I am going to try a very difficult exercise here. It's impossible to truly rank cities since each one has its strengths and weaknesses. It's tough to compare Savannah and Atlantic City because one is historical and might be a good place to live while the other is glitzy and a better weekend getaway.
I decided the fairest way to rank them is based on whether or not we would ever want to return based on what we experienced on the trip. That includes food, activities, traffic, people encountered, mood, and other subjective factors. It also includes the surrounding area that you might travel in. I am sure that will distort the rankings since there's no way we can see a city like Miami in a few hours. Still, you can get a "vibe" from a city quickly. We may have seen some of these places on a bad day or visited the wrong things. So, with that in mind, here is the list of cities we could most like to return to based on what we experienced.
This list only includes cities where we actually did something. For example, although we stayed in Florida City, we have no way to evaluate it because we drove to the hotel and left in the morning. Same with a few other stops where I don't feel like we have enough to evaluate.
Would return
6. Wilmington, NC (Really enjoyed the historic downtown)
7. Ocracoke, NC (fun little town with a happy vibe)
8. Charlotte, NC (great livable city)
9. Orlando, FL (solely for Universal Studios although we didn't see Disney/Epcot)
10. Mobile, AL (we may have hit most of the sites, but they are worth another look)
11. Naples, FL (this ultra-rich city was a surprise and pleasant)
12. Harper's Ferry, WV (we ran out of time here, but it looked worth exploring further)
13. Floyd, VA (mostly for the Jamboree, but also to see a nice small town)
14. Jupiter, FL (Erin's favorite beach in the continental United States)
15. Miami, FL (it rained during our visit, but we saw potential)
16. Dutch Country (the festival showed us that we could spend a future weekend seeing the Amish)
Would not return
17. St. Augustine, FL (enjoyed the tour, but we've seen it now)
18. Key West, FL (huge disappointment, but still a fun visit. Wouldn't go all the way back down.)
19. Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia Beach wasn't much and Norfolk is entirely Naval-based.)
20. Myrtle Beach, SC (great regional destination, but too many better options nationally)
21. Atlanta, GA (I go to Atlanta a lot and it never gets better. Too many thugs.)
22. Clearwater, FL (nice for visiting Grandma, but there are better beach towns)
23. Gatlinburg, TN (fun for children, but overly touristy)
24. Everglades City, FL (had a great time, but it's sort of a one-trick town)
25. Marco Island, FL (okay beach destination)
26. Charlottesville, VA (college town, that's about all)
27. Frederick, MD (great history nearby, but we've seen it now)
28. Gainesville, FL (college town, that's mostly all)
29. Tallahassee, FL (interesting capitol, but that's about all)
30. Roanoke, VA (maybe we missed it, but didn't seem to be anything here)
31. Athens, GA (college town, that's all)
32. Auburn, AL (college town, that's all)
33. Daytona Beach, FL (trashy!)
34. Hilton Head, SC (generic family beach destination)
35. Roanoke Island, NC (waste of our time)
36. Allentown, PA (sad place in need of redevelopment, no excitement)
37. Salisbury, MD (one of two cities where we felt unsafe, no breakfast options)
38. Montgomery, AL (felt very unsafe in much of the city, disappointing attractions, problems all around)
Intend to return
5. Asheville, NC
Asheville is the only city that made our top five from the early portion of the trip. It had a nice blend of scenery, historic buildings, and counterculture that made it a fun visit. The food was good and the historic walking tour was interesting. Asheville just seemed like the most livable city in the Appalachians that we visited. It was sort of like Austin in the mountains.
4. Charleston, SC
Charleston has the best preserved downtown of any in the south. The houses are stunning and the city is spectacularly clean. It has substantial history, nice parks, and great food. It's a gem of a city and one we'd like to return to and see more of.
