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Me and my partner just went to Minneapolis, met a bartender at a pinball bar who wrote us a list of places to check out for the rest of the weekend. this is the best way to do it.
MSPL was actually really cool but i still like NYC better
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Recently I’ve been reading Invisible Cities, a book that presents ideas about all of the little traits and characteristics that combine together to give a city its identity.
It got my friend and me thinking about some of the hidden quirks we’ve noticed around Columbus - and we came to the realization that a vast number of bars south of 5th Ave offer free popcorn, while almost no bars north of 5th do?!?
There is a Great Popcorn Divide in my town and I had no idea until now. Even though this knowledge doesn’t amount to much, it still feels like a fun piece of information that contributes to the identity and experience of living here.
I’m also really curious to know if there are some “invisible cities” that you all have noticed around where you live
Mar 22, 2024
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I feel like a lot of people on here live in NYC, and are therefore biased towards it. So as someone who used to live in Chicago, I feel like I need to give Chicago some love.
First and foremost, its impossible to avoid generalizations when you're dealing with cities full of 2.5+ million people. That being said, Chicago has way less people, so even though it is crowded and packed (big city vibes), it nevertheless rarely feels congested (except the freeways). Chicago is in the midwest, which means despite being a large urban area, it avoids a lot of the pretension and networking that LA and NYC possess. I found it was a lot easier to make genuine connections without feeling like people were constantly weighing you for coolness and clout potential. Chicago is cheaper, and despite being in the midwest, being right by lake Michigan makes it feel like you're on a coast. It was a great transition to the midwest from the west coast for me, slowly weaning me from my reliance on the ocean. Also the coastline where lake michigan meets the city is beautiful, and its a lot of fun to be able to swim off of the boardwalk right at the foot of skyscrapers. Chicago is also home of the skyscraper, and lets be honest, its a major city, and once you get up past 2 million people, you're going to be able to find all the culture and diversity you want (just at less of a premium and with less washed-up/trust fund artists that rely on the distortion of the hype machine). Oh, and Chicago has great food, parks, public transit, etc.
Anyway, I love Chicago. I feel like its often overlooked (vs. NYC and LA) which makes it the best option. In my opinion, both of those other cities are overplayed and overpriced. However, the good news is, with both of these cities as your options, you can't really go wrong.
Mar 9, 2024
you should look up citynerd on youtube, he does lots of top ten lists of primarily NA cities ranking them on various aspects of urbanism, transit, biking and affordability. the one I linked here talks about montreal, dubbed the most European city in north america, and talks about many of the topics mentioned above.
but also and probably more importantly, theres so much of your personal preference to take into account — what kind of climate do you want to live in? large school or small university? will you need to work or find housing to afford it? ease of travel back to your home country? definitely take some time to think about these things and keep them in mind as you research.
best wishes on your journey! hopefully you get some time to travel and see that there are some truly wonderful and vastly varied cities, cultures and people here.
Apr 16, 2024
Top Recs from @nickpal
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It's just, too exhausting
Mar 10, 2024
Made a page on different ways to mix and match ingredients and flavors and have been eating much healthier for my lunches
Feb 27, 2025
If you rent in nyc you probably know that dishwashers are hard to come by. Life was keeping up with handwashing dishes like Sisyphus rolling a boulder up a mountain.
Then I set this up. Takes up the same amount of space as my now replaced drying rack, and easily connects to the sink. It WORKS, Y'ALL. Surprisingly well. Had it for 6 months now and it may be the best purchase I've made so far this decade.
Mar 3, 2025