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San Diego is not countercultural compared to the rest of California. Go to the beach in San Diego and compare it to Venice Beach for example. I'd say that Venice Beach is one of the most counterculture places I've ever been to and I've never seen such a collection of weird people all in one place.
Orlando is where both the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC started, and is where Red Lobster and I believe Outback Steakhouse as well was founded AND is home to Disney World and Universal Studios so it is probably the LEAST countercultural place ever.
I also don't think Las Vegas or Phoenix have much of a counterculture. Las Vegas is a place where "normal" people go for a good time, it doesn't have the counterculture vibe that places like Key West or New Orleans do.
If I had to choose the absolute most countercultural places in America I'd say
1. Berkeley, California
2. Key West, Florida
3. Venice Beach, California
4. San Francisco
5. Portland
6. Austin
7. New Orleans in some parts. NOLA is a very counterculture city surrounded by very traditional, conservative suburbs.
I don't think you find any counterculture in any of those cities.
May be San Diego? The reason I say that is when I was in San Diego for a day (passing through) I seen a number of people in dreadlocks that look like hippies.
I wonder if this is common in San Diego?
Sounds like you live a very isolated life if you think San Diego has the most counterculture. You based this on one day in the city?
I don't think you find any counterculture in any of those cities.
May be San Diego? The reason I say that is when I was in San Diego for a day (passing through) I seen a number of people in dreadlocks that look like hippies.
I wonder if this is common in San Diego?
Phoenix is not a counter cultural hot spot by any measure by far but there are some pockets here and there. But I will say it's nowhere near as uptight and culturally conservative as some of those cities you lumped them in with
Most counter-culture:
Austin, TX
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Asheville, NC (the above four were obvious but surprised nobody mentioned Asheville)
Cleveland, OH
Portland, ME
New York, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
I think pretty much every city is going to have at least some small counter-cultural scene. The places with the least counter-culture are the Bible Belt backwoods towns and the super-wealthy suburbs, both of which consist almost entirely of families that probably expect the same image from their children. If I had to pick a city of some kind, I would probably guess Wichita, KS or St. Paul, MN. Somebody else mentioned Indianapolis, IN and Charlotte, NC; those would probably be near the bottom as well.
Most counter-culture:
Austin, TX
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Asheville, NC (the above four were obvious but surprised nobody mentioned Asheville)
Cleveland, OH
Portland, ME
New York, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
I think pretty much every city is going to have at least some small counter-cultural scene. The places with the least counter-culture are the Bible Belt backwoods towns and the super-wealthy suburbs, both of which consist almost entirely of families that probably expect the same image from their children. If I had to pick a city of some kind, I would probably guess Wichita, KS or St. Paul, MN. Somebody else mentioned Indianapolis, IN and Charlotte, NC; those would probably be near the bottom as well.
Funny. I find Berkley to be one of the most conformist places I have ever been. If everyone is a member of the "counter culture" and expects and/or forces that upon their children, is it really "counter"? Counter to what? The subculture of dressing nicely?
All these cities are being mentioned, but what counterculture movement or group formed in these places? Groups like the American Indian Movement (AIM), the Baldies (anti-racist skinheads; later became Anti-Racist Action), Black Label Bicycle Club (BLBC), etc... all started in Minneapolis.
Colorado Springs is also very non-countercultural. And Washington DC, the heart of the political and media establishment.
On the surface and in the national media, Colo Spgs may appear to be very non-countercultural. However, below the surface we probably have as much, if not a slight bit more, counter cultural and artistic people than any other city our size. LGBTQ clubs, got em. Pride Parade, yep, have one of those. Roller Derby team, uh-huh. Tattoo and piercing salons, check. Strip clubs and adult book stores, we have those too. Too mainstream counter culture for you? How about a high concentration of Wiccans and Pagans, we have those in a fair number and at one time were in the top five locales in the US for them. Want to play in the Goth world for a while, attend the Emma Crawford Annual Coffin Races in next door Manitou Springs and play Halloween for an entire weekend with dress up, parades, and of course, the world famous coffin races. Metaphysical fairs and bookstores also occur here on a regular basis and we have several outlets providing literature, contacts, and mediums. Cemetery crawls, we have those in the local resting grounds that are full of madams, gun fighters, and early day pyscho killers from the Victorian past. We have a number of members in the regional Hearse owners club that travel around the state and nation for various events as well.
Personalities from the area, Lon Chaney, the man of a 1000 faces of early Hollywood horror fame. How about Cassandra Peterson, or as most know her, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Yup, she is from here. Musically, Jerry DeMartini who help co-found Sly and the Family Stone, Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith fame, and Jag Panzer, a very underground metal group from the 80s. Lately, One Republic has risen up out of COS.
Don't let the national media attention brought about by the large religious organizations let you believe that Colo Spgs is 100% white bread bland. Despite their presence and that of several large military institutions, counter culture things are here, you just need to peel back some layers to find it.
Id say Austin prolly has a good portion of counter-culture like hippies and hipsters.
Austin's counter culture is packaged and marketed as a product.
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