Cities with an undeserved bad rap

[JManc]

In New Orleans, locals head over to Frenchman St. for nightlife and the further north in the Quarter you go, the more you see locals. It's heavily residential up that way.

[mrnyc]

charlotte

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by JManc

Bourbon St. and the city when there's a convention or game going on, otherwise the Quarter isn't that cheesy. Royal, just one block south of Bourbon is night and day and much quieter and has more cafes and galleries. More my speed.

Originally Posted by Crawford

It's not that NOLA has tourists/conventioneers, it's that it seems to only have tourists/conventioneers, at least in the FC, downtown, and Garden District. To me, that's an important difference. If you visit Commanders Palace, how many folks are locals?

It's why SoHo feels like a "real neighborhood" while Times Square doesn't, even though they're both flooded with tourists. The former has locals, and it's easy to get away from tourists; the latter essentially functions strictly for tourists.

Yeah, I fully know what you mean. I lived in New Orleans for a few years, and the influx of "non locals" at certain times on many occasions throughout the year (Mardi Gras/Carnival, Jazz fest, Halloween, Southern Decadence, college football games, Super Bowl, etc. etc.) could get pretty annoying sometimes. But it was relatively easy to avoid the tourist crush by avoiding Bourbon St./Decatur St., for the most part. After living there for a bit, you definitely seek out and find the more "locals" parts and establishments in town.

Though, New Orleans is a tourist town too... always has been throughout its history, really. So, you take the good that it brings with the bad. And like JManc says, you can pretty much avoid all touristy stuff even in the Quarter. Most of the Quarter really isn't all that touristy at all (or at least wasn't when I lived there... but it's been awhile).

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

A couple of thoughts...

I found Austin to be overrated. Doesn't mean I don't love it, but its reputation is better than reality. Outside of the immediate central core, it looks like any other Texas city(for better or worse). Watching House Hunters I am blown away by what standard ranches are selling for in the city. The traffic was horrible and I am not into the "scene" going on in most of the city.

Still love the city and think its skyline growth is awesome(I left in 2013). I just think it is overrated. If "America" somehow all voted and gave it a 9.5 or whatever...I would take it down to like a 7.8-8.

I wouldn't say "overrated" but I have similar sentiments. I think the hype of Austin is getting out over its skis, but I like it and its growing insanely fast. Years ago when I first visited (2012 or 2013), it just felt like a big college town -- like Ann Arbor but with a bigger downtown. When I visited this year for the second time, it felt more like a large city. But, I also visited during SXSW this time, so it was packed with visitors.

I hear people sometimes try to liken it to Brooklyn, but it's nothing like Brooklyn, other than subsections being the preferred quarters for overeducated artsy millennial types. That's not a bad thing, it's just to say that framing it as a Brooklyn alternative would lead to disappointment. I would describe it to someone who hasn't been as a very, very small version of L.A., or a less industrial Oakland with a more vibrant downtown.

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Years ago when I first visited (2012 or 2013), it just felt like a big college town -- like Ann Arbor but with a bigger downtown. When I visited this year for the second time, it felt more like a large city.

Interesting. I plan on visiting eventually, but I *try* to not even look at the development going on there because I want to be absolutely blown away when I visit in the future.

[ThePhun1]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I don't think New Orleans is "overrated" but I do find it a bit surprising how much the city is beloved. Incredible charm, but it seems the entire city center is kind of a transient Vegas-Orlando environment, given over to tourists and conventioneers, with few locals these days, and the city often appears third world-esque outside of a few square miles. It's also surprisingly expensive. Still really like visiting, though.

The Hell you say? It's almost blasphemous to point out that New Orleans isn't so great outside of its overrated (but interesting) central historic district.

[jd3189]

I didn’t know New Orleans had a bad rap. But I will say that I also believe Austin is a bit overrated. It’s doing a lot of good, but on the ground and surface, it isn’t as unique or up there as people have made it out to be. Austin is pretty comparable to Nashville, Charlotte, and other mid-sized recent peer cities like it.

[Maldive]

Man when New Orleans gets slagged, you know the union is in trouble.

