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San Francisco- used to be a decent place but the homeless problem is getting way out of control and there's poo wherever you walk.
Salt Lake City- Beautiful scenery and very clean. But there's not much to do (especially outside downtown) and the city is more geared towards married couples and families.
Los Angeles- Looks nice from the hills, and when you go to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Besides that, their homeless problem is getting out of control, it's run-down and doesn't feel safe
San Francisco- used to be a decent place but the homeless problem is getting way out of control and there's poo wherever you walk.
Salt Lake City- Beautiful scenery and very clean. But there's not much to do (especially outside downtown) and the city is more geared towards married couples and families.
Los Angeles- Looks nice from the hills, and when you go to Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. Besides that, their homeless problem is getting out of control, it's run-down and doesn't feel safe
SF wasn't ruined by getting too homeless; SF was ruined by getting too (sterily) corporate. All might have been better if Silicon Valley has stayed put in......Silicon Valley.
^Agree with this. SF feels very outdated, outside of the new Salesforce cluster... and this is coming from someone who lives on the East coast. The city also has severe quality of life issues that has to do with grime, dirt, and homelessness.
LA on the other hand, is surprisingly more of a city than it is given credit for.
Chicago is also very nice as long as you stay downtown and north.
First impression was probably what everyone else gets - good, active downtown area, scenic location, good food/beer scene, etc.
Well, part of the reason Portland's downtown area is so robust and active is because everything in the city is concentrated there. There are no real neighborhood centers, there's not much else to explore from an urban standpoint outside of the central part of town. Once you've experienced that (and it doesn't take long), you've experienced it all.
The other thing that got me is that everything in Portland is hyped to levels of absurdity that are difficult to imagine. Every restaurant is "amazing," every bar is "the best," every store is "the coolest." You get the point. Coming from an area where people tend to downplay (or even take for granted) the things they're fortunate to live near, this was tough for me. I get loving where you live. That's important, and something everyone should strive for. But it's hard to blindly buy into the hype for everything simply because it happens to be in Portland.
First, I agree with you … the town (and I do mean TOWN) is ridiculously hyped, aka, it has the most amaaaazzzzing restaurants EVAH!!! But, let's keep this this in perspective. Portland has fewer people than either Waltham or Newton, MA (both amaaaazzzzzingg places in themselves, LOL). And, the reason Portland has such a concentrated area of activity is that … well … there ain't that much else there. I still like it ("love" would be a stretch). But, to tell the truth, I like Portsmouth, NH much more.
Back to the original topic … most "overrated" city for me? Tough call, but I'd say Denver (I'm happy to speak its name, unlike Thoreau424). For those who know New England, it's like a huge Worcester without the "charm." I got trapped there once during a snowstorm … frightening!
First, I agree with you … the town (and I do mean TOWN) is ridiculously hyped, aka, it has the most amaaaazzzzing restaurants EVAH!!! But, let's keep this this in perspective. Portland has fewer people than either Waltham or Newton, MA (both amaaaazzzzzingg places in themselves, LOL). And, the reason Portland has such a concentrated area of activity is that … well … there ain't that much else there. I still like it ("love" would be a stretch). But, to tell the truth, I like Portsmouth, NH much more.
Back to the original topic … most "overrated" city for me? Tough call, but I'd say Denver (I'm happy to speak its name, unlike Thoreau424). For those who know New England, it's like a huge Worcester without the "charm." I got trapped there once during a snowstorm … frightening!
Thoreau424 doesn't live in Denver. Never has. He lives closer to Wyoming in a town that rhymes with Tort Rollins.
Last edited by bluescreen73; 01-28-2019 at 12:06 PM..
The main gripes about Boston are that it's dead after dark and lacks nightlife and vibrancy. It's definitely an amazingly urban city, but it's well-known for having subpar nightlife.
I really don't know where this comes from … I WISH Boston were dead after dark! I might actually be able to get a reservation at a restaurant without more than a week's planning. If by "after dark" you mean "after 2 AM," then I'll agree! But, as someone who has lived in Boston for far too long, there is absolutely nothing "dead" about anywhere within the central core after dark up until the bars close. The city is crawling with people even in the dead of winter! BTW: I'm at a point in my life where clubbing is a non-starter, so I won't comment on that. I really don't care about how good or bad the clubs are anywhere.
