Let's Discuss Cities In Terms Of "Cool." OK, I Realize This Forum

[manbearwig]

I've always felt that Philly gets underrated. Yeah, there are some pretty crap areas, but there's a lot of "cool" stuff going on there as well. It's not only the second biggest city on the east coast, it has the second largest concentration of students as well, which bodes well for the city life.

[qualster]

I've always felt that Philly gets underrated. Yeah, there are some pretty crap areas, but there's a lot of "cool" stuff going on there as well. It's not only the second biggest city on the east coast, it has the second largest concentration of students as well, which bodes well for the city life.

I've been to Philly and I liked it. I expected it to be a run down, boring suck hole, but there was a lot going on there. The architecture, the bars, and the old area of downtown were great.

[Oblomov]

.

[ccs224]

I've always felt that Philly gets underrated. Yeah, there are some pretty crap areas, but there's a lot of "cool" stuff going on there as well. It's not only the second biggest city on the east coast, it has the second largest concentration of students as well, which bodes well for the city life.

I've been to Philly and I liked it. I expected it to be a run down, boring suck hole, but there was a lot going on there. The architecture, the bars, and the old area of downtown were great.

Philly isn't so bad. It just suffers a lot because it lacks mythology, is more working class than glamorous, and generally seems in decline. Not bad as a sixth borough though.

[ccs224]

Neither New York nor LA can be cool, as they're the obvious answers.

Take a long hard look at your tar, then continue talking about cool.

[Cupidity]

Orlando,
Charleston,
New York

[ccs224]

Orlando,
Charleston,
New York

ORLANDO!?

[things fall apart]

Can you all please explain what you mean by cool?


Yeah NY and LA are home to biglaw, but they are also the two biggest cities in the United States. A few thousand suits don't take away from booming nightlife, art, cultural diversity, and unique architecture.

I don't understand the hate for New York here, besides the extreme COL. Besides that, unless you need your quiet, slow suburb I don't see what it is you can't find in a city like that. Yes there are pretentious, fake people in NY/Chi/LA but they are so big you can easily get away from that. (edit) I don't even mean to be plugging this three as the best places in America because they aren't. But not only do I fail to understand some of these other options, I would not even consider some of these places cities outside of a small downtown area which is dwarfed by the surrounding suburban sprawl.

[quickquestionthanks]

Tempe gets monsoons, doesn't it? I remember visiting ASU as a contender for my undergrad, and it was about 100 degrees and 90% humid. God-awful.

Yeah, but it's only bad the day after. The day of the monsoon, you'll be thankful for a respite from the oven.

[dbt]

of the places I've been...

NYC
Austin
San Fran
D.C.
Boston

are the best cities. Montreal is cool but I was underwhelmed (was expecting more I guess). I'm still holding out for Vancouver and maybe Portland. Never been to Chicago either, so maybe it will bump someone out. But so far, that's my top 5.

[utexas2010]

Neither New York nor LA can be cool, as they're the obvious answers. They might be good cities to live in (I've rather eat my own pubic hair every morning for breakfast), but they can't be cool. Cool requires something different from what my mother would suggest is cool. I don't know how the home of biglaw could be cool. And no, I am not a hipster.

Chicago is kind of cool. Detroit is cool. New Orleans is cliche, but still cool (at least was, haven't been since Katerina). Boston is a little too geeky and bourgeois, but comes close.

I stopped reading after I read that "Detroit is cool"....that pretty much sums up your personality for me

[Cupidity]

Orlando,
Charleston,
New York

ORLANDO!?

'Cha. Orlando is wonderful, especially the winter-park area. It has a really nice, classy arts scene. It's like you melded Asheville, NC with a Starbucks.

[ccs224]

Orlando,
Charleston,
New York

ORLANDO!?

'Cha. Orlando is wonderful, especially the winter-park area. It has a really nice, classy arts scene. It's like you melded Asheville, NC with a Starbucks.

Flame.

[ccs224]

Montreal is cool but I was underwhelmed (was expecting more I guess).

