The 15 Most Underrated Cities in the U.S.

Image via Complex Original

Most underrated feature: The art scene
Most underrated person: All the glamorous old people 
Most underrated moment: Dinah Shore Weekend

Palm Springs is a magical place that is all glistening swimming pools, gossamer desert sunsets, and cocktails at the piano bar a la the rat pack days when locals at the time like Frank Sinatra would hit up glamorous little places like Melvyn’s Restaurant and Lounge. If you are so inclined, Palm Springs is also home to the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Broadway-caliber musicals at The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, and some of the coolest boutique hotels ever, like The Ace and The Parker Palm Springs.

There’s golfing everywhere, peyote-inspired hikes in nearby Joshua Tree, gambling a short drive away, and thrift stores full of clothing from old rich people who have no idea what that vintage Chanel is worth. Not to mention that Coachella Music Festival is close by, the demographic is incredibly gay-friendly, and there’s lots of mid-century modern eye candy.

And, with the dry heat and 332 sunny days a year, you basically never need to stop wearing a bathing suit, or, in general, ever move from under your sun umbrella.

Most underrated feature: The vortexes 
Most underrated person: Israel Regardie, Aleister Crowley's secretary 
Most underrated moment: Sedona UFO Sky Tours 

Why live in your wall-to-wall carpet prison of an apartment when you can live in an energy vortex surrounded by crimson-hued rocks and turqouise-donning hippies that can align your chakras on the side of the road? If you're a spiritualist, into the metaphysical, or just want to make a quick buck off the gullible, Sedona is the place. 

Sedona is often seen as spiritual refuge for those looking for enlightenment (or an escape from alien abduction) and the newfound appeal has bolstered the tourism numbers to the millions every summer, which is a lot for a city with a mere 10,063 residents. Ten years ago, USA Today called Sedona "the most beautiful place on earth," some gurus went public with its positive energy, and then, the New York Times wrote a piece on the once-desolate city where Hollywood filmed old westerns. Then, in came the swarms.

The job market there isn't anything exciting, but that's not the point. Young artists and seekers can move to Sedona to check out from the world—or just visit a vortex or two before working on their great American novel under the desert stars. 

Most underrated feature: Snow (not the cocaine kind)
Most underrated person: Robert Redford
Most underrated moment: Sundance Film Festival 

If you're part of the wealthy elite, owning a sprawling mansion in Malibu or a spendy apartment on the Upper East Side is totally passé. Hop on a plane, and in a few hours time, you could be knee-deep in white or gallivanting with celebs of all kinds on Park City's Main Street. Originally a mining town built around the a giant vein of silver ore, Park City went from being one of the most productive silver towns in the world to being one of the most renowned places for lovers of the silver screen to gather during the Sundance Film Festival. Although the population of Park City is a mere 7,500, more than 50,000 people attend the film festival every year. It's not just about movies—it's about the epic partying, too.

Because of the increase in commerce (thanks to rich artistic folks) and its central location between metropolitan cities, Park City has become a powdery playground for the glitterati that contributes an average of $529,800,000 a year to Utah.

Because the economy there is still growing (albeit, exponentially) and focused around the upper class, Park City is a great place for a young boutique or restaurant owner (foodies love Park City) to cash in on the seasonal stimulation, free transit, and a mostly relaxed lifestyle centered around mild summers, sexy star-studded winters, and great, great potential. 

Most underrated feature: The bad economy 
Most underrated person: Musicians of yesteryear from the area
Most underrated moment: Motown 

Detroit is going through a tough time right now with its Chapter 9 bankruptcy issues and general couple of decades full of obstacles and hardships. But, there are still remnants of what a great city Detroit used to be that point towards all the potential it could have again. There's Detroit's historically amazing music scene that started during the Roaring '20s in the Black Bottom district of town with jazz and blues artists like Dule Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and John Lee Hooker. Later came the world-famous gospel style soul singers like Aretha Franklin and the Queen of Pop, Madonna. The rock scene was also huge with diverse artists ranging from Alice Cooper and MC5 to the White Stripes.

Sure, the unemployment rate is about 16.3% (which is drastically higher than most cities) and poverty-related crime is more common than usual, but Detroit was once a great city, considered as important as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It's going through a period of flux and revitalisation, one that is seeing urban areas being turned into art spaces by places like the Heidelberg Art Project. And, you can buy a multi-family home for a little less than $30,000 that would be perfect for a young, touring musician trying to make money whilst living cheaply in an inspiring music city. If it's good enough for Danny Brown, it's good enough for us.

