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What Are Your Top 5 U.S. Cities/Towns/Spots?


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14 minutes ago, Ag with kids said:

NOLA - Just a fun place to go.  And the FOOD!  And the DRINKS!  Say no more.

For me it's the music.  That city just bursts at the seams with world class players.  

I don't love the French Quarter, but we always end up staying there.  Next time I'm gonna try the Garden District and just do trips into the FQ for the food & music.

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6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

For me it's the music.  That city just bursts at the seams with world class players.  

I don't love the French Quarter, but we always end up staying there.  Next time I'm gonna try the Garden District and just do trips into the FQ for the food & music.

The music is great too...Grabbing a coffee and beignet and sitting in Jackson Square and listening to/watching all the entertainers is just a fun time.  Or going up to Frenchmen St...

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38 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:
8 hours ago, Shoxthemonkey said:
Monterey, CA
Flagstaff, AZ
Conifer, CO
Portsmouth, NH
Cooperstown, NY

Conifer? Why?

Cousin has a fairly remote place at 9,000ft overlooking Denver. Sitting on her deck with a Blanton's looking at the lights below and not a care in the world. Seeing the occasional black bear and deer. As relaxing a place as I've ever been.

 

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as in Mississippi? If so please expound.
Princeville, Pacific Grove/Monterey, Annapolis, Portland ME, Montreal (or NYC if we can't annex Canada).

Yes. Lived there three years from 94 thru 96. Lived in Madison. Worked in Jackson. Retail electronics merchants like me had to move to where the chair was, hence my journey around the country. Got a wife that liked the adventure of it until she didn’t. Jackson ain’t bad; I’d put it ahead of a lot of places I’ve lived in or been.

Lived in the Bay Area from 96 - 99 as tech wealth exploded. Horrific commute, crazy taxes, high cost of living. It’s cool to visit, and lots of cool places to visit on weekends: Monterey, Russian River, Napa/Sonoma, Tahoe, Yosemite, etc. no way I’d live in the City dodging shitpiles on the street, crime, nutjobs.

Portland 99 -02. Awful place. Why? You don’t see the sun from Labor Day to July 4th. 44 and rain in an endless hell. Almost all women have seasonal affective disorder, meaning they’re all crazy as fuck. Way worse now with a completely broken city government.

We lived Denver. Lived in Broomfield which was in between Boulder and Denver. Nothing like sitting on your deck and looking at the front range and the Rockies behind. Probably our favorite place over all. Just head out on a Saturday and go white water kayaking or rafting, or snowmobiling, or snowshoeing, or exploring old mining towns.
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1.  New York City

2. NOLA

3. Boston

4. Philly

5. St. Helena, CA and other areas in Napa/Sonoma

I like Houston, Austin, and Los Angeles and the surrounds, but part of why I love the top 4 in my list is their history, which I find fascinating.  St. Helena is just gorgeous as is all of Napa/Sonoma.  Definitely a fan.

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8 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

5. St. Helena, CA and other areas in Napa/Sonoma

I’m partial to Calistoga, as it’s tucked away in the northern end of the valley. I’ve stayed there three times, in 1999, 2001, and 2007. 

Yes, that place is stunningly beautiful, but holy shit even back in 2007 that place had already started to get too crowded.

If I’m taking a California wine trip, I’m going to the Santa Barbara region. I went there in 2016, staying one night in Santa Barbara and two nights in Los Olivos. Great wines and much less crowded than Napa or Sonoma.

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46 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Las Vegas is hugely underrated as a place to live. 

Is it? I can't imagine living there. If it weren't for the mountains that surround it, I'd think it would be the ugliest place ever. Just seems like a sprawling one-story city outside of the strip. 

I do think some of the natural areas outside of it would be great. But between the culture, heat, lack of rain, I'd go insane.

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5 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Is it? I can't imagine living there. If it weren't for the mountains that surround it, I'd think it would be the ugliest place ever. Just seems like a sprawling one-story city outside of the strip. 

I do think some of the natural areas outside of it would be great. But between the culture, heat, lack of rain, I'd go insane.

