I love seeing El Paso, Tucson, and Albuquerque so high up on the list. The Southwest is beautiful and had wonderful culture, it's nice to see it get some appreciation.
@Angelo River I dunno if you really can consider it to be the same metro area, it straddles an international border so even though there’s a fair amount of come-and-go, they’re still pretty distinct cities with distinct cultures and of course are in completely different countries. Good amount of cooperation, but El Paso definitely doesn’t feel any bigger than any of these other cities, despite its proximity to Juarez. In any case, Juarez is also much more dangerous than El Paso.
@@AnthonyPinoAntonio I would recommend visiting Tucson in the spring to hike and see the desert in full bloom. If not schedule around an event like the book festival, day of the dead, spring/fall street fair, or most notably the gem and mineral show (its the largest in the world so traffic and lodging may be an issue but my friends always found a place).
I'm so happy to see your love of NM, and ABQ. other RUclipsrs bash it and tell people not to go there. I now live in the Santa Fe area, lived in Boise for 30 years, also lived in Denver and ABQ. YES I left Boise for Santa Fe! I love NM. It's my favorite state. The food is the best anywhere, it's new Mexican, not Mexican as many people don't know about. I love the rich cultural diversity also. So happy that you love it as much as I do.
I abhore Chattanooga... my family always drove from our home in kansas city to Florida and would always go through Chattanooga and for some reason every single time we got into the Chattanooga something went wrong with our vehicle!! All the while the trip always went down without a hitch, only Chattanooga gave us fits. This also continued into my adult life, having made the trip 3 times in as an adult, nearing the freaking Chattanooga area my car crapped out on me... We never ended up staying there, but I imagine it is actually a lovely city, but I can't get over the feeling the city is a curse to my family and me. Lol
Chattanooga is always a great place to visit. Not sure about living there but I travel there at least twice a year for various outdoor activities... and the people are always wonderful 👌🏾
I live in the Boise area (Boy-see). Great town. The area has certainly grown the past 10 years considerably, and very much so since I was a kid growing up in Eastern Oregon. Good shout out.
Haha, I live in Salt Lake and even from down here I muttered to myself, "Bup-bup-bup, it's 'Boy-see', not 'Boy-zee'." Incidentally, I love Boise, and Idaho in general.
MrP What do you think about the Greater Idaho idea, where eastern Oregon would become part of Idaho instead? I like most of it, except it would leave Oregon only about a fifth of its current size.
@@hopecowschickens Idaho will welcome eastern Oregon with open arms. We're ideologically alike and they want to get away from the insanity of western Oregon. Can't blame them
One extra thing to point out in Boise (I went to college there) is The Basque Block. Boise has the largest population of Basque Americans in the U.S. And it leads to a number of great Basque restaurants, festivals and events.
I don't live in the US and therefore have only been to 10 states, but I have to say, on our midwest roadtrip we really fell in love with Omaha NB. i get that living somewhere is different than visiting, but it was possibly the one city where we really wished we planned for a longer stay.
I was surprised to see Fresno, my hometown, on this list. It wasn't a great place to grow up in the 90s with gang wars and half the city being poor, but it looks like things have been getting better. But yes, one thing Fresno always had was some of the best fruit and beautiful orchards. As a kid, we went to all kinds of markets swap meets, and fruit stands just dotting the roads. Even my great grandparents had a small agri plot for corn that I'd ogle at the size of back then. Its a hot, dusty town, but I've never found grapes or oranges that compare to the ones I got in Fresno.
I moved to Boise from Florida 25 years ago and I love it. You posted this a year ago and since then housing cost have gone insane. Average home price now is over $500,000. Pay is still not great here unless you work for Micron.
Man, these up-to-date statistics are an eye-opener! At least 10 of these cities, like Greenville and Boise, are two or three times larger than I ever imagined. Under the radar, they've been quietly growing into interesting & attractive places to live. For those starting out in life, I would call these "Cities of Opportunity". There is something about cities in the size range you've chosen. If there have been decades of slow & steady growth and no history of boom-bust economy, those are the places to consider starting up a business, a family, or entering the job market.
I have a nephew who lives in Greenville. I visited him in 2022, and before then I had paid scant attention to Greenville-Spartanburg, though I'd been there before. I was very pleasantly surprised, as I expected it to be very monocultural and redneck but, no, influxes of international culture, a well-kept-up downtown (which even has a very cool waterfall and park), etc. My impression is that they could become South Carolina's version of Asheville and it looks like "We've got this". That's not enough to make me want to more there (nor to Asheville) because they still must live under the laws and legislation that emanates from Columbia (or Raleigh), but I'd rather live there than in some places in my strongly-preferred "blue states" (consider Bakersfield, Utica NY, Reading PA, etc. - avoiding mention of places more obvious).
I liked your list. :) I think a lot of those places have great offerings to people who choose to visit or live there. What I didn't hear were the mentions of great museums, art centers, or even sporting events. For example, Albuquerque has some wonderful museums, like The Albuquerque Museum, The Maxwell Museum, Hispanic Cultural Center, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, even a Turquoise Museum...and there are many more! It also has the International Balloon Fiesta every October! And it's just an hour away from Santa Fe and a great assortment of top-notch ski resorts! It's not all about bars and restaurants. :) Can't wait to go watch your 10 Small Cities! :) Thanks for doing this...I love watching.
Thanks for mentioning El Paso. As an El Paso-an this is a great city with alot of new buildings. We recently got a new baseball and soccer little league teams! Due to Covid we are in lockdown but overall it's a great city. The only cons I have are sometimes it can get really hot and really cold depending on the season, and since there are alot of mexicans, speaking spanish can sometimes be a necessity
Love the channel. This guy will have 250k subs in no time. The shirt made me laugh. "Baseball" lmao. Also I highly disagree with Fresno being a great city.
Thank you! Fresno being included is more of a statement about the cities not included. It's kind of a rough size range for cities in the US. Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Dayton, Toledo, Bakersfield, Little Rock, Wichita, Albany, Hartford, and Providence are all in that size range. Tulsa and Knoxville are probably the only two I didn't include that are alright.
Just watched this and as an Albuquerque native at college on the east coast severely missing home during this pandemic, and it instantly made me happy.
I'm glad Grand Rapids made the list. To be fair, GR is really close to the most popular beach on lake Michigan. Also there are tons of nearby inland lakes that make it great for outdoor opportunities. Most of Michigan is an outdoorsman's paradise.
I was going to say, there are endless outdoor activities to partake in West Michigan. Not to mention all the inland lakes, State Parks, Proximity to Lake Michigan, as well as ski resorts in the winter.
@@mk14617 Currently live in Greenville and I hate it lol. Way overpriced for what it offers unless you're dealing with Clemson which has terrible traffic, lots of shady folks walking the streets and not a ton of job opportunities. I'm sure for the right people it's great, but I wouldn't call it a well-rounded city. Downtown specifically is nice and kinda fun though, but with the state having a 7.25 minimum wage, it doesn't really bode well even if you have tons of experience. Managers of stores busting their ass barely can afford living in a home. Also, this perception might change in 5-10 years since I've seen literally dozens of new building projects and even a new electric car charge station being built near downtown, so who knows. Planning to move out of here in a month or two regardless though. Y'all can have it :P
@@EingefrorenesEisen I also live in Greenville. And I can attest to all of this & echo all of your sentiments... it really is VASTLY overrated & I can't wait to get out of here lol. I really have no idea why people love this place so much.
