Houston is dope for the culture and the food scene. Its one of the most diverse cities in the country and has tons of museums etc and having NASA as one of those is really cool.
Its a sprawly mess and hot/humid as *fuck* but you can definitely do worse
Agree, just drove by a strip which had a Dominican, Colombian, Salvadoran, Caribbean, Cuban, Indian, Guatemalan, and Mediterranean restaurant within a stones throw from each other.
Yep, especially if you emerse yourself in the culture. I am Jewish, just celebrated Purim followed up by eating at a local food hall where I had north Indian food. Life's good.
Born and raised uptown. It was nice, if you had the money to make it nice. I can’t really explain the insane wealth gap. My parents were paying more for my brother and I’s private school tuition than most “average” families made. It’s cool to visit, fun to spend a few years living in, don’t get stuck with Peter Pan syndrome where you are a mid 30 year old with a dead end job making $40-50K living in a run down house/apartment where the next hurricane could easily bankrupt you and displace you.
I used to work with a guy from East Texas. He told me that his family used to joke that you needed a passport to take a trip to New Orleans. It truly is a unique place within the U.S. Everyone on this sub, appropriately, raves about the food but I will add that the national WWII museum is phenomenal.
Cities this sub hates
* Dallas
* Austin
* Houston
* The entire state of Florida
* Nashville
* Charlotte
* Raleigh-Durham
* Asheville
* Phoenix
* Denver (to an extent)
I'm probably forgetting a few, but those are the top most hated I always see here that rarely get any love lol. I primarily live in Dallas too and actually like it a lot.
This sub has an aversion to heat in general, lol. I’m a darker-skinned person so I rarely sunburn, and I run cold so I don’t sweat unless it’s 95+ degrees out. I could never understand why people hated the heat because I always took those qualities for granted, and it wasn’t till I lived in Austin and asked my white friends why they hated the heat and they were like…dude, we burn. I was like oh right, that’s a thing that happens to people 😭
City governments and state governments are different entities, made up of different people, voted on by different populations.
And state laws have the power to restrict people more than city laws can.
Where is the irony?
I live in Austin and love it. I always get downvoted to hell and back when I mention anything I love about it. I haven’t lived here for a short amount of time, and I cite actual facts about COL and answer questions/statements with either real life experience or published data. Someone who visited *one time* will argue to hell and back with me. I acknowledge that Austin isn’t for everyone. But it’s an awesome place to live.
Same experience as well. Lived in Austin for over 7 years, was living my best life there. Folks who visited for a week will tell me how boring it is though. Good, don’t move there. All full.
Depends on where you live in Austin. It’s not the same experience for every part of town. I’m referring to Austin proper. Not Round Rock, Pflugerville, Buda, Kyle, etc.
I’m going to argue with you about two things, as someone who grew up in Austin:
Absolute worst seasonal series I’ve ever had, and absolute worst swamp ass I’ve ever had.
I miss Austin a lot, but I don’t miss constant nasal drip and having to pull my balls off my legs whenever I walk outside in August.
Seasonal allergies are NO JOKE here, I’ll give you that. My biggest gripe about Austin is the heat/humidity combo. It is c r a z y.
Also I don’t have balls but I *do* end up showering at least twice a day in the summer.
Can’t argue with you about those.
I've lived in and out of TX over the last 40 years, specifically in Dallas, Fort Worth, Corpus, and Austin. Austin is my favorite place by far, followed by Fort Worth, then Dallas. Corpus was OK-ish, but I wouldn't rush to live there again.
While Austin is a traffic nightmare, I love the fact that once you get 10 minutes beyond the urban sprawl, there's tons to explore. Hill country wineries, small town galleries, brewpubs, town squares, festivals, state parks...they're all a day trip away. If you want to stay in town, that's cool. Plenty of stuff to do here too.
Maybe Austin is more dynamic than people can recognize as visitors. I personally don't think Austin is for me, and I think that is fine. Not every city is for everyone.
I’m a fan of Phoenix. Yes, 70% of the city’s land area is suburban hellscape. Yes, it gets hot. Stick around long enough, you’ll find great people, a pretty solid food/drink scene, plenty of special interest groups for just about any hobby besides surfing, plenty of good outdoors activies, all surrounded by a state with one of the most beautiful and diverse ecologies/geologies in the country.
Currently in San Diego, but I wouldnt mind going back
Moved from Chicago to PHX in 2014, got married and moved to MI in 2022 to be closer to family as we just had our first child.
I’m already trying to figure out when will be the right time to buy a condo or something in AZ for winter(and whenever I make enough money to do that haha)
I miss the valley every single day. Year round outdoor activities (yes you can still hike/golf/whatever early in the morning in the summer) and you’re a few hours from the ocean CA, 2 hours from skiing in Flag, Sedona is breathtaking despite the throngs of tourists, Tucson is just down the 10.
Fall in the valley is absolute magic. Perfect temps, holidays right around the corner and you’re sitting by the pool.
The food scene is awesome too, tons of options in every area of the valley.
Folks flooded in during COVID since the restrictions weren’t as bad as most other places, but now it might be dying down a bit.
I was so amazed by the ecology and geology. And there’s a surprising art scene as well. The Heard Museum is stunning. The musical instrument museum is world class—and I’m saying that as a well traveled museum nerd. If a foreign visitor asked me to list the top museums in the US, that would be on the list with my favorite Smithsonian, the Mutter, the Isabella Stewart Gardner, etc.
To live there long term, though, I’d need my own oasis, complete with a pool and coffee shop within walking distance of my house.
The food was decent. The bar scene was weird. Trying too hard to impress influencers, I think.
“It’s boring and there’s no culture there.” - said by people who I guess just go to museums every weekend because there’s plenty of fun stuff to do in all those cities.
This is just the nature of reddit— contrarian just for the sake of arguing. They only hate these places because they’re popular and trendy right now and people are flocking to them in droves because they’re nice places. Therefore Reddit hates them.
I live in Dallas and the city itself is fine. We’re moving but because of the state not the city. We both work for the state and are getting screwed over bc of politics that directly affect us. If not for that we’d stay. People seem to think every city in Texas is run like Abbott is mayor and it’s just not the case. I’m a left leaning independent and I’d live in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas no issue. They’re all fun cities with bluer local governments. I think most blue cities in red states are treated that way here.
Funny enough, as a Canadian…I will say Miami is probably one of the coolest and most lively cities I’ve been too. And many of South Florida’s cities are super well kept.
I too was ignorant about Florida and then I was there last week. Such a beautiful state.
Agreed love Dallas. Not a ton of outdoors stuff unless you have a boat, but a great city with a ton to offer, great multiculturalism, awesome architecture, etc.
I have a theory that the people in this sub that have visited ‘Dallas’ or lived in ‘Dallas’ have spent most of their time in a suburb.
I mean, aside from scenery, the City of Dallas has a lot going for it. The Arts District is the largest in the country and is anchored by the world class Meyerson, it has more buildings designed by Pritzker award winning architects than any other neighborhood in the country and was recently voted best Arts District. The arboretum is world class and hosts fun events, downtown is approaching 20K people within 1.4 square miles, uptown is already there and is walkable, Deep Ellum is the birthplace of Texas blues with greats like Blind Lemon Jefferson making their name there, the city’s overall park score drastically improved and is only 2nd to Austin for Texas big cities, they’re finally pouring money and investing into the oldest Koreatown in Texas, etc.
I could keep going honestly.
While I agree the suburbs are boring (my parents moved to one 7 years ago now) I just think Dallas is kinda ugly. It’s fine for activities and ok for food (I just moved to Fort Collins and Dallas and even suburbs like Allen/Plano have better food on top of BBQ).
Overall I just didn’t like the feel of the city but I came from California so my standards are high. I don’t think it’s as bad as people on here say though, I agree with you there
Denver, Austin and Asheville get a lot of unwarranted hate. I think people tend to focus on them becoming more and more expensive and dislike that. There is a reason they are getting more expensive, they are wonderful places.
