Underrated Cities in States That Matter in 2024
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2024
- It's 2024. Ever think about moving to a state where your vote might actually make a difference? It's what I did in 2022 and I highly recommend it -- if you can "swing" it. Today we're looking at this year's likely swing states and affordable neighborhoods in each with great urban qualities.
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Previous CityNerd Videos Referenced:
- CityVisit St. Petersburg FL: • Building an Urban Gem ...
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Resources:
- www.walkscore.com/
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- www.cookpolitical.com/ratings...
- www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/us...
- www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/us...
- culdesac.com/
- www.usvotefoundation.org/stat...
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Also, I post and pin this comment literally as soon as my video goes live and there are already like 10 comments. Who leaves comments on videos they haven't watched?? Definitely not reading them haha
I did! I’ll admit it. It felt criminal how early I got to the comments, and apparently it was lol
lol we watch them on nebula! but there's no commenting on nebula. Anyways, I'm glad you mentioned York, maybe you should do a video on most urbanest towns with good schools
@@AaronFlora1 did you pickup your trophy? 🏆
Two more days of beard growth??? Let's goooo!!!
Initially read the title as "Live Your Best Life in These 18 Swinger Cities" and thought, "oh my! Plot twist!
Please do this list next. Preferably with the same dry delivery.
@@DiesIrae3434 I LOL'd at your comment! I think we all know which city would be number one. It rhymes with Boss Degas.
That would've been mad funny lolll
That's the content I am here for
As if there isn't overlap in some cases! Bridget Ziegler in Florida certainly set the curve for Florida GOP there! ;-)
I need a glass of water. That delivery is so dry. And I love it. Never change.
The PNW accent!
At least he seems to have sped up, this used to be the only channel i would watch sped up
@@alexlishinski9241 I always watch his video at double speed lmao
Nah, his PNW accent got a little cali-valley mixed in somehow, Brah.
Even my 13 year old commented on the deadpan delivery as she passed through the room.
Detroit is doing so much right:
1) literally a bike/pedestrian highway through the city that connects Dearborn, highland Park, hamtramck, all the way to various neighborhoods, downtown, Mexican town, bell Isle, etc
2) removing a freeway
3) strong emphasis on urban infill
4) road diets/remakes all over the city aimed at busses, bikes, and people
5) there are plans/studies to expand the people mover, the qline, to start adding brt, and potentially a train line they will connect directly to Canada
What has prompted so much change in Detroit? Don't know much about its recently history, just surprised that the OG car culture city that went in to big decline is making such a big comeback.
@@Amir-jn5mo I admit I know little about Detroit, but it seems the car industry is what built it up AND the cause of its demise. Now it is in a rebuilding phase, all of which seems very positive to this outsider.
Visited Detroit for the first time last year. What a GREAT city rising from the ashes. I loved exploring it.
My DREAM is that they would convert Woodward from 4 lanes each way to 2 lanes, one light rail line, and one protected bike lane in each direction - and make that span from Downtown to Pontiac. I absolutely love this area, but the car-dependency of the area kills me.
@@Amir-jn5mo The TLDR is that the city of Detroit raised taxes and took a bunch of loans/bonds out to build infrastructure for the booming city. Then the Automanufacturers started offshoring, shutting down factors, and moving their headquarters. The tax base collapsed and Detroit couldn't afford to pay it's debt nor to maintain a lot of the new infrastructure. Lots of good documentaries on TH-cam about it.
DETROIT MENTIONED!!!! I moved to the metro area from socal and Detroit (and Michigan as a whole) is this country’s best-kept secret. We need better transit but there is interest. The best part of Detroit is the PEOPLE. Midwest niceness plus big city open-mindedness.
Detroit has the best bones of any major city in America! If I left Canada it would be for one of two places... Seattle or Detroit... Aka Little Canada!
Please keep this a secret.
"midwest niceness" is just passive-aggressive coldness
Sounds like you’re describing a colder and more car-centric StL… 😜
@@stickynorthcorrection; St. Louis has the most potential for good urbanism of any city in the Western Hemisphere! 💚
Awesome Detroit shout out. The future is so promising for the city. There's so much open space to build and every year it just keeps getting better. Still a lot of work to do, transit and walkability wise, but the city is doing what it can with its limited resources to make it happen
We just need to add rail and mass transit here and it’ll flourish! Love this city!
Needs more people for a tax base that can support a city built for 2 million. It’s happening. Detroit deserves it.
As a Pittsburgher, I hope for the revitalization of all our rust belt cities. They’re definitely great options if you want an affordable urban environment to live in, but people fixate so much on coastal cities.
People talk a lot about making it easier to build more housing in cities in general, especially those with high housing costs. But we already have a bunch of great cities that were built for twice the population they have now.
I was just browsing it on google maps last week from so other channel (can't remember who mentioned it, maybe Radio Free Urbanism) and yea looks like lots of great potential there! So many parking lots ;)
How safe is it there? Like, any areas to avoid? I feel like Detroit has a bad reputation, but that could be outdated or some unspoken "we don't go to THAT part of town" thing.
I don't think big cities are for me, but am definitely eyeing Michigan and want to check out Detroit while looking around for places to move. Would be a shame to not give it a try, but I have zero (negative?) street smarts, so a city like Detroit does scare me a bit.
Just move to PA at this point lol, it is your destiny
You really should do an extended PA city tour. You can do PGH, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Philly all on Amtrak, maybe some smaller stops too like Altoona. And while it's less great, cities like Reading, Scranton, York, Allentown/Bethlehem are accessible by intercity bus from the cities on the Keystone line
Pennsylvania is the most critical Swing State. Generally, those in the Great Lakes are very flippable and/or securable.
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan
r/MoveToSwingStates
It'd be too late for me, but if york county wasn't so maga I might not have left. But yeah, Pennsylvania has a lot of decent places to live if we could make it a little more politically tolerable and have less car dependency. A lot of the small towns around the small cities used to have trolleys up until the 60s.
Never thought I’d see my Milwaukee apartment building on a street view of a City Nerd video. But here we are!
La Crosse is such an underrated gem. Having lived there, Madison, and the Twin Cities, I think La Crosse is actually better for biking, despite having fewer protected bike lanes. There's a good grid of quiet residential streets and the transit is better than average especially with the SMRT regional buses (but much room for improvement). Being on the Mississippi and in the heart of the Driftless Area makes for great scenery and recreational opportunities too. The city is slowly making progress removing commercial parking mins 2 years ago and just this month allowing ADUs.
Dude I agree with the biking. Madison is the least safe place I’ve lived in for biking actually. There are plenty of stroads here that don’t have viable side streets to bike on like you have in a more grid like city
we almost had complete crop failure last summer. This summer will be worse. Famine already in Ethiopia right now. Alaska had 70 degree F. sea surface temp in January. There's 1200 gigatons of pressurized methane in the world's largest ocean shelf in East Siberian Arctic Shelf - gonna get real interesting real fast.
