Underrated US Cities

[karstenkibbe]

Madison, WI; Grand Rapids, MI; Columbus, IN; Greenville, SC; Sausalito, CA

Known in craft beer circles as the capital of erroneous ABV labeling and diabetes-inducing fruited sugar slop.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

omaha, boise, reno. all fundamentally fail my calculus requiring the need to breathe salt air, but outside of that, really, really nice places. them and a hundred others. and then there's montreal in north new england, and dededo in west hawaii (guam). it's a comer, and i certainly plan to go there. santa rosa in kali, bigger than any city in Connecticut, or most of new england for that matter, is nice too. boston is fun, iffn you live in brookline. pittsfield gets sweeter by the year. of course, newport is fine as pie, 12 months of the year, ya just gotta enjoy that cold, iced, north atlantic salty breeze in the sweater months. luv it. sooo many great places in the nation, and i enjoy visiting them, but i ain't movin nowhere. imma homer.
(there are around 70 cities of 100k+ in kali alone. around 70. burlington, vt. is around 45k, the same size as dededo. jus sayin'...)

 

[FairwayFlyer]

Known in craft beer circles as the capital of erroneous ABV labeling and diabetes-inducing fruited sugar slop.

Interesting but I didn't put the list together based on craft beer.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Traverse City, Mi has a good vibe in the summer. Matter of opinion but the west-northwest coast of Michigan's mitten is rather fun.

 

[Samoo]

I'll go international - Sarajevo. Great culture and food, amazing scenery, an Olympic ski resort just outside of town, and enough remaining bullet holes to make it edgy.

 

[BoukofJames]

Had a great time in Minneapolis/St Paul a couple years ago — great sports town.

Wichita is an alright place, I prefer it over OKC

 

[LIuconn]

Big cities: Atlanta & Miami
Smaller: Bend OR, Providence and Long Beach CA

 

[back2BE4us]

Live in Cincy, went to college in Louisville. Both awesome cities.

Someone mentioned Portland, ME. Taking the wife there for her 40th. Did some research and seemed like a good spot. Anyone been there?

 

[LIuconn]

Portland is amazing. Great food, breweries (ha) and it’s still a working port/dock city.
highly recommend. Drive north, drive south to Portsmouth etc. great area that time of year

 

[krinklecut]

Birmingham. Incredible food scene, awesome bar scene, a whole bunch of breweries, great people.

 

[Guapo]

Smaller: Bend OR, Providence and Long Beach CA

Big cities: Atlanta & Miami
Smaller: Bend OR, Providence and Long Beach CA

As a current resident of Atlanta, I can say that it’s immensely livable - perhaps the most livable big city in the country. I love living here.

unsure of how much of a tourist destination it is, though

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I like living in New Haven, visiting my daughter in LouKY, and having Cayuga Lake's Seneca County shore as my north-of-Ithaca home base when I visit one sister, and the dry town of OCNJ when I visit the other.

Because nobody's mentioned it yet, I'll add that I really enjoyed my few days in St. Louis a couple years ago.

 

[storrsroars]

No doubt it’s a pretentious vibe. Will definitely give you that. As for the beer, that might be your personal preference. But you can’t deny that they do a certain style really, magnificently well. Kind of like the bar pie at a certain joint in your old stomping grounds.

I'd have to assume you mean sours as that seemed like most of the menu the night I went. And yeah, that is not a personal favorite style.

 

[storrsroars]

As a current resident of Atlanta, I can say that it’s immensely livable - perhaps the most livable big city in the country. I love living here.

Atlanta really grew on me my last visit. Instead of staying downtown, I stayed in College Park. I could definitely live in that neighborhood, which might be the best "right near the airport" big city neighborhood I've been. Cute little walkable main street with three truly excellent restaurants. And MARTA is terrific as metros go.

Portland is amazing. Great food, breweries (ha) and it’s still a working port/dock city.
highly recommend. Drive north, drive south to Portsmouth etc. great area that time of year

North to Acadia is certainly nice, as is south to KPort and Portsmouth. I'd add drive northwest, through Sebago Lake into NH toward North Conway, then over to Bartlett to Bear Notch Rd, then down the Kancamagus to Lincoln. It's a beautiful drive. Might be my favorite part of the country, especially in fall, but summer is nice too.

