Which city impressed you on the first visit?

[krazeeboi]

The strip malls in the suburbs are nice

What makes Wilmington's strip malls more enchanting than those you can find in Anywhere, USA?

Although I've never been to Wilmington, the pictures I've seen of the place were fascinating. In many ways it reminds me of a mini-Charleston. It's a place that I hope to visit soon.

[Brent]

What makes Wilmington's strip malls more enchanting than those you can find in Anywhere, USA?

Although I've never been to Wilmington, the pictures I've seen of the place were fascinating. In many ways it reminds me of a mini-Charleston. It's a place that I hope to visit soon.

The newer ones that I visted (on the way from Wilmington to the beach) were really nicely landscaped and surrounded by beautiful live oaks. The style of the buildings was nice too. I do think that some of its parts are amazing (the houses, the Spanish moss...) but the whole is bleak, IMO.

[urbanvb]

Used to live in Balston. Miss that place.

Alexandra VA is a good place to surprise someone. Very urban.

I absolutely love Old Town Alexandria. With its charm and urbanity (is that a word?) it is a great place to visit. Here are a few pics.

[cameronm]

I was impressed with Mobile, Alabama.

[Russ-Vegas]

ooo me to...i was impressed with Mobile, Alabama as well..when we drove up to it i was like..wow..nice looking city!

[TBurban]

I love Alexandria! Great photos, Urbanvb!

[rusthebuss]

Got to be DC all the way!

[AngelRockxxx]

A few cities that I really liked were Chicago - which is just beautiful I loved the waterfront and for a big city it was really nice and clean ( in my opinion).

Milwaukee - the only thing that comes to mind it "cute" I thought it was beautiful at least the area we were staying in.

Memphis - amazing night life and music scene and it just reeks of southern charm it was amazing.

Tulsa - I made fun of this city and well the state of Oklahoma before ever going there and after the first visit I was hooked hence the reason I plan to move there, great music scene the city is beautiful, and the people are friendly!

Scranton - Another cute city alot of history and old architechture.

Cities that didn't impress me number one was actually NYC - it was too big, too expensive, too crowded and kinda dirty I thought I would love this city

Cleveland - Just didn't do it for me of course it could have been the area's we were in?

[AlabamaGuy2007]

Definitely Huntsville, AL. We drove into town, and I was like, "Wow, is this really Alabama??????????"

[where_am_I]

Nashville and Savannah are two cities that impressed me during my first visit.

Nashville was a great city and was better than I thought it would be with my first visit. The city seemed to have a big city atmosphere with a small town feel which was very nice. I really like the Bellsouth "Batman" Building and how it practically makes Nashville's skyline in my opinion. Savannah was great also from my first visit. Downtown was very nice with the park squares, spanish moss, and the nice architecture. But after living there, my opinion begin to change about the city as a whole. Great place to visit, but didn't exactly have many things that I wanted when I lived there.

[intcvlcphlga]

New York

Chicago

DC

Boston

Charlottesville

Charleston

Asheville

Annapolis

[dan326]

Tampa/Orlando

[dimebag1980]

Definitely Huntsville, AL. We drove into town, and I was like, "Wow, is this really Alabama??????????"

I've heard that about Huntsville. Supposedly it's one of the largest mostly-untapped wealthy markets in the nation. Amazing.

[kayman]

I've heard that about Huntsville. Supposedly it's one of the largest mostly-untapped wealthy markets in the nation. Amazing.

It is. The median income for the metro area is like $70,000-100,000/yr.

[dimebag1980]

It is. The median income for the metro area is like $70,000-100,000/yr.

That's amazing for anywhere, but especially the south!

[lammius]

That's amazing for anywhere, but especially the south!

But unfortunately here's the reality check:

According to the wisdom of wiki, the Huntsville MSA ranks 73rd in the nation with a median household income of $43,104.

This puts it behind Southern metros such as:

Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, West Palm Beach, Naples, and Houston

But ahead of metros such as:

Norfolk, Columbia, Roanoke, Jacksonville, Greensboro, and Miami

[jmanhsv]

According to the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce and the Census Bureau, the average household income for the city of Huntsville in 2003 was $61,025; in the metro area it was $60,858. I don't know where the city ranks nationally, but Hsv and Atlanta are supposedly the highest in the SE.

[lammius]

According to the Huntsville Madison County Chamber of Commerce and the Census Bureau, the average household income for the city of Huntsville in 2003 was $61,025; in the metro area it was $60,858. I don't know where the city ranks nationally, but Hsv and Atlanta are supposedly the highest in the SE.

Actually, the 2000 Census recorded a median HH income of 43,104 for the MSA and 41,074 for the city.

The 2004 estimates show a median HH income of 48,325 for the MSA and 48,438 for Madison County (est for the city of Huntsville exclusively were not available on FactFinder).

This table from the Census Bureau ranks large cities by median HH income. In 2000 Huntsville would have fallen on this list between #18 Boston and #19 Jacksonville. Certainly an admirable position, but Virginia Beach, Raleigh, Charlotte, etc. are ahead. Atlanta falls wayyyyy down the list.

The Chamber of Commerce may have used the estimated FAMILY income, which is typically higher than the household income, or it may have used the MEAN HH income, which is also usually pulled higher due to outlying high incomes influencing the statistic.

Huntsville seems to be doing well for itself in terms of income, but there are a few other cities between it and the top of the pack.

==============================================

But on the topic of impressive cities, take a look at median HH incomes in these places (5000+ population). These are truly the playgrounds of the rich and famous. There are quite a few in the South, but mostly in the DC area, Texas, and Florida. Anyone familiar w/ any of them?

[dimebag1980]

But unfortunately here's the reality check:

According to the wisdom of wiki, the Huntsville MSA ranks 73rd in the nation with a median household income of $43,104.

This puts it behind Southern metros such as:

Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, West Palm Beach, Naples, and Houston

But ahead of metros such as:

Norfolk, Columbia, Roanoke, Jacksonville, Greensboro, and Miami

Definitely lower than the estimate posted above. I normally double-check what Wikipedia says, and though what I found wasn't exactly the same, it was close.

Anyway, my point was that I'd read somewhere before that it was one of the largest mostly-untapped wealthy markets. I remember reading that on a website mentioning a large development in Huntsville.

Thanks for clarifying.

[citifiedlbj]

I was impressed with Atlanta when i first visited the city back in summer of 04 for the very first time. Driving down I-85 from charlotte you will know that you are gettig close to the atl metro when you start to see heavy backed up traffic starting only after a few minutes of passing commerce. As you get closer and closer to the city the lanes on I-85 widen and the traffic moves faster. The skyline comming into the city on the I-75/85 downtown connector was very impressive and the city felt very cosmopolitan something that is very new to the south. I was also impressed with Miami when i visited back in 2001.

[cameronm]

I was impressed with Norfolk.

[803metlife]

I was impressed with Atlanta when i first visited the city back in summer of 04 for the very first time. Driving down I-85 from charlotte you will know that you are gettig close to the atl metro when you start to see heavy backed up traffic starting only after a few minutes of passing commerce. As you get closer and closer to the city the lanes on I-85 widen and the traffic moves faster. The skyline comming into the city on the I-75/85 downtown connector was very impressive and the city felt very cosmopolitan something that is very new to the south. I was also impressed with Miami when i visited back in 2001.

I was also very impressed with Atlanta during my first visit in 1996. It's amazing how much atlanta has grown since then. I don't think it's new for the south I think alot more people are just starting to pay more attention to southern cities such as Miami, Atl, and Houston.