Which is the most underrated city in Alabama

[Rocket256]

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[EvanK]

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This poll blows. You know dude, there are way more cities in Alabama that would qualify as "underrated" than just these 4. If you are going to create a poll, make it a fair one.

Let's see what you left out. Florence, Gadsden, Anniston, Auburn, Dothan, and about a half dozen others that are actually nice places, but under loved.

[Rocket256]

This poll blows. You know dude, there are way more cities in Alabama that would qualify as "underrated" than just these 4. If you are going to create a poll, make it a fair one.

Let's see what you left out. Florence, Gadsden, Anniston, Auburn, Dothan, and about a half dozen others that are actually nice places, but under loved.

::Laughs:: I understand where you are coming from because I was debating on whether to add more cities or not and Auburn probably could have been added just for being another college town... But notice I did say each city's impact on the state... I'm sure those city's are nice places but I can't really think of any real impact those city's you mentioned have on the state other than some places to go live in... You're welcome to come up with your own variation on how this poll should be...

[DruidCity]

Rocket256, I think it's an interesting topic.

It's tricky to tell how underrated a city is, with respect to impact on the state.

To do that, the first step is to figure out how they're rated, because it's really

not so much a case of each city's impact relative to the others, so much as

a comparison of each city's impact, relative to its own perception.

Huntsville obviously has a large impact on the state's modern economy, leading the "New South"

image. On the other hand, some of that impact is localized, because it is so specialized.

Huntsville is ranked among the top cities

nationally on assorted "Best Places" lists (certainly the most highly rated place in Alabama), and when a city is generally rated as elite, it is difficult to consider it underrated.

Montgomery has about the impact one would expect from a state capital.

Overall, Montgomery's natural "peer cities" are Jackson, Baton Rouge, Little Rock, and Columbia.

Despite the city's recent upswing, it's hard not to see Montgomery as a bit of an underachiever in that light.

Mobile, which was the state's largest city in the 1800s and a major player since well before the state came into existence, can make a strong case, especially if one includes Baldwin County, the state's main tourism destination. The Port of Mobile has far-reaching economic effects, especially in historical terms. If there's a downside, it's that Mobile-Baldwin is largely isolated from the rest of the state, arguably tied more closely historically, culturally, and economically to a "Central Gulf Coast" region than to other parts of its own state. The RSA Tower has renewed a spark in Mobile proper, but one could argue that such is more of a case of the state having a major impact on Mobile, rather than the other way around.

Tuscaloosa's strong suit in this poll is that it is generally rated very low to begin with, which makes it easier to be "underrated." Despite a "cold shoulder" from the state (see condition of road connections to other parts of the state, the complete absence of RSA investment, practically nothing from the state's $200-million state park improvement plan,etc) , there's a fairly wide impact on the state: early days as a state capital, higher ed infrastructure (not just the university here, but "spinning off" major universities elsewhere in the state, like Birmingham and Huntsville), the state's most popular sports franchise or series of events, and the state mental health facility. Tuscaloosa also played a lead role in attracting the auto industry to Alabama in a major way, which now employs over 45,000 people all across the state.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

This poll blows. You know dude, there are way more cities in Alabama that would qualify as "underrated" than just these 4. If you are going to create a poll, make it a fair one.

Let's see what you left out. Florence, Gadsden, Anniston, Auburn, Dothan, and about a half dozen others that are actually nice places, but under loved.

Most definitely Decatur is one of those.

[Rocket256]

Rocket256, I think it's an interesting topic.

It's tricky to tell how underrated a city is, with respect to impact on the state.

To do that, the first step is to figure out how they're rated, because it's really

not so much a case of each city's impact relative to the others, so much as

a comparison of each city's impact, relative to its own perception.

I like how you broken down each city's impact.. When I set out to make this poll it wasn't a "which city is better?" poll, but rather which city has the most impact on changing Alabama's image, which city would you say is the most progressive or forward thinking... I was under the assumption that most people would define the question similiar to how you did but...

Most definitely Decatur is one of those.

LoL, Decatur could have been added.. A bit a laziness on my part (too much typing ).. This poll was shorta a spur of the moment thing I figured hasn't been done yet.. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings if anyone's city wasn't listed here and you felt deserved to be..