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Owensboro is a perfect example of how a town needs interstates to become a city. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do. The annual BBQ festival has a charm all its own and is – hands down – the best BBQ in the world. Truly.

Plus, it’s the home of Jon Brennan, the 1st season Real World country guy. Yehaw.

I loved the subway system, the streets, and Dunkin’ Donuts.

It was also very cold.

Lots of places in Bloomington to drink and/or listen to great music. Hidden HQ of Secretly Canadian.

A friend and I drove past the White House in a moving truck and took pictures while we did.

Then we did it two more times.

It was fun.

AND we took pictures of the subways.

Please don’t kill us secret government organization.

I went here as a kid for vacation a few times. Visited the 1986 World Expo and it was fantastic.

I lived and worked in Chattanooga for several years and have since moved away – but I miss it dearly. Chattanooga is a very unique city that is still developing its own identity. There’s a lot to do in the shiny new downtown/river area.

I have attached a lot of nostalgia to Cleveland that is probably unwarranted. I went to Lee and have fond memories of walking the streets of Cleveland during the fall. I still miss the church bells, which echoed throughout the downtown and campus area.

But other than just hanging out there’s very little to do in Cleveland.

What I remember most about Edmonton are the long summer nights; falling asleep at 11pm with the window open and hearing my parents talk in the background while the sun was still setting.

I also remember going downtown to the river park area, as a kid to the parks and as a near-teen riding the bus through the skyscrapers.

There were lots of things to do in Edmonton besides West Edmonton Mall too.

At first glance Indianapolis is one big suburb intersparsed with malls. But there is an Indianapolis beneath the surface with a rich and interesting history, and with a quickly burgeoning cultural landscape.

It’s no NYC or City of Angels, sure; there’s a lot here that is “behind the times.” If you’re psuedo-intellectual, you might be turned off the small town, seemingly conservative mindset of Indianapolis people. But anyone that says Indy is boring just hasn’t been paying attention.

For example, black factory Indianapolis workers in the seventies created their own funk movement. Monument Circle is one of the most unique urban places in the US, but I’ll leave it to you to find out why. Indianapolis has a strong historic preservation spirit that other cities are just now replicating, and so the city has preserved many precious buildings. The canal,an early 20th century blunder in city planning, is alive with symphonies, joggers, gondolas, and picnicing families during the summer. Eagle Creek on the northwest side is beautiful during the fall – and, believe it or not, almost completely manmade. Although their cumalative effect on the city is certainly debatable, Lilly, the “inventors” of Prozac, have donated millions of dollars to the culture of Indianapolis, including a newly renovated art museum and an excellent Native American museum. The State Fair is a beautiful and greasy testament to rural heritage.

Indianapolis (and Indiana) have long been thought of as boring, since their inception as city and state. But there’s an intrinsic, honest value to commonality, and Indianapolis has it in spades.

Not for the snobby, but if you’re willing to kick back, stop by the Red Key Tavern or Worker’s Friend’s Bar and leave your pretense at the door, you’ll enjoy the city.