Yeah! Omaha made the list. I was born there and was living there during the city's major music scene boom of the early 2000s. I moved to Chicago in 2003, when I was 22 and then lived in Tucson, too, for a year and a half in 2015-2016. My wife and I are most likely moving back to Tucson in a couple years when she's done with her MBA, as it is her hometown and her family is there. I can't wait. Early onset arthritis and cold Chicago winters are brutal pain-wise. Great video!
Great to see you back, Kyle. Awesome to see so much South Carolina on this list. I read on the finance blog called Financial Samurai that SC is the #1 place to buy real estate for the coming decade 2020-2030, so that’s good I guess.
SC is certainly growing quite a bit and everywhere but Charleston is affordable. It'll be interesting to see how prices change with increased demand over the next decade.
Just discovered your channel and watched a few of your vids. I like them and can relate as I grew up in NorCal as well (Santa Rosa). Although I didn't move to THE SOUTH like you did I did head south to San Diego. Lived in Albuquerque a few years and enjoyed it overall. As you said in another video the weather is pretty decent, not too cold or too hot. Gets a little hotter than I prefer but not so bad since no humidity. Went to Orlando Florida once and didn't even want to go outside it was so oppressive.
I really like Albuquerque. The food is wonderful and the setting sun lighting up the Sandia Mountains is spellbinding. My parents lived in Albuquerque, and I was born just after they returned to the Midwest. So I am _almost_ an Albuquerque native.
Same! My dad grew up there and both my parents went to college nearby (New Mexico Tech), but they moved to my mom's hometown in the Midwest before I was born.
Albuquerque was back and forty between my A-list and B-list of places to move to when I was looking for a larger city to move to from western Illinois. Crime and police corruption notwithstanding, ABQ has a lot going for it!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Knoxville, if you are looking for fodder for another video. Maybe Chattanooga vs Knoxville since they are so close in distance to each other and population size. Great commentary as compared to other similar channels!
Have small cities been done? "Slo" is definitely a candidate but costs are ridiculous like almost anywhere in the Far West. Other places that I feel belong in a list of cool small cities: Ann Arbor, Middletown CT, Portland ME, Hickory NC and Asheville, Las Cruces, Santa Rosa CA, Olympia WA, Eugene, Missoula and Great Falls, Reno, Madison WI, Rochester MN, Flagstaff, Lincoln NE. It's no accident that most of these are "big university" towns. It would be interesting to see a list of cool suburbs, too, but that would be difficult to tackle because there's so many. I can definitely think of some I'd put on the list: Evanston IL, Royal Oak MI, West Hollywood, Media PA, Alexandria VA etc.
Great list. I haven't been to all these cities, I have been to all 50 states (humble brag) , but I can agree that Charleston is rad. I'm not the biggest fan of sunshine being such a qualifier to rank a city. I live in the Pacific NW and I don't need to go into how much rain we get, but rain is amazing, too.
After returning from Columbus, Ohio this past Labor Day weekend, where I got to attend my first Ohio State Buckeyes football game at Ohio Stadium, I think you had a major miss with this list by not including Columbus. Great city with a friendly populace who are very proud of their city. Columbus has an active and flourishing arts scene with a beautiful art museum and centrally located convention center. The Short North Arts District is a fun and happening area with great restaurants and nightlife all within an area which is very walkable and geared toward pedestrian rather than vehicle. Weekends are active and alive with a great energy that is welcoming and fun for all.
I would've loved to see Richmond VA on this list! I miss it every day from the NYC metro area. Such unbelievably diverse food and music scenes, and the river is incredible. Class 3 rapids just steps from downtown, and an insanely active population (bolstered by two major lib-arts universities) who seem to bike *everywhere*.
As much as I miss Richmond at times, I do not miss the insane amount of classism the residents have. I’m sure it’s worse in NOVA, but I don’t know why it was such a big deal to have the biggest house in the nicest area with a vacation home and fancy cars. I just want to do what I want with my money.
@@gracevanderbilt9469 that's an interesting observation, actually. I didn't interact a whole lot with longtime Richmonders while I was there, but amongst the college-post college young professionals I rolled with, I didn't see much of that at all. That being said, an awful lot of people have been displaced by the "revitalization" of areas like Church Hill, Manchester, and Shockoe Slip, which is classist behavior in and of itself
Grand Rapids does have good outdoor activities if you go slightly west towards Lake Michigan! Also, it’s not terribly far from more beautiful hiking in the northern parts of the lower peninsula
Thanks for the Abq shoutout! Netflix made Albuquerque their North American production hub so I think that will help the economy a lot in the future. Plus Array Technologies is a big solar panel tracking system company that went public so... economy is looking up! When are you moving here? lol
Regarding Juárez (bordering El Paso)... it was removed from the list of 50 most dangerous cities in the world a few years back (while three US cities are still on the list). I just wanted people to know that Juárez of today is not like Juárez of 2009... and El Paso IS one of the safest cities of its size. I lived there for three years downtown. Even as a white female in a city that is diverse and 80% Hispanic, I felt safe walking around at night and never felt anything but welcomed and embraced. It's a nice city with a small town feel.
Diverse and 80% Hispanic. 1 of these doesn't quit go with the other. The city is 78% Mexican. That isn't diverse. That is like a town that is 80% Anglo Saxon. I do love El Paso though. It is safe and it was pretty cool feeling like you are in Mexico, without being in actual Mexico.
@@jdredwine7224 Mexican isn't an ethnicity like Anglo, it is the nationality. Mexico is a large and diverse country in it's own right, Mexican culture can be very different in the North, South, the Yucatan, or even the city of Mexico itself. That isn't even including the millions of indigenous people groups that live in the country each with their own unique culture. I think it is still accurate to say El Paso is diverse even with the vast majority being of Mexican decent. It already is in the context of the greater United States.
@@kthemaster1999 I know that, but most are either Indigenous or Mestizo and share most of the same culture. I don't consider that diverse. I consider Sacramento, Oakland, and Queens as diverse. Not El Paso.
I used to live in El Paso and miss it a lot. I was glad to hear someone say something good about it. Usually people don't think it's a very nice place to live but trust me it is!
@@ReverendMeat51 you better be a conservative. Every time I read things from people from Idaho they're very negative about people moving there. And they seem to hate anybody that's liberal. I think it's actually very sad that they're so hateful about it.
You had me until the end - ABQ #1??? Lots of sun, and the mountains are pretty, and not far from Santa Fe. Boise, Tucson and Colo Springs are much nicer, as are Charleston & Greenville, SC. I am not that wild about the bottom 5 or so on your list, and El Paso is one of 2 cities over 200k that I gave never been to, in my travels to all 50 states (Corpus Christi, TX is the other). All of us have biases, so no list is 100% objective, and often a place will just grab us with its vibe or beauty, or some nice people we have met. There is beauty in a lot of places, and financial considerations play a huge part. For a retired millionaire, all is possible, but for those working the job market vs cost of living are important. Charleston is one of my abso.ute favorite places anywhere, regardless of size, but it has imported lots of wealthy retirees, which have driven its real estate prices very high.