Most underrated feature: Equality 
Most underrated person: Sojourner Truth 
Most underrated moment: Everything 

Girl-on-girl action in a lush, serene part of Massachusetts surrounded by liberal, artistic academia and forward thinkers is the order of the day in Northampton, Massachusetts. While neighboring Boston about two hours away gets all the street cred for its historical prowess, Northampton has made history recently by being the city in United States with the most lesbian couples per capita of any city in the United —and it's been that way for a long time. With a population of 28,549, Northampton is small but it has more powerhouses of intellectual and cultural progress in a few square miles than some states in their totality.

Since even before its incorporation in 1884, Northampton was a pretty understanding place for many different types of people. Although they had witch trails, they apparently didn't kill any of them. During the 1840s, Northampton was deemed the "Paradise of America" partially because it housed the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, which was a group of people that believed in equal rights for everyone. Smith College—the iconic learning place for many women including Sylvia Plath and Gloria Steinam—is in Northampton. 

But it's also the perfect place for young professionals and familie,  with the Connecticut River and the Holyoke Mountain range providing traditional New England charm in a place that has been voted both the #1 place for retirees by the New York Times and best underrated college town.

Most underrated feature: The history 
Most underrated person: King Philip of Spain 
Most underrated moment: Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

It’s more than just meth labs and old people. Fetishizing Walter from Breaking Bad’s life is a Twitter trend, but the beautiful burnt umber backdrop of Albuquerque was once home to super religious Spanish explorers in the mid-1500s. They left their churches, adobe pueblas, and a general sense of history that most places west of the Mississippi River don’t possesses.

The Old Town city center still boasts the San Felipe De Neri Church and a kind of organic culture around the gorgeous Rio Grande River (which has been the subject of cowboy songs for centuries). Although Albuquerque is considered a great place to retire, any artistic up-and-coming professional can utilize the 280 day average of sunny days complete with dry heat (great for most painting) and incredibly low income and property taxes to create a colony of potential in their own cheaply priced adobe.

Albuquerque also has incredible ethnic diversity, with the University of New Mexico boasting one of the largest amounts of Hispanic and Native American students and faculty in the country. So, you can chill on the cheap in the desert surrounded by nature and history, or you can blow up some RVs with your mobile meth lab. You choose.

Most underrated feature: All the parts that aren't crime-ridden
Most underrated person: Keyshia Cole
Most underrated moment: Black Panther Party Movement 

Can't afford to live with the tech-savvy hipsters in San Francisco or don't want to be accousted by the leather-hating hippies in Berkley? Move to Oakland. Oaktown gets a bad rap through the media for being rife with crime, urban struggles, and crack pipes shattered through industrial neighborhoods, but "the flatlands" are actually a perfect mixture of culture, convenience, and intoxicating chaos that only a city like Oakland can deliver.

Want to move to the Bay Area but hate the foggy weather in San Francisco? Move to Oakland. The weather there is decidedly Mediterranean, with a lot more available sunshine. The average temperature in Oakland in July is 74 degrees; San Francisco's is a chilly 70 degrees. When all you're craving is a little soul-nourishing sunlight, Oakland's got it. There's also way more available parking while also having convenient access to the BART, major chain stores to shop from if you want to bulk up at places like Target, and lots and lots of artists.

If it's culture you seek, there's not only art plastered all over the walls and through the streets, but monthly gatherings like Oakland Art Murmur and the highly-touted California College of the Arts. As the center of many musical icons and movements like Tupac Shakur and hyphy, music tech companies like Pandora, and plenty of West Coast rap drama to go around the entire state, Oakland is also a musical mecca for up-and-coming hip-hop artists. Wanna learn from the greats without breaking the bank? Hustle and flow on the streets of Oaktown.

Most underrated feature: Maple syrup
Most underrated person: L.L. Bean
Most underrated moment: DGAF fleece wearing 

For years, there has been an epic battle between the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic Northeast. But, let's just get one thing straight right away: Both Portland's are awesome places to live. One of them just has better lobster rolls and a more low-key vibe on the living scale, and that's Portland in Maine. While Oregon's Portland draws in the hipsters, Portland in Maine is all about that local love.

What was once just a seaside industrial town with a salty sailor vibe now has a blossoming downtown juxtaposed with gorgeous lighthouse action. The cities seal is a phoenix rising from the ashes, which is perfect for a city that is populated at 66,214—a 3% growth from 2000. That's because young people with big dreams of settling down someplace cozy and homey (but also cosmopolitan) are moving to Portland from places like Boston and New York in hopes of creating their own city. There's an art scene with the First Friday Art Walk and the Portland Museum, tons of cool coffee shops like Arabica (which puts maple syrup in some of their specialized lattes), and Peaks Island, which is an even more remote and quaint refuge from the daily drone of life.

If you can't just hike and drink coffee all day (ie: are not a freelance writer), jobs in Portland aren't just limited to charming bed and breakfasts or bait shops. Portland is the economic center of Maine and has a buzzing food scene; it even got voted America's Foodiest Small Town in 2009 from Bon Appétit magazine. Or, you could further your fashion career at L.L.Bean. OK, maybe that's an overstatement, but we can get behind a town that considers wearing monogrammed fleece everyday acceptable.