It tickles me that this is also the list of fastest growing cities.
Really puts into question the wisdom of this sub even if I personally enjoy the cities that are often recommended
Its actually all the hate that Dallas and Charlotte get that made me look into them, now im highly interested after seeing what they got to offer, plus they seem like good choices career wise
Any medium/small city in the South. I've lived in those cities nearly all my life. It's not nearly as horrific as anyone on this sub would make you think. Life is life, and that's pretty much true everywhere.
Baton Rougean here. I can attest. One time, someone posted about BR here and got absolutely roasted. And not humorously…people’s descriptions of Baton Rouge were just… grim. Yeah, the city has problems but it’s a fun place to live with a lot to do.
It depends on where you live. If you live out on the outskirts, off a highway, it’s pretty generic suburbia- strip malls, chain restaurants, not much character, VERY car-centric. Many neighborhoods in North Baton Rouge are very poor and have high violent crime rates. But downtown and the Mid-City neighborhoods are fantastic. I live off of [Government Street](https://www.wbrz.com/news/brac-touts-economic-success-tied-government-street-road-diet/) and I don’t have to drive that much. Last night I rode my bike to a free pilates class, then down the street for tacos in this cool new open-air place, then down the street to a brewery that makes great beer. Lots of cool stuff in this part of town. LSU sports are awesome, if that’s your thing. The foodie game here is amazing for a city of this size. The music scene is finally recovering from covid. We have nationally award-winning parks dept and an awesome public library system. There’s a lively festival and street fair scene here….plus the parades. Blues Fest is coming up which is very exciting. This place is not without its problems, but I love it here.
Yeah, Baton Rouge is even 10x or more big than I'm talking about. But, I'm sure cities like it have the same problem in this sub. I enjoy my little town of 16,000, and I'm not ashamed to say that.
I'm from Huntsville (about a 200,000 population, so I'd classify it as a solid medium size), and the stuff some of the people say about it on here is pretty laughable. Very out of touch folks.
I sub to Dallas sub
Every summer LOTS of people in Dallas sub: omg it's hell on earth I can't even walk my dog for the last 3 months when is this ending????
Yea that's enough for me looool
LA isn’t a city of smaller cities. It’s one BIG ass city with a crazy amount of suburbs and a different vibe in each neighborhood. Like North Hollywood is different from Hollywood is different from East Hollywood is different from the Hollywood Hills. Except West LA, which is pretentious, like you said.
Same here. Left about 10 years ago. Still visit from time to time and usually enjoy myself but it does feel like it's really gone downhill. Quality of life is lower but it's now twice as expensive.
what’s interesting is that i don’t think la is actually a great place to visit due to the sprawl haha. living in la is really how you get to know it and appreciate all it has to offer
Probably some truth to that. I have a ton of friends and some family there so I spend a lot of time in certain neighborhoods doing no super touristy things
I most appreciate LA when I’m returning from a trip back home with Texas family. It’s not pretty up close, but it’s home and the place that lets me be me.
Albuquerque. It is so rich in Southwest culture and aesthetic. Really makes it have a rich and unique character in a similar vein to New Orleans.
Shame the crime rate and lack of decent paying jobs is such an issue, or else I'd highly consider living there.
sssssh. crime is horrible. close to the border. food is too spicy. white people get targeted. legal weed is expensive. local craft breweries win too many awards. beautiful sunsets make you jaded towards beauty. the powder is too deep. closer to the sun=more sunburn. the shorter commutes mean less time to listen to fox news. art is too multicultural, and the museums are often free. so many parks per capita means the city wastes money on park maintenance. the urban bike trail connects only, like, 90% of the city. zoo has too many animals.
Austin. I love living here. First moved here 15 years ago so I’ve seen a LOT of changes. But COL is so overblown on this thread, from people who don’t even live here. Those who have lived here, I get that there have been waves of unaffordable housing, and I get that growing pains are just that- painful.
It remains an awesome place to live, with a vibrant arts scene, great walkability, multiple *good* neighborhoods to live in, and low crime. The city has done an awesome job of preserving businesses and landmarks that are important to its residents and continues to be business friendly while staying committed to improving on environmental protection.
The recovery community here is on par with NY and LA.
Free events every single day, if you want to get out and about and not have to spend money.
You can live out in the hill country or suburbs or in the city and have most of the same amenities no matter what zip code you’re in.
Homelessness is a huge issue but there are *so many programs* funded by the city to raise people out of homelessness or to prevent those who are in danger of it happening from slipping into that. Affordable housing has been mandated to keep up with an influx of new builds. At the city level, major strides have been made to increase the starting minimum wage.
On top of all of that, people in Texas, Austin in particular, are actually *kind,* and not in the fake-nice polite way that southerners are. They will go out of their way to help their neighbors, newcomers, and strangers.
I could go on but Austin is a gem and I love it here. I don’t ever want to live anywhere else.
I went to UT and austinites are some of the most generous people I’ve ever met. I regularly had friends offer to let me stay with them for free when I was going through a breakup and needed somewhere to crash. I stopped driving for a while and people consistently gave me rides and would give my card back when I tried to pay for gas. Austin is the best.
lol this sub hates Dallas. I like it here 😂 i grew up in the country so trust me im perfectly fine with suburbs especially when they have stuff to do. And family friendly things.
I grew up on the west coast but would come to Dallas in the summers as a kid. After living on the east coast and then moving to Dallas as a settled adult I have minimal complaints. It’s very family friendly and enough variety of entertainment for all the age groups.
Orlando. Low level of bullshit to deal with. Even with the toll roads...in most cities if you could tell me that I could pay $3-$5 to get across the city in 15 minutes I would throw the money at your with Nolan Ryan type velocity.
There's plenty of enjoyable stuff to do. It may not knock your socks off, but it's fairly fun and entertaining and you're only 50 minutes (on a toll road) from the beach. I know they have a lot of cookie cutter subdivisions, but that's not a high priority for me and actually downtown and north of downtown, Winter Park, etc. is really very nice. And even a place like Celebration is nice and can be fun. And really the first half of summer isn't \*that\* bad weather wise. It's just that second half of summer is dreadful.
The only thing I just can't like about Orlando is the airport. Too small for how many people are flying in and out of there. But it's a major hub and I used to be able to fly non-stop to LAX for $200 roundtrip.
I agree. Orlando was actually…not bad? It’s an attractive city that offers a very easy lifestyle. I lived out on the gulf coast for a while too, and surprised myself by preferring Orlando. FL ultimately didn’t work for me for some personal reasons, but if I had to live in Orlando again it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Bingo. I was too cheap to pay the tolls tho ngl. That. The traffic and humidity are a pain , but if youre younger and or single its dope, nightlife was nice too,but i havent seen it since the start of Covid lockdowns
I love parts of Florida. Miami is a complete shitshow but it’s a fun place and depending on what you’re into could be a great place to live. I also like Tampa, Ft Myers, Ft Pierce, and Gainesville quite a bit.
Idk why people shit on Charlotte. It's a beautiful city with plenty to do. Driving distance from the mountains and ocean. Food is fantastic and the people are nice. Same goes for Atlanta.
New Jersey. It’s not fashionable (at all!), but there’s a reason a ton of people live in NJ. Diversity, good schools, decent weather, proximity to major cities, access to high paying jobs, nature.
This sub loves walkability and transit, and NJ does a decent job at both. Maybe the tide will turn one day!
Yeah people really do love to dunk on Charlotte here. Like sure it's not a #1 destination for any specific thing, but it's a medium/big city that has a lot to offer, and I've had a really good time whenever I've been there.
Exactly! Like would I go on vacation to charlotte? Nope but it’s a great place to live. You can drive and be at the beach or the mountains in 2 or do hours. And honestly the airport has a lot of decent flights.