Albuquerque honestly deserves number 1. The culture alone, plus you can drive an hour in any direction and get to some wildly different landscapes. From snowy mountains so mesas and stunning sunsets, hot springs and ancient ruins that boast the clearest night skies in the United States. Then to come back to a night life of a thriving art and music scene, cute breweries and affordable rent and housing, what’s not to love? Plus our food is way better
I've been to Corpus C, but as for all USA "anchor cities" (i. e. not suburbs) of 200K or more, I've probably spent the least amount of time in that city, in ratio to its population, of any medium or large city. Bakersfield comes close to that. I've even spent proportionally more time in Anchorage and Honolulu.
Some things left out about Huntsville: no mention of the Space and Rocket Center, Space Camp, Lowe Mill (one of the largest communities of artists under one roof in the nation), or Constitution Park (where the Alabama Constitution was written and signed and is now a small park and museum)
Great video. Very Interesting. I was glad to see GR , MI on. It is a very nice city with very friendly people. I love craft beer, so the beer scene there is awesome. I enjoy your posts. They are very informative and interesting. You also present it without attitude, unlike a couple of your competitors. Keep up the good work.
Grand Rapids is actually pretty close to Lake Michigan, too, and I think that makes it a cool place for outdoor activities! I even know people who surf on Lake Michigan.
I love Fresno you definitely forgot to mention Sequoia and Yosemite and most people go to rivers and lakes their too. A lot of outdoor activities in Fresno California
There are huge drawbacks to a few of these. Charleston gets hurricanes. El Paso is windy and polluted with dust storms. Tucson is oppressively hot. Honolulu would be nice but you need a big bag of money to live there.
Burqueno here. I am absolutely stunned you put Albuquerque at #1. We are usually last on the good lists and first on the bad lists. The whole video I was swearing Albuquerque wouldn't be #1. Thanks bro
I'm a proud South Carolinian , been in Greenville since the day I was born. I could move to so many small and amazing towns, or small-medium sized cities. My state blesses me with the amazing job programs it offers to students in high schools and colleges across the state. Because of that, I already have two years of police training, a credit union account ran by students, and a stable future. I also love how South Carolina has 3 major regions across the state, including woodland, mountains, and wetlands.
Mrpoliceemsfire1 - That’s awesome sir ! I love Greenville and I am considering relocating with my family from Pa. I have a high paying job as a plumber , but I’m not happy at my current job . Any advice as to how the job market is for plumbers in the Greenville area ? You seem to be doing well for yourself in Greenville ! You seem like the right person for advice 👍🏼
The Old Pueblo is a dynamic and historic City. Farming has been going on in Tucson for over 4,000 years. Barrio Viejo, Dunbar Springs and Old Fort Lowell are so interesting. Road and mountain biking are excellent. Drive to the Sky Islands near Patagonia for the most biodiversity in the Country. Go to Ajo and experience the real Sonoran Desert.
Grand Rapids is very close to Lake Michigan, and a lot of great State, and local parks that are along it, which gives you a little bit more outdoor recreational opportunities than you might first think.
Yeah but Omaha still sucks. The two things you mentioned are really all that Omaha has. You can only go to the zoo so many times before you tire of it and the college world series lasts for only a couple of weeks out of the entire year. I have a lot of family there and I hate the place. I’m always glad to leave. And even more glad to make it out alive because it has probably the worst drivers in the entire country. He probably hasn’t been there enough to get a firm grasp on what it’s really like.
I'm from Chattanooga! It's a pretty solid place to live, especially for the outdoors. Some of the tourist places are gimmicky, but if you stay away from them, it's a much cooler place. If you're visiting from out of town, the aquarium is probably the best more touristed places to visit
I grew up in Colorado. I personally dislike Colorado Springs a good deal, especially with some of their strange, failed libertarian policies. I much, much prefer Fort Collins. Maybe it was just too small for this list.
@@bobmanhunter Libertarian? People usually criticize the Springs for being too conservative. All depends on one's point of view, but speaking of POVs... having Pikes Peak at the end of my block is my favorite thing.
At 6:08 you included a picture of Stephens Gap Cave located in northeast Alabama for Chattanooga, TN...dude, if you're going to include that and caving as an activity, then that rightfully belongs under Huntsville, AL at #10 seeing is it's 30 miles from downtown Huntsville along US Hwy 72 between Huntsville and Scottsboro. Also, Huntsville is home to the National Speleological Society.
Glad to see Colorado Springs in there! Moved a few months ago and love it. Been in Boise for business for about a month and also love it. Can say that they’re both very similar and definitely are perfect if you love the outdoors
Huntsville AL is on the list! Didn't think it had a bad crime problem but then again it all depends on what the police decide to call crime. Some states don't consider things like weed crime and some do.
Most of town is great. There is, however, part of northwestern Huntsville which is fairly low income and high crime (though its not really specified on what I saw what is considered for crime rate). I think part of the problem is there isn't a huge amount of opportunities outside of engineering and military. I do know that part of that area has gotten some developments the last 5 yrs even, so maybe things will change soon. I hope so cuz I love this area and would love to see it take the top some day
I graduated with physics and am about to move to Albuquerque for an engineering position. I noticed it and Tuscon are giant in the Optical sector which is a very specialist field. Basically no colleges have programs in Optical Engineering and if you look up types of engineers most of the time it doesn't even pop up.
10:45 I love this town and would move there.. I liked it better than than Denver when I visited Colorado last summer. It probably has the most tolerable weather compared to other cities mentioned in the list.
Used to live in Grand Rapids... it's a pretty nice place. I see the Founders Brewery is photographed. You're not far from the lake shore either though coming from a hillier part of the world I did find the local countryside quite dull.
Why isn't Raleigh on this list? I guess the CSA is far outside the range you stated but it's somewhat unique in that there's Raleigh + several small cities/large towns in its direct vicinity that are very distinct. Especially Durham, Cary is distinct but not nearly as much. Hence why nobody calls it a "large city" but if you are doing this by CSA or MSA, it's in between O.o
Raleigh is quite a bit bigger than the ones in this video. There are 2 million people in the area. I'd rank it high in the size range just up from this one.
@@GeographyKing Hmm, I guess. Raleigh itself is not that much larger in population in comparison to several of these but the metro area is rather large, but in several distinct town/cities. Although Durham and Cary are the only ones that *really* stand on their own, the rest are suburban sprawl. And the population density is rather low as a result.
I guess idk what category it would fit in a top ___ video xD I guess it would be thrown in with cities that actually have a densely populated core in the same population range for the area. Which is weird to me. Not that there isn't a downtown area, but it's only recently becoming a place where people actually live. Previously it was just big companies and govt. buildings along with historic homes/universities. I think you can tell I'm a native lool ;^)
I remember a number of years ago my mom wanted to go to Pittsburgh we were going to Gettysburg on a road trip. I had a hissy fit about not wanting to go to Pittsburgh I had relatives that live near there. Well we went and it was absolutely beautiful is one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen
William Wilkins Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are not over two million. They are 1.7 million. You need to add the neighboring counties to get it up to two million. Pittsburgh is still a little too large for this list
The city itself is relatively "small" but the metropolitan area is massive, giving it more of a large-city vibe. That said, I love the place. I even tried to move there, but there didn't seem to be all that many of the type of property I was looking for (condo in a high-rise).
