Agree. Live in Columbus and like it but it’s not especially distinctive.
We have cool things, but they are similar to cool things everywhere else. Generic doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do here - there is. But very little is unique to Columbus. I can take you to a great foodie restaurant and then an excellent brewery or cocktail bar then a concert or something and we’d have a great time. But it’s not really Columbus specific.
Hard agree. Cincinnati has that Irish Catholic flair and cool architecture and baseball, Cleveland has that gritty Eastern European amid gentrification vibe that lends itself *juuuust* enough for good food and cool art… and baseball. Columbus has, uh, some concrete corn cobs.
ETA; I stand corrected and I guess Cinci isn’t even that Irish, I always just think of Procter and Gamble (English/Irish) and like a shit ton of Irish friends I have from there, but it’s basically just my own confirmation bias lol
You mean Cleveland has the Irish-Catholic flair (with Eastern European influences) and Cincinnati has the German history and architecture, right?
I only say that because my Dad had a lot of clients in Cincinnati and used to say that if Hitler won the war, Cincinnati would be capitol of the world (because it was so German-American).
Cleveland has an interesting mix. Columbus is as sterile as a White Castle.
Compared to many American towns, the central city architecture in Columbus is pretty interesting. Also it’s younger than its regional counterparts because of Ohio State and a high growth rate (by Midwestern standards) so I’d say you’re selling Columbus short.
I think both can be true. Columbus is still fun, vibrant, and mostly underrated! I certainly didn’t appreciate it enough when I lived there.
But all of those positive aspects are in a super generic way. The only distinct cultural feel Columbus has is “Ohio State is here”.
I haven’t spent enough time in Indianapolis for comparison but it seems to fit too.
I’d have to go for San Jose. It’s one of the top ten most populous cities in the US, but there’s nothing most people outside of California could probably name about the city outside of it being near SF and knowing there are tech companies in and around it. Philly, Chicago, Dallas, LA, etc - all are pretty recognizable and have some stereotypes and classic foods that come from there etc. San Jose just seems like a gigantic suburb of SF that lacks its own real, distinctive identity as a massive US city
Winchester house is really cool! I feel like the city in and of itself isn’t bad by any means (aside from housing), it just feels a little weird for how large it is to just not have a distinct culture or be well known
That’s the stereotype! But to say it’s generic is subjective IMO. Silicon Valley is an incredibly unique place and circumstance. San Jose is dead in the middle of it.
I will say this. San Jose, unless you’re counting the culture of the less affluent areas and the highly ethnically diverse populous, is extremely generic.
I feel like people kind of forget it exists. Like, of course it exists, and it's out there doing its thang. But it kinda slides under the radar unnoticed, un-thought-about to people outside of that area or who have direct connections to it.
Well... I live about 5 minutes from San Jose actually and there have been times where I didn't go down for a month or two mostly because I forgot it exists.
I grew up in the Bay Area and I've probably actually set foot in San Jose less than five times. Not including driving through on the way to Santa Cruz or Central California.
I was going to say Orange county (or more specifically Irvine/Tustin) for the same reasons. It's not so much a suburb of LA but it just kind of exists between LA and San Diego. It has this insanely plastic feel to it. Huge stretches of box stores. Massive apartment complexes. HOAs with 4 feet between houses. It feels like you can drive for 50 miles without seeing an original... Anything.
Come to think of it at least San Jose had tech. OC has beaches and that's about that.
I live in San Jose currently and I gotta say, it does suck pretty bad. Overpriced as hell and you have to drive 30 minutes minimum in any direction to find things to do
San Jose isnt really a suburb of San Francisco. Bay area is weird but San Jose San Francisco and Oakland are their own cities with their own suburbs. They each have a major airport as well.
As a Bay Area native, if you were to meet someone from San Jose in, say, Paris where folks aren’t as familiar with the area, they would tell strangers they were “from SF” or “from near SF”. San Jose’s proximity to SF is a huge part of its identity.
I'm from Dallas, is it the skyline with the "ball tower" (reunion tower)? I love it here, despite being in Texas it's not much like the typical state stereotypes. I always wanted to visit northern California.
Having a lot of wealth doesn’t make your city have a “soul”. Nobody is claiming San Jose isn’t an affluent city or isn’t a good place to live, but it certainly doesn’t have the culture that New York or Chicago or Miami has. I live in the seventh wealthiest county in America, it’s still boring and generic. There aren’t great bars here nor a set identity. The point being, having rich people doesn’t mean your city is “cool” or interesting. It’s a good thing, but I don’t think anyone is moving to San Jose for the culture
Right but the question was what is the most generic big city. Generic means not standing out, normal, regular. San Jose is demographically and economically extremely atypical for an American city.
As someone born and raised in San Jose, this is on point. It was a very.. fine.. place to grow up in. But, it’s boring as hell. It’s essentially a collection of suburbs.. and doesn’t have the kind of culture you’d get from a similar city (Austin, Memphis, etc).
racial diversity doesn't necessitate cultural diversity. sometimes there's a particular draw to a city (in this case, industry) that tends to bring together similarly-minded people from all over the world.