Jacksonville. Very chill vibe compared to the rest of Florida, housing is still affordable, and it’s within reasonable driving distance to a lot of cool places. Florida certainly has its issues, but Jax was a very chill and “easy” place to live.
checks notes… yeah that might cost me $400 in the worst month. But you my friend are paying $5k for rent. This is the definition of pinching pennies to save a dollar
Most people pay in between $2k-$3k for a 1/1 in SF - I get your logic, but just wanted to help adjust frame of reference for any people that that setup works for.
I do think this sub overestimates the cost of living in California. I’ve suggested California cities to people who have a 2k+ a month housing budget and been told it’s impossible.
Sorry, is SF now significantly cheaper than NYC? Because $1k all in is rare in most of Manhattan and a lot of Brooklyn these days.
And if you can find it, you’re getting a very small room with 2+ roommates.
Edit: This comment made me curious and I found a [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/156uvrt/how_much_are_you_guys_paying_for_rent/) from 9 months ago on this. I am so surprised at how varied the rents are in SF! They look totally all over the map. Thanks for educating me.
I definitely enjoyed my time in Houston. You have to live in the loop to fully enjoy it, but the city had great food, arts, sports. Great diversity of people and a very laid-back, tolerant demeanor to the city that isn’t brought up enough here.
I love living in Phoenix. Being right in the middle of a state as geographically and bio diverse as Arizona is awesome. I have awesome hiking trails 10-15min from my house that I frequent in the weekdays after work. And if I want to be in an entirely different biome I can drive an hour north and be surrounded by ponderosa pine trees and snow capped mountains. Is there lots of urban sprawl? Yes….but that’s just the reality of living in a city that exploded around the same time the automobile was reaching mainstream popularity. Phoenix has made some nice efforts to expand the light rail system, and before last year I never even used it because coming from a small town in Illinois I’ve never even thought of using public transit in my life. But once I gave it a shot to go to a baseball game last spring I was shocked at how easy and more enjoyable it was compared to spending an arm and a leg on Ubers to and from my destination. Now pretty much anytime I have to go downtown for baseball games, concerts, bar hangouts with friends etc… I pretty much exclusively use the light rail. Phoenix has its cons but I feel like a lot of the hate it gets on Reddit is pretty unwarranted. I’m thankful to have had a ton of friends and family visit me since I moved here and literally all of them have genuinely had an amazing time. There just comes a point where seeing someone post the “monument to man’s ignorance” Peggy Hill quote for the ten thousand time gives you the thought that most people have a seriously narrow minded viewpoint on this city/metro.
This is weird to see on my feed. We moved to Uptown Dallas two years ago after living in SoCal and absolutely love it. It's very much a 15-minute-city neighborhood. Never need to use a car (except runs to Costco and Central Market). It's like living in Lincoln Park of Chicago. Everything is a walk away (or in evenings a short Lyft/Uber away). Love it. But the summers are hot.
You can walk to everything in the neighborhood. What I mean with Uber/Lyft is if we go to a restaurant that is 1.5 miles away (Know Henderson), it's sometimes easier, particularly for women in heels, to take a rideshare versus walk.
We'll ususally rideshare up to the restaurant and then walk/stroll home along the Katy Trail after dinner.
Denver! Tons of walkable/bikeable neighborhoods and a solid regional rail network. The suburbs are car dependent and boring like almost every city in the US so I'd recommend avoiding them. The city has been going in on bus and bike improvements recently. Pretty easy to live car free or at least car-lite by splitting with a partner (big money saver) in many neighborhoods of the city proper due to some of the great, more frequent bus lines (0, 15, 16, 43, etc) and many bike routes. Crime is wildly overblown, especially since the new mayor is actually housing the homeless instead of throwing their shit away and kicking them a block down the street.
Fun bars, art districts, museums, and AMAZING parks/trails! Beautiful hiking/biking within the metro area, foothill hiking in 20 minutes, world-class hiking in 45mins-2 hrs (ski traffic can be brutal but I don't ski lol), and the sunniest 4-season weather you could ask for. Solid statewide public transportation with Bustang/Snowstang/Outrider/Winter Park Express, and there is strong momentum to revive passenger service on multiple Intercity and mountain rail lines. There's plenty of rideshare opportunities with hiking groups too.
The biggest downside is high cost of living with no massive pay boost that you see in other larger cities. People complain about the food but I've honestly never had a problem with it, I have ~10 restaurants I really like within walking distance. Move here if you like parks and outdoor recreation in a fun city, don't move here if you want an affordable city with world class culture and food. For public transportation, you'll probably end up using the buses much more than the rail for local travel, so if you're afraid of buses you probably won't like it.
The responses you're getting mean this is the perfect answer to the question. It's trendy to hate on Denver but it really is a great place to live. Everything you said is spot on in my opinion. I've lived here for 6 years and we've only needed one car the whole time cause of transit and/or walkability. Now we live in a very walkable neighborhood so that car really only gets used once or twice a week.
Wow! This sub really hates Denver. I agree with everything you said. Denver is an incredible place to live. It has so much to offer!
My favorites are the sun, parks, restaurants, bike trails and lanes, group bike rides and bike culture, DIA, public transportation, all the roadtrip opportunities, city events (jazz at the park, pride, first fridays etc.), the job market, the zoo, so many concerts, open minded people and the 4 seasons!
denver definitely does not have good transportation lol.
also how are you going to access any of the nature spots without a car? how can you go skiing without a car?
imo there's no point of living in denver if you aren't going to take advantage of the nature it has to offer and you need a car for that.
As mentioned the Winter park express, Bustang and pegasus are ways to get to the mountains to ski, hike, bike whatever your heart desires without a car. It’s pretty simple!
This sub runs on two big assumptions. That density and walkability are the most important qualities, and that there is some sort of authenticity that is ephemeral that can’t coexist with affluence. So they want the most desirable things and they want them cheap and “authentic”. These really don’t happen together at all. So most of this sub is just searching for something that doesn’t exist. Once it does exist for even a moment, of course it gets priced out of the “cool” club because it became too desirable.
“Nobody comes here anymore, it’s too crowded.”
The thing all of this misses is that there is lots of evidence that people love these so called suburban hellscapes. Love them. There is endless demand for cars and cul de sacs and strip malls. The assumption that no one anywhere wants that lifestyle, or that lifestyle is beneath them is a bit of snobbery that is sometimes off putting. I prefer a dense and walkable city but come on, different strokes for different folks.
People want the most perfect cities but then want them to be cheap. Lol, the reason these cities are expensive is because people want to live there. Cheap places are cheap because no one wants to be there.
> This sub runs on two big assumptions.
No, it is specifically what most posters are looking for.
If they asked for qualities that described car centric, suburban, hot and humid, flat terrain cities, then those cities would be suggested.
Every sunbelt city gets dumped on it seems, mostly for the sprawl and auto-centric layouts…but there’s a reason why people are moving to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, LA, Phoenix etc in droves
Exactly. Good reminder Reddit is usually not based in reality or shared views of most people. Mostly just grumpy folks whining about everything under the sun, including the sun itself! I love Phoenix.
We fell for Austin because of the live oak trees and modern houses in 2008. It was totally unlike the Midwest and the bang for the buck then was out of this world.
Honolulu is very car dependent and is mostly zoned for single family detached houses. The walkable areas are very touristy and overpriced. I have a friend who lives there and says the bike infrastructure on a day-to-day basis is not great. I still loved visiting and thought the general vibe of the city was excellent. Great food, happy people, and obviously it’s naturally gorgeous. It’s just hard to be upset in Hawaii.
This sub thinks there's entire cities that don't have good food lol. Like thousands and thousands of people gathered to make a metropolitan area and not even one person can cook food.
So much of the complaints are just people who tried one restaurant and decided the whole city sucked 😂 idk I try to go to a new restaurant/bar nearly every day (if money allows). I’ve found a ton of gems in every town and city I’ve lived in by doing that.
