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.
I think this list is a little deceitful. For example, Queens Ethnic Cuisine, Princeton, Pat's and Geno's, etc inflate the Mid-Atlantic's numbers to 43 attractions but CA has a generic list. No love to all the LA ethnic cuisine, or CA's ethnic cuisine in general. You talked about the colonial villages in the Mid-Atlantic, but not the Victorian/gold rush towns in California like Eureka. You didn't list Stanford as an Ivy League attraction, or USC which is a huge college sports attraction or Berkeley and Humboldt State which are 420 attractions. You didn't list the Sierra Nevada Range, but the ADK's are in there. No Mt Shasta either, the Cascades extend into California. You listed the Supreme Court Building and whatnot, but none of the film studios or theater buildings in California which are attractions.
Also, I think the Mid-Atlantic's attractions for the most part are lame compared to California's. Big Sur vs Cape Hatteras? Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara (which didn't make your CA list) vs Cape May (which makes the east coast's list)? In LA, you can surf at the beach with palm trees, snowboard in the mountains, and ride dune buggies in the desert in the same day. Where on the east coast is it possible to be in 3 completely different environments like that in 1 metro area? Beach, snow and desert in 1 metro area.
Actually, Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks are in North Carolina, which would be outside the territory in question.
I was actually surprised to see Pat's and Geno's on this list (though I spent some time with Geno himself yesterday, and the place does draw a crowd starting right around the time breakfast rolls into lunch). Looking at all 200, there are a few places I'd swap out for others. I guess some aspect of Vegas needs to be acknowledged, but I probably wouldn't put Vegas on my own bucket list, while I would Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Nor would I consider drinking coffee in Portland (Ore.) something I must do before I die; I'd rather tour the harbor in Portland (Me.) myself. (BTW, for anyone who doesn't know, the former city was so named because its setting reminded the New Englanders who settled it of the latter.)
Actually, Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks are in North Carolina, which would be outside the territory in question.
I was actually surprised to see Pat's and Geno's on this list (though I spent some time with Geno himself yesterday, and the place does draw a crowd starting right around the time breakfast rolls into lunch). Looking at all 200, there are a few places I'd swap out for others. I guess some aspect of Vegas needs to be acknowledged, but I probably wouldn't put Vegas on my own bucket list, while I would Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Nor would I consider drinking coffee in Portland (Ore.) something I must do before I die; I'd rather tour the harbor in Portland (Me.) myself. (BTW, for anyone who doesn't know, the former city was so named because its setting reminded the New Englanders who settled it of the latter.)
Outer Banks starts in Virginia (Sandbridge) but most of it is in North Carolina. Cape Hatteras is entirely in North Carolina, but since part of the Outer Banks is in Virginia, I added it.
And Olympic National Park is on the list. Las Vegas is a love-hate place. I love Vegas. Not the gambling but the neon, the history, the signs, the setting. It's a unique place, even if parts are gaudy.
I think this list is a little deceitful. For example, Queens Ethnic Cuisine, Princeton, Pat's and Geno's, etc inflate the Mid-Atlantic's numbers to 43 attractions but CA has a generic list. No love to all the LA ethnic cuisine, or CA's ethnic cuisine in general. You talked about the colonial villages in the Mid-Atlantic, but not the Victorian/gold rush towns in California like Eureka. You didn't list Stanford as an Ivy League attraction, or USC which is a huge college sports attraction or Berkeley and Humboldt State which are 420 attractions. You didn't list the Sierra Nevada Range, but the ADK's are in there. No Mt Shasta either, the Cascades extend into California. You listed the Supreme Court Building and whatnot, but none of the film studios or theater buildings in California which are attractions.
Also, I think the Mid-Atlantic's attractions for the most part are lame compared to California's. Big Sur vs Cape Hatteras? Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara (which didn't make your CA list) vs Cape May (which makes the east coast's list)? In LA, you can surf at the beach with palm trees, snowboard in the mountains, and ride dune buggies in the desert in the same day. Where on the east coast is it possible to be in 3 completely different environments like that in 1 metro area? Beach, snow and desert in 1 metro area.
I looked up Eureka on Google Images and there's no way that it is equal to Williamsburg, Nantucket, Newport or Annapolis. It's like Frederick, Leesburg or Manassas with the Carson Mansion as a mini-bonus. Interesting, but definitely not at the level of the old colonial towns. My city of Alexandria, VA, looks 10x more beautiful than Eureka, and Alexandria isn't on the list.
And Stanford has a beautiful campus, but Harvard and Princeton are the #1 and #2 schools in the country and their history is centuries longer than Stanford. It's not just about the campus but about the importance of a school on the nation's history and development. It's why Stanford isn't an Ivy. Because it's not old enough to have become one.
And um, the Sierra Nevada range gets Tahoe National Forest and Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia. How is it not represented? And Adirondacks gets only 1 mention.
Hollywood and the Star Walk of Fame is on the list, and the Hollywood Sign is on the list as well. And that's beside the point. You think the Supreme Court of the United States shouldn't be on the list?
The Outer Banks are a big draw in the East Coast. And they are different. Big Sur is a road-trip destination. Outer Banks is a lounge around destination.
I do think Santa Barbara should be on the list. Santa Cruz maybe...