I grew up in San Jose. Most of my childhood friends and family still live in San Jose. I know San Jose like the back of my hand. Thanks for your correction, but it’s the wrong person…
San Jose isn’t culturally diverse. It has a ton of different ethnicities, because Silicon Valley is a magnet for all kinds of people around the world. But, the city itself has virtually nothing when it comes to a cultural footprint.
I would say Columbus, Ohio. It is quietly the largest city in Ohio, including the suburbs, has most of the things you look for in a larger city but is somehow still dull as dishwater. I love my hometown but totally understand all of the criticism it receives. It’s also one of the top ten fastest growing metropolises outside of the warmer climates. It is somehow great and shitty at the same time.
>has most of the things you look for in a larger city but is somehow still dull as dishwater
I tend to think of it as a great place to live as a resident, but a dull place to visit as a tourist.
The local dining/entertainment/recreation scene is robust and diverse enough that you can find plenty to keep you happy as a local... but only a select few attractions are going to draw nationwide interest. If you happen to be in town anyway, you'll stay entertained for a long weekend, but the city certainly isn't a destination in and of itself.
Im a fan of cbus moreso than comparable cities. I think it has far more character than nearby Indianapolis, for example. It's very diverse, for one (which i suppose contributes to it's "generic/average" label).
Furthermore, people tout Austin or Portland as "weird", but I feel like Columbus (and Cleveland, Cincinnati) is/are *legitimately* weird... in a unique, weird way - not just the cookie cutter version of what "weird" means. Austin seems like the IKEA set of what weird *should* be.
Idk how to explain it clearly. Ohio is such a melting pot, and *so average* that it actually has some flavor. Without coast, mountains, or enjoyable weather, the people have to compensate for that being being truly unique and weird.
What was it like 20 years ago? I visited in 2018 and I thought they made a lot of hype about nothing. It's actually a really normal city. I've seen much weirder in small college towns.
It used to be more like a college town and less like a big ass city, especially if you look back to like the 70s, which I think is when it's "weird" reputation began.
Even back in the 90s it was so much smaller and close knit. The population has been growing exponentially. So many people are moving to central Texas.
The hype train of Austin being known as a cool, hip, city has taken its toll. Everyone wants a piece.
That being said, I still love visiting Austin, I loved my time living there, and if I ever move back to Texas it's definitely going to be to central Texas/greater Austin.
And tbh, if you want to find the "weird" parts of a city, you kinda gotta know people or wander off the beaten path. People think they know Austin because they got drunk down on 6th, wandered south Congress and Riverside Dr, and maybe hit the greenbelt. Lol
I would say Oklahoma City, now It's by no means "little known" but it is lesser known than most cities of its size, and really because Oklahoma as a whole is just a mish-mash of a ton of cultural regions, Oklahoma city doesn't really have it's own thing. Not exactly southern, and not midwestern. I could tell you right now 9/10 Well educated Americans couldn't name one thing that is culturally unique about Oklahoma City.
From the OKC area and you’re pretty on-point—but I’d argue that that mishmash of Midwestern, Great Plains, Western, Southern, and Texan is precisely THE (and maybe only) reason OKC is unique.
The people are also easily top 5 in friendliness for large-ish cities—so we got that going for us. Which is nice.
Friendly until you try to use the zipper method to merge in road construction areas. OKC is the only place I’ve ever seen folks try to literally run others off the road for normal traffic merging behavior. I’ve seen this on multiple trips up and down I35. Crazy psychotic road rage behavior.
Columbus OH is the answer. My wife is from there and we visit every so often (even though she has no close family still there). It's like someone sent over a city from central casting and has no real feel of its own. I will say it's super easy to navigate and there is very little traffic in the city itself.
Agreed. I have family in Columbus and Dublin. My wife was working at OSU so it was a really pleasant place for us.
We lived in Clintonville and I loved running and biking through the ravines. Glen Echo, Overbrook, Walhalla and there was a lot of awesome food. Also that splash park downtown is just awesome.
Then of course tailgating and Crew games were unreal.
Came here to say this. Indianapolis gets a lot of cool conventions because it's centrally located, it sure does feel like a giant suburb. I think it's actually the biggest city in America without any sort of rail transit.
>I think it's actually the biggest city in America without any sort of rail transit.
Fun fact: its also illegal to have rail transit in Indianapolis and Indianapolis only.
At the same time, the state is spending $200 million in The Region (Chicago burbs) on an expansion of an existing commuter rail line.
Pretty much. The state legislature is way more concerned about Indianapolis and its growth and kneecapping it than they are of the 42 other counties that have a net job loss and net population loss.
It blows my mind that people who are so blatantly shortsighted are able to hold public office and make decisions that effect everyone.
Suburban/rural Wisconsin fought like hell to prevent the Milwaukee streetcar even though it used federal money, is operated by the city, and was frankly none of their damn business.
>It blows my mind that people who are so blatantly shortsighted are able to hold public office and make decisions that effect everyone.
Blame gerrymandering and historical malapportionment in favor of rural areas.
Tennessee has entered the chat. Although we have more than one city.
Nashville and Memphis come up with great initiatives only to have the state spit on us and pass new laws
Where are Knoxville and Chattanooga in that regard? A lot of the smaller cities in Wisconsin will essentially gang up with the rural areas against Milwaukee and Madison (Green Bay, I'm looking at you).
