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What do you think would be the smallest place that actually feels like a "real city".
For me, I'd probably say Burlington VT, as it feels much larger than it's 225k metro population.
(based on metro population)
Burlington doesn't look or feel like a city to me. Albany NY is just under 100,000 people and feels like a city to me. It even has a skyscraper. Portland ME is kind of like a city with only 66k. I hear they will get an 18 story building. Tall buildings make a place look like a city. Burlington only has one 11 story building.
Charleston, West Virginia definitely feels like a city to me. Not a huge city, but a city. It in fact feels bigger than some larger cities like Alexandria, Louisiana or Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Chattanooga, TN definitely feels larger than it is.
Charleston, West Virginia definitely feels like a city to me. Not a huge city, but a city. It in fact feels bigger than some larger cities like Alexandria, Louisiana or Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Charleston is a really good example. The downtown is pretty big and has a few high-rises, narrow streets (which make the other buildings feel taller), and a surprisingly diverse restaurant selection (Thai burritos, anyone?). It was tough for me to find a parking space, which in a weird way also added to the bigger-city feel. Also having two Interstates running through town, and the fact that the mountains make it so you can't see just how small the city really is. It felt very comparable to Reno, NV, which is 5x bigger in the city limits and 2.5x bigger in the MSA.
A couple towns that seem to take hours to drive through -- Somerset, Kentucky, and Durango, Colorado. There's a very big city feel to Erie, Pennsylvania,
Charleston is a really good example. The downtown is pretty big and has a few high-rises, narrow streets (which make the other buildings feel taller), and a surprisingly diverse restaurant selection (Thai burritos, anyone?). It was tough for me to find a parking space, which in a weird way also added to the bigger-city feel. Also having two Interstates running through town, and the fact that the mountains make it so you can't see just how small the city really is. It felt very comparable to Reno, NV, which is 5x bigger in the city limits and 2.5x bigger in the MSA.
Charleston is a good example of a stand alone city. If we're looking at smaller cities near bigger cities, then Towson and Annapolis, MD could be good candidates.
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