Man, what do we need to do to get high speed rail from NYC to Montreal? What a dream that would be to cut that down to less than 3 hours city center to city center.
There are a lot of great cities that are close for day trips, but I do think San Francisco is tops.
South - Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Big Sur, Silicon Valley
North - Sausalito, Napa Valley, Russian River, Stinson Beach, Redwoods national forest
West -......Pacific Ocean lol
East - central valley (world class produce, orchards etc), Sacramento, Gold Country, Sierra Nevada Mountains, world class Skiiing, Lake Tahoe, Reno gabling etc, Yosemite, Sequoias
I looked up Eureka on Google Images and there's no way that it is equal to Williamsburg, Nantucket, Newport or Annapolis. It's like Frederick, Leesburg or Manassas with the Carson Mansion as a mini-bonus. Interesting, but definitely not at the level of the old colonial towns. My city of Alexandria, VA, looks 10x more beautiful than Eureka, and Alexandria isn't on the list.
And Stanford has a beautiful campus, but Harvard and Princeton are the #1 and #2 schools in the country and their history is centuries longer than Stanford. It's not just about the campus but about the importance of a school on the nation's history and development. It's why Stanford isn't an Ivy. Because it's not old enough to have become one.
And um, the Sierra Nevada range gets Tahoe National Forest and Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia. How is it not represented? And Adirondacks gets only 1 mention.
Hollywood and the Star Walk of Fame is on the list, and the Hollywood Sign is on the list as well. And that's beside the point. You think the Supreme Court of the United States shouldn't be on the list?
The Outer Banks are a big draw in the East Coast. And they are different. Big Sur is a road-trip destination. Outer Banks is a lounge around destination.
I do think Santa Barbara should be on the list. Santa Cruz maybe...
Harvard is quite a bit older, Princeton is a little over 100 years older than Stanford. Stanford still is a top 5 university and arguably the most innovative university in the world right in the middle of Silicon Valley.
I live in New England. Most of the architecture around here is not that old. Most of these towns are full of houses and buildings built 0-100 years ago and there's power lines and potholes everywhere. If I want to see something that is old and comparable to European historic sites without needing a passport, I'll go to Arizona and visit the Puebloan cliffside houses built over 1,000 years ago and the drive to get there will be beautiful.
If I want some natural history, California is home to the oldest trees in the world. The oldest known one currently over 5,000 years old and still standing.
Those colonial towns are cute in their epicenters however they're a few blocks in radius and surrounded by generic suburbia, with no wilderness left. California is just grander and more diverse. I would love to be able to go to the Glamis sand dunes in California and ride dirt bikes. Or surf the Mavericks if I knew how to really surf. Nowhere is there anything remotely similar to that in the east.
Last edited by joeyg2014; 05-13-2018 at 08:23 PM..
And Stanford has a beautiful campus, but Harvard and Princeton are the #1 and #2 schools in the country and their history is centuries longer than Stanford. It's not just about the campus but about the importance of a school on the nation's history and development. It's why Stanford isn't an Ivy. Because it's not old enough to have become one.
One, a bunch of Yalies are about to throw brickbats at you;
two, it's geography more than history that keeps Stanford from "becoming an Ivy." Despite all the shuffling of chairs in the recent past, we have yet to see a coast-to-coast college athletic conference, and there are some practical reasons why we probably won't.
Academically speaking, the Ivies accept Stanford as a peer, along with the University of Chicago, Duke, Rice, Georgetown and (I think) Northwestern. The youngest Ivy school, Cornell, is only 26 years older than Stanford - and Stanford was founded upon the advice Harvard President Charles W. Eliot gave its founder. (Furthermore, Stanford and Chicago were founded two years apart.)
"Stanford is the Harvard of the West" is not an idle boast - it's more fact than fiction.
Harvard is quite a bit older, Princeton is a little over 100 years older than Stanford. Stanford still is a top 5 university and arguably the most innovative university in the world right in the middle of Silicon Valley.
I live in New England. Most of the architecture around here is not that old. Most of these towns are full of houses and buildings built 0-100 years ago and there's power lines and potholes everywhere. If I want to see something that is old and comparable to European historic sites without needing a passport, I'll go to Arizona and visit the Puebloan cliffside houses built over 1,000 years ago and the drive to get there will be beautiful.
If I want some natural history, California is home to the oldest trees in the world. The oldest known one currently over 5,000 years old and still standing.
Those colonial towns are cute in their epicenters however they're a few blocks in radius and surrounded by generic suburbia, with no wilderness left. California is just grander and more diverse. I would love to be able to go to the Glamis sand dunes in California and ride dirt bikes. Or surf the Mavericks if I knew how to really surf. Nowhere is there anything remotely similar to that in the east.
Those colonial towns are cute in their epicenters however they're a few blocks in radius and surrounded by generic suburbia, with no wilderness left.
That's definitely not true. There's less "generic suburbia" in the Northeast than anywhere else in the country. It isn't even close.
And there's tons of wilderness in the Northeast. Maine has more isolated sections than anywhere in California. Adirondack Park is like 6x the size of Yosemite.
And there are huge swaths of prewar urbanity in the Northeast. I don't know what you mean by "a few blocks". The vast majority of NYC, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, and DC consists of prewar urbanity.
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.