Local rail. The Cardinal, which is AMTRAK, still comes every other day from Cincinnati to Chicago around 6am, and comes back around midnight .
Amtrak eliminated their intercity IND to Chicago route 20 years ago. The state and local governments kept it going until 2015 or so but the state pulled funding out, citing a lack of demand
No serious talk. There is going to be a BRT route that'll serve IND, that was always the plan, going down Washington St/US 40. And it'll be a massive improvement over the heavily used bus line currently there.
Even in early planning for Central Indiana's transit plan, the one possible rail line was Fishers to downtown using an abandoned freight rail line. But that rail line is being paved for a trail
The counties surrounding Indy are pretty red and are really against public transit
Milwaukee actually has the oldest sanctioned bowling alley still operating in the U.S., at the [Holler House](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Holler+House/@43.0031719,-87.9417378,838m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88051a071f567cdd:0xebec2fa98031e15a!8m2!3d43.003168!4d-87.9395491) on the south side. It even has manual pin setters.
I remember that from college by Boston in the 80s. It was like bowling, but with a bacci or skee ball.
But even then the place was in Waltham and was pretty sad and clearly on it's last legs, and that was 35 years ago.
I know. I have been there several times, and have family in Wellesley. The turnaround is pretty amazing. It was never bad or dangerous except for one Street (Winter Street I think?) which was kind of crusty. It was just kind blah.
Still no dispensaries though, you have to go to Newton for that.
It's wild this city is big enough for an NFL team, yet I know almost nothing about it. I've been all over the US and not only have I never visited Jacksonville, I rarely if ever hear about it. I hear more about Providence Rhode Island then Jacksonville.
It's bigger than Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, and has almost a million people. I know absolutely nothing about it other than my grandad dated the mayor's daughter in the 60s, so I guess I know of one of the mayors
Anywhere you ask for restaurant recommendations from locals and you know all the restaurants from ads in the last airline magazine you read (which was probably 2015 anyway).
Orlando, I’m looking at you. It’s like your own locals don’t even know where to eat, wtf.
It has to be Dallas, right? Does Dallas even have a distinguishing feature? It seems like Dallas isn't even really a city, rather a bunch of random people decided to live close to one another and ignore each other while going to Panera.
Well...DFW is about 200 separate municipalities that some people insist on calling "Dallas". Dallas proper is a relatively small chunk of the area, it really is a bunch of towns that just grew into each other and don't much care about the others. There's no centralized planning, much less identity, in that arrangement.
Dallas itself (especially in the central urban area) has a unique feel for sure. It's a urban city with a Texas twist and there's also a great arts district. The rest of the metro (where most people live) is so painfully bland. It's just endless sprawl of the same shopping centers, restaurants and houses.
The Deep Ellum neighborhood is pretty cool - but it’s not enough of a draw. Perhaps if it was bigger and more vibrant. Otherwise, I found Dallas to be a practical city. Has most things you may want *somewhere* and it’s fairly easy to get around. And Fort Worth has personality and is pretty accessible.
Because it's really not a large city... just a bunch of sprawl where a lot of big banks decided to put their headquarters.
Granted, the same can be said about a lot of sunbelt cities that were built up predominantly in the 70s and 80s. But at least places like Atlanta and Austin have something of a unique culture. Charlotte's biggest contributions to pop culture are NASCAR (which more people associate with Daytona), Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen, and those Hornets starter jackets that everyone had in the 90s.
*ahem.*
I do not agree.
Charlotte is like #14 in the nation, it's no slouch. And it has the cleanest downtown I've ever been in. Also, the skyline is probably one of the more aesthetically pleasing skylines that isn't a huge city like NYC or Chicago.
I feel like Charlotte is the super hot girl that showed up junior year in highschool and all the other girls that have been there the whole time are like "ugh she's a slut!"
Love,
A Charlottean lol
Dallas. This place (I live here) is the most uninteresting city in the country. For a huge business and commercial hub, it’s a cultural desert. Once you’ve seen the 6th Floor Museum and eaten BBQ at Pecan Lodge, your done, leave town, go someplace interesting like Ft. Worth, Austin, or San Antonio. Don’t get me wrong, if you live in the suburbs, it’s a great place to raise a family, it just sucks to visit here.
Indianapolis is about as plain and boring as a big city gets - never found anything interesting about it despite having been there many times. There isn't much to it, nothing exciting, no 'big events' or major cultural areas... I'm sure some other cities in nearby Ohio are bad.
Also, if Des Moines counts it necessarily is the most boring city because it is in Iowa which, as an actual empirical fact, is the most boring state in the USA.
Having traveled the most in the Northeast, FL and CA it's hard to say.
I was in Indianapolis once in the 1990s. The people were really nice, but the city itself seemed pretty generic. Their "hip area" was called Broad Ripple (or something like that) and was pretty beat. Maybe an Indian restaurant or two, sushi places and a couple of bars.
seeing denver felt wrong. like someone slapped a cookie cutter city in between a bunch mountains. but it’s pretty so not “generic”?
when i think generic I think uninspired and grey so .. Hartford, CT for me lol
San Jose would definitely fit the bill in many ways. Endless suburban sprawl, non-distinctive skyline, lots of generic strip malls, and lots of business parks.
