What are the drawbacks of our top cities?

[Loughlin]

My list:

1.New York,NY-new york smells like fish in places that are miles from the docks it is very dirty,it has alot to do but not nearly as much as it as said to have.

2.Chicago,IL-it has the best skyline in the country, but the city itself is nothing special, for a city its size it is just down right boring.

If i picked the best city in the US it would be a toss up Between Boston and San Francisco, this is all just my opinion thou.

[SmellyCat]

My list:

1.New York,NY-new york smells like fish in places that are miles from the docks it is very dirty,it has alot to do but not nearly as much as it as said to have.

2.Chicago,IL-it has the best skyline in the country, but the city itself is nothing special, for a city its size it is just down right boring.

If i picked the best city in the US it would be a toss up Between Boston and San Francisco, this is all just my opinion thou.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Funny, I think NYC and Chicago are the two greatest cities in the U.S. and I don't think they're overrated or boring at all.

By the way, isn't this the sort of topic that belongs on skycrapercity and not on here? All this is going to do is start a flaming war of "my city is better than yours".

[DallasTexan]

Atlanta.

[Garris]

This is a setup for a flame war, but I'll bite...

1) Atlanta: Overrated in almost every way except cost of living, where it excels.

2) Boston: Don't get me wrong... I love Boston, but it's boosters put it in a class with NYC, Chicago, SF, Vancouver, etc, and it just isn't there... It's a very nice second tier city. For its attractions, it's enormously overpriced to live there (more than NYC and LA by some indices!)

3) Miami: I just don't get the attraction of this city for some. Sure it's warm and has some awesome clubs, beaches, and entertainment, but by many other urban standards, it's really hurting. Great fun, but overrated.

Underrated...

1) Minneapolis/St. Paul: Incredible urban environments and one of the few cities I know of where the ongoing growth and projects aren't sprawl, but urban renaissance that is better than what was there before. And now light rail! True jems of secrets that are finally starting to get out... Downside: The legendary Minnesota cold during winter is not exaggerated.

2) Philadelphia: It's got density, character, restaurants galore, decent cost of living for the Eastern seaboard. Plus, it's close to both NYC and DC. It gets a bad rap (deservedly, but too much so) for crime and some really rough neighborhoods that are closer to the "upscale areas" than is the case in some other cities.

3) Vancouver, B.C.: This city, the best in North America for my money, is almost unknown in the USA.

Not over or underrated:

- NYC: Capital of the world... The real deal.

- Chicago: A spectacular city. Deserves its reputation

- Toronto: NYC north... Knocked for being a little more antiseptic than NYC, and this is true...

- LA: Its supporters and detractors are both on target

- SF: Also well represented by its popular image

- All Texas cities: Their real pros and considerable cons are both well known and on target

- DC: It's charm and flaws (crime, cost, deserted after 5 PM and on weekends) are well known and accurate

That's my list. Let the fur fly!

- Garris

Providence, RI

[alexr15]

[BrandonTO416]

Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal are an awesome three, each distinct in flavor. I'd say underrated in most American's eyes because American people don't like to think outside the box in increasing numbers.

With that said, in our own nation, I think the sunbelt cities generally get way too much fanfare with their business growth, and way too many hyped up lies in magazines because of it. And people who feed off this misinformation mixed with mindless hometown pride think cities that are relatively small equal New York in one way or another. I've heard Atlantans claim they are a New York class city, I've heard Charlotteans claim they are the 2nd banking center of mother earth so many times it makes one's head spin almost off.

Underrated cities include places like Pittsburgh, Portland, OR (outside urban planning and enthusiast groups like ours, its an unheard of place that most people confuse with Portland, Maine), San Diego (when you think of CA, almost no one thinks of San Diego, its always LA or SF), and in the east coast I'd say Philadelphia for the most underrated large city.

So there's a general list of my thoughts.

[Cotuit]

By the way, isn't this the sort of topic that belongs on skycrapercity and not on here?  All this is going to do is start a flaming war of "my city is better than yours".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes it is, and yes it will.

I've edited the title of this thread, discussing the darker side of our top cities is a fair topic, New York does smell, Boston is too expensive... These are valid points for discussion. Let's not start a flame war trying to tear down and sully the reputations of truly great cities though.

