What things surprised you about cities, states or places you've visited? (2013, big home)

[Pincho-toot]

I grew up in Miami which is a culturally isolated city. Despite it being an international destination for tourists and immigrants, Miamians can be a bit provincial. I grew up believing that latinos throughout the US were more like the ones in Miami. As in, not much if any English spoken and not very assimilated.

When I first visited Texas (where I eventually lived in for a while) and met my now husband's family (Multi-generational Tejano) I was surprised at how culturally assimilated Texas' latino population is. The stereotype is that many speak little to no English, many came over illegally etc. and while thats true for a lot of people, many are fully assimilated Americans. Many even speak with a strong Texas twang with no latino sound to their accent. Many fully embrace the Southern and cowboy lifestyles mostly associated with white Anglo Texans.

At the same time, they proudly hold on to their Mexican heritage even if they don't speak any more Spanish than your average New York Jew speaks Yiddish.

Another shock for when I moved to Minnesota, is how strong the Native American prescence is, even in the Twin Cities. Two of my roommates when I moved up here were mixed Ojibwe/European. Growing up in South Florida, the only Indians we saw were on the Miccosukee Reservations and out in the Everglades in general. They seemed separate from the Miami-Dade urban fabric, sadly.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Craziaskowboi

Alabama - There are mountain ranges all the way down into the east-central part of the state.

Florida - Aside from the southern tip, it's covered in pine trees.

Missouri - The only truly flat part of the state is the "bootheel." Even the plains areas have rolling hills.

Tennessee - Aside from the western quarter, it's very hilly/mountainous.

Texas - It was consistently windy everywhere except around Houston.

True. Its even kinda stark in the Kansas City metro. The Kansas side is notably flatter than the Missouri side.

[Citykid3785]

How few Mexican I saw in San Diego given the proximity

Mountains in Oklahoma and Alabama

Just how few trees exist on the plains

Forgot to mention, that Hawaii how dessert, and an almost Mars looking landscape in parts, and a Hispanic cowboy population. Like feels like you are in Texas in areas

[Hugh Morris]

Chicago - how clean and safe their downtown was. Not what you'd expect.

Dallas - a bit more conservative than I thought.

Tennessee - hillier than I expected.
St. Louis - busier traffic and drivers were far more aggressive.
KC -less traffic than I imagined. BBQ not as good as expected.
Boston - people were way friendlier than I expected.

[jjbradleynyc]

I'll add a few more off top of my head, geographies, this time:

Kansas part of KC metro: hillier than anticipated!

Oahu and Maui in Hawaii: didn't realize how desert-like one side of each island was vs the other wet, tropical rainforest side. Incredible to see !

Small towns in a lot of central Georgia: much much nicer and much more quaint with many more folks w/money than I suspected. Manicured, historic, new developments, beautiful farms and rolling countryside. Do a drive from Athens, GA south and west to I-20 and that region--you'll be pleasantly surprised

Coastal NJ: water was cleaner and more clear than I ever imagined--several beaches along the coast.

Metro Dallas/Fort Worth: slightly rolling prairie that is endless, seems flat as a pancake.

Sedona: you have to visit it, to realize how jaw droppingly stunning the mountains and desert landscape are here.

West Virginia: pleasantly surprised that in many areas in the eastern part of the state, you have pristine mountains, stunning views, incredible wilderness and gorgeous landscapes. Hardly any of the stereotypical trailers, yard garbage and poor old houses are here, like you see in abundance in the western and southern part of the state. The closer to Virginia you get, the nicer it is; closer to Kentucky border, the poorer and more rough it is

Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park: simply one of the most gorgeous landscapes I've ever been to. Jaw droppingly beautiful mountains and wilderness areas

[arr430]

What struck me about Los Angeles, you don;t have a sense of its bigness. Wherever you are, your vantage point is within a local area, which often has a small community feel.

[NW4me]

Houston: It was flat and sprawling, as I expected. But I wasn't expecting all the pine trees in the suburbs!

Seattle: Somehow Seattle defied the post-WW2 planning model of segregating land uses: industry, housing, and nature are all intertwined.
Also, some neighborhoods of mostly detached houses also have an apartment tower or two.

[sub]

Quite a bit of time passed between my first experiences with Southern California and the more recent ones as an adult.
In a lot of ways, it’s more regular Americana than I expected considering much of what an outsider knows about it comes from pop culture. Don’t get me wrong, that stuff is there, but it still has strong remnants of the midwest-by-the-coast vibe.

The rustbelt isn’t rusty or abandoned or dirty or depressing, certainly not across the board.
Aside from some inner cities and the occasional shut-down factory, it’s much nicer, cleaner, and more robust than people might think.
The midwest in general is still strongly middle-class with some of the nicer small towns and countrysides in the nation.
If you’re looking for Pleasantville, it’s a good place to start.

Disappointed by Colorado towns. Smaller towns. Went out there on vacation and halfheartedly scoped out some areas in which to potentially live. Anything nice was outrageously expensive. Anything affordable was rural Mississippi.
I generally have no problem with Mississippi but if I’m not moving back to the south, I expect something better than what I saw out there.
Come to find out a lot of the west is that way which was a surprise. Surely there are nice affordable places out there that aren’t 300 miles from civilization.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Small towns in a lot of central Georgia: much much nicer and much more quaint with many more folks w/money than I suspected. Manicured, historic, new developments, beautiful farms and rolling countryside. Do a drive from Athens, GA south and west to I-20 and that region--you'll be pleasantly surprised

That's the Antebellum Trail. Gen. William Sherman spared many towns in that area during his "march to the sea," including Athens. Other smaller towns that are still intact include Watkinsville, Monroe, Madison, Greensboro, Monticello, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Sandersville, Dublin, Swainsboro and Statesboro. There's a few others as well.

Generally speaking, small towns in Georgia are tidier in the original area of the Georgia Colony, which is everything north of the Altamaha River, east of the Ocmulgee River, and south of the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Outside of that area, they tend to look rougher.

[Natural510]

I was surprised by how good the food was in Louisville when I visited there 6-8 years ago. I'm sure it's only gotten better since.