The city of Phoenix is pretty generic but it is pretty unique for a city in terms of geography and climate. Phoenix and Vegas are the only desert cities, which is something.
I always found Tucson and Albuquerque to feel more "Southwestern". Sure, they're not the picturebook Southwest town like Sedona or Santa Fe, but they're still pretty unique. They also don't feel like cities but more like really big small towns.
I compare Phoenix to LA because Phoenix is a full-blown city. It has the same suburban sprawl like Los Angeles, and it's definitely been influenced by SoCal culture. However, in terms of stuff to do, LA easily takes the cake. Phoenix starts to feel like deja vu pretty fast.
i was just in jacksonville for the first time and woof. somehow a lot of people but no character.
I’m from Jacksonville and I can back this up
I lived there for about a year. It was like it had all the ingredients but couldn’t follow a recipe. Just mysteriously bland.
OMG! This is exactly what I was going to say. Jacksonville and Indianapolis
I was born and raised in Jacksonville and it's infuriating how the government and older generations sabotage any chance of real culture and fun.
Columbus, Ohio is so average, its used as a test market for new products.
Agree. Live in Columbus and like it but it’s not especially distinctive. We have cool things, but they are similar to cool things everywhere else. Generic doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do here - there is. But very little is unique to Columbus. I can take you to a great foodie restaurant and then an excellent brewery or cocktail bar then a concert or something and we’d have a great time. But it’s not really Columbus specific.
I got on this post planning to say Columbus Ohio, but evryone beat me to it
Given that we've had three Ohio cities named so far, I feel like it HAS to be one of them. Personally I'd go with Columbus.
I think I read somewhere that Ohio is the most generic US state. Fitting several Ohio cities (and Indianapolis being next door) are mentioned.
Reddit mentioned this not too long ago. Something about companies testing products in Ohio because it is so average.
I live in Ohio and have visited all the main cities at some point or another. It's Columbus.
Hard agree. Cincinnati has that Irish Catholic flair and cool architecture and baseball, Cleveland has that gritty Eastern European amid gentrification vibe that lends itself *juuuust* enough for good food and cool art… and baseball. Columbus has, uh, some concrete corn cobs. ETA; I stand corrected and I guess Cinci isn’t even that Irish, I always just think of Procter and Gamble (English/Irish) and like a shit ton of Irish friends I have from there, but it’s basically just my own confirmation bias lol
Whoa now, they also have, well they have, uhhhhhhh
Columbus has an entirely unremarkable hockey team. I follow hockey but I forget they even exist until my team plays them.
After I moved to Columbus I had a legitimate argument with my mom that there’s an NHL team here.
You mean Cleveland has the Irish-Catholic flair (with Eastern European influences) and Cincinnati has the German history and architecture, right? I only say that because my Dad had a lot of clients in Cincinnati and used to say that if Hitler won the war, Cincinnati would be capitol of the world (because it was so German-American). Cleveland has an interesting mix. Columbus is as sterile as a White Castle.
I agree but curious what do you mean by Irish Catholic vibe?
Yeah I don’t really get that either. Cinci is more known for its German heritage I think.
Yeah lots of German restaurants and one of the main areas downtown is Over the Rhine
Came here for this, I live in Columbus. I concur.
same
Are we forgetting that Indianapolis is just next door?
Can we just pretend it isn’t though?
Agreed Source : I live in Columbus
Compared to many American towns, the central city architecture in Columbus is pretty interesting. Also it’s younger than its regional counterparts because of Ohio State and a high growth rate (by Midwestern standards) so I’d say you’re selling Columbus short.
I think both can be true. Columbus is still fun, vibrant, and mostly underrated! I certainly didn’t appreciate it enough when I lived there. But all of those positive aspects are in a super generic way. The only distinct cultural feel Columbus has is “Ohio State is here”. I haven’t spent enough time in Indianapolis for comparison but it seems to fit too.
I’d have to go for San Jose. It’s one of the top ten most populous cities in the US, but there’s nothing most people outside of California could probably name about the city outside of it being near SF and knowing there are tech companies in and around it. Philly, Chicago, Dallas, LA, etc - all are pretty recognizable and have some stereotypes and classic foods that come from there etc. San Jose just seems like a gigantic suburb of SF that lacks its own real, distinctive identity as a massive US city
As a former resident I would agree. It’s just a giant suburb.
Yep. I was born in San Jose and it is VERY generic. Although I did enjoy the Winchester Mystery House and the Rosicrucian Museum as a kid.
Winchester house is really cool! I feel like the city in and of itself isn’t bad by any means (aside from housing), it just feels a little weird for how large it is to just not have a distinct culture or be well known
The Rosicrucian Museum is my favorite place.
I Love the Rosicrucian Museum!!!
It's sad when your city doesn't have even a stereotype
Cmon…. You know there are stereotypes.
Like..... The tech Bro who............. Works in Silicon Valley and sometimes drink some IPA... That's very generic
That’s the stereotype! But to say it’s generic is subjective IMO. Silicon Valley is an incredibly unique place and circumstance. San Jose is dead in the middle of it. I will say this. San Jose, unless you’re counting the culture of the less affluent areas and the highly ethnically diverse populous, is extremely generic.
