What is your state capital like?
Posted by bricklegos@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 746 comments
Asking because as a foreigner a lot of American state capitals feel very obscure compared to the largest cities in the state. Do Americans actually care about their state capitals?
SpaceFroggy1031@reddit
Santa Fe. It's the prettiest city in the state.
Express_Barnacle_174@reddit
Columbus was pickedin Ohio because neither Cleveland nor Cincinnati (both of which were powerful cities in the 1800's due to location) wanted the other to be the capital. So they went with something inbetween.
Durham1988@reddit
And now I'd by far rather live in Columbus than either Cleveland or Cincinnati
UseMuted5000@reddit
I’ll give you Cleveland every time but I’d rather be in Cinci I think
Worstmodonreddit@reddit
Theres a lot wrong with this statement.
Columbus was settled to be the state capital, it wasn't picked. And it wasn't the first choice (both Chillicothe and Zanesville were capitals ) it was chosen bc it was central in the Ohio territory long before Cleveland and Cincy were powerful.
crispynarwhal@reddit
And because it was on a good transport location when rivers were a major way of moving things.
Worstmodonreddit@reddit
No. Columbus doesn't have a river big enough for commerce. They had to damn it to make it bigger for aesthetics in the first place.
crispynarwhal@reddit
They did in 1816.
Worstmodonreddit@reddit
Do you have a citation for that? It's bigger now than at that time due to run off from development and it dries up in certain locations in the summer.
I could see that happening in Portsmouth but I have a hard time seeing that be the case in Columbus.
crispynarwhal@reddit
Nope. I used to work at the Historical Center but it's been more than a minute ago. You could probably look it up if you're really invested in proving me wrong. I could be. It happens occasionally.
Worstmodonreddit@reddit
I looked it up and can't find any source that says this and that's not something I've ever read before. Columbus doesn't have a historical center - the state does but I don't recall ever seeing this on an exhibit. At least not about Columbus, maybe the first capital Chillicothe as the river is wider down there.
CockroachNo2540@reddit
Columbus was a bit like Austin, sleepy government/university town that got really big, really fast in the late 20th Century. Austin’s driver was tech; I’m not sure what drove Columbus’ growth, but Wexner’s retail empire probably didn’t hurt.
milliemargo@reddit
I go there for the hospital system
crispynarwhal@reddit
Ohio State, Battelle, the American Chemical Society/Chem Ab, and all the research centers. Honda moving there didn't hurt, and Wexner didn't either, but the big driver was the research boom that started slowly in the seventies and eighties, then took off.
Different-Life-4231@reddit
Columbus Ohio is a big city that feels like a small town. It's a very diverse city, LGBTQ friendly. Lots of eateries big and small. Shopping on both ends of the scale. Lots of local sports. Weather can change 40 degrees in one day. LCOL. And if you can't find what you want here (music scene only so so) you're only 2 hours from big name entertainment. The thing about Columbus is if you come here you will find your tribe.
theoldman-1313@reddit
I used to live south of Columbus and I also was struck by the similarities to Austin (my home town).
HotCommission7325@reddit
Juneau is a really nice small town, I love it. It’s incredibly expensive though
DocTeeBee@reddit
I grew up in Anchorage. I have never once set foot in Juneau. But I am visiting this summer because I've always wanted to see it. I think it blows peoples' minds in the lower 48 how few Alaskans have probably been to Juneau. It's not the type of town that Anchorage kids will go to on a field trip. I imagine that the kids who do sports may be more likely to get to Juneau than I was.
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
We were in Alaska when my daughter was seven. At one point she asked a tour director, “Juneau what the capital of Alaska is?” it took the woman a second to get it. (obviously, this works better out loud.)
aoeuismyhomekeys@reddit
The best eggs Benedict I ever had was in Alaska. There really is no place like Nome for the hollandaise.
PalpitationNo3106@reddit
I prefer the truckstop version on hubcaps. There’s no plate like chrome…
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
What is different about it? Different ingredients?
Mushysandwich82@reddit
Better ingredients. Better eggs.
aoeuismyhomekeys@reddit
This was a pun on the phrase "there's no place like home for the holidays"
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
Sorry I missed it. It's still early and I'm not feeling great so strolling through Reddit.
TemperMe@reddit
lol you missing the joke somehow made this whole thing even funnier. Gotta love a joke that’s so corny the joke can be missed.
tangouniform2020@reddit
Did Delaware Mississippi’s New Jersey? Idaho, Alaska.
back-better007@reddit
Oof that’s an oldie
tabisaurus86@reddit
😆
Snoo_16677@reddit
Buh dump bump. Chhhhh.
sdega315@reddit
There's three ways to get to Juneau: by air, by sea, or by birth canal.
BZ2USvets81@reddit
I was on a bus tour in Juneau last August and the driver told that joke. It was the first time I had heard it.
sdega315@reddit
Probably the same tour guide I heard it from. 😂
BZ2USvets81@reddit
Could be. Where in Maryland are you? I'm in Calvert County.
Adorable_Dust3799@reddit
I have a long time game friend in calvert county. I only know because my FB feed keeps popping on suggestions and events.
sdega315@reddit
We live in MoCo. We did an Alaskan cruise in 2018. Port stops in Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.
BZ2USvets81@reddit
We have been on two. One in 22 and then again last August.
tabisaurus86@reddit
Fellow Alaskan (well, former) here. I love Juneau. I commercial fished for over a decade, too, and Auke Bay was always my favorite spot.
21schmoe@reddit
Juneau is adorable.
Non-Normal_Vectors@reddit
I was in Juneau in 86, seemed like a decent place. It's not really convenient for the rest of the state, though, is it?
HotCommission7325@reddit
Yep, gotta go by plane or boat. No road access to Juneau so it’s a bit annoying to get there. That’s part of why it’s so expensive.
Non-Normal_Vectors@reddit
I went by boat. Big boat. With relatively little guns (5")
esk_209@reddit
I lived in Anchorage for 20 years, but I had the benefit of working at the university in Juneau a few times (running weekend classes, not long-term). I absolutely loved it, and there are times when I still think about those pelmenis. Please tell me the pelmeni place is still open?
redsyrinx2112@reddit
It is still open! My brother and I were just there in January. It was delicious!
OrcaFins@reddit
Flying in is thrilling, if you like that sort of thing.
Yggdrasil-@reddit
Coolest experience of my life was a glacier tour on a little 12-seater plane out of Juneau. The aerial views in that area are just spectacular.
44035@reddit
Lansing isn't much to write home about.
PuzzledCustard@reddit
Good coffee, good street art, generally excellent food scene.
TheKiddIncident@reddit
For CA, it's Sacramento. As a native San Franciscan, I can tell you we will go to great lengths to avoid going to Sacramento. Sacramento isn't "small", it is about 500,000 people. But that's tiny compared to Los Angeles, San Francisco or even San Jose.
It is a bit strange, but yes, state capitols are often boring towns that you don't want to go to.
Cali_Anne@reddit
We’ve had floods of people from San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley moving here in the last few years, including wealthy and stylish ones gasp. I agree with you obviously that SF is cooler than Sacramento, but it’s apparently no longer true that Bay Area folks snub us for life.
TheKiddIncident@reddit
Yes, sorry. Re-reading that comment I was being pretty bitchy. Sorry about that. Was just being silly and over the top.
Cali_Anne@reddit
Thanks for the apology! Totally unexpected on Reddit so even more appreciated.
Skete_5959@reddit
Our capital is Hartford. It used to be one of the richest places in the world and suffered a heavy setback in previous years. It is recovering, and has become a nice enough place to visit and live.
That being said it is not the cultural center of our state. Financial, yes, but I don’t take foreign visitors there on tours.
throwawayCTserving@reddit
Hartford basically shuts down once the 9-5ers head home to the ‘burbs. And until recently possibly the only capital with no bookstore. Great art museum though.
