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  #1  
Old Posted Oct 29, 2019, 10:28 PM
jd3189 jd3189 is offline
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Your state's/province's most interesting/ cuturally distinct city(ies)

One last thread idea I came up with while thinking about stuff on another thread.


Instead of looking at cities in terms of physical or statistical qualities, why not view them in terms of their feel and level of distinctiveness that not only sets them apart in their own state or province, but also in the point of view of a person who only has a superficial view of the place. All of this is opinion so no view is necessarily free from criticism or well founded subjective support.



To start, for me, the most distinct cities in Florida are probably Miami and Key West.


The former has a international feel that is different from the other Florida cities that seem almost as slight variations of the same thing ( looking at Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville). While most of Florida still has some Southern attributes that are to overlook, Miami almost seems like it suppose to be an outpost of either in the NE or the Caribbean. The culture there also makes it unique.


Key West has some of the same distinctiveness, but it's more isolated. Its architecture and vibe is almost from another era. I would say it's probably the best built city in Florida for what it is and where it is. I got nothing else to say about it, anyone else can mention something.


But, yes, Canadian cities are welcomed as well. This thread is pretty much what sets a city apart from its peers close by to warrant it is a unique entity.
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  #2  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 4:57 PM
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NY would probably be Manhattan, as there is nothing like it in the state or country.

New Jersey would probably be Cape May. It's a small city but feels very southern. Even the climate there is Southern. Giant Camellias blooming in February, Southern and Victorian architecture, ect.
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  #3  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 5:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bossabreezes View Post
NY would probably be Manhattan, as there is nothing like it in the state or country.

New Jersey would probably be Cape May. It's a small city but feels very southern. Even the climate there is Southern. Giant Camellias blooming in February, Southern and Victorian architecture, ect.
cape may, interesting. extreme southern edge of new jersey, facing south towards the gulf stream...palms...


i.ytimg.com
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Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 5:52 PM
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ste genevieve has sister cities like st. charles and st. louis in french missouri but as it didn't have a big early-mid19th century american building boom/influx its late 18th century french colonial architecture/district wasn't completely overbuilt and is a little surviving piece of quebec 2.0 on the edge of the aux-arcs (ozarks) i suppose.


greatriverroad.com


garden-gc.s3.amazonaws.com


stegenevieve.org


https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com


wikipedia.com


www.visitstegen.com


pinterest.com
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Last edited by Centropolis; Oct 30, 2019 at 6:09 PM.
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Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 6:04 PM
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In Canada, you have areas in the provinces that border Quebec that have a lot of spillover of French language and culture going back to pre-Confederation. It would probably be one of these as you aren't going to see too much variability between English cities in Ontario, or West of Manitoba.

In Ontario it would probably be one of the small Northern towns that is majority French-Canadian, or specifically Franco-Ontarians. Hawkesbury (80% French-speaking), Kapuskasing, West Nippising, etc.

In New Brunswick you have Edmunston (93% French), Grand Falls, Saint-Léonard, etc.
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  #6  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 7:25 PM
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I will pick the states where I have lived

New Orleans, Louisiana: Even in a state as unique as Louisiana New Orleans is still the jewel of the state.

Annapolis, Maryland: It is a charming colonial town and state capital. A case could be made for Baltimore, but Charm City feels like a smaller Philadelphia to really stand out in the area.

Galveston, Texas: If I dropped someone off in a random neighborhood in the city/burbs of Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin most people would not know the difference. Yes, there are slight variations of topography, but the homes and strip-malls all look about the same. That cannot be said with Galveston.

Key West, Florida: Very few cities have the look or feel to Key West. I believe it could be one of the most unique cities in the US.
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Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 10:46 PM
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Tiki Island...

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  #8  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 11:51 PM
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Just across state line from Kansas City, Mo.... Kansas City, Kansas.
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  #9  
Old Posted Oct 30, 2019, 11:53 PM
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In my area:

Stonington, ct
Cape May, nj

Lakewood, nj (Hasidim)
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  #10  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 12:36 AM
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For SC, it's Charleston easily.
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  #11  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by kcexpress69 View Post
Just across state line from Kansas City, Mo.... Kansas City, Kansas.
What is so unique about Kansas City, Kansas? Guess it might just be a matter of slim pickings when it comes to interesting/culturally distinct cities in Kansas, but I'd think there might be some better options. Lawrence, maybe? Even the wealthier suburbs of KC, like Overland Park, seem like they are more interesting than Kansas City, Kansas. Genuinely interested to hear more.
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  #12  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 1:03 AM
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For Arkansas, it's incredibly easy to pick Eureka Springs. Such a nice and unique small town.
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  #13  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 2:26 AM
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For eastern Ontario, I would say Kingston. A city with historic architecture, a vibrant downtown, an attractive waterfront, a top notch university, and one of Canada's best known historic sites. Often called the 'Limestone City' for the limestone architecture, it is the largest of the Loyalist towns and cities that line the St. Lawrence River and the north shore of Lake Ontario.
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Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 2:49 AM
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The most culturally distinct cities in the states I’ve lived in:

California: San Diego
Texas: San Antonio
Illinois: Chicago
Washington: pass
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Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 2:53 AM
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Not much is distinct in North Dakota (where I grew up). But I think Bismarck might be it. It's the only "larger" city in the state without a public university, it is one of few cities and the largest city settled on the bluffs of the Missouri river. It's at the center of where Lewis and Clark spent the winter. It's next to where General Custer (Ft. Mandan) left to make his last stand. It's also the only "major" city in the state near Reservation land. Oh, also it's the capitol. All of this mixes together to make it the most unique city in the state, imo.

As for Arizona, I'm torn between Tucson and Sedona. Tucson could maybe claim to be the oldest continuously inhabited location in the US. That's very questionable and I won't make that argument. However, it is in an area that has been inhabited by non-nomadic cultures for a very long time. Sedona, meanwhile is.. well it's "a place of pilgrimage and transformation for seekers around the world. Sedona is best known for its powerful vortex energies and, each year, more than 4 million people visit Sedona–60% of them actively in search of a spiritual experience." That plus a lot of very rich people.
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Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 4:47 AM
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For Delaware, I guess I would have to pick Lewes (pronounced "Lewis"). It's a little like Cape May, which has been named a couple times already. It has some Victorian architecture, but not as much as Cape May. It also sits across Delaware Bay from Cape May. Lewes is most unique in that it was the site of a Dutch fort (although New Castle also had one), is the site of a Dutch dike (New Castle also has one of those), has our oldest building (1685) and that it was attacked by the British in the War of 1812. It has beaches like the rest of southern Delaware, but has history like northern Delaware.

I was going to go with New Castle, which is an old colonial town, but you can find enough of that in the area in other states. New Castle itself tried to emulate Philadelphia back in the 1700s and early 1800s, so it can't be that unique then. Some of the unique Dutch elements in New Castle can be found in Lewes, mentioned above.
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  #17  
Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 1:58 PM
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Originally Posted by lrt's friend View Post
For eastern Ontario, I would say Kingston. A city with historic architecture, a vibrant downtown, an attractive waterfront, a top notch university, and one of Canada's best known historic sites. Often called the 'Limestone City' for the limestone architecture, it is the largest of the Loyalist towns and cities that line the St. Lawrence River and the north shore of Lake Ontario.
Kingston is a good pick for English Ontario. It features a lot of that Eastern Ontario grey stone architecture that is drastically different than the major population centres of SW Ontario.

Apart from a few isolated examples, I wouldn't expect to find a streetscape like this West of Kingston:




It also features some pretty unique and well-known institutions. Similar to Annapolis it also houses the Royal Military College which carries about a population of 10,000 in the city. With that and Fort Henry, it has a history of being a military town.

Second would be the max-security Kingston Penitentiary, famous for housing Ontario's most notorious serial killer.

Both of these again feature that grey stone that easily set the location apart from more Western towns.


from: http://events.r20.constantcontact.co...&llr=qtds7zcab


from:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kings...ison-1.1865605
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Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 2:09 PM
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Originally Posted by edale View Post
What is so unique about Kansas City, Kansas? Guess it might just be a matter of slim pickings when it comes to interesting/culturally distinct cities in Kansas, but I'd think there might be some better options. Lawrence, maybe? Even the wealthier suburbs of KC, like Overland Park, seem like they are more interesting than Kansas City, Kansas. Genuinely interested to hear more.
i would offer strawberry hill, a neighborhood of kansas city, kansas, a historically croation enclave that has seen a couple of newer waves of immigration of both balkan and mexican immigrants.

lawrence would be the other contender in my opinion.

i also don't doubt that like other midwestern/prairie/plains states there are random quasi-utopian cultural enclaves that i don't know about.
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Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 2:46 PM
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Originally Posted by jtown,man View Post
For Arkansas, it's incredibly easy to pick Eureka Springs. Such a nice and unique small town.
I was just about to type that too. Out of everywhere I've been, Eureka Springs sticks out as one of the coolest and beautiful small towns in America. Similar places are Jim Thorpe, PA, Ellicot City, MD, Salida, CO and Galena, Illinois.
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Old Posted Oct 31, 2019, 3:58 PM
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eureka springs is genuinely cool but the last time i was there everybody was fucking chainsmoking everywhere to the point that it was distracting, which is weird considering its historical and contemporary marketing as a restorative place. i guess thats just the ozarks.
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