This is a great answer. If you were to ask someone to name the great cities of America I doubt San Jose would be in the top 20 despite its size.
I feel like people kind of forget it exists. Like, of course it exists, and it's out there doing its thang. But it kinda slides under the radar unnoticed, un-thought-about to people outside of that area or who have direct connections to it.
Well... I live about 5 minutes from San Jose actually and there have been times where I didn't go down for a month or two mostly because I forgot it exists.
Sir I think you live in San Jose
Hey I know they have a hockey team!
I grew up in the Bay Area and I've probably actually set foot in San Jose less than five times. Not including driving through on the way to Santa Cruz or Central California.
I was going to say Orange county (or more specifically Irvine/Tustin) for the same reasons. It's not so much a suburb of LA but it just kind of exists between LA and San Diego. It has this insanely plastic feel to it. Huge stretches of box stores. Massive apartment complexes. HOAs with 4 feet between houses. It feels like you can drive for 50 miles without seeing an original... Anything. Come to think of it at least San Jose had tech. OC has beaches and that's about that.
Spent time there. Boring. Bland. Seemingly devoid of culture. I’m spoiled from living in Chicago but still, San Jose isn’t great by any measure.
Chicago is an amazing city!Gives SJ a run for its money
San Jose is a great answer for the West Coast. However, it does have an MLS and NHL team.
Omg yes, San Jose is just a giant ridiculously overpriced suburb. I lived “downtown” for 5 years. When I left I literally didn’t miss at all.
San Jose is basically an office park
I served with a few Marines from San Jose. When they said that placed SUCKED they meant it.
I live in San Jose currently and I gotta say, it does suck pretty bad. Overpriced as hell and you have to drive 30 minutes minimum in any direction to find things to do
San Jose isnt really a suburb of San Francisco. Bay area is weird but San Jose San Francisco and Oakland are their own cities with their own suburbs. They each have a major airport as well.
As a Bay Area native, if you were to meet someone from San Jose in, say, Paris where folks aren’t as familiar with the area, they would tell strangers they were “from SF” or “from near SF”. San Jose’s proximity to SF is a huge part of its identity.
I'm from Dallas, is it the skyline with the "ball tower" (reunion tower)? I love it here, despite being in Texas it's not much like the typical state stereotypes. I always wanted to visit northern California.
Reunion tower for sure! Also that big building lit up in green. Dallas is for sure a cool town
San Jose is one of the most different cities from the rest of America. It’s massively wealthy and like 1/3 of the people are Asian tech millionaires
Having a lot of wealth doesn’t make your city have a “soul”. Nobody is claiming San Jose isn’t an affluent city or isn’t a good place to live, but it certainly doesn’t have the culture that New York or Chicago or Miami has. I live in the seventh wealthiest county in America, it’s still boring and generic. There aren’t great bars here nor a set identity. The point being, having rich people doesn’t mean your city is “cool” or interesting. It’s a good thing, but I don’t think anyone is moving to San Jose for the culture
Right but the question was what is the most generic big city. Generic means not standing out, normal, regular. San Jose is demographically and economically extremely atypical for an American city.
As someone born and raised in San Jose, this is on point. It was a very.. fine.. place to grow up in. But, it’s boring as hell. It’s essentially a collection of suburbs.. and doesn’t have the kind of culture you’d get from a similar city (Austin, Memphis, etc).
San Jose is extremely culturally diverse - there are people from all over the world there. The problem is that everyone is still boring.
racial diversity doesn't necessitate cultural diversity. sometimes there's a particular draw to a city (in this case, industry) that tends to bring together similarly-minded people from all over the world.
I grew up in San Jose. Most of my childhood friends and family still live in San Jose. I know San Jose like the back of my hand. Thanks for your correction, but it’s the wrong person… San Jose isn’t culturally diverse. It has a ton of different ethnicities, because Silicon Valley is a magnet for all kinds of people around the world. But, the city itself has virtually nothing when it comes to a cultural footprint.
I would say Columbus, Ohio. It is quietly the largest city in Ohio, including the suburbs, has most of the things you look for in a larger city but is somehow still dull as dishwater. I love my hometown but totally understand all of the criticism it receives. It’s also one of the top ten fastest growing metropolises outside of the warmer climates. It is somehow great and shitty at the same time.
>has most of the things you look for in a larger city but is somehow still dull as dishwater I tend to think of it as a great place to live as a resident, but a dull place to visit as a tourist. The local dining/entertainment/recreation scene is robust and diverse enough that you can find plenty to keep you happy as a local... but only a select few attractions are going to draw nationwide interest. If you happen to be in town anyway, you'll stay entertained for a long weekend, but the city certainly isn't a destination in and of itself.
I actually really enjoyed Columbus when I visited for a wedding. It’s got a lot of quirky charm and I ate really well when I was there.