Both my brother, and son have lived or currently live there.  There are lots of non gambling things to do in Vegas, and lots of off strip things, and places that are great,  and the natives know them all.  Lots of great hiking out in the hills around Vegas. 

They know about the great deals they get from the hotels during mid week down times, they know the bouncers at the clubs so they get to the head of the lines, never pay covers, and never wait for drinks inside.

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I've only ever lived in TX, but for visiting, a lot of places already mentioned:

1.) Seattle/Olympic Peninsula, in the summer, specifically. You will not find a better combination of weather, natural beauty, and urban dining/cultural scene anywhere in this country, and perhaps the world. 

2-5 in no particular order: Durango, CO as a base for exploring the San Juans in SW Colorado; New Orleans, not in June-September, as the heat/humidity takes it down a notch over the summer; Big Bend Country; and Boston.

Places I haven't been that I am probably most eager to try on a leisure trip are Miami/Florida Keys (I've been to Miami area briefly for work a couple of times), Glacier National Park, and Santa Barbara, CA.

 

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47 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Is it? I can't imagine living there. If it weren't for the mountains that surround it, I'd think it would be the ugliest place ever. Just seems like a sprawling one-story city outside of the strip. 

I do think some of the natural areas outside of it would be great. But between the culture, heat, lack of rain, I'd go insane.

has surrounding mountains, hours from great national parks, weekend drive to california coast, great food, dry heat, low cost of living.  beats any place in texas IMO.

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16 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

has surrounding mountains, hours from great national parks, weekend drive to california coast, great food, dry heat, low cost of living.  beats any place in texas IMO.

Could you not say the exact same (outside of food) about Fresno, CA?

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My favorite American cities are easily San Diego and Charleston.  Great food cities, ton of stuff to do regardless of what you're into.  In San Diego, I'd say the Mission Beach area.  I'd set up shop at the Ocean Beach Bar and Grill's second floor bar, order some fish tacos and beer, and watch the surfers come in.  In Charleston, it's south of Broad.  Each city has numerous things going on but also within driving distance of other good areas.

Favorite big city would be either Denver or Nashville.  Denver's weather is bad ass.  No humidity, really, and the winters aren't the cold, dark, and grey Northeastern winters.  I love Seattle but couldn't handle 9 months of dark drizzle.

I still love NYC, though, and always will.  It's New York.

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4 hours ago, mdmost said:

We're going to San Diego after school lets out in May for the first time. So all those lists with San Diego on them has me excited. I'd like to take the wife to Charleston as I don't think the kids would be that excited by it. 

Charleston is mostly for adults, but you could take the kids down to Folly and let them run around on the beach and eat cotton candy.  Depends on how old they are.  Teenagers can appreciate the history.  It’s cool and something we don’t get in Texas, where a house built prior to 1980 is considered old.

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4 hours ago, mdmost said:

We're going to San Diego after school lets out in May for the first time. So all those lists with San Diego on them has me excited. 

Do the zoo.  It's a lot more walking than you might imagine, but the reputation is deserved.

Edited by jimmyjazz
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17 minutes ago, Hate said:

The oldest buildings in Charleston are only 26 years older than the oldest buildings in Texas. 

I’m the furthest thing from being anti-Texan, but that’s a little ridiculous.  The last time I was in Charleston I bought a bottle of booze from a bar/liquor store that has been open since the late 1600’s, and was surrounded on all sides by pre-Civil War buildings.  An entire neighborhood of them.  South of Broad in Charleston is the best time capsule we have in this country.  We don’t have plaques on houses like this in Dallas.

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Cousin has a fairly remote place at 9,000ft overlooking Denver. Sitting on her deck with a Blanton's looking at the lights below and not a care in the world. Seeing the occasional black bear and deer. As relaxing a place as I've ever been.
 
To each his own. Conifer isn't bad, but it's not anywhere near my list.
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5 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

I’m the furthest thing from being anti-Texan, but that’s a little ridiculous.  The last time I was in Charleston I bought a bottle of booze from a bar/liquor store that has been open since the late 1600’s, and was surrounded on all sides by pre-Civil War buildings.  An entire neighborhood of them.  South of Broad in Charleston is the best time capsule we have in this country.  We don’t have plaques on houses like this in Dallas.

