Looking For Non-Touristy Cities For An Authentic Travel Experience? Here Are 15 Cities That Netizens Loved.

Not all American tourist attractions are good places to live, and vice versa. A user asked the forum, “What American city is great to live in but not great to visit?”. Let’s look at the top responses.

CONNECTICUT

“Pretty much any town in Connecticut. We don’t have that many tourist spots aside from the casinos or Mystic really. We have many, many towns that make a great place to raise a family, but it is a bit boring (and a lot of us like it that way).”

SAN JOSE

“Overall a fairly decent city to live in, with some nice neighborhoods, but compared to San Francisco and many other places in the Bay Area, it is pretty lacking in fun tourist activities.”

NORTH TEXAS

“Pretty much any decent-sized city within a rough triangle of North Texas, Minnesota, and Ohio/Michigan-ish with the exceptions of Chicago (cool for both living and visiting) and St Louis (worth visiting but rougher for a living).

That said, how cool a place is to live in depends VASTLY on the person and how much excitement vs ease you like, whereas ‘cool to visit’ is a little more broadly applicable.

I couldn’t stand living in the NYC area long term, for example, because it’s just a little too overstimulating for me and gave me anxiety, but some people thrive in that environment and get bored to tears by a nice, affordable, tree-covered suburb.”

DFW AREA

“I live in the DFW area (previously in Dallas, now Allen), and I can’t recommend people visit and stay more than 3-4 days here.

We have everything you need to live here, but I don’t think it’s a fun tourist destination.”

“Sacramento. A good place to live in CA more affordably than the bigger name CA cities and still has a good sized metro area.

There’s just not much to do as a tourist in the city. Close to the Bay area, Lake Tahoe, Reno, also so able to choose from many different types of weekend getaways within a 2 hr drive.”

HOUSTON

“Houston, TX. The city is hugely spread out and has pockets of interest, so it’s hard to hit everything up well unless you already know where you’re going and how to get there, and how to budget time to get from A to B.

I’ve heard people describe it as having multiple downtowns, basically.

But if you know where everything is and have a way of getting around, the city has everything you could ever want.

A while back, someone in the Houston sub was working on a challenge where they went to a restaurant from every country in the world. Don’t know if they succeeded, but they got pretty far. I remember them checking in for advice on Romanian restaurants.

But by comparison, we had a guy from Australia come through and just walk down one street downtown and declare that the city has no nightlife. Which…well, he must have missed the road downtown with all the bars somehow. It also has a lot of world-class medical facilities and, as megacities go, a lower cost of living. Like there are cheaper places for sure, but not with so many amenities at your doorstep.

The downside is the air is made of soup for half the year. And you need a car. We’re working on the public transit thing, but…yeah.”

MINNEAPOLIS

“Minneapolis (Most of the time).

Other than winter, it’s an incredibly livable city. Lots to do, lots of green space, very clean, lots of jobs and opportunities. The winter is the main downside.

However, I don’t really think it’s that interesting to visit. We have a few good museums, music venues, and such….but overall, no really unique one-offs or historical things that would make it worth a visit.”

GULF COAST

“Most cities along the Gulf Coast. Amazing beaches, beautiful scenery, and delicious food, but during the typical tourist season, the population of these small and mid-sized towns can triple at times.

When I lived in the panhandle of Florida, it got so warm you could go swimming and be comfortable as late as November or on certain days in December.

Locals basically avoided the beach’s scenic sites during the summer months but could enjoy them all year long otherwise. But the tourists during that time didn’t have that luxury.”

RALEIGH

“Raleigh, by far. One of the fastest growing areas in the nation, with lots of good jobs, decent weather, and a central location roughly halfway between the coast and mountains.

And yet, there’s absolutely no reason for a tourist to take a vacation to Raleigh. All of the sites are essentially sites that can be found in most American cities. For example, a handful of museums.”

