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Atlanta-Really hilly, I expected it to be flat.
Miami-Only nice in the beach areas, the Downtown is just as humid and polluted as Orlando.
Tacoma-Feels bigger than I imagined, not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
New Jersey-Very beautiful countryside, but the big cities are crime ridden and give the state a bad name.
Pittsburgh-Very hilly and steep, more than I expected.
Las Vegas-Really nothing interesting outside of the strip.
Utah-A LOT prettier than I imagined.
Denver- Not as scenic as I had hoped, very flat and few trees.
Fort Worth- Kind of rundown (Early 2000s)
Reno- Much nicer than Vegas, great location too.
Spokane- Greener than I expected, after being told how desert like Eastern Washington is.
Montana- Only the western part of the state is nice.
Monterey- Probably one of the nicest places I've been to in terms of physical setting.
San Jose- Hot and dusty in the summer, feels almost desert like.
Atlanta-Really hilly, I expected it to be flat.
Miami-Only nice in the beach areas, the Downtown is just as humid and polluted as Orlando.
Tacoma-Feels bigger than I imagined, not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
New Jersey-Very beautiful countryside, but the big cities are crime ridden and give the state a bad name.
Pittsburgh-Very hilly and steep, more than I expected.
Las Vegas-Really nothing interesting outside of the strip.
Utah-A LOT prettier than I imagined.
Denver- Not as scenic as I had hoped, very flat and few trees. Fort Worth- Kind of rundown (Early 2000s)
Reno- Much nicer than Vegas, great location too.
Spokane- Greener than I expected, after being told how desert like Eastern Washington is.
Montana- Only the western part of the state is nice.
Monterey- Probably one of the nicest places I've been to in terms of physical setting.
San Jose- Hot and dusty in the summer, feels almost desert like.
You were probably in East FW. Downtown and the west side of the city is pretty nice.
New England (New Hampshire especially)... the CLEANEST, most litter-free highways/roads i've ever seen! not a cast-off bottle, trash bag, old mattress.... (unlike my hometown San Diego where our poor roadways are loaded with litter)
eastern Ohio...... some of prettiest farms and green meadows!
San Marino California....... the prettiest, tree-lined streets and gorgeous huge homes
Ogunquit, Maine........... the bluest most sparkling stretch of Atlantic Ocean i could ever imagine
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Omaha: didn't know it had a vibrant downtown, more charm than I expected. Nice riverfront parks too.
Eugene, OR: I expected a large college town in Oregon to be more eclectic, I found it to be rather dull.
Raleigh/Durham: With such a large presence of well respected colleges and a fast growing area, I expected the downtown areas to be more vibrant. It's rather sleepy and vanilla around there.
Colorado Springs: nothing too exciting (didn't expect it to be) but it sure is beautiful, definitely a more scenic location than Denver
Tucson, AZ: Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods were interesting, colorful, and had a bit of an historic feel. Quite a bit of character. The surrounding desert and mountains are very scenic. Nicer city than I expected it to be.
What part did you go to? I don't hear people visiting my state for vacation very often.
Detroit- The skyline is very industrial but sort of magnificent.
Las Vegas- I was warned about the heat and was expecting it to be bad but it was still worse than I expected. I got out of the airport, went outside for two minutes waiting for the bus and got heat stroke.
Grand Rapids, MI- Surprisingly GORGEOUS! Amazing river that separates down town from it's beautiful suburbs and hotels. It has a few heavy-industry buildings mixed throughout which I found quite charming. (I know, I'm odd. XD)
New York- I was surprised how windy and cold it was!
What part did you go to? I don't hear people visiting my state for vacation very often.
Detroit- The skyline is very industrial but sort of magnificent.
Las Vegas- I was warned about the heat and was expecting it to be bad but it was still worse than I expected. I got out of the airport, went outside for two minutes waiting for the bus and got heat stroke.
Grand Rapids, MI- Surprisingly GORGEOUS! Amazing river that separates down town from it's beautiful suburbs and hotels. It has a few heavy-industry buildings mixed throughout which I found quite charming. (I know, I'm odd. XD)
New York- I was surprised how windy and cold it was!
Well we just drove through it (was on a tour) but the countryside was beautiful, very green with rolling hills, forest, quaint farm-houses. Well actually yes we camped in Wytheville in western VA, very nice, just how I imagined the woods in America to be. Will have to spend more time there when I return.
Yeah we were in Vegas in June and it was hot...41C...and i walked down the entire strip, which is like 3-4 miles! Didn't seem as hot as the temp suggested because it's high up and the air is a bit thin.
It was hot and humid in NYC when we were there, especially in the subways it was insufferable.
What place surprised you by being much nicer than you expected?
I went to a minor league baseball game to see the Mud Hens play in Toledo. The ball park was in a really nice neighborhood of tree-lined streets and picket fences.
Northern Arizona and New Mexico - it's probably just where the interstate went, but for the height I didn't see that many mountains. It's mostly elevated tablelands.
You nailed it -- the interstates follow the route of least resistance. You won't really see what a place is like in most interstate routes. New Mexico is high desert punctuated by "sky island" mountain ranges with a lot of volcanism evident once you come off of the eastern plains. The Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies extends down to Santa Fe. The Rio Grande Rift provides the channel for the river. Northern Arizona has a similar volcanic geography especially around Flagstaff.
Chicago seemed very welcoming to me for a large city.
I knew Iowa was about corn, but yikes.
Oklahoma is greener and a little hillier than I expected -- seemed pleasant.
Nice thread "revival." I'll chime in with a few of my experiences:
Portland, OR
Pre-conceived perception: hipster, cool, rainy, cloudy
Actual visit: awesome bars and restaurants, nice downtown layout, but tons of homeless people and sketchiness surprised me
Huntsville, AL
Pre-conceived perception: fast-growing cool city in a deep red state
Actual visit: some nice pockets of the city, but downtown was tiny, quiet and not a ton going on, but potential there
Miami, FL
Pre-conceived perception: paradise, vibrant, latin American gateway, cosmopolitan
Actual visit: cosmopolitan, amazing beaches, clear water, great food, good vibes, loved it
St Louis, MO
Pre-conceived perception: good sized city with a legacy history and good bones, some hit or miss areas
Actual visit: a handful of beautiful neighborhoods and super nice historic areas--very livable and lively. Downtown somewhat sketchier than I thought and very quiet. Many neighborhoods to avoid in general, that are in terrible shapes of decline
Philadelphia, PA
Pre-conceived perception: huge city that is vibrant but sketchy in areas
Actual visit: huge city with a lot of declining neighborhoods, but a lot of bustling, vibrant ones too. Amazing Center City downtown area--top 10 in the US, easily
Memphis, TN
Pre-conceived perception: tourist based city with music, bbq and some rough areas
Actual visit: Food was phenomenal everywhere I went, people were warm and friendly, downtown was surprisingly vibrant and gentrifiying in a lot of areas. A few neighborhoods outside of downtown looked like they've seen better days/rough looking
Hartford, CT
Pre-conceived perception: large capital CT city that is the insurance capital with nice suburbs
Actual visit: suburbs are super nice, lots of wealth. Downtown was quiet but felt "ok." Neighborhoods surrounding downtown were in really rough shape/decline
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What place surprised you by being much nicer than you expected?
