Underrated US Cities

[karstenkibbe]

Summer 2019 managed a RT flight to Oslo (with a stop in Dublin) from Stewart Airport in Newburgh. Surreal flying across an ocean, land, walk to your car and drive home with none of that typical “airport” stuff.

Westchester is great but my fastest curb to gate is definitely Billings, MT. I’ve done it in 3 minutes.

Is no-frills Norwegian Air still flying out of SWF? Huge fan of HPN... but if you’re cutting it close and have to lean on the gas pedal, just need to be careful of Greenwich police speed traps on King Street. Same with Westchester County/NYS police on the southern end of 684.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Is no-frills Norwegian Air still flying out of SWF?

No, they stopped 9/2019, a month after our trip.

By that point, they were leasing flights from a budget Spanish airline, its name I forgot. Only our Dublin>Oslo>Dublin flight was Norwegian Airlines.

Weird being on a flight to and from two English speaking countries with a Spanish speaking crew. It was like being on a Greyhound bus: a few TVs playing whatever movie they want to play and that was it for entertainment. No bad for a red eye, but the return flight got pretty boring by the 7th hour.

 

[Chin Diesel]

If you haven't hung out in Elko, you are missing out.

I'm calling BS on that.

I've spent enough time in Fallon while in the Navy to know remote piece of crap locations in NV.

 

[Jaker]

I'm calling BS on that.

I've spent enough time in Fallon while in the Navy to know remote piece of crap locations in NV.

Haha

 

[mauconnfan]

Meriden CT

 

[Jaker]

No, they stopped 9/2019, a month after our trip.

By that point, they were leasing flights from a budget Spanish airline, its name I forgot. Only our Dublin>Oslo>Dublin flight was Norwegian Airlines.

Weird being on a flight to and from two English speaking countries with a Spanish speaking crew. It was like being on a Greyhound bus: a few TVs playing whatever movie they want to play and that was it for entertainment. No bad for a red eye, but the return flight got pretty boring by the 7th hour.

Hopefully when Europ opens up Norwegian starts flying from SFO again. That red eye they had to London was very convenient.

 

[Wildgopher]

Agree with Milwaukee. I travel there for work pretty regularly and was impressed the first time visiting 10 years ago. Summer is a better time, which I am sure goes without saying. Tons of bars and food all within walking distance of downtown. The walk to the lake was not that bad either.

Bringing the family up to Saratoga after Memorial day. Any recommendations as we have never been?

PJ's BBQSA..the best BBQ I have ever had.

 

[hank970]

I'm calling BS on that.

I've spent enough time in Fallon while in the Navy to know remote piece of crap locations in NV.

Battle Mountain, NV is another garden spot. On a mountain south of town, a huge BM, visible for miles from I-80, is boldly outlined in white rock. Probably the most apt expression of community essence I've ever seen.

 

[freescooter]

Portland Maine. Go to the bowling alley on Muntjoy Hill or the Blue Spoon. Plus zJohn Ford, the famed director (Grapes of Wrath, Stage Coach) grew up there and there is a statue, not of him but of his brother in town. That would be kind of like putting up a statue to Chuck Lincoln, Abraham’s less successful brother who Abe kept in jobs, but hey, they have their reasons I guess. Great restaurants. Great location. Great Views. Solid brews. And a nice arts scene. And if you go to a Seadogs game on Wednesdays you might win a free washing machine in Washing machine Wednesday promotion which to me is the ultimate minor league baseball promotion by a mile. Terrific beaches 20 minutes away. Excellent skiing within an hour. Oh, and New England’s smallest lighthouse to boot.

 

[freescooter]

Burlington is a great place. I also like Portland ME, though it probably isn’t underrated. Saratoga and Lake Placid NY are great. Cincinnati is surprisingly cool as is Pittsburgh.

And yes, Hartford. Simply because West Hartford, Glastonbury etc. are dope and most everywhere else in America, they’d be in Hartford. The first time I took my wife to West Hartford we went looking for a house (we were considering moving back to CT). We got some slices at Luna and took a stroll. We went and looked at some beautiful homes and then had drinks and dinner in WeHa. Next day we went to a game at the Rent. She was totally ready to move. She came back to Florida and told everyone, “Believe it or not, Hartford is an awesome place.” She wasn’t getting the whole West Hartford/Hartford thing. To her, it was Hartford.

Agree on Cincinatti. Over the Rhine and that Marketplace are terrific. The Precint is a great steakhouse and you can go to Reds games for cheap. To your point about Hartford-West Hartford etc, Hyde Park in Cincy reminds me of West Hartford, though not as fake. In Connecticut it would be its own town.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Maybe it was the really sunny weather but I didnt think Cleveland was half as bad as made out to be. Maybe it's come a long way from where it was but it wasn't some bombed out dystopia that I was thinking it was going to be.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Random, but any love for Ipswich? I'm heading up there for two nights in June for the first time.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Random, but any love for Ipswich? I'm heading up there for two nights in June for the first time.

The historic district is nice. Lots of very old homes. A visit to Privateer is definitely worthwhile, even though Maggie Campbell is now gone. The coastline is quite nice, but mostly not "beachy". I went up a few times, mostly to go to Privateer release events. It's just a wicked pain in the neck to get to. Ipswich Ale brewery is there too. I never made it out to the beach at Castle Neck.

 

[TyroneShoo]

bankruptcy ..Pretty sure United bought Norwegian planes. They are just stashing them Norwegian trying to restructure.

 

[Waquoit]

Random, but any love for Ipswich? I'm heading up there for two nights in June for the first time.

Try the Clam Box.

 

[UConniki]

Salt Lake is really nice but it’s dead after 7pm.