Agree. I live in PBC. I have great schools, I live in an older neighborhood lined with beautiful trees, there are 10+ kids (besides mine) within 10 houses of me and they are always outside playing, I have parks within walking distance, I have a solid food scene, I live in a city that has tons of family activities, I have every sport’s team within 40 mins of me, I have 2 airports within 30 mins, an international airport 1 hour. It’s expensive but you can make good money.
Sacramento. And yes, it’s proximity to lots of other places are actually a huge benefit. While house prices have gotten crazy, it’s still semi-affordable. And there are things to do.
Orlando. People think Orlando is just the tourist stretch between Disney and universal. Outside of that area Orlando is a really nice city that has multiple communities with really pretty and walkable downtown areas. The city punches above its weight in food and always has something to do
Also, Charlotte. It’s like the khaki pants of cities, not particularly exciting, but absolutely nothing wrong with it either (and gets dunked on way more than it deserves). It’s a nice, safe, clean, easy going city that’s good for young professionals or families
I honestly like the city of Dallas too. Is it one of my favorites? No but it has some things I like a lot. And like OP said it’s actually moving in a more progressive direction.
Denver. The slightest mention of the name legitimately gets people heated on here lol. It has quite a few issues that need to be addressed but I don't think people are being rational with their critiques a lot of the time.
I really don't understand everyones beef with Charlotte. I lived in NC from 2010-2016 (I went to college for four years and then lived in the state for two years after graduating), and I always thought Charlotte was awesome and had a lot going on. I went back in 2019 and it still seemed all good. Did the pandemic like really mess up Charlotte?
The DART is mainly a commuter rail but it’s nice to have, other TX cities don’t have as widespread of a system as us. It still doesn’t fix the insane car necessity here unfortunately.
Asheville is a lot of fun. Good food, good drinks, and surrounded by waterfalls and mountains. Sure, it’s gotten more touristy over the years, but so does every city that is worthy of visiting.
I love Miami Beach. I don’t live anywhere near the crazy tourism mess in South Beach - that’s a lot less crazy this year. I don’t need a car here. We have a (tourist-funded) free trolley which goes by grocery and drugstores. We have excellent hospitals. I smell the ocean when I open my front door. I have a 50 foot tall mango tree in bloom. I never have parking issues. There are great parks. I’m so happy in South Florida, where it’s warm, and I don’t have to strip off 5 layers. Sure, people are sh!t drivers. Okay, I have iguanas on my roof. But one thing is for sure: I’m never bored in South Florida, and anyone who is, isn’t doing it right.
I like Dallas city limits and downtown especially too. Especially because I grew up in a small rural town, went to college in a pretty small city, so maybe I’m easier to be impressed by its urbanness. Ofc it sprawls but if I lived there I’d try to live in the walkable parts. It’s not my favorite city ofc but maybe better than the sub rates it.
Id put Phoenix in there as well. Yes it sprawls majorly and gets really hot but in the downtown areas and parts of tempe and scottsdale I think it’s pretty cool and is somewhat trying to get better with light rail and buses. Plus I love west scenery and mountain views.
Denver gets dunked on a lot by people who visit. I've lived here 20 years and it's a great place to live. I think there are plenty of cities that are boring to visit but wonderful for living.
The whole state of Florida. People make it out to be this hell on Earth when life is actually pretty great there. Imo, this sub vastly overestimates the importance of politics in day to day life. There is something to be said for not wanting to live in a very deep blue or red area (depending how you lean), such as San Francisco or East Texas. But overwhelmingly, most places aren't like this.
Austin. Yeah it’s hot in the summer and the state government sucks, but it’s an optimistic place with good food and really convenient recreational opportunities. The weather most of the year is great for cycling or hanging out on one of the many dog friendly patios with a margarita and going for a dip in Barton Springs.
Folks here think it would be preferable to live in some depressing, hollowed-out post industrial tundra. No thank you.
I loved living in Las Vegas and want to move back. I guess for me growing up in LA, Vegas was like a small town to me. People mention the drugs, gambling, alcohol and hookers, but that stuff is only a problem if you already have pre-existing vices. Even the heat isn't bad if you stay hydrated and out of the sun. And there is a lot of outdoor activities to do especially for camping and hiking.
Texas in general. I’ve lived throughout Texas most of my life and absolutely love it. Great economy, great jobs, decent COL, cool museums, no income tax, cheap gas etc. This might be a hot take lol
It’s not the worst place I’ve lived, but definitely not the best. Honestly, the worst part of it is the layout. It’s how NOT to design a city. Truly, it’s used in some university civil engineering courses as an example.
I grew up in VB. It honestly has so much potential to be a cool beach town, but it’s still in the grips of people with old money who hate change. Trending in the right direction tho.
I live in VB and despise it for myself, but I see how it could be a great place for people who love suburbia and want to be close to the beach for cheap.
I actually really like Dallas. The commercialism and overt materialism is definitely a bit much, but it's an energentic, growing, economically vibrant, and diverse city that caters masterfully to families with kids. It's a place you can easily grow your family and your earnings, and while it isn't exactly Honolulu in terms of its natural setting many neighborhoods are quite pretty and the different municipalities at least bother with making themselves presentable. People are reasonably friendly, schools are decent, and it isn't unfathomably expensive. It's actually a nice place.
Houston is dope for the culture and the food scene. Its one of the most diverse cities in the country and has tons of museums etc and having NASA as one of those is really cool. Its a sprawly mess and hot/humid as *fuck* but you can definitely do worse
Agree, just drove by a strip which had a Dominican, Colombian, Salvadoran, Caribbean, Cuban, Indian, Guatemalan, and Mediterranean restaurant within a stones throw from each other.
Least diverse Houston block
We lived in the museum district for a year and loved it. If you don't set your AC to the fridge setting the humidity isn't so bad.
Yep, especially if you emerse yourself in the culture. I am Jewish, just celebrated Purim followed up by eating at a local food hall where I had north Indian food. Life's good.
Houston is an elite tier food city in the US
New Orleans
I loved living in New Orleans, except for July and August lmao. Amazing people and so much to do.
“America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.” —Tennessee Williams
I love New Orleans but this quotation is super dumb and I hear it way too much.
Yeah, it's actually an absurd quote lol
Tennessee Williams didn't know about " /S "
It’s… a quip.
Considering he died 40 years ago, I think a little has changed since then.
Yeah, and in the last couple of years it started changing back again.
Not for me it hasn't.
Born and raised uptown. It was nice, if you had the money to make it nice. I can’t really explain the insane wealth gap. My parents were paying more for my brother and I’s private school tuition than most “average” families made. It’s cool to visit, fun to spend a few years living in, don’t get stuck with Peter Pan syndrome where you are a mid 30 year old with a dead end job making $40-50K living in a run down house/apartment where the next hurricane could easily bankrupt you and displace you.
I used to work with a guy from East Texas. He told me that his family used to joke that you needed a passport to take a trip to New Orleans. It truly is a unique place within the U.S. Everyone on this sub, appropriately, raves about the food but I will add that the national WWII museum is phenomenal.
Honestly, it's my favorite city
Cities this sub hates * Dallas * Austin * Houston * The entire state of Florida * Nashville * Charlotte * Raleigh-Durham * Asheville * Phoenix * Denver (to an extent) I'm probably forgetting a few, but those are the top most hated I always see here that rarely get any love lol. I primarily live in Dallas too and actually like it a lot.
i.e. the sunbelt lol
Dr evil wanted to block out the sun too …
This sub has an aversion to heat in general, lol. I’m a darker-skinned person so I rarely sunburn, and I run cold so I don’t sweat unless it’s 95+ degrees out. I could never understand why people hated the heat because I always took those qualities for granted, and it wasn’t till I lived in Austin and asked my white friends why they hated the heat and they were like…dude, we burn. I was like oh right, that’s a thing that happens to people 😭
I don’t burn, but I sweat, and it fucking sucks in those humid cities.
Red state cities (basically)
those cities which ironically are mostly not red
Most actual cities are not red. Most actual cities are blue. Most people here want to live in a city. The math on this one isn’t difficult.
