After doing a lot of traveling, both in the States and abroad, I figure a thread about this would be pretty cool. Everyone has different experiences, so there should be a lot of disagreements, but keep in mind this is all based on YOUR experience.

Overrated:

5. Paris. Stinks, the food is way overpriced, and, like some other names on this list, it gets by on being itself. Meaning, "It's Paris!" is an excuse for the city otherwise having a lot of drawbacks.

4. Miami. Probably home to the most vapid, annoying, and self-important people in the world. There is nothing great about this city. The women look better in Sarasota, the beaches are nicer in Key West, and the prices are cheaper in Jacksonville.

3. Boston. Black people haven't been allowed since Robert Parrish retired. The entire city prides themselves on being "small-town" but that's another way of saying "asshole." Traffic is awful, and the accents alone are enough to make you want to never return. It's damn expensive, and not worth the hassle. Decent night life, though... but everybody seems to be a firefighter.... wtf...

2. New York. God, how long can you milk a national tragedy? Everyone knows the attitude, the expense, and the crazy traffic. What you may not know is that New York's restaurants are incredibly overrated, and the nightlife is filled with some serious scum. Everybody should go at least once, because it's worth seeing, but America's greatest city is also one of the most embarrassing.

1. Rome. One trip to the legendary "Roma" and you'll quickly realize while these people lost the empire. Dirty, trashy, smelly, and overall the most overrated city in the world. Most people who enjoy Rome haven't been to the good cities in Europe.



Underrated:

5. Baltimore. Corrupt city and dangerous streets are quickly giving way to some awesome urban renewal.

4. Chicago. Chicago, a helluva town. It's just... fun. Enjoy the pizza (better than anywhere else)

3. Strasbourg, France. A mix of German and French make this place the mixing bowl of Europe. So many cultures, and so much to do. I'm partial because I lived here over the Summer, but really, this place has it all, and the French show you quite quickly that not all of them are assholes, just the Parisians.

2. New Orleans. The city beneath the sea is a great time, even post-Katrina. If you're a spring-breaker there for mardi gras, or a young professional just looking for some downtime from work, this place has it all, and is cheap in comparison to other cities. <3 New Orleans.

1. Dublin, Ireland. The beer, the people, the "stiletto in the ghetto," the food, the nightlife, the prices! Seriously, best city in Europe and arguably the most underrated, best kept secret, in the world. American friendly, and even taking a taxi is an unusually fun experience. I could live here.




YOURS? OK, GO!

9/26/2007 5:06:48 PM

i think you switched around overated and underated.

9/26/2007 5:14:54 PM

the only one on there i really care about seeing is dublin, so good to hear its cool

9/26/2007 5:20:13 PM

Overrated:

1. Florence, Italy: Probably has more to do with the time of the year I went (late June), but I didn't see what the fuss was all about. I was most excited to see Florence when I went on my month long trip to Italy, and I couldn't get the fuck out of there fast enough. I left a day early.

9/26/2007 5:20:58 PM

paris was one of my favorites of the european cities i went. i went during world cup 96 which made it extra fun though.

9/26/2007 5:24:24 PM

I'm gonna have to throw my home town of London in the overrated cities. It may be just because I was born there and spent a lot of my childhood there but it is SOOOO dirty. Sure it is a good center of culture and history and stuff, but there is rubbish EVERYWHERE. The people will almost run you over too. And there is an overcast just about every day. It's good for touristy stuff, but stay there for more than a few weeks and you'll probably not think it is that awesome.

9/26/2007 5:32:26 PM

who the fuck rated baltimore anything? and for that matter, who the fuck would consider going to baltimore a travel destination?

9/26/2007 5:38:59 PM

balmer is the shit

9/26/2007 5:40:58 PM

Quote :

"4. Chicago. Chicago, a helluva town. It's just... fun. Enjoy the pizza (better than anywhere else)"

You didn't mention Italian beef

Christmas is now a high point of my year because I go to Chicago for it. I cannot wait to move out that way.