3. Ocean City, MD
Ocean City has the best boardwalk in the United States. It doesn't have huge hotels or casinos, but the boardwalk is still packed and for good reason. Even a few blocks off the boardwalk, the restaurants, shops, and hotels make the area interesting. The sand sculptures, beach, and amusement parks make this a family paradise for all ages. Until Ocean City, I had never seen a real American boardwalk. Coney Island has dwindled and Venice Beach (and all others) don't have the length or width of attractions.
2. Savannah, GA
Savannah immediately became our top city when we visited. Yesterday in the car we both agreed it was the best. The historic district in Savannah is a paradise. The parks, shops, river, and overall feel are majestic. We started looking at real estate prices here to see how much it would cost to move. The theater show was fun and I'm sure the horse drawn carriages are too. Savannah was somewhat of a surprise to us which made it even better. We'd love to go back and explore more of the core that we missed. Of course, I'd love to go back solely for Mrs. Wilkes!
1. Atlantic City, NJ
Here's the big shocker. Atlantic City was an afterthought for us. It just happened to be in the right place between Ocean City and home. I've only heard horrible things about Atlantic City. When we started driving through, it was looking pretty scary. We saw all sorts of scary people and awful buildings. In the end, none of that mattered.
Atlantic City is like Las Vegas, but it's close to home. The Borgata is Vegas-quality and so are Caesar's, the Tropicana, and perhaps others we didn't visit. There's no questions the gambling is good. However, Atlantic City also has a boardwalk. It's not as good as Ocean City, but it's second best and the casinos anchor it. The combination of Vegas and the beach is incredible. Plus you have the lightshow and all the entertainment that the casinos offer. On top of that, there is a Tanger Outlet center right by the major hotels. Atlantic City upgrades the Vegas Strip with a boardwalk!
Sure, the city has problems but not ones you would encounter. The boardwalk is safe at any time and there's no reason to be walking through the public housing far from the hotels at midnight. We found safety concerns completely overblown.
I'm not saying Atlantic City is the best place to live or the best gambling destination in the US, but it is a great place to vacation. The food, indoor entertainment, boardwalk, beach, and interesting people combined to make the last day and night of our trip the most fun of all. It was completely unexpected. I'm already thinking of when would be a good time to take the train back down!
I decided the fairest way to rank them is based on whether or not we would ever want to return based on what we experienced on the trip. That includes food, activities, traffic, people encountered, mood, and other subjective factors. It also includes the surrounding area that you might travel in. I am sure that will distort the rankings since there's no way we can see a city like Miami in a few hours. Still, you can get a "vibe" from a city quickly. We may have seen some of these places on a bad day or visited the wrong things. So, with that in mind, here is the list of cities we could most like to return to based on what we experienced.
This list only includes cities where we actually did something. For example, although we stayed in Florida City, we have no way to evaluate it because we drove to the hotel and left in the morning. Same with a few other stops where I don't feel like we have enough to evaluate.
Would return
6. Wilmington, NC (Really enjoyed the historic downtown)
7. Ocracoke, NC (fun little town with a happy vibe)
8. Charlotte, NC (great livable city)
9. Orlando, FL (solely for Universal Studios although we didn't see Disney/Epcot)
10. Mobile, AL (we may have hit most of the sites, but they are worth another look)
11. Naples, FL (this ultra-rich city was a surprise and pleasant)
12. Harper's Ferry, WV (we ran out of time here, but it looked worth exploring further)
13. Floyd, VA (mostly for the Jamboree, but also to see a nice small town)
14. Jupiter, FL (Erin's favorite beach in the continental United States)
15. Miami, FL (it rained during our visit, but we saw potential)
16. Dutch Country (the festival showed us that we could spend a future weekend seeing the Amish)
Would not return
17. St. Augustine, FL (enjoyed the tour, but we've seen it now)
18. Key West, FL (huge disappointment, but still a fun visit. Wouldn't go all the way back down.)
19. Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA (Virginia Beach wasn't much and Norfolk is entirely Naval-based.)
