who wants to fight. I went to school nearby and honestly made like 5 trips to the 'big city' before giving up on it.. With so much potential it's such a letdown. They need to learn from SF, minneapolis, Denver, etc. on how to be a "cool" mid-big city.
Vancouver - First impression when I got off the highway: THIS is vancouver? the highway lets you off way outside of downtown, so the first thing you see are these absolutely depressingly hideous 70s tract houses that would be eyesores even in the southern california suburbs... then after finally making it to downtown I was utterly dissapointed. Vancouver hypes itself so much, and yes all of the condo towers is impressive. But is it nice? Is it interesting? Does it have character? I couldn't find it. I liked the skid row area for like two blocks where everyone's an addict and there's all the old victorian buildings. I did go to the so-called "counter-culture" neighborhood outside of downtown and again.. it was a strip of depressing 70s-y dentist-office style buildings with a couple painted bright colors. Just a really depressing cityscape (obviously a gorgeous natural setting though! and the park is fantastic! But c'mon vancouverites! make this city live up to it's hype!)
San Antonio. I love the Riverwalk. Tourist trap? Maybe. But I loved the lushness, the shopping, and just exploring the zig-zagging array of restaurants, bars, and shops.
Arlington/Alexandria/Washington DC. I'm originally from Seattle, and moved to the DC area for college, and I must say I was truly never bored during my 6 years living in Northern Virginia and Washington DC. When I first arrived, I was pleasantly surprised that DC was not just a mish-mash of Federal buildings, but some really cool and funky neighborhoods, a large downtown, and some interesting residents.
Chicago.
Disappointments:
Austin. Nothing there of note. I was expecting a cool "college town", but was unimpressed by its rather unremarkable and non-existent character. It's laughable that they call Austin the "Live Music Capitol of the World", when famed 6th Street is just a couple of bars on a bland, unremarkable street.
Boston. I guess I was expecting something radically different since this is New England, but Boston really doesn't feel or look any different from any other city in the US.
Long Island. People actually pay to live in this flat, dull, nondescript locale? Why?
Atlanta. Suburban sprawl with an uninteresting downtown. Bleh.
Disappointing:
Cincinnati
Louisville, KY
San Antonio (to a lesser extent)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