I'm curious as to why you used the image of the MRZR at 14:29 ? That's a military transport designed, engineered and built by Polaris Industries in Minnesota. I should know since I worked on that vehicle.
Go Boise! Just moved here and love it! He didn't mention that there's a ski resort 30 mins outside of downtown Boise and Amazon just completed a major robotics facility there.
Im so glad you put Fresno on the list. As you put it, most people on the coast will tell you to avoid it, mostly because of the high homeless rate and crime rate, but its so cheap to live there, and because its California, the wages are good. It also has a spectacular view of the Sierra Nevadas, and its about an hour from the mountains, 2 hours from Yosemite. While there might not be a big nightlife, that kind of thing is unattractive to me, i dont drink or party. I do enjoy what little is has to offer for entertainment, though. Theres plenty of cinemas and funhouses, as well as the SaveMart center, which actually does get some pretty big names performing there. Also, as a car guy, the North end of town is a great place for car spotting, they have a lot of car shows, too, and youre guaranteed to see classics and exotics. But, as much as i like all of those, i prefer Clovis to the whole of Fresno. Its just a much nicer part of town, theres less crime, plus its even closer to the mountains so if you live there you dont have to drive as far. It has a more small town feel, like what i get in Visalia, but most of it is cleaner and richer.
I literally came here for a North Carolina city since they're all developing so rapidly with so much stuff to do, financial opportunity, and gorgeous seasons
I was doing a road trip and I drove through Chattanooga. I thought it was pretty. I went to a flea market. One of the vendors asked me if I use my dog for fighting. I had with me my yellow lab. I was absolutely disgusted and ever since then could never look at it the same. I told Tommy that was involved with animal rescue about it (she has volunteered at dog fighting rescue operations). She wasn't surprised.
Fun fact: the reason we don't build tall buildings (the courthouse is the tallest at 9 stories I believe) is because we have one of the (if not THE) biggest cave systems around under the city, making tall, heavy buildings VERY ill advised...
@@calebknapp8539 that's interesting. I've wondered why there were no skyscrapers. The Regions building is fairly tall but downtown is still super pretty.
I don't feel it was biased at all. It seemed to cover the entire country, not being all in the same region, and even included Hawaii. Only our 5 inhabited territories were left out of the list, but I suppose that can be a list on it's own, maybe.
Shout out to Grand Rapids--yay! It doesn't get enough credit. You missed that fact that it's close to the Lake Michigan shoreline with everything that has to offer, though.
I used to live in El Paso, many decades ago (when the population was half what it is now). I'm thinking of moving back there, because it looks like my housing situation in Florida may change soon, and Florida rental costs are totally retarded. People like to knock El Paso, but it's a good city with a great sense of community. Like Albuquerque and Tucson, there isn't enough water to float a leaf... except during the rare summer rains when it floods. Those desert cities will need to get very inventive to keep up with rising populations vs. diminishing water supply. One thing for sure though... the low humidity makes life so more comfortable!
I was thinking about El Paso also but I'm seeing what's happening to Lake Mead and the water situations in the south and I'm kind of scared to buy a house there. They could be in trouble in 10-20 years.
I swear these videos are so addicting lol
"Howdy...Its Kyle.."
“Howdy...Its Kyle..”
You hit the nail on the head
All my fellow Geography lovers
Agree- Kyle does such a great job with these videos.
I love seeing El Paso, Tucson, and Albuquerque so high up on the list. The Southwest is beautiful and had wonderful culture, it's nice to see it get some appreciation.
Albuquerque is my hometown, always wanted to visit Tucson and El Paso.
@@AnthonyPinoAntonio I live in Gallup 🙅🏼♂️
@@billybob4159 Gallup, NM. Land of green chile stews and frybread.
@Angelo River I dunno if you really can consider it to be the same metro area, it straddles an international border so even though there’s a fair amount of come-and-go, they’re still pretty distinct cities with distinct cultures and of course are in completely different countries. Good amount of cooperation, but El Paso definitely doesn’t feel any bigger than any of these other cities, despite its proximity to Juarez. In any case, Juarez is also much more dangerous than El Paso.
@@AnthonyPinoAntonio I would recommend visiting Tucson in the spring to hike and see the desert in full bloom. If not schedule around an event like the book festival, day of the dead, spring/fall street fair, or most notably the gem and mineral show (its the largest in the world so traffic and lodging may be an issue but my friends always found a place).
I lived in both Albuquerque & Tucson. Two incredible cities. Absolutely love the weather, food, culture, and outdoor activities there.
I'm so happy to see your love of NM, and ABQ. other RUclipsrs bash it and tell people not to go there. I now live in the Santa Fe area, lived in Boise for 30 years, also lived in Denver and ABQ. YES I left Boise for Santa Fe! I love NM. It's my favorite state. The food is the best anywhere, it's new Mexican, not Mexican as many people don't know about. I love the rich cultural diversity also. So happy that you love it as much as I do.
I never knew about Chattanooga being such a good outdoors city. Can't wait to go visit someday. Thanks for the great video
There's definitely no shortage of ways to stay active outdoors for sure.
I abhore Chattanooga... my family always drove from our home in kansas city to Florida and would always go through Chattanooga and for some reason every single time we got into the Chattanooga something went wrong with our vehicle!! All the while the trip always went down without a hitch, only Chattanooga gave us fits. This also continued into my adult life, having made the trip 3 times in as an adult, nearing the freaking Chattanooga area my car crapped out on me...
We never ended up staying there, but I imagine it is actually a lovely city, but I can't get over the feeling the city is a curse to my family and me. Lol
Chattanooga is always a great place to visit. Not sure about living there but I travel there at least twice a year for various outdoor activities... and the people are always wonderful 👌🏾
It's a neat town. Not too big, not too small. Lot of stuff to do and nice scenery.
Should have mentioned the Civil War history there!
Love that Albuquerque takes the top spot! The culture, history, scenery, and the food make it an amazing place to visit
Jesse!
I live in the Boise area (Boy-see). Great town. The area has certainly grown the past 10 years considerably, and very much so since I was a kid growing up in Eastern Oregon. Good shout out.
And I heard the safest city of it’s size as well.
Haha, I live in Salt Lake and even from down here I muttered to myself, "Bup-bup-bup, it's 'Boy-see', not 'Boy-zee'."
Incidentally, I love Boise, and Idaho in general.
MrP What do you think about the Greater Idaho idea, where eastern Oregon would become part of Idaho instead? I like most of it, except it would leave Oregon only about a fifth of its current size.
@@hopecowschickens Idaho will welcome eastern Oregon with open arms. We're ideologically alike and they want to get away from the insanity of western Oregon. Can't blame them
Boise is home to Aryan Brotherhood and Ruby Ridge Terrorist Goons...no wonder whyte people love it there! 🤣
One extra thing to point out in Boise (I went to college there) is The Basque Block. Boise has the largest population of Basque Americans in the U.S. And it leads to a number of great Basque restaurants, festivals and events.
I don't live in the US and therefore have only been to 10 states, but I have to say, on our midwest roadtrip we really fell in love with Omaha NB. i get that living somewhere is different than visiting, but it was possibly the one city where we really wished we planned for a longer stay.
I was surprised to see Fresno, my hometown, on this list. It wasn't a great place to grow up in the 90s with gang wars and half the city being poor, but it looks like things have been getting better.
