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Visited recently for four days and didn’t get enough. It’s a party city for sure but unlike Vegas there’s layers to it. The culture just sort of oozes out of it the way the water does. I left wanting more, like I wanted to get an airbnb and just live there for a month or two. I loved the people, the food, the music, etc. The nightlife was great but there’s more to that city that I couldn’t wrap my head around in a few days. It’s a vibe that I want to take the deep dive into.
I recommend seeing New Orleans multiple times a year instead of all at once for a month.
There is pretty much something going on every month.
The culture is just something else.
It's one of my favorite places. There is just so much to discover.
Thinking of the live jazz music just warms my spirit.
It's crazy that daytime in the quarter is a sleepy affair most days, but in architecture and food makes up for it.
The energy on Bourbon and Royal on weekends is crazy.
I am no longer a big fan of Mardi Gras. The last few times I went (pre-covid) was just too intense.
It's a shame most people only visit during Mardi Gras and rarely see much more than Canal, Bourbon and a quick trip down St Charles.
I quite literally have a list of cities around the world that I would love to spend a month in. It is an extremely long list. I think in total it equals about ~15 years if I were to do it. I mean, I love cities. I love all the nuances, the quirks, that make all our cities different and yet also some of the details that make many of them similar as well.
Anyway, this question is for the US forum and obviously the intention is to get me to narrow down my options. So I'll try for a top 5.
1) NYC - it has the most of everything, from amenities, to my personal social network
2) SF - lots of the pros of a NYC but with a different vibe and influence. (and yes, the second most friends and family)
3) Honolulu - Come on. Gotta experience the island life but with a city vibe.
4) New Orleans - Agree with the OP. Every visit I feel like I should have lived here for a time when I was younger and in my artsy phase. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to return to that phase
5) x, Alaska - Anywhere for the experience...maybe Anchorage, maybe Fairbanks, maybe even Point Barrow.
Honorable Mentions:
LA - Ok I kinda cheated. LA would probably have to be in the top 5 to live for a month but I 100% plan to live in SoCal longer term some day so I can skip it on the one-month list.
Miami - This definitely would be top 5 material for unique interests except that I live here already.
Chicago - Probably my second favorite city only to NYC. But I lived here before so I can stomach putting it farther down.
Vegas - Was on the fence about this one at #5. It's unique and I'm interested enough in gaming (poker mainly) to be want to spend some significant time here especially around the WSOP. Yes it's fairly gimmicky but I'd enjoy it a lot and there's plenty of entertainment of all kinds (outdoors, concerts, nightlife)
Washington DC All the museums and within an hours drive a lot of civil war related historical locations to visit as well.
L.A. Same as above except for the Civil war aspects but a lot of air museums due to the desert climates outside the city. The coast highway up and down and its scenery as well is a draw.
A month is a long time. I used to have a traveling auditor job and spent as much as a month in different cities. Some were easy and some were very stressful. On a vacation, if you are in the residential/commercial core of the city, I think it takes about six days to get into the rhythm of the place. I'm not a big city person after living in small towns most of my life but there are a few places I'd enjoy after the pandemic.
St. Louis -- because originally, I'm from there and I really like the place and have relatives there. I left in 1976 for small town life and really miss some of the feel of the place. I miss the food. I miss the neighborhoods. I miss real baseball.
Chicago -- maybe. I enjoy going there and my wife went to post-grad school there so I know it a bit. But I'd like to know it a little better. Great museums.
LA -- again, maybe. I might share it with San Diego over a full month. That's probably cheating.
Rome -- sure. It is easy to get around in and there is plenty to do, see, and eat.
Dublin -- another place I really like and it is also walkable. It is welcoming and feels like home. Last time I was there it was mostly closed down due to COVID so I want to go back soon.
New Orleans -- if my liver survives. There are other things to do besides drink. You can eat. You can watch people. You can enjoy the music and the history. I have been there many times and I'm always surprised when I hear someone say they have never been. It was sort of a 'rite of passage' for young people I knew.
Bay Area -- I like San Francisco and I have friends and relatives in Sausalito and in the East Bay area and in San Jose. I could probably manage a month there.
Mexico City -- a possibility. That would be an immersive experience but I might like it. My Spanish would improve.
NYC, Boston, Washington, Charleston, and Seattle only if the conditions and my location in the city was perfect. They would be lower on my list.
Visited recently for four days and didn’t get enough. It’s a party city for sure but unlike Vegas there’s layers to it. The culture just sort of oozes out of it the way the water does. I left wanting more, like I wanted to get an airbnb and just live there for a month or two. I loved the people, the food, the music, etc. The nightlife was great but there’s more to that city that I couldn’t wrap my head around in a few days. It’s a vibe that I want to take the deep dive into.
