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Of these 8 tiny state capitals which is the best in terms of.
1. Walk-ability
2. Parks
3. Restaurants
4. Housing
5. And most important, which has the best state capital building.
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
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Dover fails miserably for categories 1, 3 and 5. Outside of the DSU campus, none of the city is walkable. Downtown Loockerman is really your only option, and that's only 5 blocks surrounded by the 'hood. For restaurants, they're all chains. If I wanted to take a tourist out to a "unique" Dover restaurant, I'd take them to Dover Downs. That's about the only option. And Dover doesn't even have a capitol building--it's a legislative hall. While architecturally it's not the worst political building in America (see Alaska State Capitol), it's nothing to write home about.
For parks, there's really nothing great in the city (Silver Lake is okay). But there are major wildlife refuges nearby (Bombay Hook, Little Creek, Prime Hook), so that's something. And the renowned Delaware beaches are within a 45 minute drive. Housing is your typical McMansion cookie-cutter suburbia--there's very few options to choose from. You're basically deciding between older and newer, and stand-alone or townhome.
Dover isn't a bad city, but it's not particularly unique. There's the casino/racetrack at Dover Downs, the beaches nearby, Firefly, and the Air Force base. It's a low CoL city about 75 minutes from Philadelphia and 105 minutes from Baltimore. You could do worse and you could do better. Out of the capitals listed, I'd put it behind Annapolis and Carson City.
Dover fails miserably for categories 1, 3 and 5. Outside of the DSU campus, none of the city is walkable. Downtown Loockerman is really your only option, and that's only 5 blocks surrounded by the 'hood. For restaurants, they're all chains. If I wanted to take a tourist out to a "unique" Dover restaurant, I'd take them to Dover Downs. That's about the only option. And Dover doesn't even have a capitol building--it's a legislative hall. While architecturally it's not the worst political building in America (see Alaska State Capitol), it's nothing to write home about.
For parks, there's really nothing great in the city (Silver Lake is okay). But there are major wildlife refuges nearby (Bombay Hook, Little Creek, Prime Hook), so that's something. And the renowned Delaware beaches are within a 45 minute drive. Housing is your typical McMansion cookie-cutter suburbia--there's very few options to choose from. You're basically deciding between older and newer, and stand-alone or townhome.
Dover isn't a bad city, but it's not particularly unique. There's the casino/racetrack at Dover Downs, the beaches nearby, Firefly, and the Air Force base. It's a low CoL city about 75 minutes from Philadelphia and 105 minutes from Baltimore. You could do worse and you could do better. Out of the capitals listed, I'd put it behind Annapolis and Carson City.
I don't know, I kind of liked the place myself. All of the old brick colonial buildings and inner downtown core seemed fairly walkable and scenic to me. I would rate it as one of the better ones on this list but that is just my opinion.
I voted for Jefferson City, though. The way the capitol sits over the river is quite beautiful. I really liked Helena's downtown also but the capitol building seemed similar to many others (which isn't bad at all, but didn't strike me as exemplary).
Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital, sits in the Sangre de Cristo foothills. It’s renowned for its Pueblo-style architecture and as a creative arts hotbed. Founded as a Spanish colony in 1610, it has at its heart the traditional Plaza. The surrounding historic district’s crooked streets wind past adobe landmarks including the Palace of the Governors, now home to the New Mexico History Museum.
I'm not sure I'd call Carson City a small state capital however. Back in 2010 it had over 55,000 people, which made it the 14th smallest state capital. On the other hand, it's a geographically large city (consolidated city county really) which has most of the metro's population within its limits.
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