Shadow_Lass38@reddit
Atlanta has had no bookstores in the 40 years I've been living here. Not downtown, anyway. No department stores since Richs and Davisons closed. Total bore unless you're there for a convention or want to go to the Hard Rock Cafe.
danodan1@reddit
So, Barnes and Noble avoided putting a store in Atlanta.
Shadow_Lass38@reddit
Not downtown. It's in Buckhead, which I don't count as downtown.
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
Any time I have been to Hartford I haven't found anything to do there. I was told the other side of Hartford has more stuff to do.
ashsolomon1@reddit
New Haven is probably Connecticuts best example of a city with stuff to do. New Haven used to be a not so great place to be, but they’ve exploded with development and it’s become a much better place to visit, still has some work to do tho
bluejay1185@reddit
Lots of meth and high rent. Salem Or
ma-chan@reddit
How do you pronounce the capitol of Kentucky? Lewisville, or Loueeville?
Norwester77@reddit
It’s one of the smaller state capitals relative to its state’s population, but Olympia, Washington (my hometown) is one of the oldest Euro-American settlements in the state—older than Seattle, Tacoma, or Spokane—and is the only capital Washington has ever had, as a territory or a state.
It’s a small port city (approaching 60,000 in a county of 300,000), located at the southern tip of Puget Sound. It has a traditional downtown core with waterfront amenities and a large farmer’s market. There are a couple of large woodland parks inside the city.
It’s close to the Olympic Peninsula and within 100 km of the larger cities of Tacoma and Seattle but set off from them by a large military base and a wildlife refuge covering the delta of the Nisqually River.
The Capitol is in traditional domed style, constructed from local sandstone, and sits on extensive grounds, prominently located in the center of town on a bluff overlooking an artificial lake at the mouth of the Deschutes River.
Chester_Allman@reddit
I also grew up in Olympia! Another notable thing about it is that the presence of the Evergreen State College and a pretty strong indie music scene give the town a cool, artsy, alternative vibe. Olympia has fun dive bars, scrappy little music venues, independent coffee shops, local theater companies, and so on. It’s always been a funny culture clash with the culture of lobbyists and legislators up around the Capitol.
At least, that’s the Olympia I grew up with. I moved away many years ago and I only get back every couple years, so maybe it’s changing, but it still seems pretty charming to me when I do visit.
SexysNotWorking@reddit
Olympia is such a pretty city!
braves-geek@reddit
Montgomery is the worst
_RomeoEchoDelta_@reddit
Jackson, MS would like to have a word.
Joke aside, Jackson and Montgomery are both 2 of the worst I've been to.
danodan1@reddit
What is the matter? Are most of the neighborhood ghettos? In my town in Oklahoma this wouldn't be allowed. If you keep refusing to fix up your old house into livable condition, then eventually the town will tear it down.
1nfam0us@reddit
Generally state capitols are not the largest cities in the region because there is something of a belief that the place of governance should be neutral. Unlike in Europe where the biggest cities are the capitol often specifically because those cities are capable of leveraging outsized military and economic power. The US specifically rejects this notion of power. To put it another way, power should not be worshiped (Although that seems to be changing, but I digress.)
My state Capitol, in Oregon, is Salem. It's an okay place and far from the worst that Oregon has to offer, but people who aren't from there or aren't in the government have very little reason to visit. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Neat_Shallot_606@reddit
Salem is super meh.
danodan1@reddit
In other words, Salem is far, far more boring of a place to try to live in than the state capital of Oklahoma, which is in Oklahoma City.
RolandDeepson@reddit
That's what my dad smoked.
Trimyr@reddit
For a second I thought he smoked Super Meh, and thought 'maybe it was an early 70's thing?, cause I've never heard of that strain'
DO_its@reddit
It was the most OK-est strain
Trimyr@reddit
:D
"Listen. If you two have been smoking marijuana I'm going have to take you to the principle's office while some Tears For Fears plays in the background.
(slight simultaneous shrugs)
"Meh, I'm good with that."
"Super."
1nfam0us@reddit
Breaking Good Enough
1nfam0us@reddit
Must be from the Oregon coast.
Neat_Shallot_606@reddit
Newberg. Grew up on the East side of Portland. Salem has all the problems of a big city and none of the benefits.
Boopa0011@reddit
The thing that is interested about Salem is that there is another city an hour away, Eugene, that is almost exactly the same size and yet has way, way, way more going on. Relatively speaking anyway.
theimmortalgoon@reddit
Salem, Oregon was also where the Protestant evangelist Jason Lee set up shop.
Being an American project, moving things from Oregon City, where the British Catholic and father of Oregon John McLaughlin set up shop was a statement of purpose after the Cayuse and other wars that were, at the time, seen as stemming from indigenous adherence to the despotic Catholic faith.
monettegia@reddit
Plus he killed it in Mallrats
After_Invite1464@reddit
Went to Willamette for a year. Salem is exactly how you picture it.
AndrasKrigare@reddit
I'm gonna need a source for that, because it sounds a lot like a post-hoc explanation to align with your beliefs.
What I think is much more likely is that we are a relatively young country, with even younger states, that formed shortly before a lot of major technological and economic changes.
Particular further out west, many state capitols were often the first large city, the city that was largest at the time the territory applied for statehood (which they were incentivized to do sooner rather than later). In some instances, that city continued to be the economic hub and stayed the major city. In other instances, other cities outgrew them, for a variety of reasons.
It's not like we just chose the capitols a few years ago after all the cities are in their modern forms.
SnooChipmunks2079@reddit
At least in Illinois, Springfield is the third capital. It became the capital because Lincoln and friends lobbied for the change and succeeded.
In a quirk of geography, the first capital, Kaskaskia, is now on the west side of the Mississippi River. The river moved in 1881, which was pretty destructive to the town.
AndrasKrigare@reddit
Looking at the Illinois website, that move happened just 20 years after Illinois became a state, so still very early on and the same year Chicago became incorporated as a city. The stated reasoning was to put the capital in the center of the state (possibly to make it easiest for citizens to visit as transportation was still difficult at the time). Which doesn't support the "we don't worship power, so we put capitals away from major cities except where we don't."
No-Contact6664@reddit
Teaching moment: Capital is a place. Capitol is a building.
Salem is the capital.
1nfam0us@reddit
I literally always confuse them because capital can also mean financial assets. It's super annoying. Thank you.
No-Contact6664@reddit
I don't want to be a dick about it but I like when people know so they look wicked smart to these heathens asking questions.
salamanderinacan@reddit
No clue where you got that idea. Detroit wasn't chosen as the Capitol of Michigan because it was across the river from Canada and the fort there was captured in the war of 1812. They chose a Capitol that was safer.
nwbrown@reddit
I don't think you can make that generalization. Many states have their capitals in the largest city (Arizona, Massachusetts, Georgia, etc) or the city that was historically the largest (Virginia).
JudgeWhoOverrules@reddit
When Phoenix was made the Capitol (It wasn't originally as a territory) it wasn't the largest city, it was just central to all the economic interests in the state at a time as well as being generally geographically central too.
,
d1v1debyz3r0@reddit
Bisbee was bigger at statehood 😂
MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit
I liked Salem. It was just being itself. It wasn’t trying to be Portland and it wasn’t trying to be Eugene. I ended up at some outdoor music concert in a park by the river that was shockingly good.
danodan1@reddit
Ever since Oklahoma finally put a dome on its capital-YES!
Disastrous-Rise-6526@reddit
Salem, OR is very boring imo. It is very central at least and you can get to a lot of great nature nearby easily.
Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit
Frankly, I think a lot of other countries are unbalanced. The overwhelming dominance of the capital in terms of business and population in many countries seems like a bad had fundamentally undemocratic idea. One small part of the country gets way too much attention and influence relative to the rest of it. We generally like to spread out our power a little more.
The capitals are representative of everyone who lives in the state, not just people who live in the biggest city. It's a good thing to spread that power around.
bricklegos@reddit (OP)
Does the rest of Georgia resent Atlanta's dominance though?
Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit
I imagine some do. Some are just happy to be far enough away.
Thathathatha@reddit
Phoenix
Unlike most state capitals, Phoenix is also the largest city in the state. Phoenix is the largest of all capitals by population. Also, it's hot as fuck and monument to man's arrogance.
Proper-Mobile-6438@reddit
There it is. Phoenix can’t be mentioned on Reddit without the king of the hill joke.
LadyGreyIcedTea@reddit
In my state, the capital is the largest city. But do people care about places like Lansing, MI or Albany, NY? Probably not.
DryEyeKitty@reddit
It feels like it actually is the state capital.
natattack15@reddit
I've lived in Harrisburg, PA for a few months. Its a medium city on its best day but pretty nice. Growing up closer to Philadelphia it always confused me why they didn't make Philly the capital, especially considering its history. Teachers always said in school that they wanted a more central city that was more medium sized to be the capital when they were choosing one. Now that I live in Pittsburgh I totally see that. I know most people in and around philly have never been to pittsburgh and don't even think about it. I and most of my family had never been until I started going to the University of Pittsburgh. I think people on the western side of the state would probably feed more isolated and ignored if Philadelphia was the capital.
mdez93@reddit
Philadelphia resident here. Many people in western PA already feel ignored even with Harrisburg as the capital. It’s been an ongoing notion that Harrisburg favors eastern PA, and that the Philadelphia area often gets the bulk of state’s tax dollars and policy attention. Eastern PA is where the majority of the state’s population is, so I get it. It’s a major reason why Yinzers and rural folk in the western half hate Philly so much.
EmuStrong9319@reddit
But the actual capitol building in Harrisburg is one of the prettiest I’ve seen (as far as capitol buildings go).
mdez93@reddit
Yes, the PA state capitol with it’s rotunda is a nice one.
MonsieurRuffles@reddit
It’s mostly Pennsyltucky that hates Philly, even though the taxes collected in the region pay for their services. Yinzers may have a friendly rivalry with Philly but, for the most part, aren’t haters since they’re very similar in being an island of sanity surrounded by a sea of uninformed idiocy.
Capable-Grab5896@reddit
Pennsyltucky is my favorite new word of the day
Relax007@reddit
Some of us out west are grateful to Philly for helping to keep us from sliding into the dark ages as a state. Glad it's not the capitol, though. It'd be awfully lopsided if it were.
Cool_Needleworker126@reddit
I live across the river from Harrisburg, in Cumberland County. Having grown up in NYC I find it a little too boring sometimes, but it has hidden gems such as bookstores and cafes. Harrisburg also has a beautiful state capital building and a decent festival twice a year. I absolutely love Pittsburgh for its museums, culture and art. I don’t know much about Philly except that when I lived in NJ as a kid my class went on a trip to see the Liberty Bell.
Illustrious-Pen-7549@reddit
Gonna nerd out for a moment
A handful of the states have their capitals somewhere in their central regions (vertically or horizontally). I would say it's closer to half of the country. In North Carolina that's exactly why Raleigh became the capital after years of moving legislation between New Bern and Fayetteville and other cities.
Many of the states east of the Mississippi are this way and there are some west of the Mississippi as well but not nearly as many. The northeast U.S. didn't get the memo early on apparently lol.
Depending on what you consider central, as many as 34 state capitals are in the central regions of their states
byte_handle@reddit
The state officials were originally meeting in Philadelphia, but they were kicked out of Independence Hall, first for the Declaration of Independence, and then again for the constitutional convention, so the capital was moved to Lancaster, which was supposed to just be a temporary fix. A farmer who had inherited some land along the Susquehanna that he wasn't using said that he'd donate that to the state if they wanted to make a state capital there. A state rep owned some adjoining land, so it looked like a good opportunity.
During the convention, Pennsylvanians who had served in the Revolutionary War came demanding pay, and the governor didn't even try to stop them (historians are split on whether he agreed with their actions or just didn't think he was sure ordering other troops in PA to pick a fight with their fellow statemen would work). While those veterans were talked down on the understanding that the government that was supposed to pay them was being built, the attendees still ended up fleeing, moving to a few different locations before settling in New York City. That's why picking a city that wouldn't be under the jurisdiction of any particular state was so important to them, but there was still a suspicion floating around that they would end up just converting Philadelphia into the national capital and somehow just removing it from Pennsylvania's jurisdiction. Some in Philadelphia were even pushing for it, with Roger Morris even starting construction of a "Presidential Palace" to influence the choice. So, the state kept constructing things in Harrisburg. By the time everybody realized that there was no way Congress was going to let the capital be in Philadelphia, the officials were already moving into Harrisburg and most of what they needed there was just about finished.
Source:
"Washington: A Life" by Ron Chernow discussed this in a little depth ("little" by Chernow standards, at any rate) when talking about the convention fleeing and why they felt strongly about picking a federal-jurisdiction capital so quickly after the Constitution was ratified, along with the bickering that took place about where it should be located.
Doom_Corp@reddit
Harrisburg is a neat town. My friend and I drove out from Jersey for the weekend to pick up some antique furniture a few cities away from our hotel in Harrisburg. We went to a local beer bar for dinner when we first arrived, got the stuff the next day, had a fancy lady date, and then walked around the government buildings to check out the architecture. A LOT of chonky body spiders making their homes on this circle of short barrel shaped stone fixtures with lights in them that we noticed while looking at the fountains in the evening.
2PlasticLobsters@reddit
One thing that struck me about living (briefly) in south-central PA was the dearth of east-west routes. In much of the state, the Turnpike is the only choice, and it's overcrowded & ungodly expensive. The one time we used it recently was for just a couple exits & it cost something like $10.
The next most recent time was back in the 2010s & it was terrifying. Just four lanes separated by a jersey wall, packed with vehicles hurtling along at 70 MPH.
So it's no surprise that few people from the eastern part of the state go to the western or vice-versa.
GreenWhiteBlue86@reddit
Philadelphia was originally the capital of Pennsylvania (which is why you have Independence Hall: it was built as the State House to hold the legislature. Harrisburg became the capital in 1812, because many people even then thought that Philadelphia was too dominant, but in 1812 much of the state was still unsettled and the choice of something more geographically "central" wasn't an option. As far as settlement in 1812 went, Harrisburg was "central".
iDontSow@reddit
They were also worried about safety from attack, as Philadelphia had been occupied by the British during the Revolution and the government fled to Lancaster and then York
helloiamabear@reddit
What's Harrisburg like? I drive past it all the time but I've never actually been inside.
I've been told there's no real nightlife because it's mostly businesses and government buildings, so the city clears out at 5 p.m. Is that actually true?
Turbulent_Group_6616@reddit
Montgomery is a historic city. Definitely worth a visit.
GettingTooOldForDis@reddit
Concord, NH is a cute little New England city. Main Street is lined with shops. There are 3 different sized music venues. There’s a great independent book store next to an independent art house theatre. Every 4 years it becomes the center of American politics during New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary. It’s close to the mountains and lakes. It’s a nice place.
Iceland260@reddit
How important the capital city varies wildly from one state to another.
All of them at least have the fact the the state government being there means people in the state know about them. If nothing else "insert city name" gets used as a shorthand term for the state government in conversation.
ashsolomon1@reddit
Well we got a cool minor league baseball team and a lot of insurance companies
KaetzenOrkester@reddit
We've got a cool minor league team, too. Too bad the Athletics have taken over their stadium until the A's new one is built. Downtown traffic isn't great, but this hasn't helped.