I love the La Crosse area. One of the least known beautiful regions in the whole country. Nearby Winona, Minnesota is also a gem of a city in the same Driftless region and all the way down to Dubuque, Iowa is super gorgeous.
The problem is that people hear Wisconsin and Iowa and they immediately brush them off, unfortunately.
I’m genuinely really curious about Philadelphia right now. It seems a lot like a slightly smaller Chicago but with less harsh winters and is still affordable. Might visit sometime soon
Pretty much. Chicago's music scene is already amazing relative to other us cities but IMHO Philly is still a step above. It's sincerely an amazing city, would recommend. Lots of people moving between the two too, and no beef between the cities. Also a shared rivalry with New York (Philly was bigger for a hot minute, and originally more influential)
Chicago is a mid west Philly. Philly came first.
i've lived in many cities and I'm in philly now and I hate it. There's a lack of pleasant green spaces in the city, the people are miserable and rude, the 'bad' areas are usually a few blocks away from wherever you may be, and unless you like getting drunk there's not a whole lot to do once you see the tourist stuff once time. The sports fandom is really obnoxious and omnipresent too. And while it may be a technically 'walkable' city, the drivers are the worst in the country and you will have to contend with almost being run over on a weekly basis.
Chicagos transit is much better!!!
@@ambientguitarexplorations Check out Bristol Borough in Bucks County PA. It's northeast of you and has a Regional Rail station.
Love the focus on Detroit. I'm over in Grand Rapids (which is also a fantastic place to live, would recommend), but even I can't help visiting the big D from time to time. Hope more people get to see our lovely state in the future.
I think "Big D" does not mean what you think it means.
Dawg I am 100% sure OP understands the implications of that phrase...
@@ReidEvers Maybe... Dawg. Is this Randy from American Idol, btw?
I completely agree! I also live in Grand Rapids but lived in the Detroit area (Ann Arbor) for a couple years when I was younger and have a lot of family over there. Both metro areas and cities have grown and improved so much over the years.
i love how dry you are talking about politics 😭 never ever change dude you are funny as fuck and truly such a great channel
Concord NH is NOT the pick, speaking from personal experience living without a car there. There is a bus network (of like 3 lines) but it doesn't run on the weekend or after 6pm. Dover has the superior COAST bus network (funded by Maine) which is at least something and they have an Amtrak station. Living in Concord it is basically impossible to go anywhere else in the state without a car (except Manchester and Laconia which has been recently added to the CAT network).
Yep, I was looking at planner jobs there but went no further as I don't own a car, but get around by bike instead.
And the pronunciation… no native of the Granite State, especially of Concord, would hit that R so woefully wrong. But we love our City Nehd.
@@thadsoule7129 hurt almost as much as calling it a boston suburb (still love u citynerd)
Portsmouth would be my pick but I have no idea how affordable it is to live there. I'm guessing Concord is cheaper
Yeah I winced at that one @@thadsoule7129
Milwaukee!!
I’ve been living in Milwaukee for about 10 years now and it is a seriously underrated city. I currently live in the 53211 zip code. I walk to work at UWM. I can walk to the shops on Downer, including Sendiks where I do most of my shopping. There are nearby coffee shops and parks and a great movie theater (the oriental) all of which are just a short walk from my house. And the summers here are amazing. I basically spend the whole summer biking around town to a variety of beautiful parks and good coffee shops.
Back in early 2020 when it came down to choosing which grad school I’d attend , a big part of why I chose the school that I did was so I could live (and by extension vote) in AZ haha…the other schools I considered were in TX and TN. I now live in the Phoenix area and my vote is super important now! I regret nothing
Glad to see Michigan so well represented here! GR and Detroit are both fantastic cities. Michigan as a whole is super slept on. Traverse City and Marquette are two beautiful towns as well.
I've lived in this state my whole life and have never been to the U.P. I need to change that because I've heard universally great things about Marquette.
Missing the good ol' days of 2008 when living in Missouri meant you lived in a swing state.
Ohioan here--same
Such a wild idea nowadays
That's Kansas now. But it really does shock me that Missouri is so red when you have KC and Saint Louis in that state. Like, wtf?
@@todddammit4628 it's because those two metro areas are both split across two states. If they were both only in Missouri, it would be much more competitive.
@@todddammit4628unfortunately 2 of the most sprawling metro areas in the country… suburbanites (& therefore Jeff City) don’t care bout urbanism :/
I want to get an Urban Planning BS from Arizona State University in Tempe. It's so comforting to learn from a college in a location that's making so much progress so fast!
ASU alum here. Check the map of the light rail. Make sure the stuff you want is on there. Otherwise, waiting 30 minutes because the bus was late/early in 120 degree heat is going to suck. You will have a tough time without a car.
@@1fareast14 thanks for the response! how is the biking?
@@JasonWood100biking is good in Tempe but stay away from Rural rd. Also if you bike into the heart of campus you may be asked to walk instead although at the busiest times it doesn’t even matter because the foot traffic is so heavy you have to walk anyway.
@@JasonWood100 The biking also gets weaker away from the Tempe, with bike lanes that come and go. It's also very spread out, so I suggest mixing with the bus to make it work.
Hey, I'm currently a junior majoring in Urban Planning at ASU! Tempe still has a lot of progress to make in developing the city, and right now the area that I would describe as urbanist is fairly small. That being said, I still think it's one of the best places to live in the state and there's a lot to love about it! The program itself has some great instructors (I recommend any class with Dr. Kelley) and Tempe is truly one of the few cities in Arizona that's making great progress in densifying, public transit, and improving walkability and bikeabilty!
i never thought after growing up in york pennsylvania and desperately wanting to leave that there would later be an urbanist influencer selling other urbanists on york's... urbanism. i'm in shock. the numbers don't lie though.
York and Lancaster don't give me the impression of walkablity when driving through them. There have been a couple times when Google has sent me through their respective urban cores for whatever reason, and I could not believe how bad the traffic was.
@@taxirob2248 lancaster is pretty walkable ime; i often just walk to downtown rather than wait for a bus. tho i'm not denying the traffic being less than stellar. one thing i'll note are the numerous 5-way intersections, which are not enjoyable in a vehicle OR as a pedestrian. the price of the cute compass-rose layout ig?
Yes, you absolutely NEED to get to Detroit! I'm 1/2 mile south of Detroit in Canada and regularly surprise all my visitors for taking them across to the coolest city in the US. Everyone feels Detroit is an empty shell but that's based on ignorance. Get there soon!
are you trying to get them killed
@@siyacerYeah it is a problem if you're buying drugs or looking for sex workers. I guess that's why so many people from the South don't like Detroit...
