What big cities feel like small towns?

[Thinner6]

This topic might spark some interesting discussion...try to keep the cities over 700,000 population if possible, and state why.

[Takirojapan]

Mexico city!!!

[flar]

London, Ontario isn't a big city (~400,000) but it does feel like a small town.

[kool maudit]

english montreal (pop. 400,000 or thereabouts) is an interesting place; there are far less degrees of separation than the surrounding built environment (of a metro of 3,700,000) would suggest.

[Evergrey]

Cincinnati feels like a small town in many areas due to the rugged topography isolating and insulating many neighborhoods.

[passdoubt]

brooklyn, new york city. 2.5 million people, 34,920/mi² dense, yet it's got some small town left in it

[scribeman]

SAn Diego definitely feels like a small town. But in a good way! It is my most favorite American city.

[wrendog]

Bakersfield with a metro of 750k seems very small

[Buckeye Native 001]

Tucson, if that even counts as a city 'round here.

[UrbanSophist]

A lot of people think that Chicago does, but I don't fully see that.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by UrbanSophist

A lot of people think that Chicago does, but I don't fully see that.

nah, i dont think so. i dont think i could ever equate any area of chicago with "small town". there are quiet residential areas, sure, but i dont think thats quite the same thing.

[roner]

I would say Portland has a certain small town charm although it's almost 600,000 and 2 million in the metro. There are many neighborhoods built along old street car lines and a local saying that goes "Portland isn't a city, it's a collection of villages." But lots of cities are like that.

[Marcu]

what exactly makes something feel like a "small town"?

[KevinFromTexas]

Austin, Texas, population 690,000 in the city, 1.4 in the metro. A lot of people say it feels like a small town, but it really does. Lastnight we went to the Zilker Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Zilker Park in South Central Austin. Thousands of people were there for the lighting. An elementry school choir sang, there was a wood wind band playing Christmas songs, (including the grinch theme song). The mayor was there of course as were the city council members. People were spinning around under the tree and huddled around the bonfire. I felt like a Who in Whoville.

I guess why Austin feels like a small town is the sense of community here. It's not just a big city with a million people, it still feels like home like it still belongs to me. All my favorite hangouts, even though very popular, still feel private.

[Exodus]

Nashville in some ways feels like a small town. It's homy feeling for its size, and that's actually a good thing imo.

[HurricaneHugo]

Originally Posted by scribeman

SAn Diego definitely feels like a small town. But in a good way! It is my most favorite American city.

Yeah the many canyons that run through san diego divide the city and make it feel like smaller towns.

That and we're way lay back compared to other cities.

[wanderer34]

They say that Philly is the biggest small town in America!!!!!

[arbeiter]

San Antonio is definitely the most small-town feeling large city I can think of.

[Chicago3rd]

Originally Posted by UrbanSophist

A lot of people think that Chicago does, but I don't fully see that.

That is what I love most about Chicago. We can pop on a train go 4 miles north to a neighborhood (my experience) and walk into a neighborhood of houses and apartments where many people know each other. We know our grocer, dentist, doctor, pastor, mail person, bank teller. Lots of visiting with people you know on the street from that neighborhood. Very intiment like when I lived in Gold Beach, Oregon back when I was a kid....population 1,300 back then.

[samne]

Boston does. The actual city is small for a very large metro area. The inner city is in fairly small scale with short proximity to most ammentities.