20. Myrtle Beach, SC (great regional destination, but too many better options nationally)
21. Atlanta, GA (I go to Atlanta a lot and it never gets better. Too many thugs.)
22. Clearwater, FL (nice for visiting Grandma, but there are better beach towns)
23. Gatlinburg, TN (fun for children, but overly touristy)
24. Everglades City, FL (had a great time, but it's sort of a one-trick town)
25. Marco Island, FL (okay beach destination)
26. Charlottesville, VA (college town, that's about all)
27. Frederick, MD (great history nearby, but we've seen it now)
28. Gainesville, FL (college town, that's mostly all)
29. Tallahassee, FL (interesting capitol, but that's about all)
30. Roanoke, VA (maybe we missed it, but didn't seem to be anything here)
31. Athens, GA (college town, that's all)
32. Auburn, AL (college town, that's all)
33. Daytona Beach, FL (trashy!)
34. Hilton Head, SC (generic family beach destination)
35. Roanoke Island, NC (waste of our time)
36. Allentown, PA (sad place in need of redevelopment, no excitement)
37. Salisbury, MD (one of two cities where we felt unsafe, no breakfast options)
38. Montgomery, AL (felt very unsafe in much of the city, disappointing attractions, problems all around)
Intend to return
5. Asheville, NC
Asheville is the only city that made our top five from the early portion of the trip. It had a nice blend of scenery, historic buildings, and counterculture that made it a fun visit. The food was good and the historic walking tour was interesting. Asheville just seemed like the most livable city in the Appalachians that we visited. It was sort of like Austin in the mountains.
4. Charleston, SC
Charleston has the best preserved downtown of any in the south. The houses are stunning and the city is spectacularly clean. It has substantial history, nice parks, and great food. It's a gem of a city and one we'd like to return to and see more of.
3. Ocean City, MD
Ocean City has the best boardwalk in the United States. It doesn't have huge hotels or casinos, but the boardwalk is still packed and for good reason. Even a few blocks off the boardwalk, the restaurants, shops, and hotels make the area interesting. The sand sculptures, beach, and amusement parks make this a family paradise for all ages. Until Ocean City, I had never seen a real American boardwalk. Coney Island has dwindled and Venice Beach (and all others) don't have the length or width of attractions.
2. Savannah, GA
Savannah immediately became our top city when we visited. Yesterday in the car we both agreed it was the best. The historic district in Savannah is a paradise. The parks, shops, river, and overall feel are majestic. We started looking at real estate prices here to see how much it would cost to move. The theater show was fun and I'm sure the horse drawn carriages are too. Savannah was somewhat of a surprise to us which made it even better. We'd love to go back and explore more of the core that we missed. Of course, I'd love to go back solely for Mrs. Wilkes!
1. Atlantic City, NJ
Here's the big shocker. Atlantic City was an afterthought for us. It just happened to be in the right place between Ocean City and home. I've only heard horrible things about Atlantic City. When we started driving through, it was looking pretty scary. We saw all sorts of scary people and awful buildings. In the end, none of that mattered.
Atlantic City is like Las Vegas, but it's close to home. The Borgata is Vegas-quality and so are Caesar's, the Tropicana, and perhaps others we didn't visit. There's no questions the gambling is good. However, Atlantic City also has a boardwalk. It's not as good as Ocean City, but it's second best and the casinos anchor it. The combination of Vegas and the beach is incredible. Plus you have the lightshow and all the entertainment that the casinos offer. On top of that, there is a Tanger Outlet center right by the major hotels. Atlantic City upgrades the Vegas Strip with a boardwalk!
Sure, the city has problems but not ones you would encounter. The boardwalk is safe at any time and there's no reason to be walking through the public housing far from the hotels at midnight. We found safety concerns completely overblown.
I'm not saying Atlantic City is the best place to live or the best gambling destination in the US, but it is a great place to vacation. The food, indoor entertainment, boardwalk, beach, and interesting people combined to make the last day and night of our trip the most fun of all. It was completely unexpected. I'm already thinking of when would be a good time to take the train back down!
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