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Which Of these smaller sized cities near bigger cities (Twin Cities versus Boston, both great career cities) has a better natural surrounding/setting, better urban bones, better downtown amenities, and more potential to improve.
Both these cities are on large bodies of water. Both are in scenic settings. And both are regional tourist towns. Both have limited economic opportunities and both have harsh weather, although Duluth's is somewhat harsher.
Portland is close to real mountains, but Duluth has some small partial mountains quite close to it as well. One is in New England one is in the Great Lakes Region.
Which of these cities has better
-Amenities
-Natural Immediate Setting
-Regional Setting (2-4 hour driving radius)
-Economy
-Future Outlook
Portland wins based on your criteria. Duluth is nice for an escape towards the Canadian Shield. However Portland feels much more like a full blown city.
Portland wins based on your criteria. Duluth is nice for an escape towards the Canadian Shield. However Portland feels much more like a full blown city.
Portlands Metro area is around twice the size. So that’s a factor.
-Amenities: Portland from being a larger metropolitan area?
-Natural Immediate Setting: I want to say Duluth because I really like the Great Lakes and having the hills with the lakefront is great, but Duluth's lakefront and part of its downtown area is really marred by the highways (and subsequent parking lots put in their place). Pictures of Duluth prior to this are beautiful though.
-Regional Setting (2-4 hour driving radius): Probably Portland as Boston is closer to it than Twin Cities are to Duluth, and Providence is about as far from Portland as the Twin Cities are from Duluth; also, Portland has a train to Boston. Sherbrooke, Quebec is also about a four hour drive away from Portland and that's a metropolitan area of similar population size to Duluth
-Economy: Don't know much about this
-Future Outlook: Pretty good, both of them? I feel like Portland is a bit more trendy and there might be further train service improvements making it easier for more people to go to and from there so I think it will grow faster. Duluth's been trying to get train service from the Twin Cities, but I don't know if they have any plans to knit the city back together and make that highway less appalling.
I don't mean to be dismissive of Duluth, but Portland is a slam dunk here.
I'll start by saying, it's just a more attractive city.
The food in Portland, seafood and beyond, is well known. It's a tiny little executive chef mecca.
Minnesota is pretty. But Maine is stunning. It's rugged coastline, mountains, small towns are really only bested by the west.
Beyond all of those things - Boston is two hours, NYC six, Montreal five. And in between all of them is the interior New England, a gorgeous part of the country that the Midwest can't match in my opinion. And, you do see migration out of major cities and into regional cities like Portland happening. I see no reason Portland won't continue to grow and expand.. The downside being, it's not cheap, and will continue to get more expensive as the years go on.
I don't mean to be dismissive of Duluth, but Portland is a slam dunk here.
I'll start by saying, it's just a more attractive city.
The food in Portland, seafood and beyond, is well known. It's a tiny little executive chef mecca.
Minnesota is pretty. But Maine is stunning. It's rugged coastline, mountains, small towns are really only bested by the west.
Beyond all of those things - Boston is two hours, NYC six, Montreal five. And in between all of them is the interior New England, a gorgeous part of the country that the Midwest can't match in my opinion. And, you do see migration out of major cities and into regional cities like Portland happening. I see no reason Portland won't continue to grow and expand.. The downside being, it's not cheap, and will continue to get more expensive as the years go on.
I'd argue that the natural beauty around Duluth is more beautiful than the areas surrounding Portland.
I don't mean to be dismissive of Duluth, but Portland is a slam dunk here.
I'll start by saying, it's just a more attractive city.
The food in Portland, seafood and beyond, is well known. It's a tiny little executive chef mecca.
Minnesota is pretty. But Maine is stunning. It's rugged coastline, mountains, small towns are really only bested by the west.
Beyond all of those things - Boston is two hours, NYC six, Montreal five. And in between all of them is the interior New England, a gorgeous part of the country that the Midwest can't match in my opinion. And, you do see migration out of major cities and into regional cities like Portland happening. I see no reason Portland won't continue to grow and expand.. The downside being, it's not cheap, and will continue to get more expensive as the years go on.
I agree with you on most counts, but I'll say that Minnesota in terms of the area in and around Duluth is beautiful and I might argue more of a different flavor rather than a lesser one than that around Portland. Lake Superior is really something different and at this western end where winding rivers feed into the lake with sandbars and then the bluffs rising fairly rapidly is really unique and wonderful. I think the problem lies more with the city itself rather than its surroundings where too much of the space is given over to the highway and parking lots.
I'd argue that the natural beauty around Duluth is more beautiful than the areas surrounding Portland.
As in the immediate vicinity? Maybe, maybe not. Both are pretty for sure. I certainly think the rugged coastline around Duluth looks a lot like central and northern Maine, which is great. But the areas immediately surrounding Portland, like the Islands down through Cape Elizabeth, are very very pretty. Extend that an hour north and south, you're talking towns like Kennebunkport and Boothbay Harbor. Right down the road from Portland, you have places like Crescent Beach, Portland Head Light, etc. with a really nice mix of beautiful estates, sandy beaches and rugged cliffs.
Shoot, even Sebago is only an hour away from the center of Portland. Gorgeous lake (I know, MN has them in droves) with really nice mountains and hills in the back drop.
But as far as how beautiful the cities themselves are, which was my original point, Portland is a few steps up.
As in the immediate vicinity? Maybe, maybe not. Both are pretty for sure.
But as far as how beautiful the cities themselves are, which was my original point, Portland is a few steps up.
Yes, Portland is more beautiful from an urban standpoint. Duluth has more of a rustbelt vibe. Duluth's geography is more striking though.
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