Hey, I live in Marietta. I'll tell you right now, unless you live in the apartments in the Battery, all of our apartment complexes basically require cars since they're far away and disconnected from everything. Cobb parkway is one huge stroad that basically has all the businesses, and the bus stops are in the middle of nowhere most of the time. You can't even go grocery shopping without a car. It is definitely /not/ walkable.
I had that thought, my wife having lived in ATL during grad school. Isn't Marietta OTP?
Cobb not allowing MARTA rail: one of the two big thorns in my grandfather’s side from working as a project manager for them; the other being Gwinnett.
Yeah I live in East Cobb and my neighborhood has a walk and bike score not even hitting double digits :(
@BlazingAzureTheta Do you actually live in Marietta?.......... because "the Battery" is in Smyrna.............. Cobb is a 345 sq mi County. living in Cobb doesn't equate to living in Marietta. In fact nor does a Marietta Mail address, Most of metro Atlanta is unincorporated areas and these places have the nearest city Mail address but they not actually a part of the city. but he's talking about specific neighborhoods and zip codes he mentions specifically Marietta Square. He even put out a disclaimer saying just don't adventure to far out of it. .............. It's oblivious 90% of Metro Atlanta is not walkable but the Metro does have a lot of walkable pockets even in the suburbs. Like Downtowns of Decatur, Duluth, Norcross, Suwanee, lawrenceville, Woodstock, alpharetta, etc even mix use development popping up in the suburbs.
@@draetone5602 yes I do, and that just makes my point even better. And even if we limit it to just the Marietta square, my point about grocery shopping still stands. You cannot live in this fucking city without a car.
YORK!? MY HOMETOWN MENTIONED!!!???? Im gonna faint
York, just where it belongs on a list after Lancaster.
I was kinda shocked, but every time I go back to visit my parents we go out in downtown York to something kinda cool. Still a couple years behind Lancaster, and there’s basically no chance I’d move back there from Philly, but downtown York seems to be getting better.
@@jonathanfrank1812Lmao so true
717 represent or something
@@WaterMan416 😂
For Georgia - Athens is a great choice for a small towns. Athens has a great Bus network, is cycling friendly, has a rapidly urbanizing downtown, the new firefly bike trail, and a good town/gown mix. Marietta is an absolute dumpster fire choice. You will need to drive everywhere. It will take you ~30 mins to travel ~5 miles during most of the day. It is not friendly to cycling, alternative transportation, or reasonable urban development. I would avoid at all costs.
Yeah Athens is sick. Decent rent prices too (median of $1600). I wonder if Ray didn’t include it because, understandably, he regularly talks it up as one of the best urbanist college towns.
@@sundontshinedesigns782 Bro I remember 10 years ago living in Athens when median was like $700. feelsbadman
Athens has got it all. For the US, it's pretty good. We need it to grow in population a bit though.
200k would be good.
@luke5100The music scene in Athens is absolutely insane for a town its size. REM, B-52s, Of Montreal, Widespread Panic, Neutral Milk Hotel, Drive-By Truckers...how did this one small city become a spawn point for such a wide variety of notable bamds?
@@JetWarriorbasically having a large flagship state college
If you were looking to be in a swing district within a swing state, Grand Rapids or Midland, Michigan (competitive for state and US reps seats) and Traverse City Michigan (competitive for state seats only) are great places to live.
You got integrity, CityNerd. I like it 😺
As a resident of Milwaukee for the last 8 years, Downtown (East/Juneau Town, West/Kilbourn Town, and Third Ward, sort of Walker's Point, too, depending on area) is a great place to live! There's a lot of new development happening, a huge influx of events since the Fiserv Forum (Bucks Arena) opened, and the summers here are amazing! Lake Michigan truly offers an incredible backdrop to any concert or other summer event! The Oak Leaf Trail that encircles Milwaukee County and the Hank Aaron State Trail (cuts west-east from the Oak Leaf Trail in west Wauwatosa to Lakeshore State Park in Downtown Milwaukee) are both excellent commuting and recreation routes by bike, board, wheel, and foot that also link many different neighborhoods together, to downtown, and the lakefront!
Also, when the wind is just right, you get an excellent smell of sausages from the Usinger's facility on Dr. MLK Jr Drive (aka Olde World Third St before the name was correctly changed to honor Dr. King the entire way down the road). When the wind blows wrong, you get the smell of the Milorganite fertilizer produced at the Jones Island (not an island anymore) Water Reclamation Facility across the river/harbor entrance from Summerfest & Third Ward (smells of wet dog and money).
I lived in MKE area for about a year for work. Unfortunately it snowed on the day I moved in (Halloween day, 2019), and then COVID hit in early 2020. So I didn't really get to experience the city due to winter and then the pandemic. I would love to go back, I've heard nothing but good things. Only downside in my opinion is the sports teams, having grown up in MO. Go Cards!
@@cardsfan2013 username checks out 🤣 At least you're not a Cubs fan! Brewers games are a ton of fun, and a lot of the bars have shuttles to and from games with a drink or food purchase. Same for Bucks games and most festivals.
That era was just a bad time to visit anywhere, sucks that you didn't get the chance to really see the area shine.
Also, for the younger folks, Milwaukee will have water in 30 years, unlike Phoenix or Las Vegas.
The Oak Leaf Trail through the east side is fantastic. It's like a bicycle highway that connects all of the major destinations.
I love Milwaukee and think it's hugely underrated. I live in downtown Richmond, VA, and Milwaukee is one of the few other cities I'd strongly consider living in in the US. I've been tracking developments like the Courture, new Third Ward Tower, and Ascent on Skyscrapercity. It's super cool seeing all the new development and investment. Just need to tear down I-794 and expand the streetcar, and the potential of that city will go off the charts.
Thanks for discussing the smaller cities for us strong towns type people. I do like those.
I would really enjoy hearing your thoughts covering all of Arizona. Especially Tucson! This city is untapped content potential for Urbanist video creators. Our transit system is completely free for riders!
Arizona is also mostly affordable to live, assuming you survive 100 degree temps.
Tucson is a urban diamond in the tough.
Downtown redevelopment. Street car. Developing a BRT. 4th Ave. Congress. Main gate square. The mercado district.
but on the other hand, you have to live in Arizona and deal with the current and increasingly worsening climate crisis which exacerbates the already extreme heat. 579 people died in AZ, due to the summer heat waves just last year
If Tucson could get some younger voters to make the city actually progressive would be a big improvement. They claim they are but cling onto NIMBYism and don't actually vote in favor most of the time on mass transit.
@@NotUp2MuchEh... 5-10 years ago I would've agreed with you, but man, covid + the West Coast exodus really did a number on our cost of living.
Sure, it's still on the cheaper end of major American cities, but not by enough to justify the downgrade IMO.
