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Yes, I'm sure visiting these cities would give them the best trip ever! I mean, Bakersfield...fun. What a great impression they'd have of California!!
I think the OP asked to list cities that provided an "authentic understanding" and "accurate representation" of life in the USA as unexciting as that might seem by some of the cities on the list.
I think the OP asked to list cities that provided an "authentic understanding" and "accurate representation" of life in the USA as unexciting as that might seem by some of the cities on the list.
Really, Bakersfield should represent the west coast?
And Southwest to throw a bone for OK, TX, NM and AZ. I know Texas and especially Oklahoma doesn't really identify with the Southwest but they do have a lot of western traits despite being apart of the bible-belt.
Any list, IMO, should have more of a eastern-southern bias since 60% of the country's population lives east of the Mississippi and roughly 33% in the Southern U.S. I chose Ft. Worth because it straddles southern/western cultural lines and also has a large Hispanic population. I chose KC because it straddles the South, the Midwest and the Great Plains. Wilkes-Barre captures the post-industrial Northeast while sharing some cultural similarities to the Coast and Mid-Atlantic. Lansing, I thought, would be run of the mill Upper Midwestern suburbia.
It's extremely difficult to say what is "typical" America because it's such a big country. I thought about including a city from the West Coast or PNW, but many are so demographically different from the rest of the country. Maybe Denver would be a better choice over KC since you'd be picking up more western influence but also the Plains.
What are your 5?
Oh, you had to ask! I don't know how to "best" represent the US. Most of us live in urban areas as defined by the census bureau, that is, cities and their suburbs. I think suburban is more representative than the cities in that most people in an urban area live in the burbs.
So, maybe . . .
Suburban DC, e.g. this Crystal City where Amazon is going in
Suburban Chicago-Naperville which is often named on of American's "best places".
Suburban Denver-of course, my suburb, Louisville, Colorado. (Has also been ranked #1 several times by "Money" magazine)
Some Texas city/suburb
Suburban LA. I'm not real familiar with its burbs except for Pasadena, and that's pretty upscale.
Five isn't very many for the whole US. Ten would probably be easier.
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