9/26/2007 6:15:33 PM

how about Over and Under rated, but for different reasons

Amsterdam
Overrated because: the drugs and sex are not as prevalent as legend would have you believe. If you've never been there, to hear people talk about it you would think everybody there is stoned all the time and there are naked people in every store window.

1) pot/hash is legal, but as John Travolta said, "not totally legal". i.e. you can't just light up bowl and walk down the street or get on a bus. And you can't "get pot everywhere, maaaannnnn". yes, there are hash bars. yes, some regular bars do sell hash. but you can walk into any number of bars at random and never see or buy weed.

2) The "red light district" is really that - it's a very defined, strictly bordered district. Throughout the city, you will not see sex shops everywhere (at least not any more than you would in other European cities) and there are not half-naked hookers anywhere. The red-light district is certainly a site to see, but it's far from the free-for-all debauchery-fest that bachelor party goers would like to think it is. Yes, most of the street-level storefronts are lined with full-window doors with prostitutes behind them. But every single one of them has full-underwear on. No nudity until you talk to them, fork over the cash, go inside their room, and the door and shade is closed. Sorry guys, no free peep shows from the sidewalk. Not to mention (not that I would know), according to James Gunn's blog (writer, director, separated husband of Jenna Fisher/Pam from The Office), 99% of the "sex" with the prostitutes is fake. Yep, they don't even really have sex with you, they only make you think they do. http://www.jamesgunn.com/updates.html#5-1-07
Plus, real live sex shows? Yeah, sounds fun, i guess. but they are in seedy, dirty little holes in the wall "theaters". and, ummm..... watching two unattractive, unmotivated people have sex with each other is not really worth the ridiculous cost of entry.....


Underrated because: Wow, what a great city this is! You never hear about how clean and beautiful Amsterdam is. 95% of the city (sans the red light district) is as clean and family friendly as any other major tourist destination. The buildings are great, it's practically built on water, so there are canals everywhere, lots of parks, tons of places to walk, museums, breweries, great public transport - everything you need in a nice city. Plus, just a short car or bus ride will take you into the Holland countryside which is full of dykes, cheese farms and windmills. Very good place to bring your family and spend a few days, without having to worry about exposing your kids to evil-doers.

9/26/2007 6:25:54 PM

I disagree about Boston...I've been there many times and it's one of my top 5 favorite cities.

Overrated: Charlotte. For all the reasons everyone already knows.

9/26/2007 6:31:43 PM

i didn't realize charlotte was rated to begin with

9/26/2007 6:45:06 PM

shitty list

9/26/2007 8:13:53 PM

Overrated:

1.) Las Vegas. There's simply nothing good to say about this supposed "destination". Was stuck there for work for four long days and couldn't wait to leave. I say nuke the dump.

2.) Los Angeles. Sprawling, expensive, dirty, and just generally annoying.

3.) London. Dirty, absurdly expensive, lousy weather, and a truly difficult place to live. There's the usual tourist stuff, but really not that much to get excited about.

4.) Honolulu. Only been there as a stopover to Australia, but it's a long way to go for nothing much.

5.) Prague. It's not a horrible place, but as European cities go it's just not nearly as interesting as the reputation would lead you to believe.

Underrated:

1.) Boise, Idaho. Maybe it's a case of exceeding very low expectations, but I really liked this place. Lots of fun outdoors stuff to do, it's reasonably clean, got a decent music scene, easy to get around, and some nice bars.

2.) Minneapolis/St. Paul. Again, maybe it's just a case of low expectations. I anticipated a frozen, boring dump like Buffalo, NY. Instead found plenty of entertaining stuff to do, good music, a lively bar scene, and decent food.

3.) Bueons Aires. A bit crowded and congested, but a very fun place to be.

4.) Tokyo. For a city this size, it's amazingly clean and easy to get around. It ain't cheap, but it's no worse than NYC on that front, with all the attractions of a really big city.

