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Of the cities listed in the poll, I don't hardly hear too much bad about Oklahoma City. It seems like it's quietly and steadily growing into an up and coming major metro area, currently about the size of Memphis and Louisville.
Except for Tulsa and Little Rock, the others are old time rough Rust Belt cities.
I know it isn't the question, and I didn't vote for it, but Detroit by a landslide on CD. Detroit's supposed renaissance gets mentioned in the media as well, but I think that is balanced by the negative press and continued negative perception by people.
In real life and in the media, I have heard people badmouth Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Memphis, Oklahoma City, and St Louis, while I have heard people say good things about all of the cities on the poll. Birmingham, Little Rock, and Tulsa I have also heard people badmouth but it has had more to do with the states they are located in than the cities themselves. So I guess the winners are Pittsburgh and Cleveland? Going to vote for Pittsburgh, since I feel like I hear about it a little more.
Of the cities listed in the poll, I don't hardly hear too much bad about Oklahoma City. It seems like it's quietly and steadily growing into an up and coming major metro area, currently about the size of Memphis and Louisville.
Except for Tulsa and Little Rock, the others are old time rough Rust Belt cities.
Meth fiends everywhere from what I've heard. Never been there though.
In terms of national media: Tulsa, in terms of CD criteria: Pittsburgh. CD seems to really like Pittsburgh, I think it's currently beating Minneapolis in a poll.
In general, perception often differs from reality, especially cities that most people will never travel to and hear little about unless it is negative in some way. I think of the bunch Pittsburgh is about the only one that manages to be spoken of, when spoken of at all, more positively than negatively, but, always with a caveat attached ("former Rust Belt..." "despite population loss..." "despite being among the cloudiest cities..." etc).
So, I voted Pittsburgh.
Little Rock and Tulsa I think are the only 2 that don't have much of a negative association attached, but they also don't have much positive associations (or anything, really) being generated either.
All of the other cities have reputations (rust! crime! snow! sprawl! The South!) that mask other attributes that also make those cities great in their own ways.
OKC is given a bad rap because it's the largest city in a highly red state. Oklahoma is the butt of many stereotypical jokes.
Tulsa has a better rep than OKC as it is more "hip" but the problem is that it's in Oklahoma so it will still been viewed in that light.
Cleveland, Memphis, St. Louis, Baltimore, Detroit, Birmingham are a nice punching bag on both declining industries, crime, racial issues. There are certainly perks to each of these cities but unfortunately, the media paints them as these declining crime ridden cities.
Little Rock is just Little Rock. It is definitely spending "little" time in the media and people's minds. I don't think it really has a reputation per se as it's just there.
Pittsburgh from a reputation perspective tops this list easily. It may be known for a declining industry but I think it's shown in a favorable light overall compared to the other cities.
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