[monsoon]

Nice title change. I think all cities have a dark side and it would be great to explore them in a positive manner.

[Scott]

Providence:

home of the New England La Costra Nostra, where Ronnie James Dio is still king, biggest industries are strippers and tattoo parlors

New York:

Gotta love it except for the Yankees and thousands of hi rise projects

Chicago:

Great place except its in the middle of a corn field.

LA:

dirty, dirty, dirty... extreme poverty swimming in a sea of star-struck a-holes... other than that I had a blast!

Boston:

bigger than Tokyo, Toronto and NYC............ COMBINED!!!!!!! BWAAAA!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!

[SmellyCat]

Even with the title change, I can see this thread is rapidly deteriorating into a moronic bash fest.

[*Sweetkisses*]

NYC- just great in my opinion. Best skyline

Chicago- not boring at all. Second best skyline, second city

Boston- very quaint along with san fran and dc

Philadelphia- very underrated because of its stuffy image. Great restaurants, still a great city.

Hey what about seattle? I havent seen it on the list.

Seattle- very clean, nice backdrops, beautiful homes, great downtown

LA- HUGE, nice homes, party city,a lot to do.

Houston- never been.

Minneapolis/st paul- never been but would love to go

[Brickell]

Cities and their darksides as I've experienced them...

Orlando - too sprawly, too dependent on tourism, Disney and Universal wear the pants in the metro

Miami - extreme poverty, rude people, exhilios who care only about the homeland, little hometown pride, cost of living outpacing wages

Tampa - Dirty, sprawly, very segregated

NYC - I have to agree, it smells, but that's part of the charm, high cost of living, subway system needs improved

[benjamin]

Atlanta- Not enough focus on downtown. Too sprawly.

NYC- Dirty and smelly

Chicago- Too cold for me and very segregated

Seattle- So much rain!!!

San Francisco- earthquakes!

Philadelphia- Nasty city, I hated it when I visited it.

[Cotuit]

Providence:

home of the New England La Costra Nostra, where Ronnie James Dio is still king, biggest industries are strippers and tattoo parlors

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Our top industry is graft silly.

[Loughlin]

I hate to be a jerk about this , but i couldnt resist putting people that say boston is a second class city in thier place.

http://www.rateitall.com/t-1393-best-cities-in-the-usa.aspx

A city that argueable has the best education in the world can not be considered a second tier city

http://www.forbes.com/2003/02/14/cx_bs_0214home.html

[pwright1]

1. New York - Not overrated. The greatest city in North America

2. Los Angeles - Not overrated. A huge dense megalopolis

3. Chicago - Not overrated. Another great city.

Overrated:

1. Atlanta - Sprawly endless suburbs, dead downtown, no body of water.

2. Washington D.C. - Lived there for years, crime ridden, downtown not great. Lots of rich and poor and hardly no middle class. City under seige since 911.

Underrated:

Portland Oregon - Beautiful city, thriving downtown, beautiful natural beauty.

Seattle - Clean, thriving downtown, great restaurants, nice urban feel, bodies of water everywhere, mild winters, not as much rain as you think, low crime rate.

Houston - Thriving up and coming downtown, very mild winters, diverse population, low cost of living, great restaurants and nightclubs, close to Gulf.

Miami - I love this place. One of my favorites.

[ironchapman]

Atlanta- Way to much sprawl.

It is starting to realize its faults, though. People are starting to use Downtown and midtown again.

I don't think a major body of water is necessary to make a great major city. Dallas and Atlanta are examples of major cities that don't sit on major waterways.

[stinkweed]

Philly has a very large poor population. After white flight in the 50's 60's and 70's the city was left in ruin. Most suburbanerns hate philly around here because they associate it with the "minorities" who took away their great city. Of course, it was they who toppled this city by running for the hills (see pittsburgh and Detroit).

People here are gritty. We haven't had a solid championship team in a very long time. I'm pretty sure we're the losingest town in sports history (U.S. only). IMO, we're also the most sports loving town in the U.S. Europe is in a different league. When you combine these things you get very pissed off people. When one of our teams finally wins, the world should look out. That will be the time to run for the hills.

[Loughlin]

we're also the most sports loving town in the U.S.  Europe is in a different league. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe in football but nothing else.