But yes, one thing Fresno always had was some of the best fruit and beautiful orchards. As a kid, we went to all kinds of markets swap meets, and fruit stands just dotting the roads. Even my great grandparents had a small agri plot for corn that I'd ogle at the size of back then.
Its a hot, dusty town, but I've never found grapes or oranges that compare to the ones I got in Fresno.
I moved to Boise from Florida 25 years ago and I love it. You posted this a year ago and since then housing cost have gone insane. Average home price now is over $500,000. Pay is still not great here unless you work for Micron.
Great to see New Mexico get its due! I just love Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos. Long overdue to return for a visit to this wonderful area.
Albuquerque represent!
Coolest chiro on RUclips !
@@No1reallydies thanks for the support 🤘
Taco Burger life
Man, these up-to-date statistics are an eye-opener! At least 10 of these cities, like Greenville and Boise, are two or three times larger than I ever imagined. Under the radar, they've been quietly growing into interesting & attractive places to live.
For those starting out in life, I would call these "Cities of Opportunity". There is something about cities in the size range you've chosen. If there have been decades of slow & steady growth and no history of boom-bust economy, those are the places to consider starting up a business, a family, or entering the job market.
I have a nephew who lives in Greenville. I visited him in 2022, and before then I had paid scant attention to Greenville-Spartanburg, though I'd been there before. I was very pleasantly surprised, as I expected it to be very monocultural and redneck but, no, influxes of international culture, a well-kept-up downtown (which even has a very cool waterfall and park), etc. My impression is that they could become South Carolina's version of Asheville and it looks like "We've got this".
That's not enough to make me want to more there (nor to Asheville) because they still must live under the laws and legislation that emanates from Columbia (or Raleigh), but I'd rather live there than in some places in my strongly-preferred "blue states" (consider Bakersfield, Utica NY, Reading PA, etc. - avoiding mention of places more obvious).
With regards to Fresno and Albuquerque, if one is considering to relocate to these cities, the crime is very high there.
I knew about Albuquerque, but is that also true for Fresno?
@@elianotari5132 The crime rate in Fresno is lower than Albuquerque's, however, the crime rate in Fresno is 60% higher than the US average.
Nobody moves to Fresno or Bakersfield, you leave it lol
Both Fresno and ABQ are armpits. Might as well live in Modesto
@@lafan9872 I did. Miss the fruit, but not the crime.
I liked your list. :) I think a lot of those places have great offerings to people who choose to visit or live there. What I didn't hear were the mentions of great museums, art centers, or even sporting events. For example, Albuquerque has some wonderful museums, like The Albuquerque Museum, The Maxwell Museum, Hispanic Cultural Center, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, even a Turquoise Museum...and there are many more! It also has the International Balloon Fiesta every October! And it's just an hour away from Santa Fe and a great assortment of top-notch ski resorts! It's not all about bars and restaurants. :) Can't wait to go watch your 10 Small Cities! :) Thanks for doing this...I love watching.
Just took a trip to Tucson. Really nice place with a cool hippy artsy scene. Solid choice for the list.
Thanks for mentioning El Paso. As an El Paso-an this is a great city with alot of new buildings. We recently got a new baseball and soccer little league teams! Due to Covid we are in lockdown but overall it's a great city. The only cons I have are sometimes it can get really hot and really cold depending on the season, and since there are alot of mexicans, speaking spanish can sometimes be a necessity
Love the channel. This guy will have 250k subs in no time. The shirt made me laugh. "Baseball" lmao. Also I highly disagree with Fresno being a great city.
Thank you! Fresno being included is more of a statement about the cities not included. It's kind of a rough size range for cities in the US. Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Dayton, Toledo, Bakersfield, Little Rock, Wichita, Albany, Hartford, and Providence are all in that size range. Tulsa and Knoxville are probably the only two I didn't include that are alright.
@@GeographyKing I think Providence is pretty cool, too, but it does have a fairly high crime rate.
Just watched this and as an Albuquerque native at college on the east coast severely missing home during this pandemic, and it instantly made me happy.
WE MADE IT ON A GOOD LIST!!!! AND #1 AT THAT!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!
I'm glad Grand Rapids made the list. To be fair, GR is really close to the most popular beach on lake Michigan. Also there are tons of nearby inland lakes that make it great for outdoor opportunities. Most of Michigan is an outdoorsman's paradise.
I was going to say, there are endless outdoor activities to partake in West Michigan. Not to mention all the inland lakes, State Parks, Proximity to Lake Michigan, as well as ski resorts in the winter.
I’m moving to Omaha later this summer. Happy to find it on the list
Wow I totally didn't expect my hometown to top the list. Can't tell you how much I love my state so I appreciate the shoutout!
Me either. I about spit out my drink
Went to ABQ earlier this year and absolutely loved it. Great video!
It is a really great city with so much stuff to do I wish I could go there more often
I live in Greenville South Carolina . I love the recognition! Greenville is booming and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Love your videos.
I wish I had found your channel before now. You have a wonderful and unique channel. One of the best on RUclips :-) !
Thank you. I'm glad you found the channel now!
I love Chattanooga and Greenville and am glad you included them on this list
Greenville? Huh. Really thought he would've put them in the small cities video. Im suprised we are considered medium sized
@@richarda.w.4562 I think it's off of metro area not city proper, so in this case technically the entire upstate
Greenville is a fantastic city, and the Upstate is an ideal place to recreate.
@@mk14617 Currently live in Greenville and I hate it lol. Way overpriced for what it offers unless you're dealing with Clemson which has terrible traffic, lots of shady folks walking the streets and not a ton of job opportunities. I'm sure for the right people it's great, but I wouldn't call it a well-rounded city.
Downtown specifically is nice and kinda fun though, but with the state having a 7.25 minimum wage, it doesn't really bode well even if you have tons of experience. Managers of stores busting their ass barely can afford living in a home.
Also, this perception might change in 5-10 years since I've seen literally dozens of new building projects and even a new electric car charge station being built near downtown, so who knows.
Planning to move out of here in a month or two regardless though. Y'all can have it :P
@@EingefrorenesEisen I also live in Greenville. And I can attest to all of this & echo all of your sentiments... it really is VASTLY overrated & I can't wait to get out of here lol. I really have no idea why people love this place so much.
Yeah! Omaha made the list. I was born there and was living there during the city's major music scene boom of the early 2000s. I moved to Chicago in 2003, when I was 22 and then lived in Tucson, too, for a year and a half in 2015-2016. My wife and I are most likely moving back to Tucson in a couple years when she's done with her MBA, as it is her hometown and her family is there. I can't wait. Early onset arthritis and cold Chicago winters are brutal pain-wise.
Great video!
Great to see you back, Kyle. Awesome to see so much South Carolina on this list. I read on the finance blog called Financial Samurai that SC is the #1 place to buy real estate for the coming decade 2020-2030, so that’s good I guess.
SC is certainly growing quite a bit and everywhere but Charleston is affordable. It'll be interesting to see how prices change with increased demand over the next decade.
Just discovered your channel and watched a few of your vids. I like them and can relate as I grew up in NorCal as well (Santa Rosa). Although I didn't move to THE SOUTH like you did I did head south to San Diego. Lived in Albuquerque a few years and enjoyed it overall. As you said in another video the weather is pretty decent, not too cold or too hot. Gets a little hotter than I prefer but not so bad since no humidity. Went to Orlando Florida once and didn't even want to go outside it was so oppressive.
