Cities with overrated and underrated cultural scenes (living, compared, places)

[Trimac20]

By cultural scenes i mean live music, theatre, cinema, opera...local artistic output, venues.etc.

Which cities do you think are overrated, and which don't get the attention they deserve?

[LINative]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

By cultural scenes i mean live music, theatre, cinema, opera...local artistic output, venues.etc.

Which cities do you think are overrated, and which don't get the attention they deserve?

Pretty broad category, but I would say just for starters; Los Angeles, Washington DC, Cleveland, Miami, Houston and Nashville are underrated for SOME of the things you mention. Too many people think LA only has Hollywood for example. Another city MIGHT be Memphis.

[LINative]

Of the three biggest cities, I already mentioned Los Angeles which I think is underrated. Chicago is also underrated by some peeps here on CD. The 4 New York outer boroughs are also underrated, especially Brooklyn and Queens. All three cities are constantly UNDERRATED when compared to international cities which are supposedly perfect utopias.

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree - LA is very underrated. Not by people who know the city, but by people who only know it through stereotypes and visions shaped by the media. Just look at some of the posts on the LA thread to see this in action - there's frequently someone asking if there's "any" culture.

I agree that the NYC outer boroughs are overlooked, too, and too often overshadowed by Manhattan.

DC's smaller artistic/cultural scene is underrated, as so often the big names/institutions get most of the spotlight.

[NYC1DAY]

Originally Posted by LINative

Of the three biggest cities, I already mentioned Los Angeles which I think is underrated. Chicago is also underrated by some peeps here on CD. The 4 New York outer boroughs are also underrated, especially Brooklyn and Queens. All three cities are constantly UNDERRATED when compared to international cities which are supposedly perfect utopias.

yes, many people feel that nyc is only manhattan.

the other four boroughs are fun too

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by NYC1DAY

yes, many people feel that nyc is only manhattan.

the other four boroughs are fun too

When I was living in Manhattan, I spent most of my time in Queens cause that's where my family in NY lived. Loved it. Reminded me a lot of Oakland.

[westhou]

I think the cultural scene in most major cities (other than New York City) are overlooked because most people visit these cities looking for something other than culture like beaches, theme parks, and landmarks. New York City is probably the only city where tourists actively seek out museums, performance theaters, and other such cultural places.

[Hendu]

Originally Posted by LINative

Of the three biggest cities, I already mentioned Los Angeles which I think is underrated. Chicago is also underrated by some peeps here on CD. The 4 New York outer boroughs are also underrated, especially Brooklyn and Queens. All three cities are constantly UNDERRATED when compared to international cities which are supposedly perfect utopias.

Agreed on all accounts, and I'll add Houston. Until I started reading threads here, I had no idea that Houston had one of the country's biggest theater districts.

Also, Madison should be in the same conversation as Austin when it comes to cultural scenes.

[ckhthankgod]

For underrated, I would say Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca NY and Minneapolis due to all of those cities having strong art and music scenes. Not too sure about overrated though.

These are examples for Syracuse:http://www.syracuseopera.com/

http://www.syracusestage.org/home.aspx?page_id=1

http://www.thewestcotttheater.com/

http://www.palacetheatresyracuse.com/

http://www.theredhouse.org/

http://www.syracusesymphony.org/

and much, much more......

[grapico]

Memphis is underrated...

I will defer from mentioning overrated cities as too many people are bound to get butt hurt.

Originally Posted by westhou

I think the cultural scene in most major cities (other than New York City) are overlooked because most people visit these cities looking for something other than culture like beaches, theme parks, and landmarks. New York City is probably the only city where tourists actively seek out museums, performance theaters, and other such cultural places.

except minneapolis, chicago, philadelphia, boston, dc, san francisco, I will even give the nod to Atlanta in the last 10 years for this.