ALABAMA

“Alabama is a decent place to live. It’s hella cheap and has nice natural scenery, but the only thing to do is eat almost.

If you can find a place to live, though, that isn’t made of dirt, then you’re set, but it’s dreadfully boring and just… vast emptiness mostly.

One of the cheapest states because there is nothing to do.

Visit Orange Beach and Gulf Shores or something. Parks are nice, but nowhere near the level of big cities.

I moved away from Alabama around February this year. No thoughts or grand memories of the state itself. Had some good friends, though, but that was it.

You can tell I loved it there. “

LEXINGTON

“Lexington, Kentucky. Boring to visit; all the highlights can be done in a day.

Locals are standoffish and impolite – frankly dickish/Karenish sometimes. Terrible customer service in many establishments. Southern hospitality isn’t the city’s forte (the surrounding small towns tend to generally be friendlier).

BUT…the locals can be warmed up if you find your niche or your “tribe.” The Kentucky River palisades, horse farms, Natural Bridge, Red River Gorge, and other natural highlights in the area make it such a beautiful, even cozy, region. Speaking of the surrounding small towns, some of them are downright charming.

The food and brew/distilling scenes are rapidly improving. Nicest shopping centers/options in Kentucky (if that’s your thing). Traffic can be lousy for a city its size, but said problems tend to be in limited parts of the city. Close to Louisville and Cincinnati, yet without the rampant crime and social issues of those cities.”

PEORIA, ILLINOIS

“Peoria, Illinois. It’s a big enough metropolitan area to have everything you want but small enough not to have problems like crazy traffic. The cost of living is one of the best in the country.

It’s not a place I would recommend a tourist to visit, though.”

SAN ANTONIO

“San Antonio. All the big tourist things you hear about are a bit disappointing at first like the Alamo and riverwalk.

Once you live there, you basically find all these really incredible things that honestly make it one of the most livable and unique cities in the US. Very cool culture and history with its Mexican and Texan influences.

Great public events like Fiesta, which is a week-long party that can low-key be more hype than Mardi Gras.

Let’s Rodeo San Antonio is one of the most fun rodeos in the country. A bunch of smaller local events for different niches.

It’s got great local hotspots that are like the blue star, the Pearl, the mission reach, the Bulverde weekend rodeo etc. It’s got amazing theme parks nearby to take your kids. Not to mention excellent schools and a generally welcoming culture because of how mixed it is.

Best food in the country, basically the best of Mexico and Texas, while also having some unique items that are a mix of both. All very affordable compared to what’s around.

For more general lifestyle stuff. There are great work opportunities in some big industries like medicine and tech.

Very few homeless people compared to other big Texas cities. Overall far more affordable than other major cities.

Also, tons of awesome bar districts if you want to party; it can be as fun as Austin if you want it to be. More liberal overall but without the Californias of Austin.

Overall 10/10 city, just not so touristy.”

BOISE

“Boise. I can’t imagine it’s the least bit interesting to travel here, but I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

It’s got enough size to draw decent concerts (if you don’t mind catching a show on a weeknight, we tend to get artists as they travel between Portland and Salt Lake) and good restaurants.

The weather is great during all four seasons, with appropriate outdoor fun close by for each season, and it’s not crowded or noisy.

But the thing is, you have to be here pretty long-term in order to benefit from this stuff. Dropping in for a week or weekend, you’re probably going to get bored quickly.”

DENVER

“I’d say Denver, everyone I know who has lived there loved it, and Colorado is beautiful. But when I visited, there wasn’t much to do.”

GRAND RAPIDS

“Grand Rapids, MI. Great city and community, but you’re not going to find anything there that isn’t in any other mid-size USA city.”

LAWTON

“I actually enjoyed living in Lawton, Oklahoma. It looks like the typical military town that it is, but being an outdoorsy type of person, I was surprised at how much there was to do in the surrounding area. People there were generally down-to-earth, friendly, and helpful.”

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This article was originally published on Mrs. Daaku Studio.