New York
I’ve been a few times but feel like I only ever scratch the surface. I need like two months in that city minimum to see and do what I want to see and do. I want to live in Brooklyn for like a month. And then Manhattan for a month. I feel like I won’t truly understand New York until I’ve spent that amount of time there.
Toronto
Maybe it’s a three week city. I don’t know. But like New Orleans, I was left craving more of it. I want to get a true feel for all of the neighborhoods and I feel like it’s the center of the Canada universe. I loved the vibes there and wanted to immerse myself in it for longer.
What city would you like to spend a month in?
I once spend eight days in Toronto and loved it. I could spend a month there pretty easy. I have been to Chicago and LA, and couldn't wait to get out. LA I had pretty high expectations for the first time I visited, but it was a big let down. The traffic sucks, the public transit sucks, so there is no good way to see the whole city, and I can't think of any one part of LA that I would want to spend a month in. If you like sitting in traffic for many hours a day, LA would be a great place to spend a month. If I was going to spend a month in California, it would be either San Francisco or San Diego. Las Vegas would be a really easy place to spend a month. I once cut my LA trip short and spent the extra days in Vegas. It was a good decision. I could spend a month in Seattle. Honolulu would be a really good place to spend a month in. Denver or Albuquerque I think I could spend a month in. Minneapolis, Saint Louis or some of the other Midwest cities, I could probably manage a month in. New Orleans would be a cool place to spend a couple of days, but I think a month would be too much. I have never been to New York, but I think my reaction to it would be the same as LA. After a couple of days I would be clamoring to get out.
During the mid-90's, I visited Mykonos for a week and could see myself staying to bartend there for an entire summer.
Aside from that, I could spend an entire month in not necessarily one city, but the islands of Hawaii so I could can pack more into one trip. I've been there numerous times (usually Waikiki or North Shore) and visited the different islands, but every time I wish I had stayed longer to island hop.
A month is a long time. I used to have a traveling auditor job and spent as much as a month in different cities. Some were easy and some were very stressful. On a vacation, if you are in the residential/commercial core of the city, I think it takes about six days to get into the rhythm of the place. I'm not a big city person after living in small towns most of my life but there are a few places I'd enjoy after the pandemic.
St. Louis -- because originally, I'm from there and I really like the place and have relatives there. I left in 1976 for small town life and really miss some of the feel of the place. I miss the food. I miss the neighborhoods. I miss real baseball.
Chicago -- maybe. I enjoy going there and my wife went to post-grad school there so I know it a bit. But I'd like to know it a little better. Great museums.
LA -- again, maybe. I might share it with San Diego over a full month. That's probably cheating.
Rome -- sure. It is easy to get around in and there is plenty to do, see, and eat.
Dublin -- another place I really like and it is also walkable. It is welcoming and feels like home. Last time I was there it was mostly closed down due to COVID so I want to go back soon.
New Orleans -- if my liver survives. There are other things to do besides drink. You can eat. You can watch people. You can enjoy the music and the history. I have been there many times and I'm always surprised when I hear someone say they have never been. It was sort of a 'rite of passage' for young people I knew.
Bay Area -- I like San Francisco and I have friends and relatives in Sausalito and in the East Bay area and in San Jose. I could probably manage a month there.
Mexico City -- a possibility. That would be an immersive experience but I might like it. My Spanish would improve.
NYC, Boston, Washington, Charleston, and Seattle only if the conditions and my location in the city was perfect. They would be lower on my list.
I think there are probably better cities in Mexico to spend a month in then Mexico City. I used to watch a YouTube channel by a couple who were traveling around Mexico and spending one month in as many Mexican cities as possible. I think they were actually looking for a place in Mexico to settle down, and testing different places out. I don't know if they ever actually spent a full month in Mexico City. I only watched them spend a couple of days in Mexico City at a time while they were traveling from one city to another. There were things there that they wanted to do, and they never said anything negative about Mexico City, but I got a strong feeling that Mexico City was not their favorite place in Mexico. Ultimately they stopped traveling and made Puerto Vallarta their permeant home. The channel became kind of boring then, and I stopped watching it. But they spend a months in a lot of really cool cities before settling on Puerto Vallarta as their permanent home.
I love big cities! I’ve visited all of the above but other than NYC which I’ve been to over a dozen times all the rest I’ve only been to once, albeit for five days, for a real visit and could easily spend a month in all. I’m very familiar with everything out West, most of New England and most icons of the Great Basin/Mid-West. Other cities (in country) which I either already have or haven’t visited and strongly wish to- New Orleans, Charleston, Miami, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Detroit and a few others, I doubt are necessarily worthy of a whole month for me.
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