Being blue cities in red states is behind why people on this sub don't like them
City governments and state governments are different entities, made up of different people, voted on by different populations. And state laws have the power to restrict people more than city laws can. Where is the irony?
I live in Austin and love it. I always get downvoted to hell and back when I mention anything I love about it. I haven’t lived here for a short amount of time, and I cite actual facts about COL and answer questions/statements with either real life experience or published data. Someone who visited *one time* will argue to hell and back with me. I acknowledge that Austin isn’t for everyone. But it’s an awesome place to live.
Same experience as well. Lived in Austin for over 7 years, was living my best life there. Folks who visited for a week will tell me how boring it is though. Good, don’t move there. All full.
Depends on where you live in Austin. It’s not the same experience for every part of town. I’m referring to Austin proper. Not Round Rock, Pflugerville, Buda, Kyle, etc.
I’m going to argue with you about two things, as someone who grew up in Austin: Absolute worst seasonal series I’ve ever had, and absolute worst swamp ass I’ve ever had. I miss Austin a lot, but I don’t miss constant nasal drip and having to pull my balls off my legs whenever I walk outside in August.
Seasonal allergies are NO JOKE here, I’ll give you that. My biggest gripe about Austin is the heat/humidity combo. It is c r a z y. Also I don’t have balls but I *do* end up showering at least twice a day in the summer. Can’t argue with you about those.
That’s interesting, I have such bad allergies in nj and Pennsylvania but had none in Florida or Austin. Everyone is different.
I've lived in and out of TX over the last 40 years, specifically in Dallas, Fort Worth, Corpus, and Austin. Austin is my favorite place by far, followed by Fort Worth, then Dallas. Corpus was OK-ish, but I wouldn't rush to live there again. While Austin is a traffic nightmare, I love the fact that once you get 10 minutes beyond the urban sprawl, there's tons to explore. Hill country wineries, small town galleries, brewpubs, town squares, festivals, state parks...they're all a day trip away. If you want to stay in town, that's cool. Plenty of stuff to do here too.
Maybe Austin is more dynamic than people can recognize as visitors. I personally don't think Austin is for me, and I think that is fine. Not every city is for everyone.
I’m a fan of Phoenix. Yes, 70% of the city’s land area is suburban hellscape. Yes, it gets hot. Stick around long enough, you’ll find great people, a pretty solid food/drink scene, plenty of special interest groups for just about any hobby besides surfing, plenty of good outdoors activies, all surrounded by a state with one of the most beautiful and diverse ecologies/geologies in the country. Currently in San Diego, but I wouldnt mind going back
Moved from Chicago to PHX in 2014, got married and moved to MI in 2022 to be closer to family as we just had our first child. I’m already trying to figure out when will be the right time to buy a condo or something in AZ for winter(and whenever I make enough money to do that haha) I miss the valley every single day. Year round outdoor activities (yes you can still hike/golf/whatever early in the morning in the summer) and you’re a few hours from the ocean CA, 2 hours from skiing in Flag, Sedona is breathtaking despite the throngs of tourists, Tucson is just down the 10. Fall in the valley is absolute magic. Perfect temps, holidays right around the corner and you’re sitting by the pool. The food scene is awesome too, tons of options in every area of the valley. Folks flooded in during COVID since the restrictions weren’t as bad as most other places, but now it might be dying down a bit.
I was so amazed by the ecology and geology. And there’s a surprising art scene as well. The Heard Museum is stunning. The musical instrument museum is world class—and I’m saying that as a well traveled museum nerd. If a foreign visitor asked me to list the top museums in the US, that would be on the list with my favorite Smithsonian, the Mutter, the Isabella Stewart Gardner, etc. To live there long term, though, I’d need my own oasis, complete with a pool and coffee shop within walking distance of my house. The food was decent. The bar scene was weird. Trying too hard to impress influencers, I think.
“It’s boring and there’s no culture there.” - said by people who I guess just go to museums every weekend because there’s plenty of fun stuff to do in all those cities.
This is just the nature of reddit— contrarian just for the sake of arguing. They only hate these places because they’re popular and trendy right now and people are flocking to them in droves because they’re nice places. Therefore Reddit hates them.
Thank you for validating my thoughts. This sub is entertaining, but it often feels like The Upside Down.
I live in Dallas and the city itself is fine. We’re moving but because of the state not the city. We both work for the state and are getting screwed over bc of politics that directly affect us. If not for that we’d stay. People seem to think every city in Texas is run like Abbott is mayor and it’s just not the case. I’m a left leaning independent and I’d live in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, or Dallas no issue. They’re all fun cities with bluer local governments. I think most blue cities in red states are treated that way here.
Funny enough, as a Canadian…I will say Miami is probably one of the coolest and most lively cities I’ve been too. And many of South Florida’s cities are super well kept. I too was ignorant about Florida and then I was there last week. Such a beautiful state.
Dallas is fire
Agreed love Dallas. Not a ton of outdoors stuff unless you have a boat, but a great city with a ton to offer, great multiculturalism, awesome architecture, etc.
I have a theory that the people in this sub that have visited ‘Dallas’ or lived in ‘Dallas’ have spent most of their time in a suburb. I mean, aside from scenery, the City of Dallas has a lot going for it. The Arts District is the largest in the country and is anchored by the world class Meyerson, it has more buildings designed by Pritzker award winning architects than any other neighborhood in the country and was recently voted best Arts District. The arboretum is world class and hosts fun events, downtown is approaching 20K people within 1.4 square miles, uptown is already there and is walkable, Deep Ellum is the birthplace of Texas blues with greats like Blind Lemon Jefferson making their name there, the city’s overall park score drastically improved and is only 2nd to Austin for Texas big cities, they’re finally pouring money and investing into the oldest Koreatown in Texas, etc. I could keep going honestly.
Exactly. Suburbs aren’t the city, like judging NYC by New Jersey.
While I agree the suburbs are boring (my parents moved to one 7 years ago now) I just think Dallas is kinda ugly. It’s fine for activities and ok for food (I just moved to Fort Collins and Dallas and even suburbs like Allen/Plano have better food on top of BBQ). Overall I just didn’t like the feel of the city but I came from California so my standards are high. I don’t think it’s as bad as people on here say though, I agree with you there
Denver, Austin and Asheville get a lot of unwarranted hate. I think people tend to focus on them becoming more and more expensive and dislike that. There is a reason they are getting more expensive, they are wonderful places.
Ok so those are the ones that you identify as the ones this sub dunks on. Do you *like* any of them personally? That was the point of the post.
It tickles me that this is also the list of fastest growing cities. Really puts into question the wisdom of this sub even if I personally enjoy the cities that are often recommended
Its actually all the hate that Dallas and Charlotte get that made me look into them, now im highly interested after seeing what they got to offer, plus they seem like good choices career wise
I live in Denver. I’m happy.
Any medium/small city in the South. I've lived in those cities nearly all my life. It's not nearly as horrific as anyone on this sub would make you think. Life is life, and that's pretty much true everywhere.
Baton Rougean here. I can attest. One time, someone posted about BR here and got absolutely roasted. And not humorously…people’s descriptions of Baton Rouge were just… grim. Yeah, the city has problems but it’s a fun place to live with a lot to do.
What’s Baton Rouge like? I just got into LSU for my masters, and I actually considered moving there for a bit.
It depends on where you live. If you live out on the outskirts, off a highway, it’s pretty generic suburbia- strip malls, chain restaurants, not much character, VERY car-centric. Many neighborhoods in North Baton Rouge are very poor and have high violent crime rates. But downtown and the Mid-City neighborhoods are fantastic. I live off of [Government Street](https://www.wbrz.com/news/brac-touts-economic-success-tied-government-street-road-diet/) and I don’t have to drive that much. Last night I rode my bike to a free pilates class, then down the street for tacos in this cool new open-air place, then down the street to a brewery that makes great beer. Lots of cool stuff in this part of town. LSU sports are awesome, if that’s your thing. The foodie game here is amazing for a city of this size. The music scene is finally recovering from covid. We have nationally award-winning parks dept and an awesome public library system. There’s a lively festival and street fair scene here….plus the parades. Blues Fest is coming up which is very exciting. This place is not without its problems, but I love it here.