Never thought I would see LaCrosse, Wisconsin on this list but I respect it! Btw it also has a top tier Oktoberfest (in the US) and an Amtrak stop on the Empire Builder
That town is famous because of their police body cam footage! 😂
I used to fly for an airline and would frequently have an overnight in LaCrosse. It was really enjoyable to walk around the downtown and river area! I looked forward to that overnight :-)
Your viewers demand a deep dive on La Crosse! Well, this one viewer does. Great vid as always!
It's good to hear someone on TH-cam who realizes Detroit is coming back! Too many people ignore the dollar amount and importance of investments being made in Detroit. They range from Canada's $5 plus billion dollars being made in the Gordie Howe Bridge and supporting infrastructure, to the much smaller (but perhaps more significant) investments being made in small businesses. Keep up the good work.
I just moved to one of your honorable mentions, Grand Rapids MI. I grew up in the south and this is the first place I've lived that isn't a southern hellscape entirely made up of stroads. Grand Rapids ain't Amsterdam, but it sure feels like it to me after where I came from. I am actually able to do quite a lot on foot and/or bike, and the city proper is well connected and situated relatively far from the sprawling/stroady nightmares on the outskirts. Plus, it has a halfway decent bus system. Although, carbrain is real here, and the bus system has been cutting back service due to running out of money. For now however I am loving it. I am less car dependent than I've ever been and it has done wonders for both my physical and mental well being.
Grand Rapids wants to overtake Detroit as the economic engine of the state, with the De Voss family (from Amway and Blackwaters PMC), the Meijer family (the first box store), and furniture companies (Haworth, Herman Miller-Knoll, Steelcase, DeskHaus, and Bissel). I don't think they'll overtake the Big 3 families, though. And Ann Arbor is trying to become a tech hub, and they're pretty successful given the size of the town.
I absolutely love living in GR. We definitely have a way to go, but there is a hunger and drive here to make it happen.
Michigan ex-pat in Oregon reporting in. Grand Rapids is very nice. Its Michigan's best comprehensive, urban option. SE Michigan has the most cultural amenities but its footprint is atrocious.
If you want a bus system, visit Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti. Due to University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan, they both have a rather good system.
I love hearing this! I live in Grand Rapids as well and dream of a future where my family can go down to one car. We're on the edge of the city currently but would love to move downtown in a few years.
Currently living Car-Free in Grand Rapids, MI! Definitely cold, but it's very nice and actually do-able. Biking and running around, exploring the city is a great time, and there's lots of things to do. Can't wait for Summer when the city really thrives!
As a native of GR, I'm concerned that the snowy, brisk winters of my childhood will just turn into wet, sloggy, gray days without the benefit of being a winter wonderland.
@@gogreen7794It's very sad yeah, no skiing or sledding anymore, just grey ugh
Every time Florida is no longer mentioned as a swing state, I die a bit inside.
Would like to think it will be again but the people running stuff there are dead set on making it impossible
You could say the same thing about Georgia. Ask anyone there who’s tried giving people water while they wait to vote.
Why ism't it?
@@JimmySand9man you are so misinformed lmao its terrible. Wouldnt expect any less from people watching this kind of video though
@@CityNerd yeah, try flooding it with more illegal immigrants. Maybe it will flip so we can California it.
As someone who has lived in NC, I approve. Other recommendations:
Hickory/Morgantown - bigger than you think, with nice downtowns and right near the mountains, without Asheville prices
Winston-Salem - amazing small city, formerly the state’s second largest, with tons of great early-mid 20th century urban fabric
Burlington - not bad for a smaller town vibe
Durham - better than the R city
Asheville is nice, but expensive as hell. Hendersonville is okay.
Overall, North Carolina has tons of great small cities that sprang up in the mid 20th century and mostly survived the great freeway growth. It’s almost a southern version of Pennsylvania.
Just stay away from Raleigh.
Raleigh is such a sprawled out city... it makes Charlotte look like NYC...
@@liskaliska9148 Raleigh has a higher average density than Charlotte actually. I also think the presence of NCSU near downtown does a lot for the city's urban character compared to Charlotte--whose flagship university is on the edge of town. It is my favorite city in the state but unfortunately the price...is not good at the moment. I live in Durham fwiw.
For affordability I'd say the Triad cities. Greensboro has Amtrak access so for this channel I think that puts it over Winston-Salem.
For towns I'd go with Carrboro. Actually reasonable rents still there, and the bus/bike culture is on point. I lived without driving to work for several years there.
@@mentalrectangle the City of Charlotte in land mass, is more than double the City of Raleigh, explaining the density difference. I think its fairer to compare it as Mecklenburg vs Wake Counties, which Mecklenburg is denser. Also you could say the same with Uptown connecting into South End, Elizabeth, Dilworth, and Plaza, so its kinda equal except from going there, the Triangle felt more spread out than Charlotte did.
@@liskaliska9148 Wake County is more than double the land mass of Mecklenburg. The city boundary reflects the policies of the city of Charlotte while the suburbs of Raleigh do not.
The Triangle is not more spread out by any measure. Charlotte's suburbs outside Meck are insane.
Charlotte has a better skyline and light rail. South End has a bright future and I'm excited for the city. Not knocking it, I could live there. The walkable environment of DTR is to me, very good though. It's unmarred by freeways and contains multiple college-adjacent neighborhoods.
@@mentalrectangle this is a fair point! I didn't realize how much larger Wake County is. Also fair point about charlotte's suburbs, but idk it felt personally a lot more spread out in the triangle to me, but I don't live there just in the CLT so yeah
I find it interesting your mention of the typical political preferences of your viewers. Just want to say that though I may be in the political minority of your viewers, I still find your videos interesting and informative. Keep up the good work.
He acts as if civil engineers never vote conservatively 😅
@@stevecooper7883 I think his point was that he tends to use liberal talking points, so he assumes that a lot of his subscribers and followers lean-left. I don't think he was trying to say that all urbanists are left leaning.
Yeah, I'm definitely far outside those typical political preferences, but I find his channel quite engaging and I agree with a lot of what he says.
This one hit me where I live(d) twice! I grew up in La Crosse, where there are 16 blocks to a mile, leading to a wonderful urban fabric. While in middle and high school, I rode my bike all over the town, and I never felt unsafe doing so (or perhaps that reflects the fact that I was a teenager at the time). The downtown is charming and lively, although a couple of my favorite buildings were torn down many years ago.
And a former student of mine, Ann Pieper, was the first person to redevelop an industrial building into a residential building in the 3rd Ward. She was and is a visionary, and started the process of turning a rusty hulk of a neighborhood into a fabulous place to visit and, I imagine, live.
And as an added bonus La Crosse is not just in a presidential/senate swing state but it's also in a competitive US House district and state senate district. A voter in La Crosse may genuinely be one of the most powerful voters in the country.
La Crosse is super underrated
I spent a summer in La Crosse and, while it was a bit too small for my taste long term, I also found it surprisingly good! The river is awesome, there's good nature and parks, cute little co-op grocery downtown, decent buses... definitely a gem.