SC represent!
Wooo!
I really like Albuquerque. The food is wonderful and the setting sun lighting up the Sandia Mountains is spellbinding. My parents lived in Albuquerque, and I was born just after they returned to the Midwest. So I am _almost_ an Albuquerque native.
Same! My dad grew up there and both my parents went to college nearby (New Mexico Tech), but they moved to my mom's hometown in the Midwest before I was born.
I have a half-sister who was educated at New Mexico Tech.
Albuquerque was back and forty between my A-list and B-list of places to move to when I was looking for a larger city to move to from western Illinois. Crime and police corruption notwithstanding, ABQ has a lot going for it!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Knoxville, if you are looking for fodder for another video. Maybe Chattanooga vs Knoxville since they are so close in distance to each other and population size. Great commentary as compared to other similar channels!
Idk why these videos I can just binge watch like crazy but keep it up my brain is happy.
You should do small cities next. (Just saying, I'd be pretty disappointed if San Luis Obispo doesn't make that list lol)
I love San Luis Obispo very cool place
SLO is so damn expensive. You pretty much gotta have old money.
Have small cities been done? "Slo" is definitely a candidate but costs are ridiculous like almost anywhere in the Far West. Other places that I feel belong in a list of cool small cities: Ann Arbor, Middletown CT, Portland ME, Hickory NC and Asheville, Las Cruces, Santa Rosa CA, Olympia WA, Eugene, Missoula and Great Falls, Reno, Madison WI, Rochester MN, Flagstaff, Lincoln NE. It's no accident that most of these are "big university" towns.
It would be interesting to see a list of cool suburbs, too, but that would be difficult to tackle because there's so many. I can definitely think of some I'd put on the list: Evanston IL, Royal Oak MI, West Hollywood, Media PA, Alexandria VA etc.
Great list. I haven't been to all these cities, I have been to all 50 states (humble brag) , but I can agree that Charleston is rad. I'm not the biggest fan of sunshine being such a qualifier to rank a city. I live in the Pacific NW and I don't need to go into how much rain we get, but rain is amazing, too.
Jack Kent rain is just liquid sunshine!
Shoutout to Grand Rapids! Love it!
And it is within 30 minutes of some of the best beaches, the best beaches in the Midwest anyway
I visited last year and loved it. Best major city in Michigan!
Born and raised near Columbia, SC. Crazy to see how much SC has changed since I moved away back in 2007.
After returning from Columbus, Ohio this past Labor Day weekend, where I got to attend my first Ohio State Buckeyes football game at Ohio Stadium, I think you had a major miss with this list by not including Columbus. Great city with a friendly populace who are very proud of their city. Columbus has an active and flourishing arts scene with a beautiful art museum and centrally located convention center. The Short North Arts District is a fun and happening area with great restaurants and nightlife all within an area which is very walkable and geared toward pedestrian rather than vehicle. Weekends are active and alive with a great energy that is welcoming and fun for all.
Colubus is above his definition a a medium size metropolitan area. That's probably why it's not mentionned.
I'm from Columbus Ohio and it's a major city
I think Dayton is often overlooked but I like it that way.
I would've loved to see Richmond VA on this list! I miss it every day from the NYC metro area. Such unbelievably diverse food and music scenes, and the river is incredible. Class 3 rapids just steps from downtown, and an insanely active population (bolstered by two major lib-arts universities) who seem to bike *everywhere*.
I think that metro is larger then his list goes ~ at 1.3 million.
As much as I miss Richmond at times, I do not miss the insane amount of classism the residents have. I’m sure it’s worse in NOVA, but I don’t know why it was such a big deal to have the biggest house in the nicest area with a vacation home and fancy cars. I just want to do what I want with my money.
@@gracevanderbilt9469 that's an interesting observation, actually. I didn't interact a whole lot with longtime Richmonders while I was there, but amongst the college-post college young professionals I rolled with, I didn't see much of that at all. That being said, an awful lot of people have been displaced by the "revitalization" of areas like Church Hill, Manchester, and Shockoe Slip, which is classist behavior in and of itself
Grand Rapids does have good outdoor activities if you go slightly west towards Lake Michigan! Also, it’s not terribly far from more beautiful hiking in the northern parts of the lower peninsula
Thanks for the Abq shoutout! Netflix made Albuquerque their North American production hub so I think that will help the economy a lot in the future. Plus Array Technologies is a big solar panel tracking system company that went public so... economy is looking up! When are you moving here? lol
I’m from Greenville and was excited to see it on the list! And yeah, 20 years ago downtown was yikes.
You forgot to mention the other lab based industry in Albuquerque lol
Looks like Albuquerque is about to get greener! 😂
As far as him not mentioning it, there's a METHod to his madness, lol!
@davidmandelstamm8725: or bluer
Great video. One of my buddies lives in Tucson and another summers in Boise so I'm really feeling FOMO.
Regarding Juárez (bordering El Paso)... it was removed from the list of 50 most dangerous cities in the world a few years back (while three US cities are still on the list). I just wanted people to know that Juárez of today is not like Juárez of 2009... and El Paso IS one of the safest cities of its size. I lived there for three years downtown. Even as a white female in a city that is diverse and 80% Hispanic, I felt safe walking around at night and never felt anything but welcomed and embraced. It's a nice city with a small town feel.
I’m from ep and grew up in Juarez +/- 15 years and never had any issues if you don’t mess with anyone no one messes with you
Diverse and 80% Hispanic. 1 of these doesn't quit go with the other. The city is 78% Mexican. That isn't diverse. That is like a town that is 80% Anglo Saxon. I do love El Paso though. It is safe and it was pretty cool feeling like you are in Mexico, without being in actual Mexico.
@@jdredwine7224 Mexican isn't an ethnicity like Anglo, it is the nationality. Mexico is a large and diverse country in it's own right, Mexican culture can be very different in the North, South, the Yucatan, or even the city of Mexico itself. That isn't even including the millions of indigenous people groups that live in the country each with their own unique culture. I think it is still accurate to say El Paso is diverse even with the vast majority being of Mexican decent. It already is in the context of the greater United States.
@@kthemaster1999 I know that, but most are either Indigenous or Mestizo and share most of the same culture. I don't consider that diverse. I consider Sacramento, Oakland, and Queens as diverse. Not El Paso.
I was super impressed by Grand Rapids. I did not expect it to be as cool as it was.
I used to live in El Paso and miss it a lot. I was glad to hear someone say something good about it. Usually people don't think it's a very nice place to live but trust me it is!
Used to live there, as well! I was only there three years, but I feel it's a big part of me.
I’m from El Paso and I live in nyc now but I grew up in Juarez/ El Paso and I miss it so bad I’m actually thinking about leaving nyc for ep
I wouldn't want to be there right now with the COVID situation. I worry for all my friends and family back there.
@@EricaGamet yeah all my family live in El Paso so I'm worried for them
Boise is probably my favorite US city I've been to.
Spent a couple months there and am def looking to move there when I'm tired of the AZ desert
@Danny Edwardo sweet
@Danny Edwardo hahaha, ain't that the truth
@@ReverendMeat51 you better be a conservative. Every time I read things from people from Idaho they're very negative about people moving there. And they seem to hate anybody that's liberal. I think it's actually very sad that they're so hateful about it.