[Dogtownbnr]

Getting back to the cities with unfair raps, my city St. Louis gets a very unfair rap nationally. This has been explained at nauseum in the past. STL is one of very few independent cities, not part of the closest county (STL County). Therefore, STL City proper's crime statistics are based on 310K people, out of a CSA of 3 million. Now, most of the most impoverished, crime-ridden areas are in North St. Louis City. Most of the murders are drug and/or gang related, majority occurring in that part of the region. So, when most of those murders occur in the independent City of 300K, you can see why the murders per/100K
seems so high. This puts STL at the top of the 'most dangerous cities' list every year. If STL was part of a merged county, we'd fall down the list where we should be. Now, I am not denying that there is crime in the City, but #1 in the country is a product of the bad decisions made by local government, many generations ago. That same bickering between the City and County has caused the region to lose our NFL team (STL Cardinals) and many businesses. This competition for tax revenue between regional foes has hurt us and set back the region as a whole It is a hot topic in the region as we speak, to fix these issues. I see that happening in the coming years.

In any event, I think the crime perception exceeds reality regarding St. Louis.
Ferguson was a huge factor. That could have occurred anywhere and has occurred to a lesser extent in other cities. When people come to STL to visit, they are amazed by the great amenities, neighborhoods and things to do. Just my two cents. . .

[CaliNative]

Actually not a bad place. Maybe a great rebound opp. Could become popular as global warming heats up the south. Not far from booming Toronto either.

[Chico Loco]

I would suggest Camden as my entry here.

[333609543]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

Actually not a bad place. Maybe a great rebound opp. Could become popular as global warming heats up the south. Not far from booming Toronto either.

Never really thought of Buffslo as bad, just more as an average Rust Belt city.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

I've driven through Sacramento plenty of times when it was way too hot and humid.

The river and downtown are nice though. Does anybody use the light rail?

I’ve lived in Chicago twice so it’s strange that you think Sacramento is too humid. You must have Sacramento confused with another city. It has very little summer humidity.

Light Rail is doing better as of late but it was originally built in areas nobody wanted to go back in 1985.

[urban_encounter]

I’m not sure people can judge a place based on a short visit. Sacramento has changed dramatically within the past twenty years (except its rather modest skyline). But having lived in a number of midsized and large cities in the U.S. and Germany I still think Sacramento gets a mostly unfair bad rap nationally. In nearly any other state it would probably be a different story but it is always going to be the less attractive cousin to it’s coastal neighbors.

Having lived in both Sacramento and San Antonio I think both cities get bad raps at times but both cities have changed dramatically. They’re actually two of my favorite places I’ve lived and Sacramento will always be home.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by edale

Yeah, I agree with this. Cleveland does have some really nice areas, and some top notch cultural institutions (art museum, symphony, rock hall). But in terms of offering vibrant, walkable neighborhoods, there is very, very little to pick from. Almost all of the neighborhoods are characterized by very plain looking detached housing. Very little brick or ornamentation, very few functioning business districts...just kind of utilitarian. Downtown is clean but very quiet and hardly any street level retail, even when it comes to little corner stores and the like. You can walk for blocks in downtown Cleveland and not come across a single commercial use. That was shocking when I visited for the first time.

Ohio City is pretty nice. Never got the appeal of their other 'premier' neighborhood of Tremont, though. It has some nice restaurants and bars, but they feel just scattered throughout the neighborhood rather than forming any real district. And for all the hype I had seen about Tremont, I found it quite non-descript at best, ugly at worst. This doesn't seem like a neighborhood deserving of the hype it gets: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4805...7i13312!8i6656

That said, there is some cool stuff in Cleveland. I really like their Little Italy, even if it's tiny. I think Shaker Square is very cool and unique, and very pretty: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4835...7i13312!8i6656

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights are great inner suburbs, and are great areas to walk around. Lakewood isn't very pretty, but it's pretty dense and has some great bars and restaurants. There is definitely cool stuff throughout the Cleveland area, but you kind of have to work to find it. And a lot of the 'connective tissue' between the cool stuff is just boring/ugly. IMO.

and here's current visitor tips for how you connect the nodes in cleveland


metrocity
Posted 11 hours ago


So I went to visit a friend in Findlay OH over the weekend for the purpose of going to the haunted Mansfield Reformatory Prison on Saturday night. So he's from down near Columbus originally and has only been to Cleveland once to the RNR HOF. He explained that Findlay being south of Toledo on the I75 corridor, is not really connected to Cleveland directly and is not really on the radar of places to go for that part of Ohio. It's roundabout to go up 75 and turnpike...and takes a few hours. It's easier to go to Toledo (of course), fly for work out of Detroit, go to Columbus or Dayton...etc.

So, I suggested that we go to Cleveland for the day, then drive down to Mansfield at night for the haunted prison.