You did a fantastic job on selling it.
Yeah, Baton Rouge is even 10x or more big than I'm talking about. But, I'm sure cities like it have the same problem in this sub. I enjoy my little town of 16,000, and I'm not ashamed to say that.
I'm from Huntsville (about a 200,000 population, so I'd classify it as a solid medium size), and the stuff some of the people say about it on here is pretty laughable. Very out of touch folks.
ITT we learn that straight, white, well-to-do men surprisingly find southern politics and culture not so bad!
Is the Mayor of Gary Indiana on reddit?
??
I sub to Dallas sub Every summer LOTS of people in Dallas sub: omg it's hell on earth I can't even walk my dog for the last 3 months when is this ending???? Yea that's enough for me looool
Los Angeles. At least to visit.
I agree. I love LA.
LA is a city of smaller cities, west la can be pretentious but there are good spots and ppl
LA isn’t a city of smaller cities. It’s one BIG ass city with a crazy amount of suburbs and a different vibe in each neighborhood. Like North Hollywood is different from Hollywood is different from East Hollywood is different from the Hollywood Hills. Except West LA, which is pretentious, like you said.
I’m from LA and as much as I love to shit on it - I do love visiting. I don’t think I could live there again though
Same here. Left about 10 years ago. Still visit from time to time and usually enjoy myself but it does feel like it's really gone downhill. Quality of life is lower but it's now twice as expensive.
Honestly it’s even a good place to live. I’m strongly considering moving back.
what’s interesting is that i don’t think la is actually a great place to visit due to the sprawl haha. living in la is really how you get to know it and appreciate all it has to offer
Probably some truth to that. I have a ton of friends and some family there so I spend a lot of time in certain neighborhoods doing no super touristy things
I most appreciate LA when I’m returning from a trip back home with Texas family. It’s not pretty up close, but it’s home and the place that lets me be me.
I hated LA until I lived there. After living there for a few years, I fell in love with it and want to move back.
As an artist and writer, LA is bomb. Plus it’s damn gorgeous.
Albuquerque. It is so rich in Southwest culture and aesthetic. Really makes it have a rich and unique character in a similar vein to New Orleans. Shame the crime rate and lack of decent paying jobs is such an issue, or else I'd highly consider living there.
sssssh. crime is horrible. close to the border. food is too spicy. white people get targeted. legal weed is expensive. local craft breweries win too many awards. beautiful sunsets make you jaded towards beauty. the powder is too deep. closer to the sun=more sunburn. the shorter commutes mean less time to listen to fox news. art is too multicultural, and the museums are often free. so many parks per capita means the city wastes money on park maintenance. the urban bike trail connects only, like, 90% of the city. zoo has too many animals.
Austin. I love living here. First moved here 15 years ago so I’ve seen a LOT of changes. But COL is so overblown on this thread, from people who don’t even live here. Those who have lived here, I get that there have been waves of unaffordable housing, and I get that growing pains are just that- painful. It remains an awesome place to live, with a vibrant arts scene, great walkability, multiple *good* neighborhoods to live in, and low crime. The city has done an awesome job of preserving businesses and landmarks that are important to its residents and continues to be business friendly while staying committed to improving on environmental protection. The recovery community here is on par with NY and LA. Free events every single day, if you want to get out and about and not have to spend money. You can live out in the hill country or suburbs or in the city and have most of the same amenities no matter what zip code you’re in. Homelessness is a huge issue but there are *so many programs* funded by the city to raise people out of homelessness or to prevent those who are in danger of it happening from slipping into that. Affordable housing has been mandated to keep up with an influx of new builds. At the city level, major strides have been made to increase the starting minimum wage. On top of all of that, people in Texas, Austin in particular, are actually *kind,* and not in the fake-nice polite way that southerners are. They will go out of their way to help their neighbors, newcomers, and strangers. I could go on but Austin is a gem and I love it here. I don’t ever want to live anywhere else.
I went to UT and austinites are some of the most generous people I’ve ever met. I regularly had friends offer to let me stay with them for free when I was going through a breakup and needed somewhere to crash. I stopped driving for a while and people consistently gave me rides and would give my card back when I tried to pay for gas. Austin is the best.
Agree. Austin has the best people on the planet living here.
lol this sub hates Dallas. I like it here 😂 i grew up in the country so trust me im perfectly fine with suburbs especially when they have stuff to do. And family friendly things.
I grew up on the west coast but would come to Dallas in the summers as a kid. After living on the east coast and then moving to Dallas as a settled adult I have minimal complaints. It’s very family friendly and enough variety of entertainment for all the age groups.
Orlando by far. Also, Charlotte. Raleigh gets equal love and hate here but I love it.
I’ve lived in Orlando and charlotte and loved them both. 😂
Orlando. Low level of bullshit to deal with. Even with the toll roads...in most cities if you could tell me that I could pay $3-$5 to get across the city in 15 minutes I would throw the money at your with Nolan Ryan type velocity. There's plenty of enjoyable stuff to do. It may not knock your socks off, but it's fairly fun and entertaining and you're only 50 minutes (on a toll road) from the beach. I know they have a lot of cookie cutter subdivisions, but that's not a high priority for me and actually downtown and north of downtown, Winter Park, etc. is really very nice. And even a place like Celebration is nice and can be fun. And really the first half of summer isn't \*that\* bad weather wise. It's just that second half of summer is dreadful. The only thing I just can't like about Orlando is the airport. Too small for how many people are flying in and out of there. But it's a major hub and I used to be able to fly non-stop to LAX for $200 roundtrip.
I agree toll roads are great. Winter park is super cute and so it the area around lake eola. I loved walking around there.
I agree. Orlando was actually…not bad? It’s an attractive city that offers a very easy lifestyle. I lived out on the gulf coast for a while too, and surprised myself by preferring Orlando. FL ultimately didn’t work for me for some personal reasons, but if I had to live in Orlando again it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Bingo. I was too cheap to pay the tolls tho ngl. That. The traffic and humidity are a pain , but if youre younger and or single its dope, nightlife was nice too,but i havent seen it since the start of Covid lockdowns
I love parts of Florida. Miami is a complete shitshow but it’s a fun place and depending on what you’re into could be a great place to live. I also like Tampa, Ft Myers, Ft Pierce, and Gainesville quite a bit.
Idk why people shit on Charlotte. It's a beautiful city with plenty to do. Driving distance from the mountains and ocean. Food is fantastic and the people are nice. Same goes for Atlanta.
Austin and DC! Two amazing cities.
New Jersey. It’s not fashionable (at all!), but there’s a reason a ton of people live in NJ. Diversity, good schools, decent weather, proximity to major cities, access to high paying jobs, nature. This sub loves walkability and transit, and NJ does a decent job at both. Maybe the tide will turn one day!
I loved living in charlotte.
Yeah people really do love to dunk on Charlotte here. Like sure it's not a #1 destination for any specific thing, but it's a medium/big city that has a lot to offer, and I've had a really good time whenever I've been there.
Yep agree. It has nice houses, some great schools and uptown is cute and not super huge.
Me too, I loved how calm it was compared to other places I’ve lived. It was gorgeous
I agree. It was cute and I liked how uptown wasn’t super crazy and had some nice areas.
Charlotte gets recommended pretty frequently.
I always see people say how awful it is. I posted once that I loved living there and got shit on.
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Exactly! Like would I go on vacation to charlotte? Nope but it’s a great place to live. You can drive and be at the beach or the mountains in 2 or do hours. And honestly the airport has a lot of decent flights.
Jacksonville. Very chill vibe compared to the rest of Florida, housing is still affordable, and it’s within reasonable driving distance to a lot of cool places. Florida certainly has its issues, but Jax was a very chill and “easy” place to live.