Potential-Buy3325@reddit
Dunkin' Park is a great place to see a game.
Cowboywizard12@reddit
Minor League Games are a lot of fun, I've easily had just as much fun at Portland Seadogs games as I have at Red Sox Games
Anonymus828@reddit
We got $2 beer and hotdogs at the Wolf Pack games
ashsolomon1@reddit
Surprisingly good beer selection too
snarkwithfae@reddit
Yard Goats are all we got left 😭
iHaveLotsofCats94@reddit
RIP Rock Cats. And Whalers. Isn't the Wolfpack back though?
Temporary_Pie2733@reddit
Wolfpack has been in Hartford since 1997. They just changed their name for a few seasons between 2010 and 2013.
snarkwithfae@reddit
The Bridgeport Islanders are leaving now as well. And yes you’re correct on the Wolf Pack!
I grew up in Springfield so I’m surprised I forgot about the damn hockey team haha
GandalfTheShmexy@reddit
Olympia's a cute city, similar in vibe to Portland
Lchau_1268@reddit
Lived in MT and ND… Neither Helena nor Bismarck are the biggest cities in the state, so most people don’t care much about them
Silocin20@reddit
I live in AZ, our state capitol is the 5th largest city in the country. So needless to say we care about Phoenix. Currently Phoenix is growing like crazy too.
Over_Equipment4661@reddit
State capitals are often smaller, but the capital building itself is always super nice. They are often open and easy to navigate like college towns, and they usually are college towns.
Angsty_Potatos@reddit
Most state capitals are purposefully not that state's big main city. (At least on the coasts) They are 9-5 towns with a lot of commuter's and the town is really built to accommodate that lifestyle.
Harrisburg PA is not a very exciting place
bears_vw@reddit
Not sure; I’ve just driven through it once or twice and there wasn’t really a reason to stop.
Nyerinchicago@reddit
Don't care about my state capital. Most are midway between population centers, or in the middle of the state
ParticularYak4401@reddit
Olympia. Where I-5 begins to move again after you sit in the quagmire of Louis-McChord Joint Base.
enancejividen@reddit
I live in Raleigh. It's the second largest city in North Carolina and much more centrally located than Charlotte, the largest city. It's a great city to raise a family, with nice parks, greenways and museums. There is a major university here and several smaller colleges, as well as major universities in nearby cities. It's a couple hours to good beaches and 3 or so to the mountains.
But it's very much a new southern city. Mostly suburban sprawl, strip malls, abysmal public transportation, not walkable at all outside of the downtown and NC State areas.
MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit
I live in California, so our capital is Sacramento. Because we have so many huge and/or famous cities, Sacramento tends to be either the butt of jokes, or is just simply treated as the toto-pro-pars of the state government.
As a city there are some really cool parts of it, and there’s plenty to do culturally (symphony, opera, theatre, live music, good food, museums, etc.). There is a university but it’s one of the second-tier state universities, there’s not a UC there.
That said… it’s in the Central Valley which means it’s very, very hot in summer and cold (as viewed from coastal California) in winter, and it can be dusty. It’s hard to want to go to a place that is 110 degrees F (43 C) in summer.
One nice thing about Sacto is it’s easy to get to the Bay Area either driving or on the train, and it’s only two hours from Tahoe, so in winter it’s an easy trip to go skiing or snowboarding. In the summer it’s not very far from the Sierra Nevada, for hiking and fishing, and it’s kind of smack dab between two huge wine areas: Napa and Amador are each an hour away.
innerShnev@reddit
Love Sac. Good art, great diverse food all grown in the valley farms nearby (where farm to table began), decent rail transportation, as close to skiing as if you lived in Denver, endless trips to the Bay Area, SF, wine country, and all the splendor of the Sierra Nevada and coastal ranges. Balls hot in the summer and plenty of weird valley tweakers, but actually affordable for California (though that's changing). The dream of California is alive in SacTown.
StayPuft12@reddit
There is a UC, UC Davis is 20 minutes from the Capital building.
Remarkable-Hawkeye@reddit
Sacramento has so many ethnic groups and languages. There are two rivers that converge here and trees everywhere. It’s beautiful. People are humble because it’s not considered a “cool” city. I lived in San Francisco and people thought they were cool simply because they lived there, as if they built the Golden Gate and cable cars with their own hands.
Humble_Plate_2733@reddit
Given the time of year, I’m surprised you haven’t said anything about seasonal allergies. Everyone around me (particularly transplants) is sniffling and sneezing like crazy.
Sacramento also punches way above its weight on the third wave coffee scene, with independent roasters dotting the downtown and midtown area, sometimes one on every block.
I have heard a lot of comparisons between Sacramento and Austin, with Austin being the slightly livelier and overall nicer state capital, but both have a river and major Capitol building and lots of trees.
checkerlily@reddit
I work in a state Capitol building. It’s lovely and well cared for. Lots of Americans make it a thing to visit all state capitols and we even have a special stamp for a state capitol passport book. Sometimes I feel like an exhibit when rushing past a tour group to committee with my computer and name tag.
chrysostomos_1@reddit
I grew up in Washington state. The capital, Olympia, is a lovely town and the capital grounds are awesome.
underscore197@reddit
Austin sucks (I will die on this hill). It’s too big in an ugly sort of way. There’s really no charm. Oklahoma City is fine, but nothing write home about. Little Rock is smaller than the two previously mentioned and has pretty sites. It’s certainly not over built like Austin. Bismarck is small for a capital city, but it’s pretty and has a quaintness to it. Jackson is…Jackson. It’s not a destination. Mobile reminds me of a bit dirtier Little Rock, but has a seemingly more vibrant downtown area. I’d like to spend more time there.
Savings_Pipe_8029@reddit
No, we really don't care about our state Capitol's
Mushysandwich82@reddit
My states capital (Columbia) has diagonal street parking. And a couple high rises and that’s about it. Maybe a South Carolinian can say more about our capital then I can because I’ve not been there much
JulesInIllinois@reddit
Our state capital is Springfield, IL. It's a long ride by car or train from Chicago. And, it's a much smaller city. Sadly, it is boring compared to Chicago. But, it has great food, friendly ppl and a few sites to see.
j33@reddit
I've lived in either Chicago proper or the 'burbs my whole life, and I only went to Springfield once when I was 14 years old. One of these times I may get back down there. but it isn't high on my list of places to visit.
JulesInIllinois@reddit
I used to have to go for lobbying. It's a long ride by train or car. Like four hours or so.
uvdawoods@reddit
I keep seeing videos on YouTube talking about how rough parts of Springfield are and unfortunately I’ve never been. I live on the South Side of Chicago so I’d be interested to compare the two.
Prairie_Crab@reddit
The majority of the city is quite safe.
Finndogs@reddit
Its really just the East side of town, and only really confined to a few neighborhoods.
Yggdrasil-@reddit
You forgot the defining feature of Springfield - Abe Lincoln EVERYWHERE. As you drive into town on the freeway? Big industrial silo with Abe Lincoln on the side. Driving thru downtown? There's the Lincoln library! And the Lincoln museum. And over there is the preserved 1800s neighborhood with Lincoln's old house. Oh, and you can stay at the Abe Lincoln hotel. Where you'll find a portrait of Abe Lincoln staring at you while you sleep.
Prairie_Crab@reddit
The “industrial silo” is a water tank, by the way.
Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit
The Lincoln stuff is about the only thing interesting about Springfield though. The museum is great, but there are only so many times you can go there. My husband has a convention there every few years that provides activities for any partners that people bring along, and they are completely running out of ideas.
Watson9483@reddit
There is a Frank Lloyd Wright house that has tours. It was pretty cool.