He was right...getting to the turnpike was a lot of country highways, took 2 hours.

Valet parked at E 4th St. Walked around Downtown and an Amish Choir was singing on Public Square. Grabbed a slice at a pizza shop on Euclid. Went to the top of Terminal Tower. Took the Rapid (he didn't even know CLE had trains) to WSM and GLB...all packed with people, and there was an outdoor thing going on in the little plaza by GLB.

Took the rapid from Ohio City to Little Italy. Rapid seemed to be running nicely every 15 min as scheduled. Little Italy was packed with people, had coffee and some bakery. Walked over to University Circle. Tons of people out and wedding party photos being taken.

Took the Healthline back to Playhouse Square, went in Heinen's and had a drink. Stopped into the candy store and popcorn shop at the 5th St arcade. Went to Greenhouse Tavern for Dinner, and had a drink at Society afterward. Picked up the car at the Valet...and it was off to Mansfield.

My point? Everywhere was lively and filled with people. Rapid and Healthline were both full...we had to stand (not complaining). Saw TWO people randomly pick up trash from the street downtown and the rapid and throw it away. The City looked great, and the people were friendly and Cosmopolitan. It felt like a real city..and was so damn easy to have a great day site seeing.

Granted, it was beautiful weather Saturday...but every time I go back to Cleveland it just gets better and better and there are more people out and about. My friend was really impressed.



The End.


metrocity
Posted 8 hours ago (edited)

A few more notable notes or musings:


Near Case Western, there was a Jewish guy speaking to a group of people in an outdoor forum about how and why the Jewish community power structure began to move to Beachwood in the 1970's.

In the same area in University Circle we heard 5 different languages being spoken in a matter of minutes.

At the plaza near GLB there were a lot of political activists working to sign up people to vote in Cuyahoga county and make change.

We saw multilple street perfomers singing and playing instruments...I always give those folks money.

We passed what I think was a Nation of Islam group having a discussion on the street downtown...and videotaping it.

I witnessed 4 people help an older lady get on the Healthline with her granny cart of groceries, my friend and I helped her get the cart off the bus at Playhouse square because the gap to the platform was too wide.

People were riding Bird Scooters in all the neighborhoods

On the Rapid out the window, we saw a skateboard park full of kids at one point.

Homeless asking for money...of course you'll have that. Worse than any other city? Probably less. In front of Tower City? Seriously not bad.

So yeah...all that looks really cool IMO to my friend 😀

[SLO]

Originally Posted by urban_encounter

I’ve lived in Chicago twice so it’s strange that you think Sacramento is too humid. You must have Sacramento confused with another city. It has very little summer humidity.

Light Rail is doing better as of late but it was originally built in areas nobody wanted to go back in 1985.

I would agree.
Sacramento and the valley in general get a bad rap on weather, but only because they are right next to coastal California and provide a big contrast. Other than that the weather in Sacramento is far more moderate than most of the country. Very little humidity and I can vouch for Chicago being much more humid.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by SLO

I would agree.
Sacramento and the valley in general get a bad rap on weather, but only because they are right next to coastal California and provide a big contrast. Other than that the weather in Sacramento is far more moderate than most of the country. Very little humidity and I can vouch for Chicago being much more humid.

i’m thinking about moving to sacramento at some point. currently living in petaluma for work. as always i’m slow to the punch by a decade lol but theres a huge need for my profession in california and sac is accessible to bay area job sites for part of the day.

[SLO]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i’m thinking about moving to sacramento at some point. currently living in petaluma for work. as always i’m slow to the punch by a decade lol but theres a huge need for my profession in california and sac is accessible to bay area job sites for part of the day.

Sac is not bad, its got enough internal amenities and of course its relatively close to a myriad of attractions in NorCal.
A decade off, not bad...

[jd3189]

Haven’t been to Sacramento yet but a friend who lives there says it’s the best city he has lived in and will probably stay there for the rest of his life. He says it has good weather, only 2 hours away from SF and Lake Tahoe, and is very affordable.

[park123]

I might take some flak for this, but I'd say Chicago. It doesn't have a bad rap so much as not being very visible at least in the NY area, and in California when I lived there. So I was very impressed when visiting. Not just with the downtown skyscraper area, but also with the lowrise outer neighborhoods like Wicker Park.

Also, while I was just a visitor, but I didn't feel like I was in a city meaningfully more unsafe than NY or LA. I guess crime is very concentrated in parts of the city where visitors are very unlikely to go to.