@@kaijagahm4466 I’m with you on it being too small. I do now live in and love Los Angeles. But among small places, La Crosse is nice!
I'm a native Wisconsinite who once lived 20 miles from LaCrosse, over the MN border. There are some great 50-100k population cities in Wisconsin, often college towns, and they all have great things about them. Ray gets it right by picking this one. La Crosse is a gem on the Mississippi River. I LOVE that he picked Pearl Street for the street view.
You probably pissed off the entire city of Lancaster with that pronunciation
Why, what's it supposed to be?
@@Snowshowslow "lenk-ester" not "LAN-caster"
@@bisonfan715 Ah okay, thanks :)
@@bisonfan715Same with Concord, NH. It's 'kahn-kid.' There must be some ancient New England law that no R's may be pronounced east of Vermont.
I was looking for this comment! Waited 2 days since the Nebula release to see this comment.
I think I can competently make the case that downballot races are more important to the average person's life than the presidential race. It's amazing how people get so incised about the White House when their own city, county, or heck, even HOA and/or school board are run amok. Those are things where you can have an outsized impact on the results.
Yep generally agree
Being the only "orange-pilled" or YIMBY person attending local government meetings is less efficacious than you think. At a national level, people are divided pretty evenly. But at a local level things are usually settled firmly one way or the other and one person isn't going to dramatically transform local politics.
Yeah, a fascist or a 1% better fascist isn't really a choice. Sometimes there's a decent person running locally, and usually there's an important ballot measure or something up for a vote.
yup pretty much. especially with multiple towns/cities having their school boards taken over by bigoted zealots in recent time
True, I mean Biden is a literal invalid and yet for the average person he has had little impact on their daily life. It's the administrative state that actually influences our daily life and you aren't allowed to vote for them. The presidential cabinet is just there to put on a (not so) pretty face for the administrative state.
So awesome to see you opening with shots of my neighborhood NoDa in Charlotte- we're really proud of the progress we've made in the last 10 years in walkability and transit! Uptown is improving massively as well as we transition from a strictly commercial hub to an entertainment-based hub. We've still got a long way to go, but I think a lot of the people moving here are bringing a lot of the right ideas and making things happen.
Love your videos! As a Tempe resident can't wait for that Culdesac video
Always love these videos. Thanks for doing the footwork and sharing!
Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It’s the county seat of Bucks County so you get a bonus competitive congressional district.
I'm still not discounting the idea of 60,000 or so of us dropping into Cheyenne Wyoming and starting our own urbanist utopia
Wouldn't 600 be enough? 😆
let's be honest, urbanists really don't have the skill set to build their own city
@@siyacer yeah I think urban planners are probably not well suited for the job
Cheyenne isn't even that far from Denver so "settling" Cheyenne and making Wyoming a swing state or a new blue state is something that can be done. As the Front Range expands North, a day will come when Cheyenne will be transformed into a real city.
If there were HSR that could deliver you from Cheyenne to Denver in an hour, Cheyenne would absolutely pop off. But I suspect that folks in Wyoming might not be so stoked about that...@@jonathanbowers8964
Prescott mentioned! Btw locals pronounce it like “presskit” like a triscuit. Haha
I think you should stop using bike/walk score. It doesn't seem like a very good indicator how good the infrastructure there **actually** is. Percent modality by walk or bike for that city would be better because then it would actually reflect how much people bike and walk given the infrastructure.
The driftless area of Wisconsin/Minnesota is beautiful too!
I live in 54601 (downtown La Crosse, WI) so I obviously love seeing that it made the “small city” cut. La Crosse is a great place to live! I only pay $500 a month for a really unique and good-sized studio apartment.
Sadly, Wisconsin (Gerrymander-affected) laws prevent me from being able to vote due to a criminal offense from 24 years ago.
We were 2 votes away from federally overriding that. The voting rights package (John Lewis Voting Rights Act and For the People Act) will give all returning citizens voting rights. Hopefully the WI Supreme Court will act or the new non-gerrymandered legislature (Minnesota just enacted reinfranchisement and Michigan just implemented automatic voter registration for returning citizens). 50 non-Sinemanchin US Senators, a Democratic House, and a Democratic president will do that and give DC statehood. It's the top priority.
Detroit is truly an amazing city, and on the up!
Wish I would've bought a house there 10 years ago when they were literally like 20K.
48201 current resident here. Love it here.
@@todddammit4628 You can still buy a house for 20k. The east side has tens of thousands of big 1,800sq ft brick houses that have been empty for 20-50 years, with good rooves, usually. Off Gratiot, 1 block the houses are 200k, the block over (literally, or sometimes on the same block) there's an empty unrenovated version for 10-40k depending on the condition. They do need to be rewired and replumbed, but for what you sell them for...
I'm moving to Detroit soon. Can't wait!
Nice to see La Crosse mentioned. Great beer, a lovely old town. I was always there by car, but still a solid, affordable town.
I love Detroit. The airport is one of the best in the country and they have great bars and restaurants. Their sports stadiums are awesome.. Also the dispensaries are the cheapest I’ve seen in the country and are very competitive. I’d move there if it wasn’t so cold.
Yeah, move there for the cheap pot.
In before Alan Fisher comments "why is Philly not listed as number 1 in the country?" :)
Every time Pittsburgh is mentioned I get the self satisfaction that I made the right choice. Then he goes and mentions where I grew up and moved from with York lol.
Only southeastern New Hampshire is really a Boston exurb. Concord is , relatively speaking, very small, I'd point people towards Portsmouth first then the southern counties (Cheshire, Hillsborough) if you still want to be kind of close to Boston. Lots of nice small towns but car travel will be frequent for most people. This state is extremely rail resistant, blocking any attempt to extend any Boston commuter rail lines into the state, even to the airport. Very little bus service anywhere. Amtrak mostly bypasses it except for some small towns near Portsmouth, but not Portsmouth itself, or if you're in the far western slice, there are a few Amtrak stops in VT and one NH town, if you want to go to New York (But not Boston unfortunately or even Burlington VT or Montreal!!)
Are you gonna mention how Portsmouth is pronounced? I already commented above about Concord.
The Amtrak line along the western edge of NH is the Vermonter and it doesn't literally go to Burlington, but it goes to Essex Junction which is a nearby stop serving the Burlington area.
Ayuh, The pronunciation was a daggah to my native NH haht…
Yeah, was going to comment similarly. If people want to live car free their best bet is around the NH seacoast. UNH campus in Durham has a great bus line that will get you to Dover and Portsmouth, and the Amtrak Downeaster will get you into Boston. Exeter is also really nice. The whole area is very safe, LGBTQ-friendly and has a solid economy. Concord is far enough North that you're no longer in New Massachusetts. That's mostly the towns along rte 93 south of Manchester, and rte 3 around Nashua. Reminder that recreational weed is not yet legal in NH. There are no sales or income taxes but property taxes are high. Great schools and fantastic outdoor activities but this just isn't a state designed for car-adverse people. You will often see single family homes with more cars than people. The weather stays cold and snow stays accumulated into mid Spring. Lastly, the Libertarians (the Free State Project) are trying to resettle here. So please come and help us stop them from trying to collapse public education, irrespective of the 2024 election. Thank you!