9/26/2007 8:16:42 PM

i think you switched around overated and underated.

[Edited on September 26, 2007 at 9:26 PM. Reason : seriously, boston is wicked awesome]

9/26/2007 9:25:54 PM

and baltimore blows from the news videos i've seen

9/26/2007 9:32:06 PM

Quote :

"Overrated: 1.) Las Vegas. There's simply nothing good to say about this supposed "destination". Was stuck there for work for four long days and couldn't wait to leave. I say nuke the dump."

are you fucking joking

9/26/2007 9:44:31 PM

I lived in Bmore for a couple months and -everyone- I knew didn't go downtown past 11pm. All the good bars are at Annapolis. All bmore has goin for it is some decent music venues.

9/26/2007 9:51:31 PM

^^agreed. I talked to a guy who goes there for business and pleasure before I went recently. He said "when I go for business I hate it...but when I go for fun it's a great place."

you, like myself with florence (probably), went at the wrong time.

9/26/2007 10:41:36 PM

^^ downtown = fells point?

Brewer's Art ftw. I haven't had a Resurrection in two years

9/26/2007 11:21:22 PM

I love Chicago and New Orleans...however I would say they already have pretty high ratings

some cities are better in certain scenarios also...if I go to New York or Chicago I'll probably go with some buddies and tear shit up...if I'm going on a nice quiet trip with a woman I'm looking for something a little different...if I'm going on business, well I'll just make the most of it

[Edited on September 26, 2007 at 11:28 PM. Reason : .]

9/26/2007 11:26:55 PM

Seattle.

9/26/2007 11:28:46 PM

Overrated:
1. Wilmington, NC
2. Myrtle Beach, SC
3. Paris

Underrated:
1. Amsterdam (see agentlion's post above)
2. Asheville, NC
3. Roanoke, VA

9/26/2007 11:40:31 PM

Myrtle Beach is definitely overrated as fuck...I think we spent about 10 pages where about 99% of people agreed on that lol

9/26/2007 11:42:08 PM

You have to be armed in at least 3 of those top 5 most "underrated" cities

9/26/2007 11:43:30 PM

oh hell yeah

9/26/2007 11:46:49 PM

Underated:
Sibiu, Romania

9/27/2007 12:34:44 AM

Quote :

"5.) Prague. It's not a horrible place, but as European cities go it's just not nearly as interesting as the reputation would lead you to believe. "

once up on a time i would have agreed with you. but even while living there for 7 weeks i would have agreed with you. but looking back there is more than meets the eye. i[/quote] us def not as modern as more european cities, but when i was there is was still on the krown/koruna.

oh praha how i miss thee.

9/27/2007 1:32:19 AM

Baltimore is crap, fells point is the only redeemable point, and it's not even downtown

Boston is not overrated, it's probably on par.

Chicago is great, I agree it's probably a bit underrated, but I've heard lots of good report on it in the last year or so.

New Orleans is crap too, I can't believe that's on your list.

I agree with Rome, smelly, dirty, nasty.

I'm not sure where Denver falls on the list, but I love it here, and it greatly exceeded what I thought it was going to be like. It's come a long ways in the last 5-10 years

9/27/2007 1:41:48 AM

Charm City, for sure. Spent a lot of vaycays there as a young G...still love it.

[Edited on September 27, 2007 at 1:59 AM. Reason : Is "vaycays" going to catch on?]

9/27/2007 1:58:46 AM

Overrated: Honolulu. I (can't believe I'm saying this) would rather live in Fayetteville. Save your money, go to Myrtle Beach, get the same stuff.

You want a dirty city, go to Athens. I had fun there, but my husband described it as a filthier version of New Orleans.

9/27/2007 3:55:04 AM

Chicago is the ugliest place I've ever been. It's gray and awful all year round. There's a lot to do, if you can bring yourself to head out into heavy wind, dreadful temps (summer and winter), and of course if you can avoid being killed (high crime rate).