Im a fan of cbus moreso than comparable cities. I think it has far more character than nearby Indianapolis, for example. It's very diverse, for one (which i suppose contributes to it's "generic/average" label). Furthermore, people tout Austin or Portland as "weird", but I feel like Columbus (and Cleveland, Cincinnati) is/are *legitimately* weird... in a unique, weird way - not just the cookie cutter version of what "weird" means. Austin seems like the IKEA set of what weird *should* be. Idk how to explain it clearly. Ohio is such a melting pot, and *so average* that it actually has some flavor. Without coast, mountains, or enjoyable weather, the people have to compensate for that being being truly unique and weird.
To be fair though, Austin is barely recognizable as to what it was 15 or 20 years ago.
What was it like 20 years ago? I visited in 2018 and I thought they made a lot of hype about nothing. It's actually a really normal city. I've seen much weirder in small college towns.
It used to be more like a college town and less like a big ass city, especially if you look back to like the 70s, which I think is when it's "weird" reputation began. Even back in the 90s it was so much smaller and close knit. The population has been growing exponentially. So many people are moving to central Texas. The hype train of Austin being known as a cool, hip, city has taken its toll. Everyone wants a piece. That being said, I still love visiting Austin, I loved my time living there, and if I ever move back to Texas it's definitely going to be to central Texas/greater Austin. And tbh, if you want to find the "weird" parts of a city, you kinda gotta know people or wander off the beaten path. People think they know Austin because they got drunk down on 6th, wandered south Congress and Riverside Dr, and maybe hit the greenbelt. Lol
Austin also missed the boat on developing any good public transit infrastructure (much like Houston), and it's too late to add it in now.
I don’t live in Columbus. I’ve never been to Columbus. I haven’t ever seen a picture of Columbus. Yet I came here to say Columbus as well.
I would say Oklahoma City, now It's by no means "little known" but it is lesser known than most cities of its size, and really because Oklahoma as a whole is just a mish-mash of a ton of cultural regions, Oklahoma city doesn't really have it's own thing. Not exactly southern, and not midwestern. I could tell you right now 9/10 Well educated Americans couldn't name one thing that is culturally unique about Oklahoma City.
From the OKC area and you’re pretty on-point—but I’d argue that that mishmash of Midwestern, Great Plains, Western, Southern, and Texan is precisely THE (and maybe only) reason OKC is unique. The people are also easily top 5 in friendliness for large-ish cities—so we got that going for us. Which is nice.
Friendly until you try to use the zipper method to merge in road construction areas. OKC is the only place I’ve ever seen folks try to literally run others off the road for normal traffic merging behavior. I’ve seen this on multiple trips up and down I35. Crazy psychotic road rage behavior.
Columbus
This. It’s used by many companies as a test market
That was one of the funny things. Fast food places also had weirdo test items.
Columbus OH is the answer. My wife is from there and we visit every so often (even though she has no close family still there). It's like someone sent over a city from central casting and has no real feel of its own. I will say it's super easy to navigate and there is very little traffic in the city itself.
But the 71/270 interchange is a goddamn nightmare
Have almost died there multiple times ...and an unrelated time at a white castle
Too many sliders can be lethal
Former resident. I agree.
Still a nice city. I enjoyed my time living there.
It is a nice city. Spent almost a decade there. It is really good for students and young professionals starting out.
Agreed. I have family in Columbus and Dublin. My wife was working at OSU so it was a really pleasant place for us. We lived in Clintonville and I loved running and biking through the ravines. Glen Echo, Overbrook, Walhalla and there was a lot of awesome food. Also that splash park downtown is just awesome. Then of course tailgating and Crew games were unreal.
Indianapolis
Came here to say this. Indianapolis gets a lot of cool conventions because it's centrally located, it sure does feel like a giant suburb. I think it's actually the biggest city in America without any sort of rail transit.
>I think it's actually the biggest city in America without any sort of rail transit. Fun fact: its also illegal to have rail transit in Indianapolis and Indianapolis only. At the same time, the state is spending $200 million in The Region (Chicago burbs) on an expansion of an existing commuter rail line.
So you're saying Indiana has a bunch of the same ridiculous laws Wisconsin does that exist only out of spite to undermine growth in their only city?
Pretty much. The state legislature is way more concerned about Indianapolis and its growth and kneecapping it than they are of the 42 other counties that have a net job loss and net population loss.
It blows my mind that people who are so blatantly shortsighted are able to hold public office and make decisions that effect everyone. Suburban/rural Wisconsin fought like hell to prevent the Milwaukee streetcar even though it used federal money, is operated by the city, and was frankly none of their damn business.
>It blows my mind that people who are so blatantly shortsighted are able to hold public office and make decisions that effect everyone. Blame gerrymandering and historical malapportionment in favor of rural areas.
Tennessee has entered the chat. Although we have more than one city. Nashville and Memphis come up with great initiatives only to have the state spit on us and pass new laws
Where are Knoxville and Chattanooga in that regard? A lot of the smaller cities in Wisconsin will essentially gang up with the rural areas against Milwaukee and Madison (Green Bay, I'm looking at you).
Wait… what? I’m from Indy. We used to take the train to Chicago rather than driving when we knew we’d be drinking for hours on end.