I really don't know where this comes from … I WISH Boston were dead after dark! I might actually be able to get a reservation at a restaurant without more than a week's planning. If by "after dark" you mean "after 2 AM," then I'll agree! But, as someone who has lived in Boston for far too long, there is absolutely nothing "dead" about anywhere within the central core after dark up until the bars close. The city is crawling with people even in the dead of winter! BTW: I'm at a point in my life where clubbing is a non-starter, so I won't comment on that. I really don't care about how good or bad the clubs are anywhere.
Restaurant reservations, yes. But that's part of what I mean. People will go to a nice dinner, but there isn't the same late-night style found in other urban cities like NYC, Philly, Chicago, etc. Obviously plenty of people go out and drink and party at night. It's still the anchor of a huge metro area. However, the nightlife options are not equivalent. Dining, absolutely. But it's kinda more dinner and a few glasses of wine and go home, whereas NYC and Philly.........are not lol
I like parts of Minneapolis, but was extremely disappointed in downtown. Pretty dead every time I've been there, and the most people you see are at the bus stops. Then, you feel like you need to cross the street, as it's somewhat uncomfortable. I had several occasions where people pretty much stepped in front of me, when I was walking by.
First, I agree with you … the town (and I do mean TOWN) is ridiculously hyped, aka, it has the most amaaaazzzzing restaurants EVAH!!! But, let's keep this this in perspective. Portland has fewer people than either Waltham or Newton, MA (both amaaaazzzzzingg places in themselves, LOL). And, the reason Portland has such a concentrated area of activity is that … well … there ain't that much else there. I still like it ("love" would be a stretch). But, to tell the truth, I like Portsmouth, NH much more.
Thanks, agreed. If we're talking small New England cities outside of Boston (not medium, so I'm omitting Providence from this, and I do prefer Providence to Portland by a good margin), I'd take Portsmouth, Burlington (Vermont), or Newport. All three are smaller than Portland, and all three beat Portland in various categories:
1) Burlington is prettier as the center of the city is somewhat elevated and it gently rolls down to the lakefront. The result? Great views of the lake and the Adirondacks in the distance. Church Street is an awesome shopping/dining strip. Portland has no equal. I'd argue that the beer scene in Burlington is on par with, or exceeds Portland's. Foam in Burlington is probably my favorite New England brewer behind Treehouse. Finally, Burlington has much better access to the outdoors. Especially the mountains. Burlington is about 1/2 hour from "real" skiing at Bolton Valley, and about an hour from two of the best ski areas in New England (Stowe and Sugarbush). Portland is an hour and 20 from dinky Shawnee Peak and nearly 2 hours from the closest sizable ski area (Sunday River). Good hiking is much closer to Burlington as well.
2) Portsmouth is like a smaller-scale Portland before Portland was discovered 20 or so years ago. Portsmouth has a beautiful harbor front downtown, and a great mix of shopping and dining in the city center. Plus, I think it has some of the best collections of preserved colonial architecture in New England (with Strawberry Banke at the center of it). It's definitely a bit smaller, but I think Portsmouth has authenticity that Portland no longer does since it's so heavy on the tourists. Portsmouth may get there soon.
3) Newport is the opposite of Portsmouth. It's been a resort/tourist town for over a century. A lot of its history is based on being the playground for rich and famous New Yorkers (which it still is). And the thing about having that history of being a resort/tourist town, is that there's no pretense about Newport being "underrated," or being the quirky "working-class" seaport town. It is what it is. And what it is is great. I think Newport has a much better waterfront in terms of beauty and access to visitors. This is true in both the city center (Bowen's Wharf is beautiful), and outside of the city center (Portland has nothing to Rival Fort Adams, Ocean Drive, the Beaches, etc.). Portland also has a better nightlife scene in spite of being about 1/3 the size of Portland.
If someone gives me a some money and says pick from Portland, Burlington, Newport, or Portsmouth to visit, I'm doing any of the latter three before Portland.
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