I’d vote Burlington VT, Murfreesboro TN, and Savannah GA

lot of zombies huh???

 

[SportsFan88]

Bridgeport, CT LOL

 

[SportsFan88]

Portland Maine. Go to the bowling alley on Muntjoy Hill or the Blue Spoon. Plus zJohn Ford, the famed director (Grapes of Wrath, Stage Coach) grew up there and there is a statue, not of him but of his brother in town. That would be kind of like putting up a statue to Chuck Lincoln, Abraham’s less successful brother who Abe kept in jobs, but hey, they have their reasons I guess. Great restaurants. Great location. Great Views. Solid brews. And a nice arts scene. And if you go to a Seadogs game on Wednesdays you might win a free washing machine in Washing machine Wednesday promotion which to me is the ultimate minor league baseball promotion by a mile. Terrific beaches 20 minutes away. Excellent skiing within an hour. Oh, and New England’s smallest lighthouse to boot.

I remember my aunt taking my brother and I on a camping expedition that was along the St lawerence river on the Maine/Canada border that was set up with her job. On the ride up we stayed a night in Portland so she takes us to this restaurant out there and I’ll never forget the 3 of us walked in and because we were 3 people they probably don’t see a lot of I’ll never forget the whole place going silent and just look at us in amazement LOL

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Bridgeport, CT LOL

I'll vouch for Bridgeport.

• You want authentic ethnic food at a reasonable price due to low rent?
• Webster Bank arena is a totally acceptable place to watch hockey, basketball, other stuff. Also, they are converting the Bluefish stadium to an amphitheater.
• Black Rock (RIP Acoustic Cafe)
• The steady development of the old warehouses right near I-95 (Monger's Market, etc)
• New-ish entertainment options in downtown (The Stress Factory, Bijou Theatre).
• Great artist community (large spaces for cheap rent, really one of the few places in the state where an actual working artist can afford to work).

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I'll vouch for Bridgeport.

• You want authentic ethnic food at a reasonable price due to low rent?
• Webster Bank arena is a totally acceptable place to watch hockey, basketball, other stuff. Also, they are converting the Bluefish stadium to an amphitheater.
• Black Rock (RIP Acoustic Cafe)
• The steady development of the old warehouses right near I-95 (Monger's Market, etc)
• New-ish entertainment options in downtown (The Stress Factory, Bijou Theatre).
• Great artist community (large spaces for cheap rent, really one of the few places in the state where an actual working artist can afford to work).

This is a good post. I like hearing about places that the conventional wisdom says are dumps. A place like Portland, Maine that gets written about in every other travel magazine is not underrated.

 

[pepband99]

I'll vouch for Bridgeport.

• You want authentic ethnic food at a reasonable price due to low rent?
• Webster Bank arena is a totally acceptable place to watch hockey, basketball, other stuff. Also, they are converting the Bluefish stadium to an amphitheater.
• Black Rock (RIP Acoustic Cafe)
• The steady development of the old warehouses right near I-95 (Monger's Market, etc)
• New-ish entertainment options in downtown (The Stress Factory, Bijou Theatre).
• Great artist community (large spaces for cheap rent, really one of the few places in the state where an actual working artist can afford to work

All legit. I'll take Joseph's Steakhouse over pretty much anywhere else in CT, too.
The ethnic food bit is legit, too. Only Bridgeport could have somewhere like Bloodroot - it's awesome.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

didja ever notice that, unlike many other 'cities' in 'murica, Bport is never a cauldron of destructive energy whenever a wave of crankiness befalls us? that's cuz people get along there quite nicely in an imperfect world. sumthin in the water, i guess. and by 'people,' i mean the broad spectrum of humankind living there as the population profile is astounding, however the recent invasion by new yakkers might have an impact going forward. let's hope they just keep their pieholes shut, since it's already obvious that they've brought their insane driving habits with them. ugh.
fun story from last week. a nice, tight little cape with a decent yard was sold in great gramms hood. seller tells me 'u know where they're from, clif.' no news there. the news was 'they said it is their 'dream house. the couple is 94 and 99!'
spare me the joke aboot 'it'll soon be for sale,' and instead let's just hope for a long and happy retirement by them. 'hey gramms, u ain't the oldest homeowner on the block no more!' like lenny grimaldi is known to say, 'Only in Bridgeport.'
Bridgeport - The Park City. cuz it is.

 

[storrsroars]

Only Bridgeport could have somewhere like Bloodroot - it's awesome.

Hate to be picky about this, but pretty much any blue city with affluent/gentrified neighborhoods has at least one Bloodroot, as do many college towns. That a reputedly depressed city like Bridgeport supports one is the story.

If you like that kind of thing, visit Apteka next time you're in Pittsburgh. It's one a few, but it's routinely reviewed as best of that lot. It's pretty much all Eastern European vegan, if you like unique.

 

[Jaker]

bankruptcy ..Pretty sure United bought Norwegian planes. They are just stashing them Norwegian trying to restructure.

Isn't Norwegian backed by the Government?

 

[TyroneShoo]

upstart Norse Atlantic is trying to take the discount long haul idea....flying the wide bodies. sone of the same execs. They have like 12 of the Dreamliners they are going to lease. Norwegian is gone In America. Many are trying to stop Norse Atl from getting allowed into US airports. Sone say- Drives down prices below reasonable levels ..while leaking huge losses. Many think Norwegian was not feasible model- Even before the basic Dreamliner repairs and the 737 grounding . ( 737 grounding for US pilots was nonsense. There is nothing wrong with the plane. but, you have to be able to actually fly it.....United Delta American pilots etc. all love it. A guy at Ethiopian airlines with 1500 hours is only cool until the system demands someone grab the control and do something).