Thanks for making this. I'm trying to find a new job post layoff so having a shortlist of places to look at is nice when living when I want to live somewhere walkable while also having my vote count for national level elections.
La Crosse mentioned! Hell yeah, one of the coolest little cities I’ve been to. Not saying much but it gets better Amtrak service than San Antonio and Austin.
Really appreciate you not shying away from some political commentary, and found your approach to be witty and intelligible. We need more bravery like this from those with any kind of platform. Yay CityNerd :)
Ayo! Philly 19107 represent!
I lived in the Packard Motor Car Bldg across from the Inky… loved that location, Philadelphia is a great city.
Yea Philly! It's a great biking city, and there are actually a lot more green spaces than most people who have never been here might guess.
I've been here 20 years and never needed to own a car.
To be fair, you need to have a thick skin and humility if you want to stick around for the long term. No matter what, you'll walk away with some stories :)
Six senses zipcode?
I will say that I massively agree with Charlotte, as no other city in NC really has as much of a urban core like Charlotte. Uptown is surprisingly very easy to bike through, and the Rail Trail, and LSCG really make it connected well to the rest of Charlotte's core area. Wilmington, and Chapel Hill are my two smaller town choices tho!
As a NC resident I’ll agree with everything except Wilmington. That’s not a small town - it’s stroad city
@@BR-ci4ud yes! My jaw dropped when he mentioned Wilmington. I lived in downtown Wilmington for the past 3 years... it's the most walkable area of the city but thats a ridiculously low bar. Public transit sucks (good luck getting to the beach without a car) and it's literally a food dessert. There are some convince stores downtown but that's it. You need a car if you want to go grocery shopping. Which means driving on the two stroads in a trench coat that they call the rest of the city. It's ridiculous how often I heard about a pedestrian fatality on Market Street. As for swing state... not a single (local) person or measure I voted for there ever won. Wilmington is getting redder every year. Proud boys show up to school board meetings. Obviously no place is past saving, but you need to know what you're getting into if you're considering moving there. I suppose an optimist could look at the town and see the "progress" made in the area in the century since the only successful coup in America (look up the 1898 Wilmington Massacre) because they now have a "BLACK LIVES DO MATTER" sign up at the park. They added the "Do" because the city council considers BLM a Marxist org... And I haven't even mentioned that the city's water supply is contaminated with GenX from decades of pollution from the Chemcours plant up the river. On the positive side, the riverwalk is lovely, and its fun to see gators at the local parks. And of course, like anywhere, you can find good people trying to make a difference. But that's it lol. I know he said to do your own research, but it's almost malpractice to include it on this list.
Raleigh is very dense and walkable and infiniteky more biker friendly. B
@@berlin1926 Raleigh is basically a sweltering conglomeration of suburbs with the nickname of "Sprawleigh." Is the downtown walkable? Sure, that's about it. The greenway network is big because sharing the road with inhospitable drivers is at many times a death wish. I am not sure you have spent much time in Raleigh.
@@BR-ci4ud Most of the city is, yes, but the downtown area is both very large and very walkable for a North Carolina city of it's size. Though I have to admit, NC has a pretty low bar for walkability. That's why we should encourage urbanists to move there, it needs those sort of people more than say, Chicago or D.C. does.
NH does have quite a few cute small towns. Portsmouth, Dover, Plymouth, Littleton. All are definitely to small to pop up on this list, but all have walkable downtowns, etc...
yeah I really disagree with Concord being the pick here I think it should have been Dover.
agree it def shouldve been dover
And why only one city in NH? Most other swing states had two zip codes selected… First in the Nation Primary and we’re getting sidestepped for the Carolina’s…again?!?!
@@thadsoule7129 Lol. Rough year for New Hampshire!
Agree!! Portsmouth is a really cute big town! I spent 4yrs living in Portland, used to go down to Portsmouth often!
Glad to give you the Detroit tour! Come after mid-May, we see sun then! Thanks for the content!
I don't know how Grand Rapids gets a walk or bike score over 30. Outside of a few music venues and generic brewpubs, you're spending 20 minutes on a stroad for any actual amenities.
Outside of the schools and universities, the multiple markets, Devos, Van Andel, the restaurants, bars, music venues, medical facilities, free downtown bus and growing downtown you're absolutely right 😂
28th street, 44th street, Beltline, and most of Alpine and Lake Michigan Ave are NOT Grand Rapids.
It's almost like you're choosing not to believe the data that proves your preconceptions are wrong.
@@jasonbills5038 If you live in an unwalkable part of a town, it's not surprising you'd have a different perspective. Not everyone can afford to live in the dense DT areas, and often times people need more space than DT offers. Ann Arbor is supposed to be walkable, but not my corner of the city.
49503 is the zip code shown in this video and it is generally very walkable and decently bikeable. There are definitely accessible amenities in that area beyond bars, restaurants and music venues (groceries, pharmacies, hardware stores, etc).
Downtown Grand Rapids is very walkable. I think it'd be tough to live without a car but you can definitely walk to restaurants, grocery stores, bars, schools, and medical facilities. And with public transit improving in the city, the ability to reduce car use will only increase.
Not everyone can afford to eat at restaurants all the time either @@Pistolita221. "Entertainment districts" as neighborhood anchors are generally crap, as they take a dive whenever there is an economic downturn and rarely supply anything beyond minimum wage jobs to begin with. All of the topics on this channel are based off median wages and rents, which are highly skewed by the few top earners in a community, who are literally 1% or less of the actual population (although arguably less skewed than averages.) It's up to us to figure out what percentile of the median each of is really a part of, and from there look for indicators of real economic stability like large long term employers... which there are fewer of everywhere at once.
Great content
Proud Wisconsin voter! We flipped the Supreme Court last April
Don't I know it
Don't spend too long celebrating, comrade. The enemies of democracy never rest, and neither can we.
Honest question: should I consider moving to Wisconsin if I don't really drink? I'm under the impression alcohol is a BIG part of the culture.
don't be ridiculous, of course you can smoke weed instead @@Galactico42.
@@Galactico42 Hi, I'm from Madison. It definitely is a part of our culture but you can totally have fun without drinking, just make the right friends! I really love my city, Milwaukee is alright but I'm not that attached to the rest of the state. Definitely recommend Madison or Milwaukee/Whitefish Bay though!
Whoa, seeing La Crosse make the cut for WI warms my heart. In addition to the occasional battleship visit, there is a group called Beer by Bike Brigade that raises money for various local causes while bicycling to different locations to drink beer. So, while our bike-ability could use some improvement, biking is a part of the local culture.
