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What city (or large town) would you nominate for the UTQN (underappreciated though quite nice) award? You know, one of those sleepers that exists under the national radar due to a lack of cachet. Thanks in advance for your replies.
Winston-Salem comes to mind. Good quaility of life, active arts scene, great downtown revitalization, as well as a top notch Unversity and Medical system. It has a well balanced and moderate climate, and the location is convenient for easy access to the Mountains.
I would nominate either St. Paul, MN or Lexington, KY. St. Paul lives in the shadow of Minneapolis, but St. Paul is more historic, has better architecture, is safer, and is every bit as green and full of lakes. Lexington never gets talked about, as Louisville gets all the attention in Kentucky. Lexington is a much smaller city, but it's very clean, safe, and is actually one of the most educated cities in America. Fayetteville, AR and Columbia, MO also come to mind, but Fayetteville seems to be having a hipster boom, so I wouldn't call it "under appreciated" anymore. Columbia is highly educated, has a lot of green space and a great downtown. However, it's just over 100,000 people so maybe not big enough to qualify.
Louisville, For a very large metro of its size (1.2 million) flys under the radar. It's also SUPER affordable. Some very nice neighborhoods, urban areas, parks, etc...The downtown is under a major construction boom as well.
Lexington is a lot smaller than Louisville, but doesn't get any attention either, especially since Louisville is an hour away. It has some great areas, very affordable and horse country is simply beautiful.
Omaha: Very high quality of life. Lots of excellent hospitals, known for great education system especially in the newer areas. Massive interstate infrastructure for it's size. Excellent cost of living with one of the strongest economies in the country with one of the lowest unemployment rates.
Omaha also has very lush summers that are rather nice. They do get heat waves with lots of humidity but they don't last long and the average high is about 85 with a low of 65 in the summer and they get cool Canadian air in the summer also several times also. I especially like the rolling, lush hills in Bellevue which is a suburb that borders Omaha to the south.
Salt Lake City: Utah has excellent infrastructure in general. It has a comprehensive light-rail and commuter rail system. Very large downtown for a city of it's size and interesting neighborhoods with interesting people.
St. Cloud, Minnesota: Have not been there since for a decade but I took a vacation there and thought it was very underrated city.
St. Cloud had lots of really interesting brick houses and it was a very lush and crisp city when I was there for a summer trip. I thought the environment was vibrant and the city was set up well.
I know the cost of living is far lower than Minneapolis/St. Paul which are only about an hour away.
Other Midwestern towns and cities that would fit the label:
Kearney, Nebraska: great university town, excellent economy, lots of retail and very clean.
Hastings, Nebraska: thought it was very clean, sort of good for people who like a quiet and well-kept city.
Brookings, South Dakota: extremely clean small city with excellent economy and medium sized university
Western cities that would fit the label:
Flagstaff, Arizona: underrated mountain town that is very impressive
St. George, Utah: one of the cleanest small cities I have seen, much of it looks like a resort with all the gulf courses and hotels.
Grand Junction, Colorado: Not many people consider it, surprised with so many people moving to Colorado they aren't considering the Western Slope. Very affordable by Colorado standards, scenic, not congested, clean and feels alot larger than it is with so much shopping and medium-sized university.
Winston-Salem comes to mind. Good quaility of life, active arts scene, great downtown revitalization, as well as a top notch Unversity and Medical system. It has a well balanced and moderate climate, and the location is convenient for easy access to the Mountains.
I agree completely and would add neighboring Greensboro as well.
Grand Junction, Colorado: Not many people consider it, surprised with so many people moving to Colorado they aren't considering the Western Slope. Very affordable by Colorado standards, scenic, not congested, clean and feels alot larger than it is with so much shopping and medium-sized university.
Grand Junction is a glorified truck stop. It's hard to even find a decent meal as you pass through on the way to Moab. As for living there, unless you work in health care, there are no jobs.
St Petersburg, FL is a lesser known, mid-size city in Tampa Bay that is really a great place to live and visit. World class beaches, surrounded by water, great downtown with tons of restaurants and bars, an MLB team and 10 months of summer plus a more moderate to liberal leaning population compared to sea of red that is Florida on the electoral map.
Owensboro, Kentucky is a mid-size city right across the Ohio river from Indiana that is a decent place to visit. There are events most of the summer downtown and the city was one of the first to recover from the recession in KY. Housing is affordable and the city has several colleges/universities.
Oswego, NY is another smaller city which is a good place to live/visit. Cultural attractions, and also even better if you enjoy activities like boating or snowmobiling. SUNY Oswego is here as well.
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