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

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4715

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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 went to Italy in high school. A couple of fellow students asked the teacher chaperone “do we have buildings this old in Memphis?”.
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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12408

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The Driftless Area - Confluence of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.  I grew up west of here but always admired it's beauty and loved visiting.  I live in the western reaches of it now and absolutely love it.  It's nationally undiscovered and is a rugged, beautiful place with forested rock wall canyons, clear spring fed streams, excellent kayaking, mountain biking, and hundreds of miles of paved trails.  A killer beer scene (Toppling Goliath and New Glarus are both located in the Driftless) and lots of vibrant small towns like Decorah, IA, Lanesboro MN, and Virqoua WI as well as fun little cities like La Crosse, WI and Dubuque, IA.  Outsiders almost seem to universally fall in love with it.

Lake City, CO - one of the last untrampled places in the state.  Absolutely beautiful.  It lacks a major ski area, but that's a big part of what it's keeping it from being steamrolled.  Some of the best 14ers and offroading that Colorado has to offer are near here, and it feels like the old mountain town's last stand to me.

The Black Hills - beautiful and unpretentious.  Gets a bad rap as a tourist trap, and there is some of that going on, but it's so easy to get away from.  An island of real mountain life surrounding by the bleakest parts of the Great Plains.  Stark, beautiful, and undeniably cool if you know where to look.

New Orleans - there's nothing I can add that hasn't already been said.  If it was close to mountains, it would be utterly perfect.

Greater Des Moines (includes Ames) - (insert collective eye rolling here) this is where I cut my teeth, where I went to school, where I had some of the best years of my life.  Des Moines is a vibrant and rapidly growing mid-sized city that punches above it's weight in big city type amenities but lacks the hellacious traffic, super high crime areas, and excessive bustle that negatively define city life for some folks.  There's a contagious energy and high quality of life.

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45512

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8 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Those that have been to Charleston and Savannah... similar? Totally different?

Been to Savannah, liked it. But everyone seems to be mentioning Charleston.

Definitely different.  As you know, the old part of Savannah is like stepping back in time.  Everything slows down, it's quiet and peaceful.  The older parts of Charleston have more "buzz" to them.  It just feels like a bigger city, although I don't think it really is.

By recollection, the architecture is different, too.  Historical homes in Charleston can be very colorful, less of the brick understated Federal style of Savannah.

Go check out Charleston, it's amazing, even if I prefer the pace of Savannah more.

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C-Man

C-Man 26991

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On 2/18/2022 at 11:29 AM, mdmost said:

San Francisco Bay area

New York City

Seattle

Haleakalā National Park, Maui

Yosemite National Park

 

Forgot Hawai'i in my list. Kauai is magical. We also enjoyed the big island on another trip.

Your kids won't find Charleston all that interesting. It's an eating-and-drinking town with a few historical things to see/do. It's kind of like a cleaner version of NOLA.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12408

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Posted (edited)
On 2/20/2022 at 8:07 AM, gmr548 said:

It's a nice town. Definitely the best in OH. Top five destination in America is, uh, generous.

I took the list as "your personal favorites" vs. "define an objective 5 best destinations".

I know damn well most people would laugh at my list.  But it's what I like.  Which is what I understood the assignment to be.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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Shoxthemonkey

Shoxthemonkey 1976

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2 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The Driftless Area - Confluence of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota.  I grew up west of here but always admired it's beauty and loved visiting.  I live in the western reaches of it now and absolutely love it.  It's nationally undiscovered and is a rugged, beautiful place with forested rock wall canyons, clear spring fed streams, excellent kayaking, mountain biking, and hundreds of miles of paved trails.  A killer beer scene (Toppling Goliath and New Glarus are both located in the Driftless) and lots of vibrant small towns like Decorah, IA, Lanesboro MN, and Virqoua WI as well as fun little cities like La Crosse, WI and Dubuque, IA.  Outsiders almost seem to universally fall in love with it.

Lake City, CO - one of the last untrampled places in the state.  Absolutely beautiful.  It lacks a major ski area, but that's a big part of what it's keeping it from being steamrolled.  Some of the best 14ers and offroading that Colorado has to offer are near here, and it feels like the old mountain town's last stand to me.

The Black Hills - beautiful and unpretentious.  Gets a bad rap as a tourist trap, and there is some of that going on, but it's so easy to get away from.  An island of real mountain life surrounding by the bleakest parts of the Great Plains.  Stark, beautiful, and undeniably cool if you know where to look.

New Orleans - there's nothing I can add that hasn't already been said.  If it was close to mountains, it would be utterly perfect.

Greater Des Moines (includes Ames) - (insert collective eye rolling here) this is where I cut my teeth, where I went to school, where I had some of the best years of my life.  Des Moines is a vibrant and rapidly growing mid-sized city that punches above it's weight in big city type amenities but lacks the hellacious traffic, super high crime areas, and excessive bustle that negatively define city life for some folks.  There's a contagious energy and high quality of life.

TIL that driftless does not mean what I thought it did. I have visited the area often but had never heard the term before.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12408

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TIL that driftless does not mean what I thought it did. I have visited the area often but had never heard the term before.