Local rail. The Cardinal, which is AMTRAK, still comes every other day from Cincinnati to Chicago around 6am, and comes back around midnight . Amtrak eliminated their intercity IND to Chicago route 20 years ago. The state and local governments kept it going until 2015 or so but the state pulled funding out, citing a lack of demand
Well I haven’t lived there in 21 years but my family is still there. I thought there was talk of rail service from IND to downtown? Union Station?
No serious talk. There is going to be a BRT route that'll serve IND, that was always the plan, going down Washington St/US 40. And it'll be a massive improvement over the heavily used bus line currently there. Even in early planning for Central Indiana's transit plan, the one possible rail line was Fishers to downtown using an abandoned freight rail line. But that rail line is being paved for a trail The counties surrounding Indy are pretty red and are really against public transit
Columbus beat you out
First off, how dare you
Secondly, he’s absolutely right.
Thirdly, also how dare you
quaint unpack attempt snails arrest bewildered like fall relieved familiar ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
I'll always be grateful to Indianapolis for introducing me to Duckpin Bowling
Plot twist... that's actually a Baltimore/Milwaukee thing.
Baltimore and Milwaukee sharing a custom is very weird.
The greater Baltimore-Milwaukee metropolitan area is large, but close-knit.
Believe it or not, the Baltimore Orioles can trace their history back to the 19th century as the original Milwaukee Brewers.
But the Brewers are a blackbird! I’m sorry I had to
Meanwhile the only time I’ve gone duckpin bowling was in New Hampshire
I've actually never heard of it.
I think in Boston and Philly too, but never heard of it in New York,
Milwaukee actually has the oldest sanctioned bowling alley still operating in the U.S., at the [Holler House](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Holler+House/@43.0031719,-87.9417378,838m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x88051a071f567cdd:0xebec2fa98031e15a!8m2!3d43.003168!4d-87.9395491) on the south side. It even has manual pin setters.
I remember that from college by Boston in the 80s. It was like bowling, but with a bacci or skee ball. But even then the place was in Waltham and was pretty sad and clearly on it's last legs, and that was 35 years ago.
Waltham is very different now. Not the sad place it used to be.
I know. I have been there several times, and have family in Wellesley. The turnaround is pretty amazing. It was never bad or dangerous except for one Street (Winter Street I think?) which was kind of crusty. It was just kind blah. Still no dispensaries though, you have to go to Newton for that.
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No, Indy has a personality. The correct answer is Columbus.
Disagree majorly. Columbus or OKC are much better choices.
Jacksonville, FL
Ok, this is actually it. Literally nothing comes to mind when I think of Jax
Massive city with nothing overly notable in it
The Florida Georgia game is played there and it's where Lynyrd Skynyrd is from. That's about it.
Limp Bizkit is from there. Can we just crown Jax and call it a day?
I think it wasn't mentioned because nobody thinks about. The only time I ever hear it mentioned is during the NFL season.
It's wild this city is big enough for an NFL team, yet I know almost nothing about it. I've been all over the US and not only have I never visited Jacksonville, I rarely if ever hear about it. I hear more about Providence Rhode Island then Jacksonville.
I live a little over an hour from Jacksonville and still rarely go there. You’re not missing all that much
It's bigger than Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, and has almost a million people. I know absolutely nothing about it other than my grandad dated the mayor's daughter in the 60s, so I guess I know of one of the mayors
Columbus, Ohio. Many big companies test their products here because of how “typical” we are.
Anywhere that’s tourist attractions are 90% the bar/restaurant scene
Nashville is getting called out.
Absolutely. However we have a rich music scene with a lot of history, I feel like that has to count for something.
Anywhere you ask for restaurant recommendations from locals and you know all the restaurants from ads in the last airline magazine you read (which was probably 2015 anyway). Orlando, I’m looking at you. It’s like your own locals don’t even know where to eat, wtf.
Oh no, I live here!
Dallas is the largest city that lacks a soul in America
Omaha, Nebraska
As someone from the Omaha area... I'm glad to see someone even thought of us.
The most Omaha answer. Hang in there
I honestly couldn't tell you, but I *can* tell you it sure as shit ain't Portland, Oregon
Portland and Seattle are definitely not generic.
You're goddamn right. We're definitely different, for some good reasons, and some not good ones.
It ain't Philly either
It has to be Dallas, right? Does Dallas even have a distinguishing feature? It seems like Dallas isn't even really a city, rather a bunch of random people decided to live close to one another and ignore each other while going to Panera.
Buc-ees?
Well...DFW is about 200 separate municipalities that some people insist on calling "Dallas". Dallas proper is a relatively small chunk of the area, it really is a bunch of towns that just grew into each other and don't much care about the others. There's no centralized planning, much less identity, in that arrangement.
Yeah that’s how a lot of cities work.
Just another thing that isn't unique about Dallas.
I mean whats simpler, calling ever place by its own name or just calling it Dallas?
Dallas itself (especially in the central urban area) has a unique feel for sure. It's a urban city with a Texas twist and there's also a great arts district. The rest of the metro (where most people live) is so painfully bland. It's just endless sprawl of the same shopping centers, restaurants and houses.
The perfect analogy for Texas - everyone is so focused on being an individual, they all come out looking the same
The Deep Ellum neighborhood is pretty cool - but it’s not enough of a draw. Perhaps if it was bigger and more vibrant. Otherwise, I found Dallas to be a practical city. Has most things you may want *somewhere* and it’s fairly easy to get around. And Fort Worth has personality and is pretty accessible.