Honestly, as a fairly conservative Christian American, I hate conservative Christian American politics 😅. I wish we could be more loving and consistent in our pursuit of serving others and establishing places to serve others. When we push policies that prioritize sprawl, separation, and individuality over those that strengthen community and freedom of choice... I think we're missing some key points of the Faith. Like, if you want to live the American suburban experience, that's totally cool, to each his own. But why fight against an urban lifestyle? It's not immoral, in many measures it's more affordable, and you're not even the one living it out.
My man
Thank you for choosing reason and empathy over ideology and fear. I have no problem with people being either Conservative or Christian, my beef is when those groups use government legislation to force those values on to other people.
@@user-tp8ut7cs6j When have any groups used government legislation to force Christian values on other people? And if a city, area, or state is primarily populated with conservatives, then why shouldn't that state promote those values? If you are a conservative and want to live in a conservative state, you know not to more to certain states if you can avoid it. Equally, if you are liberal, don't move to a conservative state and then complain.
@@user-su1sp8nl3q How about the the laws passed in Alabama to prevent people from getting in vitro fertilization, that's just one of many examples of a state government infringing on individual rights in the name of Conservative Christian values. Also, some people are Left-leaning but born in Conservative states and vice versa. I'm from a Conservative state, does that mean I should have to move in order to be prevented from having a state legislature force Conservative Christian values on me? Should a Conservative have to move if they were born in a Liberal state? Should we pass a law preventing people from moving to states whose political ideology conflict with their own? Sorry, but our bill of rights states that governments in the US aren't supposed to cater to any particular religion. If someone is a Conservative Christian, that's fine, live that life and live those values as you please, but no-one has the right to use the law to force other people to have the same religious values. Should a Jewish or Muslim city official be allowed to prevent a BBQ restaurant from getting a building permit because it violates their religious beliefs about eating pork? Absolutely not, they have the right to abstain from eating pork and they even have the right to be disgusted with people who are consuming pork, but they have no right to the use the legal process to prevent others from eating pork.
@@user-tp8ut7cs6j No, I'm not saying the law should be used to force any religious beliefs on others. That's why we have the First Amendment. Personally I don't think the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that you are referring to was based on "Conservative Christian" values. It was meant to allow those who had frozen embryos that were lost due to an accident in a facility to sue. IVF is a costly process so I can understand the desire to sue in that situation. However, the decision to allow them to sue had unexpected fallout/consequences... So then another law was passed to provide needed protections for IVF providers and patients. (I totally support IVF patients, BTW.) It is a complicated issue tho that probably needs more thorough thinking and analysis to avoid situations like that. I also think in general we need more discussion about when an embryo or unborn child should have rights. Rarely is that issue brought up, but isn't it really the crux of the issue? Clearly some think it should be at conception and some think it should be at (or even after) birth. My thoughts on the issue have nothing to do with religion, but more a humanity thing. I think most Americans feel something in between is the right answer, and we are going to need to have discussions and debates about this--starting at the state level--but it will be hard to find a balance or compromise when we are so polarized. I hope we can get there.
The fact that median rent in so many places with less than ideal job markets is >$1000/mo still surprises me. Median rent where I live is just over $2k, but median income is also one of the highest in the country.
We are in a national housing crisis and rents keep going up. It's to be expected.
People like me, I could move to a place with higher median income, but I wouldn't make anymore because of my profession and that's just not how the job market works. Those places with high median incomes usually have specialized workforces that are raising that up. So I'm kinda relegated to whatever shithole I can afford.
Come to San Diego, where they pay you in "sunshine dollars". Just as expensive as LA without the higher median salaries and plentiful job opportunities
I'd say do this for Canada, but we don't have quite as messed up an electoral system.
Great video - not sure if you've done one on this yet but would love to see a video around urban centers with great walkability and amenities that also have a good public schools. As a new parent, its on my mind pretty frequently and would love to see a video on the topic.
Excellent! Love the MKE shoutout!
This is SO weird. I was JUST thinking about how I wanted a video from you like this. I’m looking to move and want to make an impact but still be in a livable environment. Thank you so much
City Nerd is my middle aged urbanist hero!
Happy to see La Crosse get a spot on the list; it's such a hidden gem in WI. Its population is small because it's bound by the Mississippi to the west and the bluffs to the east, but that plus the university helps keep the area reasonably dense. Not to mention the entire Driftless area is beautiful.
The only thing keeping it down, personally, is that it's not really near any big cities. The biggest thing nearby is Rochester an hour drive away, and Madison and Minneapolis are both over 2 hours
YAY for SHOREWOOD showing up at the 3-minute mark! It's listed as "Whitefish Bay," but I'm *from* Shorewood! And EVERYONE in Shorewood recognizes this corridor of Oakland Avenue - literally the commercial heart of Shorewood! Yeah, a few feet of it are in Whitefish Bay, but 98% of it is in Shorewood. :)
And I could not agree MORE about Pennsylvania!! Practically EVERY town is gorgeous!! This true Pacific Northwesterner is living in PA now, and I am in total awe of all the stunning historic towns, with all the attached housing and beautiful backdrops of unpopulated hillsides! And my vote will COUNT in PA--yay!! :)
And your top choice of small city in Pennsylvania is my top choice: Lancaster! Nicely done, Ray!! :) Lancaster is *unquestionably* America's unicorn!! I could go on for *pages* about Lancaster!
And yay for Milwaukee and La Crosse! Superb choices!! :) Loved this video!! :)
Yep came here to say this was Shorewood 😅
Love this. Apathy is such a seductive thing, and saying, "Both candidates are the same, so it doesn't matter if I vote" at once makes you come across as informed and rebellious. When really, you'd rather not care.
For real. Anyone saying this in 2024 is willfully ignorant or malicious. Nevermind that if you don’t vote, you’re also ignoring equally important down-ballot races in your district, which for urbanists or YIMBYs is where you can actually make a difference.
Grew up in PA. I'd highly recommend checkinf out Bethlehem and/or allentown. Bus lines to nyc and philly (boo ripping out the rail drom philly to scranton).
Having lived in Elizabethtown, id definitely recommend Harrisburg over york/lancaster for vibes imo. Either way both lancaster and harrisburg have amtrak to philly (and from there, the rest of boswash).
Also, wilkes barre is a great college town, reading is a bit 'blight-y' but omg cheapest ever, but at the end of the day, why bother with anything else when you have philly?
Great video. Love it.
Wisconsinite chiming in to say that La Crosse is super cool. The downtown area on the riverfront is extremely charming, Granddad Bluff is a beautiful backdrop for the city, the highway connecting La Crosse with nearby Prairie du Chien along the Mississippi River is one of the most scenic drives in the country, and the surrounding bluffs and river valleys of the Driftless is gorgeous and one of the Midwest's best-kept secrets.
