so is there a such thing as a smaller, non-crap city?

triple clutcher v2.5b · Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:17 pm

The "worst city" thread got me thinking ... do any smaller cities exist where people actually want to live? It seems like once you go below 250k residents, it's all going to be part of the same basic template: lots of boring lower/middle class houses, the token nice neighborhood, an area or two full of crime, and a protective shell that's just various permutations of Applebee's, Walmart, and Home Depot. Maybe if you're lucky, a 'hip' neighborhood that borders the local college.

I suppose it's only natural, if people want to live somewhere then they'll have population growth until it's no longer a small city, otherwise it's just a matter of providing enough basic services and amenities to keep most of the current residents pacified. I'm just always fearful that I'll end up having to move to some vague city that occupies the middle-management position between NYC/Chicago/LA's president and Syracuse's endearingly drunken janitor.

milkmandan · Post by **milkmandan** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:27 pm

triple clutcher v2.5b wrote: a 'hip' neighborhood that borders the local college.

Yellow Springs, Ohio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Springs,_Ohio) is like this. Population is >4,000. It is the home of Antioch College (notable alumni, Rod Serling, creator of 'The Twilight Zone'), a tiny liberal arts school. The entire town is full of hippies, barstool philosophers and intellectuals, and professors from all of the other local colleges. It's about 25 minutes from a medium sized city, and is completely surrounded by farmland. It would be a completely awesome place to live, if you're into that sort of thing. Dave Chappelle lives there.

Iron Goldie · Post by **Iron Goldie** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:30 pm

Savannah, GA maybe? It was nice when I went there. Nice older houses, bars along the waterfront, and an art college to help keep the town pretty liberal. Of course, it had its rough side too, but for the most part the town was very pretty.

hipster holocaust · Post by **hipster holocaust** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:31 pm

UH OH HERE IT COMES WATCH OUT NOT AGAIN...

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

portland, or

43°29′28″N 83°23′49″W · Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:34 pm

I love where I live, and I live outside of a city of less than 5,000 people. Trees, lakes and rivers, no traffic... peace and quiet. And there's no slummy neighborhoods at all. No neighborhoods really. There's money in the town because everyone lives here, but works in Bay City, Saginaw or even drive over 2 hours to Detroit. The only thing I am missing out in my opinion by not living in a big city is concerts/shows. And if i wanna see one of those I can drive down, see it, and drive back.

milkmandan · Post by **milkmandan** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:34 pm

Iron Goldie wrote:Savannah, GA maybe? It was nice when I went there. Nice older houses, bars along the waterfront, and an art college to help keep the town pretty liberal. Of course, it had its rough side too, but for the most part the town was very pretty.

I have a Doctor friend who just moved there for his residency, from Columbus. He says he loves it down there. I'll be staying there for a few days in July.

The Bill · Post by **The Bill** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:54 pm

In sure Alaska or Hawaii have some nice small cities

Fighting Uruk-Hai · Post by **Fighting Uruk-Hai** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:58 pm

triple clutcher v2.5b wrote:The "worst city" thread got me thinking ... do any smaller cities exist where people actually want to live?

Nice college towns (as opposed to crap college towns). Ann Arbor has 114,024 residents and is very pleasant. Savannah was nice too when I was there ten years ago.

From Blintzes to Crepes · Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:04 pm

Savannah GA rules. I wanna go back there again. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is set there.

valgalder · Post by **valgalder** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:11 pm

Asheville... maybe?

Iron Goldie · Post by **Iron Goldie** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:12 pm

valgalder wrote:Asheville... maybe?

Yeah, Asheville is really cool. Boone, about an hour or two north of Asheville is nice too.

EEEOOOEEEOOOEEEOOO · Post by **EEEOOOEEEOOOEEEOOO** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:13 pm

There are tons of really nice smaller cities/towns. It just depends on what you like, if you're a big city person you're never going to enjoy living there.

Savannah has to be the most beautiful city I've ever visited.

Dr Yail Bloor · Post by **Dr Yail Bloor** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:16 pm

From Blintzes to Crepes wrote:Savannah GA rules. I wanna go back there again. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is set there.

great film, better book

Iron Goldie · Post by **Iron Goldie** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:18 pm

From Blintzes to Crepes wrote:Savannah GA rules. I wanna go back there again. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is set there.

So are the scenes in Forrest Gump where he's on the bench. That bench isn't there anymore though.

Its a flower bed now....

krudmonk · Post by **krudmonk** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:25 pm

college towns seem to rise above in the amenities category

Cryptoplasty · Post by **Cryptoplasty** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:28 pm

Ithaca NY is the perfect example. To me it's just about the worst place ever, but people seem to like it.

necrothrash · Post by **necrothrash** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:33 pm

Iron Goldie wrote:
valgalder wrote:Asheville... maybe?
Yeah, Asheville is really cool. Boone, about an hour or two north of Asheville is nice too.

Boone has great weed and is a good location for East Coast skiers, but outside of the college, Blue Ridge Parkway, and some hiking spots, this town has nothing to offer. Barely any architecture outside of Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter.

Hell-haine · Post by **Hell-haine** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:36 pm

France.

soiled depends · Post by **soiled depends** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:37 pm

Hell-haine wrote:France.

Wow, you mean to say that there are places on this planet other than the US that might be good to live in?
MIND FUCKING BLOWN!!!!!!

IwishIwasalittlegirl · Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:56 pm

Chattanooga, TN is nice.

krudmonk · Post by **krudmonk** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 3:57 pm

Hell-haine wrote:France.

not 4 muslinz

krudmonk · Post by **krudmonk** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:01 pm

Are we talking city proper or metro population?

triple clutcher v2.5b · Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:20 pm

EEEOOOEEEOOOEEEOOO wrote:There are tons of really nice smaller cities/towns. It just depends on what you like, if you're a big city person you're never going to enjoy living there.

I'm not a big city person, but I'm also not a small town person ... I'm just curious if finding somewhere nice in the middle is possible. Which it looks like.

krudmonk wrote:Are we talking city proper or metro population?

I was originally thinking city population, but urban area (city + suburbs) would probably be a better idea. It's hard for me to gauge because what I'm used to is the clusterfuck of cities/towns/villages/etc. that make up NY metro areas. So even though the urban area populations of Syracuse and Madison are both around 400k, Madison city proper has ~100k more people because it doesn't have as many unincorporated towns/villages bordering it.

Hell-haine · Post by **Hell-haine** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:33 pm

Savannah would be almost decent if it wasn't totally surrounded by crackheads and their cabins.

Iron Goldie · Post by **Iron Goldie** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 5:53 pm

necrothrash wrote:
Iron Goldie wrote:
valgalder wrote:Asheville... maybe?
Yeah, Asheville is really cool. Boone, about an hour or two north of Asheville is nice too.
Boone has great weed and is a good location for East Coast skiers, but outside of the college, Blue Ridge Parkway, and some hiking spots, this town has nothing to offer. Barely any architecture outside of Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter.

True, theres not a whole lot of architecture there, but I think if I lived there I'd be wanting to spend most of my times in the mountains anyway.

Generic Business Oriented Website

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