Underrated US Cities

[upstater]

I would never want to do it every day but if I have to be in San Diego for work I love taking the Pacific Surfliner from Union Station. People can be fairly insane about their commutes out here. When I first started working I was at a firm downtown and there were partners commuting in from Lake Arrowhead, Laguna Niguel, Claremont . . . not as far as San Diego but insane nonetheless.

For them, they live in different places south of LA, it's also the reverse commute, so they don't deal w/ the traffic.

 

[upstater]

Yep, I'm gonna call bull on upstater's story, if off hours that's almost a 2 hour commute each way and anything near rush hour times and it's a lot longer.

Don't believe me then! I really don't care. All these people work at UCSD and live in LA. It's a lot of people.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Don't believe me then! I really don't care. All these people work at UCSD and live in LA. It's a lot of people.

I don't have a dog in the fight, but was curious so I just checked google maps. The commute right now, without traffic, from UCSD to Anaheim (both north of SD and south of LA) is 1:20. LA to SD, without traffic, is 2:15.

 

[HuskyHawk]

They got tired of driving up to LA constantly for something to do. They work in La Jolla and one is in OC w/ spouse at Chapman, but the others live in Laguna and a few points north, one in Palos Verdes. They tell me it's an hour drive to La Jolla. Their whole social life was in LA.

Sounds to me like that's where their friends are. I get that. Nobody can convince me that there is nothing to do in San Diego. It has possibly the best brewery scene in the country among other things.

 

[MU in MKE]

Sounds to me like that's where their friends are. I get that. Nobody can convince me that there is nothing to do in San Diego. It has possibly the best brewery scene in the country among other things.

Come on, while I've never been there, this has to be an exaggeration! I would know, I'm a level 5 on Tripadvisor (out of 6).


edit* oops, nevermind... I've been there. I have pictures of me on a boat!

 

[Improviser]

San Diego?? Why not?

It is near La Jolla, which has a beautiful beach. The Coronado Hotel is a gorgeous place to have a meal. I did not stay there, but for those with deep pockets, why not?

Hotel del Coronado | San Diego's Legendary Beach Resort

Enjoy sun, sea, and time together at our iconic California beach resort, blending idyllic charm with golden-era allure for the ultimate seaside escape.

hoteldel.com

Clement climate. Other attractions and the Pacific Coast Highway.

Historic Highway 101

Linking a string of charming beach communities from Oceanside to La Jolla, Historic Highway 101 hugs the Pacific Ocean and offers a taste of California's surf culture that can't be duplicated anywhere...

www.sandiego.org

 

[superjohn]

So upstater has a bunch of friends who work in La Jolla and they all moved but none of them moved to LA.

 

[upstater]

Sounds to me like that's where their friends are. I get that. Nobody can convince me that there is nothing to do in San Diego. It has possibly the best brewery scene in the country among other things.

It was a lot of other things, the things they wanted. I mean, great breweries and the best Mexican food in the country doesn't do it for everyone.

 

[upstater]

So upstater has a bunch of friends who work in La Jolla and they all moved but none of them moved to LA.

Obviously you know nothing about LA.

A lot of these places are IN Los Angeles. Los Angeles is enormous. Palos Verdes is inside LA. Obviously I know OC is not in LA which is why I set it off.

 

[superjohn]

Obviously you know nothing about LA.

What?

 

[upstater]

What?

I named places IN LA where they lived and you chose to twist things as you usually do.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It was a lot of other things, the things they wanted. I mean, great breweries and the best Mexican food in the country doesn't do it for everyone.

 

[superjohn]

I named places IN LA where they lived and you chose to twist things as you usually do.

You named a bunch of towns which aren't LA and named La Jolla which isn't San Diego.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Why would one debate whether or not someone knows someone else who commutes from some place to some other place and how long it takes?
Does it definitionally prove a city is overrated if you are willing to drive 1.5hr+ to NOT live there?!

I don't think it does because saying upstater doesn't know someone or their precise commute and domicile isn't really an argument, its just contradiction.

 

[storrsroars]

Sounds to me like that's where their friends are. I get that. Nobody can convince me that there is nothing to do in San Diego. It has possibly the best brewery scene in the country among other things.

Much more than breweries. My closest childhood friend has been in Encinitas for 30+ years now. He's not even a microbrew guy. We go out there to visit, we've got plenty to do.

I sort of get the commuting for friends part. When I moved to Quincy, I still came back down to Fairfield County frequently, although the idea of commuting would've been ridiculous.

 

[Ewekon]

BBQ - I believe it was on the corner of 53 and S. Dorcester, but I doubt it is still there. It is all hipster places now in that neighborhood.
Bucktown - don't remember
Lincoln Park - Taco Burrito Joint #2. It was on the corner of Wrightwood and Lincoln. It is gone now, but it was the best fast food Mexican in the entire country. Let's have a moment of silence.
Wrigley - Cubbie Bear. Tourist trap bar with super hot waitresses and great food.

I was in Chicago 2 years ago, and the local takeout was still incredible. I was staying in Old Town.

Edit: I forgot Heaven on 7. That place is freaking incredible. Cajun, and the one I went to was in the same building with a movie theatre downtown. Pro tip: Don't challenge the waitress with "do you have anything hotter" when it comes to sauces. You will regret it.