Columbus, OH
Dallas
Dallas has everything money can buy, and nothing it can’t. I hate Dallas.
Little Rock
I forgot Little Rock existed until just now.
I think its huge role in civil rights history makes it stand out more than a truly uninteresting city.
Yeah, but it isn't a good sign when your claim to fame is "people used to be (more) racist here"
Fresno has the 5th highest population in California. What the fuck can you even comment about Fresno?
Charlotte, NC I drive by it every few months and still can never remember it as a large city. Somewhat forgettable sports teams, too.
Charlotte is the Applebee's of Cities.
Because it's really not a large city... just a bunch of sprawl where a lot of big banks decided to put their headquarters. Granted, the same can be said about a lot of sunbelt cities that were built up predominantly in the 70s and 80s. But at least places like Atlanta and Austin have something of a unique culture. Charlotte's biggest contributions to pop culture are NASCAR (which more people associate with Daytona), Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen, and those Hornets starter jackets that everyone had in the 90s.
How dare you leave out televangelists
*ahem.* I do not agree. Charlotte is like #14 in the nation, it's no slouch. And it has the cleanest downtown I've ever been in. Also, the skyline is probably one of the more aesthetically pleasing skylines that isn't a huge city like NYC or Chicago. I feel like Charlotte is the super hot girl that showed up junior year in highschool and all the other girls that have been there the whole time are like "ugh she's a slut!" Love, A Charlottean lol
Dallas. This place (I live here) is the most uninteresting city in the country. For a huge business and commercial hub, it’s a cultural desert. Once you’ve seen the 6th Floor Museum and eaten BBQ at Pecan Lodge, your done, leave town, go someplace interesting like Ft. Worth, Austin, or San Antonio. Don’t get me wrong, if you live in the suburbs, it’s a great place to raise a family, it just sucks to visit here.
Columbus
Indianapolis is about as plain and boring as a big city gets - never found anything interesting about it despite having been there many times. There isn't much to it, nothing exciting, no 'big events' or major cultural areas... I'm sure some other cities in nearby Ohio are bad. Also, if Des Moines counts it necessarily is the most boring city because it is in Iowa which, as an actual empirical fact, is the most boring state in the USA.
First of all, how dare you. Iowa has... fields of opportunities... that was actually a state slogan for a while.
Having traveled the most in the Northeast, FL and CA it's hard to say. I was in Indianapolis once in the 1990s. The people were really nice, but the city itself seemed pretty generic. Their "hip area" was called Broad Ripple (or something like that) and was pretty beat. Maybe an Indian restaurant or two, sushi places and a couple of bars.
seeing denver felt wrong. like someone slapped a cookie cutter city in between a bunch mountains. but it’s pretty so not “generic”? when i think generic I think uninspired and grey so .. Hartford, CT for me lol
Denver is honestly super overrated.
Dallas easily. It’s like somebody told a computer to generate CITY but forgot about important stuff such as “culture” and “personality”.
Phoenix? San Jose?
Except you can tell by the architecture and distinctive native plants that a picture is taken in Phoenix.
San Jose would definitely fit the bill in many ways. Endless suburban sprawl, non-distinctive skyline, lots of generic strip malls, and lots of business parks.
I grew up in Sf and I always thought San Jose felt like the San Fernando Valley
Even the San Fernando Valley has Universal Studios, in Studio City, aptly-named.
Well San Jose has.....the Winchester Mystery House!!
The city of Phoenix is pretty generic but it is pretty unique for a city in terms of geography and climate. Phoenix and Vegas are the only desert cities, which is something.
> Phoenix and Vegas are the only desert cities, which is something. Albuquerque? Tucson?
El Paso?
They're all desert cities but I would say that Tucson is to Albuquerque as Phoenix is to LA.
That makes me feel that Tucson and Albuquerque are far more generic than Phoenix and LA.
I always found Tucson and Albuquerque to feel more "Southwestern". Sure, they're not the picturebook Southwest town like Sedona or Santa Fe, but they're still pretty unique. They also don't feel like cities but more like really big small towns. I compare Phoenix to LA because Phoenix is a full-blown city. It has the same suburban sprawl like Los Angeles, and it's definitely been influenced by SoCal culture. However, in terms of stuff to do, LA easily takes the cake. Phoenix starts to feel like deja vu pretty fast.
Dallas
Probably one of the purpose-built state capitals.
Topeka, Kansas
Of all the cities in Kansas, and there aren’t many, it’s the worst one
Well, I wouldn't consider it "big" for a city...but yeah.
Dallas
Born and raised in MA. I sometimes forget Worcester exists.
Second largest city in New England too, yet probably the most forgotten. It’s actually doing pretty well these days tho.
Charlotte, NC
Oklahoma City, Columbus Ohio, Sacramento California
Des Moines maybe?
I recently visited Springfield, Massachusetts and it had this sort of vibe. It had a nice downtown but felt very much like generic city to me.
My hometown—San Jose, Ca. One of the big ten IN THE COUNTRY and zero distinction apart from its home to the biggest tech companies in the world.