9/27/2007 5:22:53 AM

i agree with baltimore, myrtle beach, and hawaii all being overrated...i heard paris has some of the biggest assholes towards americans in the entire world

i heard las vegas is the american playground for adults so i dont know how that could be overrated

9/27/2007 5:54:45 AM

Over-rated Miami, that place fucking sucks

9/27/2007 8:12:04 AM

new york would be alot better if the rent wasnt so high.

also Reno has to be the biggest pile of shat ever.

9/27/2007 8:22:25 AM

agree about florence, you could do most stuff in a day or two, provided you get tickets to see the david and such ahead of time, the rest is pretty much hey look at this, and nothing much to do or explore really...

i liked rome, venice is overrated b/c people don't know that during the day it looks old and dirty, but it's still a great city to go exploring in....

Assisi, (i think i spelled that right, where st. francis was from) is really interesting, a small town on a "mountain" that litterally stands as a small clump on a plain, obvious why it became a fortification...

london is a mixed bag, a lot to do and costs a lot.

i liked boston while i was there so i wouldnt say it's overrated much

san franisco and vancouver are underrated I think...

9/27/2007 8:57:54 AM

I will not miss NYC when it's gone

9/27/2007 9:04:48 AM

Quote :

"the beaches are nicer in Key West"

Have you been to Key West?

Thier beaches have health hazard signs everywhere becuase of rotting seaweed. They smell like rotten eggs.

9/27/2007 9:18:00 AM

Totally agree the first post about Dublin. When I was there back in 2001 there were so many things to do in the city, people were very nice, food was great, pubs all over the place, and didnt seem to be overly-expensive (like London). I always say if I ever have to move to Europe I would move to Dublin without question.

9/27/2007 9:27:03 AM

Quote :

"1.) Las Vegas. There's simply nothing good to say about this supposed "destination". Was stuck there for work for four long days and couldn't wait to leave. I say nuke the dump."

When I went to Vegas it was probably the best few days of my life.

9/27/2007 10:39:53 AM

if you go to vegas for work by yourself i'm sure it does suck.

9/27/2007 10:40:48 AM

Quote :

"99% of the "sex" with the prostitutes is fake. Yep, they don't even really have sex with you, they only make you think they do. "

huh? how can you not know if you are having sex or not?

9/27/2007 10:46:42 AM

this thead reminds me of this site:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/

9/27/2007 11:03:22 AM

What's funny is how everyone quotes how dirty and nasty these big European cities are. These cities are thousands of years old. Nothing in the US can compare to that age in time. Imagine visiting Boston or Vegas, or any city in the US, in say a couple thousand years from now and see how dirty and nasty it is.

I do agree that some of those big cities are overrated but they are worth visiting at least once in your life.

Paris is really Overrated but the rest of France is very nice IMO.

Ft Myers, FL - Underrated - I am biased and grew up there but it's a great small town with some nice beaches and great weather. It's also nice cause it's a mid point between alot of other destinations in FL.

9/27/2007 11:45:13 AM

Overrated

Amsterdam - Explained pretty well in this topic. Go Once and you probably won't go back

Seoul - Yeah very dirty. General distaste for Americans due to our Soldiers routinely making a bad decision every once in a while. People are alright but no "Barcelona Effect" with the olympics

Hong Kong - Was there when it was still under British rule. Dirtiest City I have been to besides Rome. Food is great but everything else is overcrowded without a lot to do

Rome - Still Have Caesars trash to pick up. Vatican is amazing. The only reason I would think to go back. The coliseum is half part of a traffic circle. People were extremely unfriendly except for one restaurant owner who almost makes me want to go back.


Underrated

Chicago - Went outside the airport for the first time this past spring. One of the cleanest American Cities I have been to. The south side is not pretty but the rest of the city is pretty awesome. Wrigley Field and the bleachers is worth the trip by itself.

Singapore - Crazy rules but one the cleanest and most modern cities ever. Great History and people are awesome. Food is great.