Recently moved from safe-blue Illinois to hopefully less-purple Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 😎
It would be nice to look up gerrymandered congressional districts that are competitive within swing states. If you’re living in the heart of a blue city, likely your districts (state reps and US House) are already deeply blue. Gerrymandered districts have to carve out some blue areas to disenfranchise the vote. This is where a relatively few new voters could tip the seat as well as the state.
But likely if you move to the small town recommendation, it will include rural areas as well. So it is probably more competitive.
That whole video I was thinking "you'd better suggest La Crosse for a small town in WI!" And BAM! There it is! Awesome town!
I’m so glad that you finally gave a shout out to Milwaukee and all that it has to offer! I’m from Chicago originally and have been living here for the last 15 years. We live in a wonderful affordable neighborhood on the west side of the city filled with great shops and friendly neighbors. And yes, our vote most definitely matters!
I appreciate that you’re willing to mention the politics behind the way our country is built and upkept, there’s a fair amount of channels that would not have said a word about the upcoming election.
I never thought about this, but I've lived over 95% of my adult life in swing states. Locations include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh (PA), Atlanta, Marietta (GA), and now Charlotte (NC) including some of the named zip codes or zip codes adjacent to the named ones. Interesting.
Good to see Reno here. Similar weather as in Abq, but a much cleaner and a less crime riddled downtown, better walkability and entertainment and nicer residential neighborhoods, and not out in the middle of bumfouck nowhere.
I agree. Reno is awesome
Much like everyone else with their own home state, I tend to rag on Wisconsin a lot for its shortcomings, but there is quite a bit to see and do here, especially now when the rents aren't totally out of control and a major metro like Chicago is at most a couple hours ride from anywhere you'd probably find yourself. Thanks for the shoutouts!
So where can my Jill Stein vote have the most impact haha
Jill stein and other third party candidates is a good vote anywhere that is not a swing state.
Shout out Michigan and there are other great mini-urban centers that are very affordable besides Detroit. Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, all have so much potential.
Thanks for doing this! It's a personal mission of mine to get out the vote this year in Pennsylvania, so I appreciate the shoutout to my hometown. Some other more walkable/urbanist cities that weren't mentioned which I can recommend to anyone reading this are Allentown, Harrisburg, Erie, Bethlehem, and Scranton and Reading (which both just won Amtrak grants for passenger rail at the end of last year). If you prefer a smaller town or more rural area, State College was mentioned, but other options would be cities like Johnstown, Hazleton, Washington, Easton, Williamsport, and Carlisle. Public transit access won't be as good for this latter group (as with most rural areas), but they still retain their walkable urban settings (especially relative to the rest of the country).
Wow, this video is eye-opening! Thanks for sharing!
My friend moved from the Bronx to Savannah and loved it except for the fact that everything closes at 8pm. He found a nice hosue to rent for well under the median listed here. He also said they are building out the colleges with lots of student housing, so walkability and mass transit should keep improving.
Walking is just a huge part of Savannah's culture. Every time I've been to the city I've walked. Only other cities in the state with that kind of culture is Athens and Midtown Atlanta.
As a Local Conversation Leader in Grand Rapids MI I have a bone to pick with you on your Michigan choices, lol
Oh my God, I freaked out when you finally mentioned (and recommended!) my birthplace of Wilmington!!! Downtown Wilmington is wonderful. And if you want an even smaller city in North Carolina, might I recommend my current city of New Bern? It also has a charming, walkable downtown. It’s basically a mini-Wilmington. And it’s not expensive relatively speaking.
Choosing Concord over Nashua or Manchester in NH is wild. Concord is a glorified small town with one walkable touristy street around that circus they call a state legislature. 2 miles away, it’s exurban sprawl and farms. All of 3 local bus routes. It’s about as “urban” as Conway.
Manchester and Nashua are still way too car addicted, mainly because the state government is as reactionary as you’ll find anywhere in America, but at least they have largely intact urban cores from the Industrial Revolution, like Lowell and Lawrence. If not for the extremely toxic politics, we’d have trains to Boston and this wouldn’t even be a contest. The tracks are already there. Commuter trains ran regularly 30 years ago.
The second I saw him talk about Concord. I knew he didn’t know anything about New Hampshire.
Nashua has a reputation for being where the poorer Boston employees live.
Concord has more people than it seems because the township is so large half the people that "live in Concord" actually live in the woods by Penacook or something. Cities with half the population like Dover and Portsmouth have larger walkable downtown cores.
This video is incredible. Total intersection of my passions. Want to do a follow up with Ohio and Montana around holding the Senate? Got to reform the court!
FWIW, I am a conservative Christian man who is actually not at all thrilled with the Presidential choices. Characterizing the SCOTUS as being packed with “fundamentalist Christians” reveals a poor understanding of the term, but in this comment as in your video, the topic is beside the point.
As a retired professional who has worked all over the world and has lived on 5 continents, I share your appreciation of well designed urban environments. Last year I moved from Houston, a city I’m sure you will agree has very few of the features that you (or I) find attractive. I had the pleasure of living for over five years in suburbs of London, and very much developed my love for urban communities where I could walk to most everywhere I needed to go, and could take the train most other places. Now, I live in a small Wisconsin town/city (24,000 residents), and I can walk most everywhere I want to go. We love it here. Sorry, it isn’t as large as Milwaukee or Madison, but it is so pleasant!
Your politics are fairly easy to figure out even in other videos, but i personally would rather not have it spelled out so explicitly. If it helps, you should know that there are, in fact, a lot of us conservative Christians who do not buy what a certain blusterbus is selling. Your analysis of what makes a good city is something I support.
Thinking about moving in the summer. Appreciate all your help with research. The tough part is my son is headed to high school and trying to decide if I want to stay (good school, but too many students IMO) or take our chances moving. Or maybe move in 4 years. Plus after too many years in SoCal, I don’t know if I can handle cold winters again. Ready for a change of scenery and lower cost of living though!
Yay for Ypsilanti. It is actually very walkable and is a the cheaper option if you can't get Ann Arbor.
A video request I have: Could you do something like the top 10 accessible walkable communities? I often find that a lot of walkable and transit oriented areas, such as NYC, have a lot of wheelchair inaccessibility- no elevators to subways, old buildings that are exempt from ADA requirements, old sidewalks/pavement that are cracked and difficult to wheel over, walkable paths rely on stairs or steep hills. I'm really curious about what places in north america, if any, are walkable and accessible.
Probably cities with modern light rail networks are your best bet since they were built with ADA accommodations from the start. Like I would say most light rail stations in San Diego County are wheelchair accessible from what I've seen
Glad to see the honorable mention of 30307! Grew up there, in the Lake Claire neighborhood, it’s an awesome part of East Atlanta. So bikeable that my dad took up biking in his 50s.
Great content as always. As an in person librarian, I cannot move but it was fun to contemplate!