For multi location spots in the Chi I love Portillos for brews 'n beef (Italian) and the Grill Dogs at Gold Coast Dogs. Dogs grilled rather than steamed; but full on Chicago dressed on steamed poppy seed roll

 

[storrsroars]

For multi location spots in the Chi I love Portillos for brews 'n beef (Italian) and the Grill Dogs at Gold Coast Dogs. Dogs grilled rather than steamed; but full on Chicago dressed on steamed poppy seed roll

I don't know if it's still there, but Gold Coast had a stand in McCormick Place North for years. Really solid dogs, although I always request no radioactive green relish.

I do miss Hot Doug's though.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Don't believe me then! I really don't care. All these people work at UCSD and live in LA. It's a lot of people.

Not asking as a potential gotcha, but are these people working an tenure track professor-type of schedule? If so, I can see it as akin to people I know in New Haven who are on faculty in NYC and New Brunswick, as well as from those two places, plus Brooklyn who teach in New Haven. They all have more latitude with their schedules even before COVID. In some cases, they strongly prefer where they live, and in other cases, they have spouses with faculty appointments or high-powered jobs in different cities.

 

[Ewekon]

The only reason I ordered pizza in Houston was because I was working late and the other takeout places near the hotel I was staying at looked worse. I would use TripAdvisor if I went back today, but sometimes I just need a quick bite and don't have time to find the great hole in the wall. I end up with average food for the city, and "average" food for Houston is pretty bad.

My issue with Houston is that a rapidly growing city often has a lot of crappy restaurants because the restaurants don't need to be good to stay in business. The competition in a slower growth town like Chicago, New York, Boston or San Francisco is brutal, so restaurants need to bring their A game every night. In Houston, there are more customers than they can handle, so many restaurants mail it in.

My first year doing roughly 50/50 CT summers and Houston winters. Hugo's and Viet Namese are really top tier in US as has been mentioned here before.

Russo's is now my go-to for when I gotta have pizza. 6.5 on CT scale. I would give it an 8.5 as a national comp scale. NY "style". Sauce/cheese quite good. As always outside of the belt, crust somewhat lacking. I haven't had better in Boston or DC.

 

[upstater]

You named a bunch of towns which aren't LA and named La Jolla which isn't San Diego.

Some of those are LA. I can't understand why you have such a deficit with this. LA is a big place. OC is not LA. I acknowledged that. Other places are LA. And La Jolla is an outer burb of SD, the dang U. is there. I can't understand why this is so difficult for you. In any other context, when we're talking about cities in this thread, no one has differentiated between suburb and city. But you want to be nitpicky as always.

 

[upstater]

Not asking as a potential gotcha, but are these people working an tenure track professor-type of schedule? If so, I can see it as akin to people I know in New Haven who are on faculty in NYC and New Brunswick, as well as from those two places, plus Brooklyn who teach in New Haven. They all have more latitude with their schedules even before COVID. In some cases, they strongly prefer where they live, and in other cases, they have spouses with faculty appointments or high-powered jobs in different cities.

Yes, but that's still a 4 day a week commute, anyway you cut it. What impressed me about this is that so many people in one dept. selected the same options. When I was down in UCSD for a couple weeks, we drove to LA for informal cultural events 4 times. This didn't phase me because I knew SoCal commutes are notorious, but I once commuted daily between Rochester and Buffalo, and every week between Ann Arbor and Rochester.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Some of those are LA. I can't understand why you have such a deficit with this. LA is a big place. OC is not LA. I acknowledged that. Other places are LA. And La Jolla is an outer burb of SD, the dang U. is there. I can't understand why this is so difficult for you. In any other context, when we're talking about cities in this thread, no one has differentiated between suburb and city. But you want to be nitpicky as always.

I think your explanation was fine. You called it a one hour commute (thinking that was long) and it's really more than that. That's what caught attention.

For me now, after a year at home, I'm not sure I'm willing to commute at all. Even my old 25 minute commute feels like a waste of time.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Sounds to me like that's where their friends are. I get that. Nobody can convince me that there is nothing to do in San Diego. It has possibly the best brewery scene in the country among other things.

I wouldn't call Sand Dog as having best brewery scene but the Miramar area has a great concentration of breweries somewhat compacted in an industrial park that was phenomenal.
I was there in November 2020 for a week and was trying to hit a couple each night to try some growlers or cans- you could get to go at that time but no dine in.
Even by hitting up multiple breweries each night I didn't get to every brewery within about a 1 sq mile area.
The beers are generally good, not world class but you get lots of variety and choices. I give it an A for effort and a B/B- for execution.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I wouldn't call Sand Dog as having best brewery scene but the Miramar area has a great concentration of breweries somewhat compacted in an industrial park that was phenomenal.
I was there in November 2020 for a week and was trying to hit a couple each night to try some growlers or cans- you could get to go at that time but no dine in.
Even by hitting up multiple breweries each night I didn't get to every brewery within about a 1 sq mile area.
The beers are generally good, not world class but you get lots of variety and choices. I give it an A for effort and a B/B- for execution.

Yeah, not to derail this. I haven't been in a long time. The rep among the "beer community" is that it has the best "scene" in the sense of places to visit, taprooms, going from brewery to brewery like you describe. Not necessarily the best actual breweries. Nobody is brewery hopping from Treehouse to anywhere. It's probably a mile from Rt 20.

 

[jibsey]

Isn't Fargo a bit chilly at times?