Tokyo - Biased becasue I lived there for 3 years. Almost No crime. People are polite and second to none. They wear masks when they have a cold. Food is awesome. Lots of things to do. Subway system is awesome.

Munich - Lots to do, nicest people in all of Europe. Great Beer and underrated food. Easy to get around.

Dublin - Really great people. Only downfall is that it is skyrocketing in price the last few years. Lots of history. If anyone goes there you must go to St. Michens Church and rub the Crusader for luck

Honorable Mention

Interlaken Switzerland - Not a city by any means but the scenery is awesome. Outdoor capital of Europe and people speak english and just nice people and Its in the alps.

9/27/2007 11:51:46 AM

i know everyone likes the sox and all but no one seems to want to go to boston for boston

and i <3 that city.

9/27/2007 11:54:16 AM

Raleigh is both

depending on who you talk to.

9/27/2007 12:29:51 PM

Quote :

"but when i was there is was still on the krown/koruna. oh praha how i miss thee."

i think this is still the case, no euro yet in the czech republic

i really enjoyed prague, so i don't think it's overrated -- but i would say budapest is underrated as far as those central european cities go

and whoever mentioned denver, i agree -- i liked it a lot more than i thought i would (so i guess i underrated it, but not sure how it 'rates' in general)

9/27/2007 12:35:00 PM

Quote :

"huh? how can you not know if you are having sex or not?"

read the link I provided and see for yourself.
http://www.jamesgunn.com/updates.html#5-1-07

Quote :

"I asked Emma if there wasn't any damage to her body. I mean, how could a woman have that many men enter her without discomfort? And here comes the best part - Emma, a bit shyly, admitted to me that she doesn't really fuck the men. Huh? Emma said the first day she worked here she had actual sex with eight men. She came back the next day, very sore, all torn up inside. She told one of the other girls how much pain she was in, and the girl said to Emma, "Oh, baby, you don't actually do it." That girl taught her how to "fake-fuck." Emma showed me with a dildo. She sits on the man, reverse cowgirl position (her ass toward his face). She takes his penis between her vagina and her hands, forming a sort of fake vagina. And she yells, "Oh, baby, you feel so good!" while she rides him, until he comes. I laughed hard at this. This was a fucked-up job for these women to have, and this gave them at least some little bit of power over the men. Emma seemed to enjoy that I enjoyed her deception. She told me that sometimes she fake blows them as well, where her hair hangs over the proceedings and she uses her hand. "But that is a little more difficult." "What if the guy has a penis that's bigger than your hand?" I asked. "Won't he know? Like me, for instance. I have a very, very, very large penis. It's sad, actually. It's almost freakish." She said she'll look sheepishly at the man and tells him, "I'm sorry, it is too big. I am very small and it will not fit." The men are almost always proud of themselves and their large members, and they never put up an argument. In Emma's two years of fake-fucking, she says she has never once been caught. Frankly, that leads me to believe that most of the guys who have sex in the RLD don't have much experience with women. Shocker. God help me, I feel guilty as hell betraying her secret here. Honestly, Jenna tried to talk me out of it. But I'm thinking few enough people read my blog that it will actually make any substantial difference for the girls of the RLD. May they fake-fuck on "

emphasis added for what I think is the more important part of how it works.

Quote :

"Munich - Lots to do, nicest people in all of Europe. Great Beer and underrated food. Easy to get around."

I agree. I didn't write it because I lived there for a year and didn't want to give a, uhh, bias, but yeah, it's very nice. Now that I think about it, Munich isn't really on the "europe top 10 cities", i.e. it's not a city that's rarely mentioned as a must-see when visiting Europe, like London, paris, rome, venice, berlin, amsterdam, vienna, madrid, etc. But Munich should definitely be on the itinerary of anyone who does any traveling in Europe

[Edited on September 27, 2007 at 12:54 PM. Reason : .]

9/27/2007 12:52:54 PM

I think this just inpspired me to go to Dublin in the next week or two

9/27/2007 1:42:35 PM