 

[JakeTheDog]

My buddy lives in Greenville, SC. He keeps trying to get me to move there(ain't gonna happen) but I had a great time there and definitely underestimated how nice it its. Cool little downtown with the Liberty suspension bridge crossing the Reedy River. Good beer and food scene with Tetrad Brewing and Iron Hill Brewery being standouts for me. Some nice museums too, for folks interested in local history and art.

 

[Hoophound]

My buddy lives in Greenville, SC. He keeps trying to get me to move there(ain't gonna happen) but I had a great time there and definitely underestimated how nice it its. Cool little downtown with the Liberty suspension bridge crossing the Reedy River. Good beer and food scene with Tetrad Brewing and Iron Hill Brewery being standouts for me. Some nice museums too, for folks interested in local history and art.

I was going to say Greenville but decided it wasn’t underrated since I know lots of people that like it. Nice little city.

 

[EROCK CONN]

Surprised there’s not as much love for New Haven on this list. Great restaurant scene and we all know about it’s pizza. Stamford as well.

 

[storrsroars]

Surprised there’s not as much love for New Haven on this list. Great restaurant scene and we all know about it’s pizza. Stamford as well.

I love Stamford. Grew up there and still miss it. Almost moved back 8 years ago but couldn't make it work. But I think I'd be unimpressed if I were just a visitor.

 

[djct1999]

Traverse City, Mi has a good vibe in the summer. Matter of opinion but the west-northwest coast of Michigan's mitten is rather fun.

Torch Lake is a blast as well.

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Overrated IMO. Sierra Nevada and New Belgium don’t move my “best craft brewery scene” needle too much. Anyone I’ve met from there is completely smug and full of themselves.

Sierra Nevada and New Belgium are the big ones (and by that I juts mean large).. there are 32 other breweries in town, all small little start up joints. Have to agree with OP, Asheville is like Disney land for beer / food loving adults .

 

[Deepster]

Agreed on Milwaukee. Salt of the earth people and good bars and restaurants. The ballpark is also well done.

Not yet mentioned? Cleveland. Major sports all in walking distance. Rock and Roll
HOF. Good eats and nightlife scene.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

North to Acadia is certainly nice, as is south to KPort and Portsmouth. I'd add drive northwest, through Sebago Lake into NH toward North Conway, then over to Bartlett to Bear Notch Rd, then down the Kancamagus to Lincoln. It's a beautiful drive. Might be my favorite part of the country, especially in fall, but summer is nice too.

We vacation in the Lakes Region every year and have made an overnight stop in Portsmouth the last several years to break up the trip. Young kids make it a bit challenging to really explore but the downtown scene seemed to have a lot going on. Agreed, it's a great part of the country.

 

[CTBasketball]

Huntsville AL is also a very underrated place, especially if you’re in your 20s.

I’ll also add Park City UT to the list. Place is just awesome, and provides me a with a breath of fresh air after skiing in the Cottonwood Canyons and staying in Salt Lake City. If you haven’t been
to Park City you should go, great food and bars, plus lots of history.

 

[NJHusky]

Been on my must go list for years. What do you like about it? Seems like the perfect western/mountain village.

Whitefish is a very cool place. Bierstube is a must for apres ski! Nice little downtown near the mtn. It’s been getting good press so maybe getting bigger since I was there. If you are skiing find a local as lots of hidden pow stashes

 

[87Xfer]

Having multiple breweries to choose from is a must in my opinion. And don't forget, not every region does it well. You can't get a NEIPA in North Carolina or Arizona. I don't go to breweries outside of New England...they just are not the same. Call me a regional beer snob. And people have been predicting the bubble pop for awhile now...perhaps that's just what beer and consuming it has become. More people I know are into it every year it seems.

How would you know if you don't go to breweries outside of new england? You can get "NEIPA' at just about every brewery and liquor store you walk into at this point.