Which is most creative, cool, vibrant: Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Omaha, Wichita, CO Springs, Tulsa, OKC, Greenville? (live, best)

[ForeignCrunch]

Among America's small-to-mid-size urban areas these are among those that seem to get an outsized amount of attention. Most of them are not just growing metro areas, but they're actually among the most rapidly growing cities in their regions and even nationally. The phenomenon of residents of large coastal cities picking up and moving to places like Des Moines or Duluth are sometimes exaggerated, but it's nevertheless a real phenomenon that at least *seems* to be an increasingly common experience. Unrealistic living costs and growing crime in larger cities is pushing some people to seek out smaller areas to grow and expand their businesses and families. Many of the cities on this list have excelled at attracting artists, economic growth, young families, and various kind of cultural assets. This has a kind of ratcheting effect--the more cultural heft a city has, the less credible it is for city leaders in big cities to brush off the appeal of smaller cities for a growing number of big city residents.

I could of course make this list much more expansive, but these eight cities represent a relatively diverse cohort of small metros from geographic and metrics. Which of them feels more sophisticated, has a deeper cache of cultural and educational amenities, feels more lively and does a better job attracting young families and businesses, and is overall more vibrant?

[FL_Expert]

I’ve only been to CO Springs and Greenville out of these. Between those two, it was Greenville by a landslide. CO Springs is nice for their scenery and outdoors, but as far as the actual city goes Greenville is wayyy ahead.

[SonySegaTendo617]

I've street viewed several of these cities, plus at least have driven through Grand Rapids but didn't stop there. I'd say of all these cities I've street viewed, I was probably the most impressed with Greenville, Grand Rapids, and Omaha. To a lesser extent, I did like Tulsa and Oklahoma City as well.

For number 1, it'd be VERY close between Greenville and Grand Rapids for my favorite city. Although Omaha is not very far behind these 2, either.

[ForeignCrunch]

Originally Posted by FL_Expert

I’ve only been to CO Springs and Greenville out of these. Between those two, it was Greenville by a landslide. CO Springs is nice for their scenery and outdoors, but as far as the actual city goes Greenville is wayyy ahead.

Greenville is very pretty though!

[IowanFarmer]

I love Tulsa's music scene, so I picked it.

[QC Dreaming 2]

Greenville is fantastic.

[Turnerbro]

Random list. Out of those I'd say Greenville, then Grand Rapids/Omaha, maybe Tulsa after that.

[jjbradleynyc]

Here's my ranking out of these cities, from least to best--

8 Wichita
7 Colorado Springs
6 Birmingham
5 Oklahoma City
4 Omaha
3 Tulsa
2 Greenville
1 Grand Rapids

[ForeignCrunch]

Originally Posted by IowanFarmer

I love Tulsa's music scene, so I picked it.

I've heard less about Tulsa's music scene than about Omaha's, but I wouldn't be surprised given how far up Tulsa punches when it comes to cultural stuff.

[Landolakes90]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Here's my ranking out of these cities, from least to best--

8 Wichita
7 Colorado Springs
6 Birmingham
5 Oklahoma City
4 Omaha
3 Tulsa
2 Greenville
1 Grand Rapids

I basically agree with this. Though from my experience I might put Omaha ahead of Tulsa.