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I don't think Dallas and Atlanta are different enough to both warrant a place on this list. It should be either or. Or split the difference and put Houston on in instead.
The fifth city then should be something representing the Southwest or Pacific west.
Just my opinion of course.
Dallas and Atlanta could both be at the top of the list because everyone is from everywhere else in the country. True representatives of the whole in one place.
I would go for smaller, less famous cities! You get a much more accurate picture of semi-urban and small town America.
For the Northeast I'd pick Corning-Elmira, NY (it's generally one connected area, very beautiful, rural areas adjacent).
For the south perhaps two cities, Baton Rouge, LA, and Knoxville, TN. Lowland and upland south represented respectively.
For the Midwest I'd suggest Indianapolis over Chicago.
For the west... well, that one is tough because I don't know a lot about the west. Perhaps Denver would do? Honestly the west is diverse enough for its own five cities.
When cities grow to millions of people they become unique cultures to themselves. Whereas cities under 1,000,000 people still tend to better connect with the greater American feel. In my opinion.
My thoughts exactly. I know if I had the funds and resources and I were to visit a foreign country for the first time, I may go to one large well known city, but outside of that I would prefer to experience the smaller and more genuine cities that dot the country.
Kinda surprised not many of you acknowledged the Mountian West region. Most people forget how far the midwest is from the west coast like a good 2000 miles away. Denver and Salt-Lake City pretty much fill those voids of the mountain west.
Kinda surprised not many of you acknowledged the Mountian West region. Most people forget how far the midwest is from the west coast like a good 2000 miles away. Denver and Salt-Lake City pretty much fill those voids of the mountain west.
Partly because it's so difficult to pick just five places that encapsulate America. I've thought about it for several days and I can't do it...
I'd prefer the question to have been more along the lines of, what are the prototypical areas of each major subregion: Pacific Northwest, California, Mountain West, Southwest, The Plains/Upper Midwest, Texas, Great Lakes, Lower Midwest, Deep South, Florida, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Interior Northeast, New England...
That's a lot of regions but I think if one can name the prototypical cities and places within these areas, you come closer to being able to answer the defined question. I don't think only five cities can encapsulate what the US offers, but some of the responses here are looney lol...
This reminds me of a trip overseas I took a few years ago. On the return trip from Germany, I sat next to a young woman from I think the Netherlands, who was visiting the US for the first time. She was so excited! I asked how long she'd be in the US and she said either ten days or two weeks, I can't remember the exact time frame now but it was no more than two weeks. I asked where she was going and she rattled off this litany of cities - from New York to San Francisco, but also including Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas, I said, "Wow - that's a pretty packed itinerary. Are you going to be flying?" "No," she said, "We are renting a car and driving." No way. I mean, you COULD do it I guess but it sounds like sheer torture. As we talked, I realized she had this concept of the US being about as big as, oh, maybe Germany and France combined. I told her, "I never will forget driving into Texas from New Mexico headed to Georgia, and seeing a sign that said, "Dallas - 830 miles. The US is really, really big." Oh well. I've often wondered how her road trip went.
My thoughts exactly. I know if I had the funds and resources and I were to visit a foreign country for the first time, I may go to one large well known city, but outside of that I would prefer to experience the smaller and more genuine cities that dot the country.
Lived in England for two years and my sentiments exactly. London is a great city yes, but you experience the true Britain in the smaller towns and cities and countryside.
We took the car over to Europe for 4 weeks before we moved back to see as much as we could. The same happened on the continent. I enjoyed Brugges more than Brussels. Munich was the largest city we visited in Germany, perfect size. Salzburg and Innsbruck were more interesting than Vienna. Venice better than Rome. Had done Paris and Amesterdam before so went to Monaco and then a week with a friend in Bern, Switzerland. The smaller, older cities had nice compact city centers full of history but not the traffic and business and daily grind that the larger cities held.
People there are like us and have normal lives, the bigger cities are full of normal life activities and industries. Not all of Europe is not a theme park.
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.
This reminds me of a trip overseas I took a few years ago. On the return trip from Germany, I sat next to a young woman from I think the Netherlands, who was visiting the US for the first time. She was so excited! I asked how long she'd be in the US and she said either ten days or two weeks, I can't remember the exact time frame now but it was no more than two weeks. I asked where she was going and she rattled off this litany of cities - from New York to San Francisco, but also including Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas, I said, "Wow - that's a pretty packed itinerary. Are you going to be flying?" "No," she said, "We are renting a car and driving." No way. I mean, you COULD do it I guess but it sounds like sheer torture. As we talked, I realized she had this concept of the US being about as big as, oh, maybe Germany and France combined. I told her, "I never will forget driving into Texas from New Mexico headed to Georgia, and seeing a sign that said, "Dallas - 830 miles. The US is really, really big." Oh well. I've often wondered how her road trip went.
She probably had a blast since it was all new to her. Few countries have the topographical diversity of the United States. I'd love to do something similar if I had the time.
Partly because it's so difficult to pick just five places that encapsulate America. I've thought about it for several days and I can't do it...
I'd prefer the question to have been more along the lines of, what are the prototypical areas of each major subregion: Pacific Northwest, California, Mountain West, Southwest, The Plains/Upper Midwest, Texas, Great Lakes, Lower Midwest, Deep South, Florida, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Interior Northeast, New England...
That's a lot of regions but I think if one can name the prototypical cities and places within these areas, you come closer to being able to answer the defined question. I don't think only five cities can encapsulate what the US offers, but some of the responses here are looney lol...
That's a fantastic question too, but I feel visiting 5 cities all across the United States is a tall order for a visiting tourist. Perhaps someone could start a new thread asking that question.
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