Wrigs112@reddit
Yeah, as others pointed out, the Frank Lloyd Wright house is good, but in the Chicago area you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a FLW, so it’s not like seeing one of his houses is rare, just nice.
I don’t know anyone that goes to Springfield for any reason other than it being the state capital. The capitol building has a big shiny silver dome, so something a bit different (the silver, not the dome thing).
The biggest weirdness as a Chicagoan is how many people I’ve had to argue with outside of the state over what my state capital is. No, it’s not Chicago. Shouldn’t you have learned this in fifth grade? Maybe around the same time people should have learned how to pronounce “Illinois”?
t-poke@reddit
I've driven through Springfield a bunch of times on my way to Chicago but I've never stopped to see any sites. I feel like I should next time. Or make a day trip of it.
Pretty sure Springfield is closer to me than my own state capital. I don't even drive through Jeff City because it's not off any major interstate. I went there once as a kid as part of a field trip and that was it.
Afternoon_Despair@reddit
That drive from STL to Jeff is rough. It feels like it takes forever. I do actually think you're closer to Springfield IL than Jefferson City as well.
AppropriateRatio9235@reddit
Dana Thomas home by Frank Lloyd Wright has a good tour and is interesting.
alcoholicmovielover@reddit
Madison, Wisconsin is actually pretty cool! It's the second largest city in the state, but it has the largest university (University of Wisconsin). There are three large lakes in the city, so it's really unusual to navigate.
Madison is also less than 2 hours away from Milwaukee (the largest city in Wisconsin), and less than 3 hours away from Chicago. So, it doesn't really feel as "isolated" as other capitals may.
j33@reddit
Madison is really a great little city. I've visited it on several occasions as a weekend getaway from Chicago and have always enjoyed it.
Overall_Occasion_175@reddit
I used to work in the HQ of a small art supply chain that had a Madison store, and had to design a map to show where they were located. I've been fascinated by it from a city planning perspective ever since. I still have never been but I really want to.
back-better007@reddit
Best part? The student union at Wisconsin is on a large lake where you can boat in the summers and ice fish in the winters. One of the fraternities hosts an annual charity hockey tournament out there. Highly recommended
oodopopopolopolis@reddit
Madison was a really fun place to visit! I went there for a several day conference.
Jass0602@reddit
I’ve had both a professor and a colleague from Madison (I live in Florida) and they both raved about the city. It sounds so cool, specifically how it’s between the lakes. The university life. All the snow and things they do in it there. But I think they both left to get out of the cold.
cultvignette@reddit
Has the construction on East Wash even been finished lol?
parkz88@reddit
It's fine. Alot of traffic. Nicest in the middle, gets worse as you go out then becomes stupid fancy. I mean mansions on a 1/4 acre right next eachother. Definitely not our best city but in the top 5.
Patrickosplayhouse@reddit
Covid moved state workers to remote, never really came back. My state capital is quiet.
jacobkosh@reddit
Most state capitals were established before automobiles were common, and nearly half predate the invention of the train. It was important to have a place that was geographically central to the state so it wasn't unfair/an undue burden for anyone to travel to their capital; especially as the westward states grew larger and larger geographically compared to the denser East.
But not many states have rivers, lakes, lush valleys or other attractive features near their exact geographical centers, the kinds of places that attract cities "naturally," so much like a mining town or a fishing village, the capitals are about as big and culturally relevant as their single important industry - governance - lets them be. The ones that fare better tend to also be university towns, since that guarantees a lot more energy and life.
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
Florida Completely missed the mark on that one. lol
Common_Cut_1491@reddit
No, at the time, Tallahassee was pretty centrally located at a time when the majority of Floridians lived in North Florida. The site was chosen when West Florida (capital in Pensacola) and East Florida (capital in St. Augustine) came together as one territory and state. The site of present day Tallahassee was chosen as equidistant between the two former capitals. The two main population centers being the two former capitals. Everything else was basically rural cattle-raising Florida Crackers who rarely lived south of modern-day Ocala. Past that, it was mostly territory defined by Seminoles.
markofcontroversy@reddit
I just heard the term "Florida Cracker" for the first time yesterday, and here it is again.
Boba_Fett_is_Senpai@reddit
It's my understanding that cowboys originated here
VinceP312@reddit
My memory is hazy so sincerely asking, wasn't Florida acquired in stages?
RealAlePint@reddit
No, not really except for some of the area between Pensacola and Mobile.
Tallahassee is the capital because it’s basically midway between St Augustine and Pensacola with south Florida being sparsely populated.
VinceP312@reddit
No, not really, but yes?
That's so clear. Lol.
RsonW@reddit
Yes, but also no. Spanish Florida extended into what are now the southern panhandles of Alabama and Mississippi as well as the parts of Louisiana Northeast of New Orleans. These were the stages in which Spanish Florida was obtained.
But the modern State of Florida was one big chunk we got at once.
The reason Tallahassee was chosen as the capital was because until the 20th century, Florida's major population centers were Pensacola, and St Augustine. Tallahassee is somewhat centrally located between these.
gangleskhan@reddit
You have to also consider where people lived when a state was established. South Florida was generally considered borderline uninhabitable until surprisingly recently.
RsonW@reddit
Again, we're talking about when the capital was chosen.
Back then, the only significantly populated areas in Florida were Pensacola and St Augustine. Tallahassee is somewhat centrally located between them.
Familiar-Ad-1965@reddit
Not so. Tally is in the Panhandle. Handles control the pan, it is used to pick up and move the pan.
remix951@reddit
Florida is just two panhandles put together
Ebice42@reddit
Albany is in the middle if you forget about western NY. But to be fair Buffalo was the Wild West at one point. (See the first portion of How the West was Won)
And it was reasonably accessible. Boat ride up the Hudson.
twtxrx@reddit
I agree with this and I would also point out that many states at statehood had tiny populations so there most often weren’t any large cities. Just because a town was picked as the capital, that doesn’t mean it would be where the largest cities ultimately grew.
For example, Illinois, my state, had a population of about 40k at statehood. Chicago today is far and away the largest city and grew in part because of the proximity to the lake while the capital really only supports state government business.
2PlasticLobsters@reddit
People in Maryland primarily used waterways for many generations. I'm sure that's why Annapolis was chosen, despite not being in the center of Maryland. It connects easily to the eastern parts by rivers & bays.
gangleskhan@reddit
Two states where this doesn't hold true are Minnesota and Wisconsin. I don't know much about Madison but St. Paul was a big commercial hub and was the capital of the territory before it became a state. While Minneapolis is now the larger of the Twin Cities, it wasn't even incorporated as a city yet when MN became a state. At that time the two main cities were St. Paul and St. Anthony (basically where Minneapolis is now). Minneapolis was basically the "little sibling" of St. Anthony, but later gobbled it up. Sometimes I think it would've been fun to have twin saint cities St. Paul on the other hand was once known as Pig's Eye).
Interestingly, neither St. Paul or Minneapolis "should" have ever existed. There was a budding city growing around the fort at the confluence of the rivers, and when the land east of the Mississippi opened for settlement, it was expected that the city would grow right across the river. That area had almost all the good steamboat landings and the protection of a fort. Land prospectors had already begun claiming the land and planning the city.
But the officer who ran the fort at the time made his land claim farther upriver, close to the falls that St. Anthony and later Minneapolis grew around. To make his land valuable, though, he needed a city to develop by his land and not where it was already growing.
So he convinced his superiors to let him claim all the land near the fort as an exclusive army reserve (not uncommon) and evicted everyone who was living there. The reserve claim also took most of the good boat landings. The one not taken is where St. Paul developed. The evicted people and the subsequent settlement went either a few miles northwest (where Minneapolis is now) or a few miles east (now St. Paul).
theoldman-1313@reddit
My city (Austin) is a perfect example of this dynamic. Growing up the state government and "The University" dominated the social and economic life (there were several schools in the city, but UT was still referenced like it was the only game in town). Since then the economy has diversified a lot.
