S/O: What is the most unexpectedly lovely U.S. town you’ve ever visited?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boise, Idaho. So clean and beautiful - tons of restaurants downtown, clean walkable streets, fresh air, cute neighborhoods. Loved it.

Yes! I was surprised at how much I liked Boise. Same with Helena, Montana.

I'm also completely in love with Woodstock, Vermont.

[Anonymous]

Montpelier Vermont. Cute little downtown hotel and everything is walkable. Go out to dinner, have a few drinks and walk her me! Cute shops too!

[Anonymous]

I adore tarpon springs Florida. Everybody is Greek and the food is awesome and they dive for sponges! Adorable shops. And my husband and I have always joked about how we couldn’t run for office because we have completely unpronounceable names that you couldn’t put on an election sign, but we happened to be in this town during election season and everyone running had an unpronounceable Greek name, first and last. God bless america, land of immigrants!!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Charlevoix, Michigan. It was unexpectedly charming with big, historic homes, lush gardens, beautiful beach, and just lovely all the way around. It came as a complete surprise to us when we were there for a day.

that whole area in Michigan is just delightful.

It is delightful for about four months a year. We actually considered moving there, but in addition to the winter weather, the schools are mediocre and there’s very little sports competition because population is so sparse compared to major metro suburbs. You have to drive 3-5 hours south each and every time you want to play real competition. Nonstarter for most competitive families.

Yeah...you wouldn't fit in there. We are having a family reunion near Traverse City this month and I can't wait!!! The temperatures are the same as the Real Feel! It will be a great change from this swampy BS.

Shhhhh! Don't tell anyone about how great...er, I mean terrible...it is up north!

OPE! I mean it's really bad uh....something something flyover? Uh.....maybe low class? Certainly not beautiful countryside and nice people!!! (The DC snobs hate flyover and low class so I think I covered up pretty well!!)

[Anonymous]

Can I just pick NH towns in general?

[Anonymous]

Whitefish Bay, WI- feels like a Norman Rockwell painting. Beautiful suburb on Lake Michigan. Leafy streets with charming old homes.

Sarasota, FL- sort of artsy, old Florida vibes. Very pretty.

Clayton, MO- gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous suburb of St. Louis. Beautiful houses, awesome restaurants, universities, very leafy.

Omaha- best zoo I've ever been to. Really clean, family friendly city.

Too many quaint towns in VT and NH to list.

[Anonymous]

Lancaster, PA. I was there recently for a soccer tournament and it was unexpectedly lovely. It's certainly not one of the loveliest towns I've ever visited - and probably not a place I would make a special trip to see again - but it far exceeded my (admittedly low) expectations and I think that's the point of this thread.

We stayed downtown, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were tons of (quite good) restaurants to walk to. There were also lots of people out and about and that gave it a vibrant feel. And the Central Market (apparently America's oldest farmer's market) was terrific. I suspect that the outer areas of Lancaster are probably not nearly as charming, but the downtown area was very nice. I'd certainly be happy to go back for another soccer tournament (and probably will!).

Some of the towns mentioned here are unquestionably lovely (to me, at least), and definitely exceed the charms of Lancaster, PA. But I fully expected them to be so charming. For example, Whitefish, MT; Sedona, AZ; Hanalei, HI; and Durango, CO. So, I'd file those under "lovely" but not "unexpectedly lovely." I'm definitely making a note of many of the other towns mentioned here, though!

[Anonymous]

New Bern, NC

[Anonymous]

Milford, PA. Booked a package for dinner and a night in Hotel Fauchere. So worth it.