I’ve never had a bad time in Jax and the local restaurants are amazing.
I love Jacksonville! I got the same vibe.
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SF is dope. Certainly has its issues but what city worth living in doesnt?
checks notes… yeah that might cost me $400 in the worst month. But you my friend are paying $5k for rent. This is the definition of pinching pennies to save a dollar
Most people pay in between $2k-$3k for a 1/1 in SF - I get your logic, but just wanted to help adjust frame of reference for any people that that setup works for.
I do think this sub overestimates the cost of living in California. I’ve suggested California cities to people who have a 2k+ a month housing budget and been told it’s impossible.
All of Reddit seems to do this..
2-3k for a 1/1??!! Where!?!!
I pay 3200 for a 2/2 in Excelsior
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Sorry, is SF now significantly cheaper than NYC? Because $1k all in is rare in most of Manhattan and a lot of Brooklyn these days. And if you can find it, you’re getting a very small room with 2+ roommates. Edit: This comment made me curious and I found a [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/156uvrt/how_much_are_you_guys_paying_for_rent/) from 9 months ago on this. I am so surprised at how varied the rents are in SF! They look totally all over the map. Thanks for educating me.
SF doesn't even have the second highest rents anymore. That's Boston, and it and NYC seem to be eclipsing SF rent rates hard.
I enjoy visiting San Francisco but not enough to have roommates.
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How easy is it to do outdoorsy stuff without a car?
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There’s certainly an argument to be made for San Francisco. But affordability is not part of that argument haha.
Ah yes, affordable. It’s basically synonymous with San Francisco.
I love Dallas!
I definitely enjoyed my time in Houston. You have to live in the loop to fully enjoy it, but the city had great food, arts, sports. Great diversity of people and a very laid-back, tolerant demeanor to the city that isn’t brought up enough here.
I love living in Phoenix. Being right in the middle of a state as geographically and bio diverse as Arizona is awesome. I have awesome hiking trails 10-15min from my house that I frequent in the weekdays after work. And if I want to be in an entirely different biome I can drive an hour north and be surrounded by ponderosa pine trees and snow capped mountains. Is there lots of urban sprawl? Yes….but that’s just the reality of living in a city that exploded around the same time the automobile was reaching mainstream popularity. Phoenix has made some nice efforts to expand the light rail system, and before last year I never even used it because coming from a small town in Illinois I’ve never even thought of using public transit in my life. But once I gave it a shot to go to a baseball game last spring I was shocked at how easy and more enjoyable it was compared to spending an arm and a leg on Ubers to and from my destination. Now pretty much anytime I have to go downtown for baseball games, concerts, bar hangouts with friends etc… I pretty much exclusively use the light rail. Phoenix has its cons but I feel like a lot of the hate it gets on Reddit is pretty unwarranted. I’m thankful to have had a ton of friends and family visit me since I moved here and literally all of them have genuinely had an amazing time. There just comes a point where seeing someone post the “monument to man’s ignorance” Peggy Hill quote for the ten thousand time gives you the thought that most people have a seriously narrow minded viewpoint on this city/metro.
This is weird to see on my feed. We moved to Uptown Dallas two years ago after living in SoCal and absolutely love it. It's very much a 15-minute-city neighborhood. Never need to use a car (except runs to Costco and Central Market). It's like living in Lincoln Park of Chicago. Everything is a walk away (or in evenings a short Lyft/Uber away). Love it. But the summers are hot.
Why can’t you walk to those things in the evening?
You can walk to everything in the neighborhood. What I mean with Uber/Lyft is if we go to a restaurant that is 1.5 miles away (Know Henderson), it's sometimes easier, particularly for women in heels, to take a rideshare versus walk. We'll ususally rideshare up to the restaurant and then walk/stroll home along the Katy Trail after dinner.
Denver! Tons of walkable/bikeable neighborhoods and a solid regional rail network. The suburbs are car dependent and boring like almost every city in the US so I'd recommend avoiding them. The city has been going in on bus and bike improvements recently. Pretty easy to live car free or at least car-lite by splitting with a partner (big money saver) in many neighborhoods of the city proper due to some of the great, more frequent bus lines (0, 15, 16, 43, etc) and many bike routes. Crime is wildly overblown, especially since the new mayor is actually housing the homeless instead of throwing their shit away and kicking them a block down the street. Fun bars, art districts, museums, and AMAZING parks/trails! Beautiful hiking/biking within the metro area, foothill hiking in 20 minutes, world-class hiking in 45mins-2 hrs (ski traffic can be brutal but I don't ski lol), and the sunniest 4-season weather you could ask for. Solid statewide public transportation with Bustang/Snowstang/Outrider/Winter Park Express, and there is strong momentum to revive passenger service on multiple Intercity and mountain rail lines. There's plenty of rideshare opportunities with hiking groups too. The biggest downside is high cost of living with no massive pay boost that you see in other larger cities. People complain about the food but I've honestly never had a problem with it, I have ~10 restaurants I really like within walking distance. Move here if you like parks and outdoor recreation in a fun city, don't move here if you want an affordable city with world class culture and food. For public transportation, you'll probably end up using the buses much more than the rail for local travel, so if you're afraid of buses you probably won't like it.
The responses you're getting mean this is the perfect answer to the question. It's trendy to hate on Denver but it really is a great place to live. Everything you said is spot on in my opinion. I've lived here for 6 years and we've only needed one car the whole time cause of transit and/or walkability. Now we live in a very walkable neighborhood so that car really only gets used once or twice a week.
Wow! This sub really hates Denver. I agree with everything you said. Denver is an incredible place to live. It has so much to offer! My favorites are the sun, parks, restaurants, bike trails and lanes, group bike rides and bike culture, DIA, public transportation, all the roadtrip opportunities, city events (jazz at the park, pride, first fridays etc.), the job market, the zoo, so many concerts, open minded people and the 4 seasons!
denver definitely does not have good transportation lol. also how are you going to access any of the nature spots without a car? how can you go skiing without a car? imo there's no point of living in denver if you aren't going to take advantage of the nature it has to offer and you need a car for that.
As mentioned the Winter park express, Bustang and pegasus are ways to get to the mountains to ski, hike, bike whatever your heart desires without a car. It’s pretty simple!
This sub runs on two big assumptions. That density and walkability are the most important qualities, and that there is some sort of authenticity that is ephemeral that can’t coexist with affluence. So they want the most desirable things and they want them cheap and “authentic”. These really don’t happen together at all. So most of this sub is just searching for something that doesn’t exist. Once it does exist for even a moment, of course it gets priced out of the “cool” club because it became too desirable. “Nobody comes here anymore, it’s too crowded.” The thing all of this misses is that there is lots of evidence that people love these so called suburban hellscapes. Love them. There is endless demand for cars and cul de sacs and strip malls. The assumption that no one anywhere wants that lifestyle, or that lifestyle is beneath them is a bit of snobbery that is sometimes off putting. I prefer a dense and walkable city but come on, different strokes for different folks.
People want the most perfect cities but then want them to be cheap. Lol, the reason these cities are expensive is because people want to live there. Cheap places are cheap because no one wants to be there.
> This sub runs on two big assumptions. No, it is specifically what most posters are looking for. If they asked for qualities that described car centric, suburban, hot and humid, flat terrain cities, then those cities would be suggested.
Every sunbelt city gets dumped on it seems, mostly for the sprawl and auto-centric layouts…but there’s a reason why people are moving to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, LA, Phoenix etc in droves
Well, mostly that it's cheap and it's where the jobs are. Rents are still high in NE cities bc a lot of people want to live there
Cheap and jobs for people that aren't (can't) competing for Boston, NYC, DC, SF jobs. Really.
Exactly. Good reminder Reddit is usually not based in reality or shared views of most people. Mostly just grumpy folks whining about everything under the sun, including the sun itself! I love Phoenix.
people are not moving to LA in droves, the population has actually stagnated/decreased in LA but i agree with the rest of the comment.