+1

[jcl2]

Meh, if the San Juans count for Seattle then the Oregon Coast counts for Portland. I do love me some NW WA, born and raised, it really is one of the best places in the world. Just wouldn't want to live in Seattle proper (or Everett, Tacoma, or Bellevue, all of which are even worse; Portland on the other hand has some nice burbs--Clackamas County and Oregon City come to mind).

I disagree about the Portland burbs, they seem more sprawling and poorly planned than the suburbs around Seattle in general. Have you ever been to Beaverton or Gresham, those places really suck. Portland proper is nice, but I think Seattle has a little more to offer and is in a generally better location.

The best place to live in the PNW though is Bellingham. Beautiful location, about 1.5 hours from Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., so pretty good access to both of those awesome cities, and most importantly only an hour from the best skiing in the world (IMO) at Mount Baker. Maybe it doesn't quite match some people's description of a city, but it is enough of one for me, about 80,000 people. It is my life goal to eventually move back there while still having a decent career.

[beef wellington]

The best place to live in the PNW though is Bellingham.

+1

[j.wellington]

Seattle is the country's premier city and New York is its most overrated, but one place that's unfairly overlooked is the Raleigh-Durham area (which I generally take to include Chapel Hill). Perhaps it's not "hip" in a classic sense, but it's a surprisingly diverse and vibrant place with a lot of young people, and it's absolutely beautiful.

[NayBoer]

Does anybody who lives in San Francisco ever call it 'San Fran?' I can't recall ever hearing a local call it San Fran or Frisco. They always say the full name or just 'the city.'

[fortissimo]

Does anybody who lives in San Francisco ever call it 'San Fran?' I can't recall ever hearing a local call it San Fran or Frisco. They always say the full name or just 'the city.'

Born in SF and used to live there (so don't know if I qualify) but no. It's the opposite. Native SF-ers often call it "Frisco." Most people don't bother saying 'San Francisco' because the name is too long. Just like we call nicknamed Sacramento Sac-town or San Jo for San Jose.

Seattle is the country's premier city

+ 1 billion

[jcl2]

Does anybody who lives in San Francisco ever call it 'San Fran?' I can't recall ever hearing a local call it San Fran or Frisco. They always say the full name or just 'the city.'

Born in SF and used to live there (so don't know if I qualify) but no. It's the opposite. Native SF-ers often call it "Frisco." Most people don't bother saying 'San Francisco' because the name is too long. Just like we call nicknamed Sacramento Sac-town or San Jo for San Jose.

Seattle is the country's premier city

+ 1 billion

What? I grew up in the Bay Area and no one called San Francisco "Frisco." When did you live there?

[Vegas_Rebel]

Seattle is the country's premier city

+ 1 billion

As long as you don't mind being sopping wet, or freezing, or both at the same time, sure.

It's an attractive countryside, but the city itself always struck me a grimey. I get why 'grunge' was born there.

/Tacoma born

[ccs224]

/Tacoma born

You're coming from Tacoma and calling Seattle grimey? Tacoma?

Congrats on making it out alive though.

[Vegas_Rebel]

/Tacoma born

You're coming from Tacoma and calling Seattle grimey? Tacoma?

Congrats on making it out alive though.

Oh, I was just giving my 'Seattle cred', not implying that Tacoma is cleaner in any way.

[johnstuartmill]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

L.A., overly humid? Have you ever been there? And as far as the hot thing goes, L.A.'s summers are milder than anywhere on the East Coast that's south of Boston. It rarely gets above 90 here.

[ccs224]

New York will always be the epicenter of American cool. It's got music and fashion cornered. New York is definitely doing the trendsetting for pop culture right now...
LA might be more glamorous, but New York is cooler.

LA is not all that glamorous for non-celebrities. It's not glamorous living with a million illegals in an overly humid and hot cesspool.

L.A., overly humid? Have you ever been there? And as far as the hot thing goes, L.A.'s summers are milder than anywhere on the East Coast that's south of Boston. It rarely gets above 90 here.

Let's not start this again.