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The sweet spot is the urbanity MORE the 90 minutes out. If it's less than an hour, you have to keep driving to the city for everything. Places like Sioux Falls or San Angelo or Tallaahassee.
Ann Arbor is a part of Detroit's CSA though, and definitely has more of a satellite city feel.
In the OP, it was suggested satellite cities and cities in the same CSA be excluded.
So scratch Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, but keep East Lansing(and Lansing) then.
This is actually pretty tough, because some of the suggestions may be/are too big or are still in a major metro or CSA. Even the Poughkeepsie area suggestions may be “disqualified” due I believe still being in the NYC CSA. Kingston would fit to a good degree(around Uptown/Stockade, Waterfront/Rondout & maybe Uptown Districts) but it is cutting close in terms of time into NYC(the Bronx).
To be honest, I really think the OP is looking for say an Albany-Schenectady-Troy or Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton type of area close enough to a top 10(maybe 15) metro area. The latter area may be the best fit due to proximity to NYC & Philadelphia within that timeframe and having multiple Downtowns/residential districts like those in the OP. Both are close to mountains as well.
Hagerstown MD looks like another good option that is within the timeframe to DC.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 12-20-2020 at 04:48 AM..
So scratch Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, but keep East Lansing(and Lansing) then.
This is actually pretty tough, because some of the suggestions may be/are too big or are still in a major metro or CSA. Even the Poughkeepsie area suggestions may be “disqualified” due I believe still being in the NYC CSA. Kingston would fit to a good degree(around Uptown/Stockade, Waterfront/Rondout & maybe Uptown Districts) but it is cutting close in terms of time into NYC(the Bronx).
To be honest, I really think the OP is looking for say an Albany-Schenectady-Troy or Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton type of area close enough to a top 10(maybe 15) metro area. The latter area may be the best fit due to proximity to NYC & Philadelphia within that timeframe and having multiple Downtowns/residential districts like those in the OP. Both are close to mountains as well.
Hagerstown MD looks like another good option that is within the timeframe to DC.
I don’t really care if it’s in the same CSA, as long as it doesn’t feel like a suburb of the main city. All of the New York City is that you named would qualify, but Hagerstown feels too much like the DC suburbs to me. I didn’t realize that York Pennsylvania is only 90 minutes from DC. It feels completely divorced from that metro. That would be a good choice.
For what it’s worth, Ann Arbor just doesn’t feel urban enough. It’s a nice college town, but doesn’t really have city vibes.
Just so we're clear, do you mean "urban" in the strictest/traditional sense (like Philly, NYC, etc.), or "urban" meaning suburban but built up, busy and developed (I.E. Lawrence, KS)?
Since the OP hasn't answered my question and the other responses have been kind of a "free for all," I'm going to name my picks.
*Tyler, TX - It is exactly 1.5 hours east of downtown Dallas and is also NOT included in Dallas' CSA. It is a city with just over 100K people, a modest-sized college town / health care hub (including the HQ foe Christus health system) and is the HQ for the regional grocery chain Brookshire's. It also has a modest skyline.
*Rochester, MN - It is exactly 1.5 hours SE of downtown Minneapolis and is also NOT included in Minneapolis' CSA. With a little over 100K people, it is home to the Mayo Clinic, one of the too medical research centers in the world, and a large regional campus for IBM.
*College Station, TX - It is exactly 1.5 hours NW of downtown Houston and is also NOT included in Houston's CSA. It is most notably known for being home to the flagship university for Texas A&M, one of the largest systems for higher eduxation in the US, with 153K students. It has a little over 100K people.
*Rockford, IL - It is exactly 1.5 hours NW of downtown Chicago and is also NOT included in Chicago's CSA. With around 150K people, it is a notable automotive and aerospace manufacturing hub, with large assembly plants for Fiat Chrysler as well as Raytheon Technologies that each employ thousands of people.
*Columbus, GA - It is exactly 1.5 hours SW of downtown Atlanta and is also NOT included in Atlanta's CSA. With just shy of 200K people, it is home to one of the largest army bases in the country (Fort Benning with over 120K military-tied individuals being supported) and a number of Fortune 600 HQs (Aflac, TSYS, Synovus, etc.). It is also home to another large assenbly plant for Raytheon Technologies.
I don’t find CSA to be particularly meaningful. Very few people do, irl.
Well that's different from what you suggested with your example in the OP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gladhands
I kind a like the idea of living in a small city within a short drive of a big city. What are some examples of small cities that aren’t suburbs or satellites of big cities?
For example, Lancaster Pennsylvania is little over an hour from Philly, But it’s not part of the same MSA or CSA. The population is just under 60k, But it has a downtown that looks like this:
Lexington, KY to both Louisville, KY and Cincinnati, OH also work
Toledo to Detriot, MI and Dayton, OH to Cincinnati, OH work. Dayton to Columbus, OH probably also works as well
Chattanooga to Atlanta is probably right on that 90 min cusp
Fayetteville, NC to Raleigh, NC
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