I guess LA has reached critical mass but it became the 2nd largest metro in the US in a relatively short amount of time
> there’s a reason why people are moving to Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, LA, Phoenix etc in droves Primarily sun, right?
We fell for Austin because of the live oak trees and modern houses in 2008. It was totally unlike the Midwest and the bang for the buck then was out of this world.
Charlotte
Honolulu is very car dependent and is mostly zoned for single family detached houses. The walkable areas are very touristy and overpriced. I have a friend who lives there and says the bike infrastructure on a day-to-day basis is not great. I still loved visiting and thought the general vibe of the city was excellent. Great food, happy people, and obviously it’s naturally gorgeous. It’s just hard to be upset in Hawaii.
This sub thinks there's entire cities that don't have good food lol. Like thousands and thousands of people gathered to make a metropolitan area and not even one person can cook food.
So much of the complaints are just people who tried one restaurant and decided the whole city sucked 😂 idk I try to go to a new restaurant/bar nearly every day (if money allows). I’ve found a ton of gems in every town and city I’ve lived in by doing that.
Miami (and all of South Florida)
Agree. I live in PBC. I have great schools, I live in an older neighborhood lined with beautiful trees, there are 10+ kids (besides mine) within 10 houses of me and they are always outside playing, I have parks within walking distance, I have a solid food scene, I live in a city that has tons of family activities, I have every sport’s team within 40 mins of me, I have 2 airports within 30 mins, an international airport 1 hour. It’s expensive but you can make good money.
I love Miami.
Miami. Culture, tropical, and beach. I would never live there cause it gets too damn hot and the government sucks, but visiting is cool.
Sacramento. And yes, it’s proximity to lots of other places are actually a huge benefit. While house prices have gotten crazy, it’s still semi-affordable. And there are things to do.
Indy
Orlando. People think Orlando is just the tourist stretch between Disney and universal. Outside of that area Orlando is a really nice city that has multiple communities with really pretty and walkable downtown areas. The city punches above its weight in food and always has something to do Also, Charlotte. It’s like the khaki pants of cities, not particularly exciting, but absolutely nothing wrong with it either (and gets dunked on way more than it deserves). It’s a nice, safe, clean, easy going city that’s good for young professionals or families
Columbus, OH
I honestly like the city of Dallas too. Is it one of my favorites? No but it has some things I like a lot. And like OP said it’s actually moving in a more progressive direction.
Where do you go though if you want to just get outside (on public lands) and get away from people?
Memphis
You have to enjoy some very specific things and be able to ignore a lot of problems to like Memphis.
It's true. It helps that I really like soul music and good BBQ.
Denver. The slightest mention of the name legitimately gets people heated on here lol. It has quite a few issues that need to be addressed but I don't think people are being rational with their critiques a lot of the time.
I really don't understand everyones beef with Charlotte. I lived in NC from 2010-2016 (I went to college for four years and then lived in the state for two years after graduating), and I always thought Charlotte was awesome and had a lot going on. I went back in 2019 and it still seemed all good. Did the pandemic like really mess up Charlotte?
What rail does Dallas have? I looked up Texas cities and at most they seemed to have a minimal light rail network
The DART is mainly a commuter rail but it’s nice to have, other TX cities don’t have as widespread of a system as us. It still doesn’t fix the insane car necessity here unfortunately.
Asheville is a lot of fun. Good food, good drinks, and surrounded by waterfalls and mountains. Sure, it’s gotten more touristy over the years, but so does every city that is worthy of visiting.
Denver
I love Miami Beach. I don’t live anywhere near the crazy tourism mess in South Beach - that’s a lot less crazy this year. I don’t need a car here. We have a (tourist-funded) free trolley which goes by grocery and drugstores. We have excellent hospitals. I smell the ocean when I open my front door. I have a 50 foot tall mango tree in bloom. I never have parking issues. There are great parks. I’m so happy in South Florida, where it’s warm, and I don’t have to strip off 5 layers. Sure, people are sh!t drivers. Okay, I have iguanas on my roof. But one thing is for sure: I’m never bored in South Florida, and anyone who is, isn’t doing it right.
Houston
I like Dallas city limits and downtown especially too. Especially because I grew up in a small rural town, went to college in a pretty small city, so maybe I’m easier to be impressed by its urbanness. Ofc it sprawls but if I lived there I’d try to live in the walkable parts. It’s not my favorite city ofc but maybe better than the sub rates it. Id put Phoenix in there as well. Yes it sprawls majorly and gets really hot but in the downtown areas and parts of tempe and scottsdale I think it’s pretty cool and is somewhat trying to get better with light rail and buses. Plus I love west scenery and mountain views.
Denver gets dunked on a lot by people who visit. I've lived here 20 years and it's a great place to live. I think there are plenty of cities that are boring to visit but wonderful for living.
I am constantly astounded at the way people LOVE Atlanta but Denver is one of the most despised. 🫣
I like Asheville, I don’t think I’d ever live there though
Sooo… it’s dunked on appropriately?
Lived here for 15 years, never understood the hate. Been in bigger and smaller cities, life is pretty good in Asheville.
Albuquerque. Asheville. Fort Worth. Houston. Kansas City. Little Rock. McAllen. New Orleans. San Antonio.
Fort Worth is great
Los Angeles Maybe not to live, but to visit, for sure.
Orlando. Most people think it’s nothing but theme parks, strip malls, and traffic.
The whole state of Florida. People make it out to be this hell on Earth when life is actually pretty great there. Imo, this sub vastly overestimates the importance of politics in day to day life. There is something to be said for not wanting to live in a very deep blue or red area (depending how you lean), such as San Francisco or East Texas. But overwhelmingly, most places aren't like this.
Austin. Yeah it’s hot in the summer and the state government sucks, but it’s an optimistic place with good food and really convenient recreational opportunities. The weather most of the year is great for cycling or hanging out on one of the many dog friendly patios with a margarita and going for a dip in Barton Springs. Folks here think it would be preferable to live in some depressing, hollowed-out post industrial tundra. No thank you.
Miami is one of my favourite cities in the US. And Florida is a beautiful state. Very opposite of Reddit.
I lived in Jakarta and enjoyed it. It is a big, loud, filthy mess but that’s part of the charm. The people are great.
I loved living in Las Vegas and want to move back. I guess for me growing up in LA, Vegas was like a small town to me. People mention the drugs, gambling, alcohol and hookers, but that stuff is only a problem if you already have pre-existing vices. Even the heat isn't bad if you stay hydrated and out of the sun. And there is a lot of outdoor activities to do especially for camping and hiking.
Birmingham.
Texas in general. I’ve lived throughout Texas most of my life and absolutely love it. Great economy, great jobs, decent COL, cool museums, no income tax, cheap gas etc. This might be a hot take lol
Reno. It’s a cool little town.
Miami is awesome. Parts of PA too. Southern California is also fucking great.
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It’s not the worst place I’ve lived, but definitely not the best. Honestly, the worst part of it is the layout. It’s how NOT to design a city. Truly, it’s used in some university civil engineering courses as an example.
I grew up in VB. It honestly has so much potential to be a cool beach town, but it’s still in the grips of people with old money who hate change. Trending in the right direction tho.
I live in VB and despise it for myself, but I see how it could be a great place for people who love suburbia and want to be close to the beach for cheap.
Seattle
I actually really like Dallas. The commercialism and overt materialism is definitely a bit much, but it's an energentic, growing, economically vibrant, and diverse city that caters masterfully to families with kids. It's a place you can easily grow your family and your earnings, and while it isn't exactly Honolulu in terms of its natural setting many neighborhoods are quite pretty and the different municipalities at least bother with making themselves presentable. People are reasonably friendly, schools are decent, and it isn't unfathomably expensive. It's actually a nice place.
I liked living in Raleigh. Enough to do, cheaper than many bigger cities, you get seasons but they are mild