GreenBeanTM@reddit
Vermont has the only state capital that doesn’t have a McDonald’s. They tried to open one at one point and essentially got run out.
maimou1@reddit
Very wise of them!
GreenBeanTM@reddit
Actually pretty stupid to kick out the world second largest private employer if you ask me and Vermont economy.
Smart-Philosophy5233@reddit
Your comment made me curious and sent me down a rabbit hole.
Turns out Vermont has the 3rd lowest unemployment rate out of all the states.
So not super surprising they were happy to turn down an international employer like McDonalds. Still odd though.
back-better007@reddit
One of my kids is a UVM grad. Vermont has high end tourists three seasons, so bats way above their weight in expensive dining, hotels, spas, artisanal food and the like. It’s really a rural paradise in many ways.
GreenBeanTM@reddit
As someone who lives here it’s a retirement home in more ways than one
maimou1@reddit
Try Florida. It's where I am, and it's so loaded with old conservative transplants that it's nothing like what I remember from my childhood vacations. Our not so esteemed governor, DeSatan, is hell bent on developing every square inch of this state to where there will be no natural land left.
GreenBeanTM@reddit
Unemployment is as low as it is because most people leave. Only reason I haven’t left is because I can’t afford to due to only being able to find seasonal employment.
BlackJesus420@reddit
Extremely Vermont of them, though.
greenmtnfiddler@reddit
The golden dome is nice, too, and there's never too long a wait at the DMV. The flooding thing is concerning, though.
Cheever-Loophole@reddit
And it's the smallest state capitol. It's the cover pic on the World Atlas 10 smallest capitals.
https://www.worldatlas.com/cities/the-10-smallest-state-capitals-in-the-united-states.html
GrammarLyfe@reddit
Arguably top 5 state capitals.
DBthecat@reddit
Montpelier is such a beautiful town. Has a great downtown district too
Motormouth1995@reddit
Atlanta, the hub of the south, is pretty well known and is unlike most of the rest of Georgia (that's a mixed bag). It's sprawling and busy. I actually live closer to Montgomery (Alabama) and Tallahassee (Florida) than to Atlanta and go through them more often. You couldn’t pay me enough money to drive within the 285 loop around the proper city and its suburbs.
DannyDevitosAss@reddit
The ITP roads are way easier to drive than OTP
grandma-activities@reddit
I hate driving in Alpharetta so much. I've got family there, and I don't know how they can enjoy living in that mess. Except for the Indian food. They've got some really good Indian food.
maimou1@reddit
I was born in Decatur and grew up in Atlanta. I married a St. Petersburg FL native and left ATL in 1990. I experienced its transformation from a pleasant small Southern city to a hellish megapolis. I haven't been back in probably 20 years. Ironically, my adopted hometown of Tampa is doing the same thing.
RespectablePapaya@reddit
Decatur is extremely nice these days.
MajesticBread9147@reddit
My state capital is Richmond.
It's the second largest urban area in the state after the DC area.
It's a nice city, it's been a "big" city for centuries so it doesn't have the same pitfalls that most other southern cities do like lack of density/walk ability and transit.
It's very artsy and alternative, the people who hate the rat race in DC often move to Baltimore or Richmond since you can get apartments for under $2,000 in both.
ucbiker@reddit
Hampton Roads is a bigger MSA than Richmond.
Trimyr@reddit
True, but that's lumping a lot together.
Weak_Syllabub_7994@reddit
Virginia Beach and Chesapeake each individually have larger populations than Richmond.
grandma-activities@reddit
We also have a lot of cows. So many cows.
saberlight81@reddit
Yes but if we're talking about urban areas, which is a specific term with a concrete definition, you do have to lump bits of it together. If you're comparing two cities or metro areas you have to use like-for-like measurements.
The Virginia Beach-Norfolk urban area, which doesn't even include Hampton and Newport News, has about 400k more people than Richmond's urban area. Comparing total metro areas, Hampton Roads is again about 400k bigger. If you compare only within city limits, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake each have more people than Richmond.
You could make up something like "Richmond is the largest centralized urban area within Virginia" if you want but that's just vibes. I've spent time there and agree that it's a great city with something special going on that the Hampton Roads area is missing, and being the sole anchor of the metro area is probably part of that, but that's still just vibes.
ABelleWriter@reddit
So is talking about Richmond. Richmond proper, the city, is small. When you add in all the things people call "Richmond" (hanover county, Chesterfield, etc. Richmond has almost as many people as Norfolk. And Norfolk is small (believe me, i live in Norfolk).
Virginia Beach alone way out sizes and peoples Richmond.
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
Did you like Norfolk? I always enjoy visiting and wonder if it's a good place to live?
MajesticBread9147@reddit
It constantly floods. The economy is reliant on a few public universities and the Navy base. It's one of the most car dependent cities in America, and it's super decentralized between Hampton, Chesapeake, Newport News, Portsmouth and Virginia beach, so there's no real downtown or central area. They're all physically close but geographically isolated.
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
Thanks. I have had enough flooding where I live...
Trimyr@reddit
I mean you're right, but the question posed was specifically about state capitols and how those are viewed rather than just population, so I was being a bit pedantic. I could live in Hampton Roads and someone from another part of the country wouldn't know if I meant near Lee Hall or Portsmouth. Similarly when you say 'Richmond', like many cities, is generally assumed to be the city proper plus the adjacent areas that support it.
Sorry, it's early.
easy_Money@reddit
Population wise sure but it's just suburban sprawl and military. Richmond is an actual city. Norfolk has a nice downtown but it's only a couple blocks.
ucbiker@reddit
When you’re comparing MSA to MSA, both Richmond and Norfolk (and the DC area) are all largely suburban sprawl. Even the urban core of Richmond that feels “real city,” is actually a pretty small part of the city geographically, a big portion (maybe the majority depending on how you split things) basically feels suburban.
easy_Money@reddit
Oh absolutely, I wouldn't describe Richmond as a large by any means, but it has more "Capital C" City than any part of Hampton Roads
MajesticBread9147@reddit
I stand corrected.
Honestly I always thought Richmond was bigger, although there's a lot more connection with where I live and Richmond than Hampton Roads because Richmond is on 95.
acme_oo_breeders@reddit
Lots of goth events in Richmond and GWAR is from there, too. They wear monster outfits on stage and present themselves as tyrants from outer space; they dismember mannequins representing public figures during their shows, brag that they like to rape sheep, and one of their better-known songs is called "Fuckin' An Animal." (Yes, it's about zoophilia.)
easy_Money@reddit
Not sure the last time you checked Richmond rent but you're not getting much of anything for under $2k.
MajesticBread9147@reddit
Really? I keep hearing that it's so much cheaper than northern Virginia. Has that changed?
There's always Petersburg 30 minutes south I guess.
easy_Money@reddit
It's definitely cheaper than Nova, but the cost of living has gone up significantly the past few years. When a lot of people went to remote work during/post covid they moved from the DC area and brought their DC area salaries with them. My rent is nearly double what it was 5 years ago.
CaptainAwesome06@reddit
What's funny is Richmond comes to mind when I think of a small city.
MajesticBread9147@reddit
I mean it absolutely is, but it's been relatively big historically. It was the capital of the Confederacy for a reason.
In 1920 it had more people than Dallas, Houston, Miami, and San Diego. So it had enough infrastructure and building early on that it wasn't all demolished for car dependent development.
mam88k@reddit
Streetcar system was extensive, so there are still these excellent flat, straight roads for biking and (hopefully) more rapid bus.