@@merricat3025 I guess don't move to Idaho then and tell all your friends not to either. Such bigots smh I just liked the climate
I hear Pittsburgh is a really good place to be these days.
You had me until the end - ABQ #1??? Lots of sun, and the mountains are pretty, and not far from Santa Fe. Boise, Tucson and Colo Springs are much nicer, as are Charleston & Greenville, SC. I am not that wild about the bottom 5 or so on your list, and El Paso is one of 2 cities over 200k that I gave never been to, in my travels to all 50 states (Corpus Christi, TX is the other). All of us have biases, so no list is 100% objective, and often a place will just grab us with its vibe or beauty, or some nice people we have met. There is beauty in a lot of places, and financial considerations play a huge part. For a retired millionaire, all is possible, but for those working the job market vs cost of living are important. Charleston is one of my abso.ute favorite places anywhere, regardless of size, but it has imported lots of wealthy retirees, which have driven its real estate prices very high.
Albuquerque honestly deserves number 1. The culture alone, plus you can drive an hour in any direction and get to some wildly different landscapes. From snowy mountains so mesas and stunning sunsets, hot springs and ancient ruins that boast the clearest night skies in the United States. Then to come back to a night life of a thriving art and music scene, cute breweries and affordable rent and housing, what’s not to love? Plus our food is way better
@@kristineb6906 agree 100%!
I've been to Corpus C, but as for all USA "anchor cities" (i. e. not suburbs) of 200K or more, I've probably spent the least amount of time in that city, in ratio to its population, of any medium or large city. Bakersfield comes close to that. I've even spent proportionally more time in Anchorage and Honolulu.
Some things left out about Huntsville: no mention of the Space and Rocket Center, Space Camp, Lowe Mill (one of the largest communities of artists under one roof in the nation), or Constitution Park (where the Alabama Constitution was written and signed and is now a small park and museum)
& now the trashpandas baseball team 😂 Huntsville ❤️
Great video. Very Interesting. I was glad to see GR , MI on. It is a very nice city with very friendly people. I love craft beer, so the beer scene there is awesome. I enjoy your posts. They are very informative and interesting. You also present it without attitude, unlike a couple of your competitors. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoy the videos and thanks for the support
Grand Rapids is actually pretty close to Lake Michigan, too, and I think that makes it a cool place for outdoor activities! I even know people who surf on Lake Michigan.
LeighAnna Peck Good Point.
Lived in Colorado Springs for 4 years and I can confirm I miss it a whole lot 😭
I love Fresno you definitely forgot to mention Sequoia and Yosemite and most people go to rivers and lakes their too. A lot of outdoor activities in Fresno California
There are huge drawbacks to a few of these. Charleston gets hurricanes. El Paso is windy and polluted with dust storms. Tucson is oppressively hot. Honolulu would be nice but you need a big bag of money to live there.
I live Chattanooga, TN also :) Love this channel!!!
Thank you!
Burqueno here. I am absolutely stunned you put Albuquerque at #1.
We are usually last on the good lists and first on the bad lists. The whole video I was swearing Albuquerque wouldn't be #1. Thanks bro
Thank you for at least mentioning Wichita at the end lol I'll sub now
I'm a proud South Carolinian , been in Greenville since the day I was born. I could move to so many small and amazing towns, or small-medium sized cities. My state blesses me with the amazing job programs it offers to students in high schools and colleges across the state. Because of that, I already have two years of police training, a credit union account ran by students, and a stable future. I also love how South Carolina has 3 major regions across the state, including woodland, mountains, and wetlands.
Mrpoliceemsfire1 - That’s awesome sir ! I love Greenville and I am considering relocating with my family from Pa. I have a high paying job as a plumber , but I’m not happy at my current job . Any advice as to how the job market is for plumbers in the Greenville area ? You seem to be doing well for yourself in Greenville ! You seem like the right person for advice 👍🏼
Deric and David Carr of Fresno are my cousins!
The Old Pueblo is a dynamic and historic City.
Farming has been going on in Tucson for over 4,000 years.
Barrio Viejo, Dunbar Springs and Old Fort Lowell are so interesting.
Road and mountain biking are excellent.
Drive to the Sky Islands near Patagonia for the most biodiversity in the Country. Go to Ajo and experience the real Sonoran Desert.
Happy to see Boise on here--my home! But where's Salt Lake City?? Is it considered a large city?
Yes it’s a large city
Fresno is also very close to some excellent National Parks and the Sierras in general are amazing
Grand Rapids is very close to Lake Michigan, and a lot of great State, and local parks that are along it, which gives you a little bit more outdoor recreational opportunities than you might first think.
You really undersold the zoo in Omaha. It is a top 3 zoo in the US. Also, home to the College World Series.
Yeah but Omaha still sucks. The two things you mentioned are really all that Omaha has. You can only go to the zoo so many times before you tire of it and the college world series lasts for only a couple of weeks out of the entire year. I have a lot of family there and I hate the place. I’m always glad to leave. And even more glad to make it out alive because it has probably the worst drivers in the entire country. He probably hasn’t been there enough to get a firm grasp on what it’s really like.
Many surprisingly good museums in Omaha, and love Fontenelle Forest
I'm from Chattanooga! It's a pretty solid place to live, especially for the outdoors. Some of the tourist places are gimmicky, but if you stay away from them, it's a much cooler place. If you're visiting from out of town, the aquarium is probably the best more touristed places to visit
Glad I discovered your channel. You come across as so nice. Other channels that do lists like this are so obnoxious and annoying.
Thank you! I'm glad you like the videos!
@@GeographyKing I like Kyle better than Nick Johnson and Brigs.
I came looking to see Colorado Springs, and I found it!
Shhhhhhh! Don't tell anyone - too many people here already!
I grew up in Colorado. I personally dislike Colorado Springs a good deal, especially with some of their strange, failed libertarian policies. I much, much prefer Fort Collins. Maybe it was just too small for this list.
@@bobmanhunter Libertarian? People usually criticize the Springs for being too conservative. All depends on one's point of view, but speaking of POVs... having Pikes Peak at the end of my block is my favorite thing.
@@bobmanhunter Yes, Ft Collins only has about 150k people, too small for this list.
The worst part of the springs is the people🤣
Tucson out here representing 💪
Woo woo Tucson!
At 6:08 you included a picture of Stephens Gap Cave located in northeast Alabama for Chattanooga, TN...dude, if you're going to include that and caving as an activity, then that rightfully belongs under Huntsville, AL at #10 seeing is it's 30 miles from downtown Huntsville along US Hwy 72 between Huntsville and Scottsboro. Also, Huntsville is home to the National Speleological Society.
Glad to see Colorado Springs in there! Moved a few months ago and love it. Been in Boise for business for about a month and also love it. Can say that they’re both very similar and definitely are perfect if you love the outdoors
expensive $$$$. One can't afford those cities unless they are over the age of 35.
King, You missed the boat in Grand Rapids. Lots to do outdoors.
I clicked on this to see if Colorado Springs would be here! So happy, it’s an amazing city
I used to live there- went to college in CO SPGS
Great video
Huntsville AL is on the list! Didn't think it had a bad crime problem but then again it all depends on what the police decide to call crime. Some states don't consider things like weed crime and some do.