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I mean... it isn't ridiculous. San Antonio is old as fuck. It maybe isn't as well preserved as Charleston. 

And maybe it's been "open" since the late 1600s but that would predate this list. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_oldest_buildings_in_South_Carolina

So - I get your point - but technically Hate is correct. 

Edited by ztejas
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30 minutes ago, Hate said:

The oldest buildings in Charleston are only 26 years older than the oldest buildings in Texas. 

I lived in a small town in England growing up.  The church we went to in town was built in 1300.

The officer's club on base was an old priory built in 1050.

 

Buncha new shit here in the US...

Edited by Ag with kids
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4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

I mean... it isn't ridiculous. San Antonio is old as fuck. It maybe isn't as well preserved as Charleston. 

And maybe it's been "open" since the late 1600s but that would predate this list. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_oldest_buildings_in_South_Carolina

So - I get your point - but technically Hate is correct. 

Their claim of being the oldest bar/liquor store in the country certainly has some holes in it, but they’re more than happy to slap a sticker on the side of the bottle stating just that.   Comparing historic downtown Charleston to anywhere in Texas is just dumb, because they had a big head start.

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11 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Their claim of being the oldest bar/liquor store in the country certainly has some holes in it, but they’re more than happy to slap a sticker on the side of the bottle stating just that.   Comparing historic downtown Charleston to anywhere in Texas is just dumb, because they had a big head start.

I certainly didn't mean to pick a fight, but as Americans we tend to think of North American history through the lens of British colonialism and the American Revolution.  But there were things going on in the Southwest of NA that don't really get talked about until Texas opened up to Americans.  But yes, as a "metropolis", Charleston has more buildings that are preserved and still used than San Antonio.

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10 minutes ago, Hate said:

I certainly didn't mean to pick a fight, but as Americans we tend to think of North American history through the lens of British colonialism and the American Revolution.  But there were things going on in the Southwest of NA that don't really get talked about until Texas opened up to Americans.  But yes, as a "metropolis", Charleston has more buildings that are preserved and still used than San Antonio.

Fair enough.  I certainly wasn’t trying to pick a fight, but if you want to see the largest collection of immaculately preserved pre-Civil War homes in the country,  Charleston is where you do that.

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easy top 2:  Denver metroplex and SeaTac
i'd also entertain the larger, high-elevation Southwest cities: flagstaff, albuquerque, etc
curious about Bozeman, Nashville, and the carolina triangle
fuck texas climate, and meh to absolutely everything else
 
 
Albuquerque sucks shit and I'm a New Mexico apologist. I love Santa Fe, but partly because it's 10 hrs from Austin.
Check out Boise

Flagstaff is titties but I like having rivers and rainfall occasionally, so not my deal full time. Would love a few years there for sure.
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What's the big appeal in Denver?  I've only flown in or driven through on my way to ski destinations.  Never spent any time there.
For me it would be proximity to the mountains. I love mountain biking, fly fishing, hiking, back packing, whitewater kayaking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoing, and rock climbing. So it's kinda my vahalla

Great town, Red Rocks is amazing. Big airport so I can still travel with ease.

I could do worse
3 years until my kid graduates.

I'd love SW, CO, Telluride, Pagosa etc, but it's hard to get to.
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South Padre Island- Nostalgia, unplugged vibe, food, it’s home. Not really objectively the best but for me the best.

San Antonio- My favorite big city in Texas 

Santa Fe, NM 

NYC— If you’re gonna do the city, do the city

Guadalupe National Park— Again, more nostalgia, not the most spectacular park. I like that it is underdeveloped and less trafficked. 

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7 hours ago, tchookem said:

Fort Collins, CO
Flagstaff, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
San Diego, CA
Cincinnati, OH

Good call on Pittsburgh, beautiful city.  It’s been decades since spending any reasonable amount of time in Cincy but couldn’t wait for trips up that way as a kid, Reds, Zoo, Kings Island… 

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