CaptainAwesome06@reddit
I always thought it was interesting when they do road work, dig up the asphalt, and you can see the rails that were left in place.
Not_an_okama@reddit
Abandon in place is all too common in the US.
DogsBikesAndMovies@reddit
I love RVA.
amboomernotkaren@reddit
I love RVA too. It’s much more affordable than NOVA (where I live). And unlike Hampton Roads every trip in your car isn’t hampered by a bridge or tunnel. But I love that area too.
Quartia@reddit
How is Norfolk/Virginia Beach not the largest urban area in the state?
Throwaway-ish123a@reddit
"The Fan" is a great area, and I loved the Farmer's Market.
TheBlazingFire123@reddit
Generic
SassyGirl0202@reddit
CA state capital is in Sacramento, it used to be beautiful until homeless took over. Downtown Sac is almost as bad as SF these days.
Accomplished-Buyer85@reddit
Sacramento
LetterheadClassic306@reddit
honestly most americans don't think about state capitals that much unless they live near one. a lot are smaller than the big cities you hear about. i've been to a few like austin and columbus and they have their own vibe - more government workers and history museums than nightlife. they matter for politics but not daily life for most people.
Additional_Low8050@reddit
Texan here. The Capitol & the Alamo Are awe inspiring
bapanfil@reddit
I'm from New York but the complete opposite side of the state from NYC. Hence, Albany is the capital and not NYC despite what many might otherwise assume. It's relatively centered and the one thing people from Niagara Falls to Long Island can agree on is how much we hate Albany. Kidding of course, the city is fine I've heard, it's the politicians we poke fun at. But I do think it was important to not make NYC the capital. There's already so much division and resentment between NYC and many upstate areas, I think having it be the capital would make it so much worse.
I've honestly never explored Albany, I've only driven past it on my way to Boston and Maine. I've heard it's a decent city, albeit small. Ironically, I've been to so many other state capitals. Most do have that feel of being small to mid sized and otherwise unremarkable if not for being the capital. Some are definitely the main event in their state though. Nashville, Boston, Atlanta, OKC, and more.
I spent a solid amount of time in Maryland and I really loved Annapolis. One of my absolute favorite cities in America. It's right up there with Nasvhille and Austin as far as favorite capitals and really some of my favorite cities at large
livelongprospurr@reddit
OP, if you check out state maps, you might see that the capitals are places centrally located for representative government. So everyone had an equal distance to travel. Arizona for example had three capitals: Tucson (est. 1775) was the largest city at one time but too far south; then Prescott was too far north; finally decided on relative newcomer centrally located Phoenix (est. 1867) which became the largest city due to the Salt River water project.
Adorable_Dust3799@reddit
My state capital (Sacramento) is only 500 miles away, but i don think I've ever seen it.
Virlutris@reddit
Sacramento is very solid as a metro area.
Very culturally diverse, big enough to have its own stuff to do, and a reasonable drive to a lot of cool places.
It's also less expensive than the other major California super-metro areas that overshadow it.
I mean when you're comparing it as a California city to major cities in the Bay Area, LA, and SD, that'll skew perception.
Compare it to other state capitols that aren't also their state's major city though, and it stands up very, very well. Austin (also has big-time famous in-state family) and Madison (smaller, but mighty) are the other standouts in that category, to my mind. Prolly Raleigh too.
Vulpix_lover@reddit
Rhode Island State House is pretty unique, has one of the world's largest free standing domes
rainbowkey@reddit
In quite a few states not on the east coast, a spot somewhat center in the state is picked, and a state capitol city is built there.
For example, in my state, Michigan, the two largest cities, Detroit and Grand Rapids argued which should be the capital, so the state legislature decided to found a new city, Lansing. Still Lansing's economy is mostly state agencies and Michigan State University.
RealDealLewpo@reddit
Yeah the Lansing area was my first introduction to Michigan when I moved here almost 20 years ago. Lived in East Lansing, but worked all over Lansing. Really cool small city. Went back recently and it seems much sleepier than I remember.
Yggdrasil-@reddit
Lansing is underrated. Really feels like it's been on the upswing lately.
aurumatom20@reddit
It's got some really cool spots and some damn good food. Can be pretty dingy in other areas though.
SirTwitchALot@reddit
I have lived there since 2000. It's not the worst place. This sums it up
https://youtu.be/smFvDuGiS0Q?si=7JA8aZCygFIuPQOl
Yggdrasil-@reddit
Way too accurate lol. My family lives on the east side
57Laxdad@reddit
Lansing has some auto manufacturing and other smaller industries but having something between the two major economic powers in the state is important, especially considering the political divide between Grand Rapids and Detroit.
Hot_Aside_4637@reddit
At one point Calumet in the U.P. was considered. That would have been interesting.
madameallnut@reddit
I adore both Sacramento, my adopted state capitol & Albany, my birthday state capitol. If Sacramento were a few degrees cooler, temperature wise, I'd be looking for a home there. It's just a cute city. I lived in Albany for a while. It was so walkable, I was the fittest of my life there.
Conscious_Quality803@reddit
I spend a lot of time between Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Alabama. So: Providence is amazing. Nashville is... sometimes good, more often annoying. Montgomery is a shithole of abject mediocrity.
Graycy@reddit
Austin is its own town. The last time I was there I remember the heavy traffic and problem finding parking.
LHCThor@reddit
Mine is very ordinary.
drnewcomb@reddit
Jackson, MS is pretty depressing, Same for Montgomery, AL.
Birdo_guy@reddit
My state capitol looks about as bland as any steryotypical urban area of my state. Far more cookie cutter than dallas
MattieShoes@reddit
My state capital's metro area is about 1/2 the entire state's population. It's not obscure.
AtheneSchmidt@reddit
I was gonna say "mine, too." And then I saw your flare, so literally, mine, too.
MattieShoes@reddit
I feel like we're supposed to bump subies now.
AtheneSchmidt@reddit
Lol
uhohohnoez@reddit
Madison, WI feels like both a refuge from the rest of WI, as well as like a bubble insulated and isolated from the realities of life for the rest of Wisconsinites
BoldBoimlerIsMyHero@reddit
Sacramento in California has a cool capital building that has been used as a stand in for DC in old TV shows (like Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman). I lived in that area for 20 years, so I love Sacramento, even though I don't live there anymore. You can rent a raft and go down the American river, there's great food, the state fair in the summer, music venues, sports if you're into that.
capsrock02@reddit
Most people have never been to their state’s capital.
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
People in the Texas Triangle go to Austin fairly often. There is a lot of traffic between Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.
capsrock02@reddit
Do people in El Paso go to Austin?
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
Obviously it's far for El Paso, and for Amarillo, and for Lubbock, but 22 million people live in the Texas triangle. This is out of 31 million total. So not sure what El Paso proves here.
capsrock02@reddit
That most people don’t go to their state capitals.
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
I don't think it's quantifiable. There are quite a few states that have capitals as their largest and most economically important cities. I can tell you in Texas that most people who live in the population center of the state DO go to Austin or been to Austin. Austin is a popular place to go to. El Paso is a blip for Texas's overall population, the whole metro is under a million, if your counter-argument is that El Paso is too far, and people from El Paso don't go to Austin, well El Paso does not really count for "most" in Texas at all.
capsrock02@reddit
It definitely is quantifiable. You think most people who live in NYC have been to Albany? What about people who live in LA and San Diego? You tubing they’ve been to Sacramento? Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville people have no reason to go to Tallahassee. Just because most people in Texas have, doesn’t mean most people across the country have been to the state capital.
Also, those numbers about attracting people to Austin isn’t just Texans going. You think only people from Texas go to Austin?
Durham1988@reddit
That might be true given that Sacramento, Albany, and Springfield are pretty out of the way, but I think most people in smaller states have been to theirs.