Most of town is great. There is, however, part of northwestern Huntsville which is fairly low income and high crime (though its not really specified on what I saw what is considered for crime rate). I think part of the problem is there isn't a huge amount of opportunities outside of engineering and military. I do know that part of that area has gotten some developments the last 5 yrs even, so maybe things will change soon. I hope so cuz I love this area and would love to see it take the top some day
Going by just the photos that Kyle showed us, Huntsville looks like a really nice place to live.
My father and his family was from Chattanooga and there were some new things I learned about the city. My wife , mother and visited the city 2016!
I graduated with physics and am about to move to Albuquerque for an engineering position. I noticed it and Tuscon are giant in the Optical sector which is a very specialist field. Basically no colleges have programs in Optical Engineering and if you look up types of engineers most of the time it doesn't even pop up.
Grand Rapids itself just has the river. But 30 minutes west is Lake Michigan with great fresh water beaches and dunes.
Spot on ABQ , love the Duke City. On another note, love the T-shirt 😄
10:45 I love this town and would move there.. I liked it better than than Denver when I visited Colorado last summer. It probably has the most tolerable weather compared to other cities mentioned in the list.
Albuquerque is pretty tolerable too. But...TOO SUNNY FOR ME!
I live an hour northeast of Fresno. I wouldn't say top 15 but I do think Fresno trying to do better. It has a long road ahead of it.
Used to live in Grand Rapids... it's a pretty nice place. I see the Founders Brewery is photographed. You're not far from the lake shore either though coming from a hillier part of the world I did find the local countryside quite dull.
Love that shirt Kyle!
I love seeing by hometown on lists
Why isn't Raleigh on this list? I guess the CSA is far outside the range you stated but it's somewhat unique in that there's Raleigh + several small cities/large towns in its direct vicinity that are very distinct. Especially Durham, Cary is distinct but not nearly as much.
Hence why nobody calls it a "large city" but if you are doing this by CSA or MSA, it's in between O.o
Raleigh is better than most of these cities
Raleigh is quite a bit bigger than the ones in this video. There are 2 million people in the area. I'd rank it high in the size range just up from this one.
@@GeographyKing Hmm, I guess. Raleigh itself is not that much larger in population in comparison to several of these but the metro area is rather large, but in several distinct town/cities. Although Durham and Cary are the only ones that *really* stand on their own, the rest are suburban sprawl. And the population density is rather low as a result.
I guess idk what category it would fit in a top ___ video xD I guess it would be thrown in with cities that actually have a densely populated core in the same population range for the area. Which is weird to me. Not that there isn't a downtown area, but it's only recently becoming a place where people actually live. Previously it was just big companies and govt. buildings along with historic homes/universities. I think you can tell I'm a native lool ;^)
Too large. Doesn't meet the criteria for consideration
I’m surprised Pittsburgh didn’t make the list. That’s one of my favorite medium cities.
I remember a number of years ago my mom wanted to go to Pittsburgh we were going to Gettysburg on a road trip. I had a hissy fit about not wanting to go to Pittsburgh I had relatives that live near there. Well we went and it was absolutely beautiful is one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen
Pittsburgh is not a medium-sized city. The metro population is over 2 and a quarter million.
@@merricat3025 agree pittsburgh is really really nice was there 3 years ago pnc park is my favorite mlb stadium I've seen 28 stadiums
William Wilkins Pittsburgh and Allegheny County are not over two million. They are 1.7 million. You need to add the neighboring counties to get it up to two million. Pittsburgh is still a little too large for this list
The city itself is relatively "small" but the metropolitan area is massive, giving it more of a large-city vibe. That said, I love the place. I even tried to move there, but there didn't seem to be all that many of the type of property I was looking for (condo in a high-rise).
Great video thank you!
I'm curious as to why you used the image of the MRZR at 14:29 ? That's a military transport designed, engineered and built by Polaris Industries in Minnesota. I should know since I worked on that vehicle.
Go Boise! Just moved here and love it! He didn't mention that there's a ski resort 30 mins outside of downtown Boise and Amazon just completed a major robotics facility there.
Im so glad you put Fresno on the list. As you put it, most people on the coast will tell you to avoid it, mostly because of the high homeless rate and crime rate, but its so cheap to live there, and because its California, the wages are good. It also has a spectacular view of the Sierra Nevadas, and its about an hour from the mountains, 2 hours from Yosemite. While there might not be a big nightlife, that kind of thing is unattractive to me, i dont drink or party. I do enjoy what little is has to offer for entertainment, though. Theres plenty of cinemas and funhouses, as well as the SaveMart center, which actually does get some pretty big names performing there. Also, as a car guy, the North end of town is a great place for car spotting, they have a lot of car shows, too, and youre guaranteed to see classics and exotics.
But, as much as i like all of those, i prefer Clovis to the whole of Fresno. Its just a much nicer part of town, theres less crime, plus its even closer to the mountains so if you live there you dont have to drive as far. It has a more small town feel, like what i get in Visalia, but most of it is cleaner and richer.
Not a single city in North Carolina??? Not sure why they were overlooked.
I literally came here for a North Carolina city since they're all developing so rapidly with so much stuff to do, financial opportunity, and gorgeous seasons
At least he said Columbia South Carolina
@@dudefromkc6182 bruh-
Right... i was expecting raleigh.... esp since he all bout outdoor actives...
@@dudefromkc6182 Columbia is sh!t. This guy doesn't have a clue.
Do you have a video for your top big cities in the US?
I was doing a road trip and I drove through Chattanooga. I thought it was pretty. I went to a flea market. One of the vendors asked me if I use my dog for fighting. I had with me my yellow lab. I was absolutely disgusted and ever since then could never look at it the same. I told Tommy that was involved with animal rescue about it (she has volunteered at dog fighting rescue operations). She wasn't surprised.
4:21 I've always loved that skyline of HSV
Fun fact: the reason we don't build tall buildings (the courthouse is the tallest at 9 stories I believe) is because we have one of the (if not THE) biggest cave systems around under the city, making tall, heavy buildings VERY ill advised...
@@calebknapp8539 that's interesting. I've wondered why there were no skyscrapers. The Regions building is fairly tall but downtown is still super pretty.
I don't feel it was biased at all. It seemed to cover the entire country, not being all in the same region, and even included Hawaii. Only our 5 inhabited territories were left out of the list, but I suppose that can be a list on it's own, maybe.
Came here to see Grand Rapids......
Was not disappointed. It's really underrated.
Shout out to Grand Rapids--yay! It doesn't get enough credit. You missed that fact that it's close to the Lake Michigan shoreline with everything that has to offer, though.
I used to live in El Paso, many decades ago (when the population was half what it is now). I'm thinking of moving back there, because it looks like my housing situation in Florida may change soon, and Florida rental costs are totally retarded. People like to knock El Paso, but it's a good city with a great sense of community. Like Albuquerque and Tucson, there isn't enough water to float a leaf... except during the rare summer rains when it floods. Those desert cities will need to get very inventive to keep up with rising populations vs. diminishing water supply. One thing for sure though... the low humidity makes life so more comfortable!
I was thinking about El Paso also but I'm seeing what's happening to Lake Mead and the water situations in the south and I'm kind of scared to buy a house there. They could be in trouble in 10-20 years.