Most underrated feature: The rivers
Most underrated person: Marilyn Chambers
Most underrated moment: WaterFire

Quaint towns on the East Coast are bastions for sappy romance, with their antique shabby chic frippery and old-school traditions, but Providence stands out from the rest for a few important reasons. The first is that this historical beachfront town was voted for Travel + Leisure readers as the best place to get a burger in the United States. Considering the hamburger is an all-American tradition, these are huge accolades from a nation of meat lovers.

Thankfully for our cholesterol levels, Providence also has the intrinsic natural beauty of the North East running throughout it including the phenomenal Riverwalk, Venice-style gondolas, and nature trails. And even though this Rhode Island capital only has about 182,042 people, it has a Little Italy like any self-respecting city should.

In 2009, Providence rebranded itself the “Creative Capital,” probably to distract from the high unemployment rates, but the eye-catching city does have tons of museums and art exhibits including the illuminating WaterFire. Because, who doesn’t love breaking the laws of the universe and fusing two disparate elements together?

Most underrated feature: The ghosts 
Most underrated person: Samuel Maverick, the guy "maverick" was named after
Most underrated moment: Lowcountry Oyster Festival

When you look at Charleston’s skyline, the first thing you see are the church steeples peeking up over the other buildings. Deemed the Holy City for this very reason, Charleston is a glorious step back into time with cobblestone streets, ancient buildings decaying prettily in the ocean breeze, pristine cerulean waters, rows of rainbow houses, and lots of firsts and bests.

Considered one of the oldest settlements in the United States, Charleston has been around since about 1670. Its musuem, The Charleston Museum, claims to be the first museum in America, while the iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is the longest cable-stayed bridge. Despite negative -isms of all sorts (like racism and sexism) still being tragically prevalent in the south, Charleston had one of the largest and most prominent Jewish communities in the country until about about 1830.

This open-hearted attitude still rings true today. In a Conde Nast Reader’s Choice poll, Charleston was rated the top city in the United States, scoring a shocking 91.5 percent in friendliness. Does that mean people actually smile at each other when they pass each other on the street? Weird.

Most underrated feature: Far away from the maddening fray
Most underrated person: Shakespeare
Most underrated moment: Oregon Shakespeare Festival 

The dream of the ‘90s might be alive in Portland, but the dream of the The Elizabethan Age is alive in Ashland. Enveloped between two mountain ranges in a serene patch of green just 15 miles north of the California border, Ashland is the perfect place for theatre geek time-travelers who want to live in a tiny city with a population of a mere 20,255.

Don’t know your neighbors in the great garbage-infested urban hub you call home? Well, get ready to cozy up to some sweater-donning hottie that you meet at the dog trail in Lithia Park (where you can sip on the medicinal waters) or at the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival. For your date, you can take her to one of 80-something vineyards in the surrounding areas or to the Oregon Cabaret Theatre for all that jazz.

The greatest part of Ashland’s quaint allure is its lack of proximity to just about every major city. Portland is about 300 miles away; so is San Francisco. This out-of-the-way charm keeps tourists out (except for the 100,000 that come for the Shakespeare Festival) and keeps the good vibes in.

From day one, this city even designed its downtown to service people and their needs, including Main Street being open to bikers and big box companies like Target and Wal-Mart being iced out of the economy in favor of greener mom-and-pop stores. Just like in Shakespeare’s age.

Most underrated feature: The music scene 
Most underrated person: Bob Moog
Most underrated moment: The breeze on a quiet Sunday morning 

Don't forget your smudge stick and your grounding crystals. Asheville is a bohemian paradise nestled in between the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and called home by blueblood Southerners turned aging hippies, raggamuffin young artists trying to create without giving up their quality of life, bearded mountain men, and entrepreneurial moonshiners.

Asheville's downtown is likened to Paris because of the Art Deco, and European-style buildings and coffee houses that pepper the streets. In fact, Asheville might be getting the misunderstood drippings from Nashville and Memphis. Some of the greatest, strangest music is made in Asheville; synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog even lived in Asheville until he died, and there's an electronic music festival, Moogfest, named in his honor.

Of course, there couldn't be music without alcohol, and Asheville isn't nicknamed Beer City, USA for nothing. All of the wayward hipsters that move to Asheville love to sit in their flannels and make microbrews; there's even a Brews Cruise you can take to experience much of what Asheville has to offer.

The hamlet of a city, compared to Los Angeles and New York, only clocks in at 84,458, but the population is rapidly growing as the city is continuously listed as one of the most beautiful places to visit in the country. Prices are so low on real estate that you could actually purchase a house while in your mid-20s and pay the same as you do for a NYC rental. Take this two bedroom cottage in the "heart of Asheville." It's quirky, charming and perfect for a young couple—and only $175,000.