No one used it when I was a kid, but the last 10-15 years it’s really come on. That area is so different from the rest of its surrounding states and there’s been an organic increase in regional identity.
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Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler 3461

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4 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Lake City, CO - one of the last untrampled places in the state.  Absolutely beautiful.  It lacks a major ski area, but that's a big part of what it's keeping it from being steamrolled.  Some of the best 14ers and offroading that Colorado has to offer are near here, and it feels like the old mountain town's last stand to me.

 

Yep.  Hinsdale County might have the fewest miles of paved roads of any county in the Lower 48.  Went through Lake City once as a kid, so I don't recall it very well, but I do remember thinking that it was unspoiled.  

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12408

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Just now, Carl Spackler said:

Yep.  Hinsdale County might have the fewest miles of paved roads of any county in the Lower 48.  Went through Lake City once as a kid, so I don't recall it very well, but I do remember thinking that it was unspoiled.  

I've stayed there 3-4 times, and by far the most common license plate outside of Colorado there is Texas.  Talked to a few guys in bars there who were up fishing from Texas.  Seems like that's the draw for the majority of them.  I've been there for 14ers.

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DaysOff

DaysOff 7821

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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.

The San Antonio missions are a World Heritage site and old as fuck. Charleston is full of drunken baboons that are more southern genteel than NOLA.
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7723

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50 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I've stayed there 3-4 times, and by far the most common license plate outside of Colorado there is Texas.  Talked to a few guys in bars there who were up fishing from Texas.  Seems like that's the draw for the majority of them.  I've been there for 14ers.

Lake City has some great offroading, as you mentioned, but all the side by sides tearing around town really ruin it for me.  Hate that noise.

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Chopper

Chopper 17126

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I've seen Fort Collins on one or two lists. It is an awesome place to live. Lots of sunny days, good health care, great natural resources, bike paths, university town. I once thought the same of Austin (20+ years there) until the hordes descended. Hopefully the horrible air pollution Colorado endured last summer won't be an annual thing because I'm not sure I can take much more of that.

I've also seen Santa Fe on a couple lists. Tried living there for a few years, doing split city living with Austin. Between the 7500' elevation, general dustiness, and horrible juniper allergies (or maybe it was ragweed, or maybe both I forget), I never felt comfortable there. The air at 5000 feet in northern CO is much more comfortable to me for everyday living. Then there's the matter of Santa Fe having a severe shortage of decent medical professionals. Lots of doctors who were probably at the bottom of their class or who just sucked at their jobs and decided to give up trying and relo'd to Santa Fe. 

Edited by Chopper
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Chewbacca

Chewbacca 7723

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10 minutes ago, Chopper said:

I've seen Fort Collins on one or two lists. It is an awesome place to live. Lots of sunny days, good health care, great natural resources, bike paths, university town. I once thought the same of Austin (20+ years there) until the hordes descended. Hopefully the horrible air pollution Colorado endured last summer won't be an annual thing because I'm not sure I can take much more of that.

I've also seen Santa Fe on a couple lists. Tried living there for a few years, doing split city living with Austin. Between the 7500' elevation, general dustiness, and horrible juniper allergies (or maybe it was ragweed, or maybe both I forget), I never felt comfortable there. The air at 5000 feet in northern CO is much more comfortable to me for everyday living. Then there's the matter of Santa Fe having a severe shortage of decent medical professionals. Lots of doctors who were probably at the bottom of their class or who just sucked at their jobs and decided to give up trying and relo'd to Santa Fe. 

Biggest downside to Ft. Fun is the distance to the ski areas, but I agree it's a very nice place.

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C-Man

C-Man 26991

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4 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

Interesting. Never been and never heard it described as such. I'll defer to those who have been. 

I haven't been to Pittsburgh since I rolled through there back in the early/mid '00s for a Stars road trip there and to Philadelphia. I enjoyed both cities immensely. The historic stuff in Philly is as good -- if not better -- than DC. Walking into the building where they signed the Declaration of Independence and Constitution is chill-inducing.

Edited by C-Man
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Chopper

Chopper 17126

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33 minutes ago, yoladu said:

May I ask why? Genuinely curious.

I eyed that area too. It's gorgeous and accessible. But then I read the Oregonian's articles about how genuinely fucked and woefully unprepared the entire state of Oregon is for a shift in the Cascadia fault. Hell, OR doesn't even have good monitoring of their active volcanoes. At least CA has building codes that have helped them prepare. Oregon hasn't done squat.

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45512

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6 minutes ago, Chopper said:

I eyed that area too. It's gorgeous and accessible. But then I read the Oregonian's articles about how genuinely fucked and woefully unprepared the entire state of Oregon is for a shift in the Cascadia fault. Hell, OR doesn't even have good monitoring of their active volcanoes. At least CA has building codes that have helped them prepare. Oregon hasn't done squat.

Well, that's a buzz kill.

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HornPhD

HornPhD 1361

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5 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Kailua is pretty meh.  Maybe Haleiwa instead?

I prefer Kailua. My sister and her family have lived there for about 20 years. When we visit, we feel like locals. Plus, it’s tough to beat sunrise at Lanikai Beach or up at the pillboxes followed by a breakfast sandwich at Kalapawai Market. 

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45512

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I probably should have included Maui, which is the extent of my travels in Hawaii.  We stayed a few miles north of Lahaina.  Wow.  I didn't really want to go, I didn't want to fly to a postage stamp in the middle of the Pacific, but our 10th anniversary came up and my wife cranked up the heat to go.  I'm glad she did, that place is magical.

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