Despite the artistic climate in Asheville, most full-time gigs are in the medical field or tourism, but if you come with a plan and an artistic vision, you might be able to pick up work while doing your own thing. Hollywood likes to film in Asheville, with one of its most recent adventures being the blockbuster hit The Hunger Games.

Most underrated feature: The job market 
Most underrated person: Allen Ginsberg, for co-founding the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute 
Most underrated moment: Stephen King wrote The Shining while living here in 1974

Want to get high? You can accomplish that at prime elevation in Boulder. On the Front Range of the Rockies, Boulder is a sportman’s paradise with 45,000 acres of open recreational space for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, or doing mushrooms. 60 urban parks, 300 miles of bike paths, and a dog-friendly atmosphere that means man’s best friend isn’t left to his pee-pee pad.

Boulder isn’t just for the jocks and the hippies, though. Nerds and liberal capitalists fit in well, too. Boulder was created on the backs of the ever-alluring promise of the magic dollar in 1858 as a gold-mining town and is dubbed the Silicon Valley of the Rockies; the 294,567 resident city is one of the most technologically progressive cities in Colorado, let alone the country as a whole. Think granola-crunching hippies with a lot of hashtag dollars to burn.

In 2010, a mere 11 tech start-ups in the area raised $57 million from venture capital-—all in the first three months of the year. While the rich Republicans might be chopping up white lines before skiing the white in other parts of Colorado, the climate in Boulder is freshed-faced, socially-conscious entrepreneurs and cool young people. Much of Boulder’s demographic moved there from places like New York City and San Francisco for a more healthful life (while still making bank) although some come from the number three ranked party school, University of Colorado, Boulder.

And college students in Boulder can get high without getting hassled by cops or even being medical; recreational marijuana was recently made legal, giving Colorado the title of the “New Amsterdam.”

Most underrated feature: The colleges
Most underrated person: Gertrude Stein 
Most underrated moment: Dance Moms 

Are you an adult in arrested development that misses college life but doesn't want to regress back to eating ketchup on a tortilla or popping Adderall to pull all nighters? Look no further than historic party town Pittsburgh. Glorious and green, gorgeously-appointed and full of modern life conveniences (thanks to the old-school steel mill culture turned urban hub) Pittsburgh is basically one huge college town thanks to the 65 colleges and universities situated here, including University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne University.

Where there are colleges, there are dedicated programs around the arts and sciences: Pittburgh has a professional ballet company called the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In fact, Pittsburgh has an entire Cultural District that went from a shady area of disrepair to an artistic hub complete with six theatres and a plethora of shops.

But if bro'ing down over some ballet slippers isn't appealing, Pittsburgh also has what many major cities lack—an awesome football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Former Pittsburgh resident, Wiz Khalifa, dedicated his first hit song, "Black and Yellow," to the fair city and his favorite team. Sporting News even called Pittsburgh the Best Sporting City of 2009.

Art, athleticism, economic viability, and attention to detail have made many studies and publications, such as Forbes, hail Pittsburgh as one of the most liveable cities in the United States. And, we couldn't agree more.

Most underrated feature: Everything 
Most underrated person: Everyone 
Most underrated moment: All moments

Chicago is like Jay Z before his public friendship with Kanye West or his Samsung deal in that everyone knew how dope he was, but respected his privacy and low-key attitude. Major hip-hop artists would constantly be getting into Twitter fights, like the way we do over when arguing over New York versus Los Angeles, but Jay Z never got in the middle of it all. Jay Z just chilled with Beyoncé and made mad bank.

Chicago is the same. In the comments of city-oriented lists, loyal Midwesterners always throw in a kind reminde: "What about Chicago?" And, it's true. We often forget about Chicago because it's not full of drama. But the city that spawned Kanye West also gave us electrified Chicago blues, deep dish pizza (arguably better than New York's thin crust), sports teams that put Los Angeles' athletic insouciance to shame, and the breeding ground for President Obama. Many people compare Chicago to New York, because it has those big city metropolitan vibes, but the differences in core principles are vast. And, we mean that in a good way.

People here are really nice—even Chicago's mayor Rahm Emanuel is willing to vouch for that. It's also easier to live here, both financially and because of the laid-back quality of life. The fact that this beautiful Bucktown loft is $1695 is likely due to Chicago having 2.7 million residents in about 227 square miles, whereas cities like New York have twice the population density with 8.2 million people living on top of each other in 304 square miles.

Finally, Chicago is central to everything. You can hop on a plane and get to New York or ride a train down to New Orleans, no problem. There isn't any disparate bicoastal nonsense. Chicago represents all the people, all the ways of life, and deep dish pizza. Never forget the pizza.