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
A whole lot of people live in Boston, Indy, Denver, Atlanta, Columbus...
capsrock02@reddit
I’ve lived in Maryland for most of my life. I’ve never been to Annapolis. I’ve had no reason to ever go to Annapolis.
rimshot101@reddit
They are usually centrally located and kind of vanilla.
SouthernStyleGamer@reddit
So, there's actually a reason behind that. Apparently, colonial America wanted to keep their business centers and their political affairs separate.
That's definitely not the case for Tennessee, though 😆 Nashville is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the country now. They've been riding that Music City moniker for about 45 years too long, seeing as most good country music is produced mostly elsewhere. It's basically become a hipster's paradise.
basic_username102@reddit
Part of the reason they’re like that btw is to avoid concentrating power in too small of an area
ChilindriPizza@reddit
Tallahassee
It is isolated. It was chosen to be the capital once upon a time due to being in between Pensacola and St. Augustine. But nowadays, it is far away from the four major cities of Florida.
It is hilly. It is beautiful in the autumn and early winter due to all the fall foliage.
FSU and FAMU are both there.
Otherwise, it is not particularly remarkable.
loudasthesun@reddit
Just curious do you consider the “four major cities of Florida”? As someone who’s not that familiar with Florida, I’ve never heard of that grouping so wondering if it’s a universally agreed upon four?
crispynarwhal@reddit
I'd assume Tampa, Jax, Orlando & Miami-ish.
ChilindriPizza@reddit
And Jacksonville as the fourth major one.
crispynarwhal@reddit
Yeah. I said that, after Tampa. I was just too lazy to write it out.
SRQmoviemaker@reddit
It surprised me how nice it is during fall. Doesn't feel like fl
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
It's a cute city but seems completely out of touch with the majority of the state of Florida. It's at least a 7 hour drive from here.
Khaleesi_dany_t@reddit
Our state capitol is little Rock. And it's probably just a normal sized city compared to bigger states, but here is a bustling metro (to me it is) ,and like 80% road work
RickySlayer9@reddit
State capitals are often geographically placed for access to the most parts of the state, and often existed before the large cities.
I live in California and a good example is Sacramento!
Sacramento sits at the furthest spot on the Sacramento River that you can get a cargo ship up. Why’s that important? About a 45 minute drive east? Coloma! Where Gold was discovered. Sacramento was a staging ground! It also sits on the convergence of MANY major rivers. The Sacramento, consumnes, American etc. as well as being an entrance into the Sacramento valley, and laying in basically a near straight line to the 2 major passes through the Sierra nevadas. Donner, and Lake Tahoe.
San Francisco was always big, because the San Francisco Bay feeds the Sacramento River, and is a deep water port.
Los Angeles didn’t become huge until we built aqueducts and set up a port. It’s huge now, debatably the largest city in the US depending on how you measure. But it didn’t come into existance for 50-60 years from when Sacramento was founded, and even still wasn’t that big until the 50s. It’s a new city.
San Diego was bigger for most of its life because of the pacific fleet.
So now there needs to be a real reason to change the capital, and in the modern day, with the internet, telephone etc, it makes little sense, and we have little need to change.
This is just one example of the storied history surrounding a single state, which is one of the newer states to the Union. There are 49 more states with 49 more stories. Some of them are simple. The big city gets to be the capital, but often times history, access, and geography play a bigger role.
New York for example doesn’t have NYC as a capital, despite NYC being the largest city in the US (depending on how you measure) and definitely the largest in New York State. Why? Albany has much better access by river and road to the rest of the state.
New York City is a center of mercantilism and commerce, absolutely. But it’s not good at the governance of an entire state, back when messages needed to be passed with letters by a courier on a river boat or on horseback.
Now, capitals matter much less. Messages are passed electronically, and they aren’t based on a nobleman’s home.
supermuncher60@reddit
Harrisburg is not known for being very nice.
You have the state legislature and drugs. That's basically it.
Extension-Silver-403@reddit
Tallahassee, my husband was born there ironically enough even though the family moved after, I’ve been there a couple times for mostly political field trips my schools takes.
It’s not actually that bad like a lot of people say, it’s a lot of political stuff and also FSU kids doing their thing at night. I remember there were ghetto areas but I think the majority of the city is lower middle class at worst.
PavicaMalic@reddit
Originally from Maryland, and Annapolis has beautiful architecture. I have always enjoyed visiting, though I never lived there.
Equivalent_Working73@reddit
Annapolis is a beautiful town. It’s the people living in it who are the problem.
asdmdawg@reddit
Wait I live in an Annapolis suburb so I go there all the time, what’s the problem with annapolitans? Is it their snobbiness?
lisagd625@reddit
Mind if I ask which suburb? I'm in Millersville, but at the northern edge, so I go to Baltimore at least as often as I go to Annapolis.
asdmdawg@reddit
Haha yeah I’m in Cape St. Claire so we visit both Bmore and Annapolis a lot, more Annapolis though to get out and go to restaurants and stuff
lisagd625@reddit
I used to live there, and my brother lives there now. Small world!
asdmdawg@reddit
Wtf, it really is! Second person I’ve met who lives in the area just today on Reddit.
Equivalent_Working73@reddit
Precisely.
asdmdawg@reddit
Makes sense lol. A bunch of old dudes with polo tees and the same exact face 🤣
DefendTheStar88x@reddit
Ive been to my state Capitol- Trenton quite a few times but it's just a small city, that is kind of dumpy.
Last_Stand28@reddit
Boston is a very nice city and very historic aswell. Walked the freedom trail, seen old ironsides, been to the Battle of Bunker Hill monument which is on top of Breed's hill (confusing i know.) Overall very pretty city. Stay out of the bad parts like the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard and you'll be set.
JimBones31@reddit
Augusta Maine has some nice areas and some sketchy areas. It is definitely a little strange in my mind that there are large parts of the "city" where there is legal hunting. I was running errands at Best Buy and someone stepped out of a truck with a bow and walked into the power lines.
astrosergeant@reddit
I like Augusta (the outskirts, anyway.) But it’s definitely podunk as far as capitals go, and not glamorous. I’m from way further north in the state, so it feels like civilization to me 🤣
notTheRealSU@reddit
God, Augusta is so horrible. But it's absolutely what I'd expect Maine's capital to be.
Turbulent_Table3917@reddit
Augusta is pretty unappealing. I’ve never met anyone from there that actually enjoyed living there.
JimBones31@reddit
I like water street and a few shops on western Ave but I wouldn't want to live there.
silverstoner4@reddit
I used to live in Augusta and hated it. It’s not a very attractive city and there’s a lot of weirdos. There’s a couple of great restaurants, but not many other redeeming qualities
mlo9109@reddit
Holy shit...but also, that so tracks for Augusta as a fellow Mainer. The Augusta Walmart is pure nightmare fuel. As someone who lives in the northern part of the state, it's my gas/coffee/bio break stop. Though, I'd argue it's the location of our state's own Mason Dixon line.
Overall_Occasion_175@reddit
Oh my god I hate driving in that "Marketplace" area so much. I swear I nearly get in a car accident every time I go in there.
JimBones31@reddit
But kind of in reverse. Anything north of Augusta is the South. (I'm outside Bangor)
mlo9109@reddit
Yes... I'm also near Bangor and jokingly call it the reverse Mason Dixon line.
pearlywest@reddit
Aka Disgusta
AMac50000@reddit
I used to live in Maine and I remember being really underwhelmed by Augusta. I only went there once on a school trip. It to forever to get to and their wasn't much there (there were a few good museums though). Now I live in Massachusetts and comparing Augusta to Boston its night and day. Boston is one of the best cities in the world and I try to visit whenever I get a chance.
notTheRealSU@reddit
Augusta is the worst city in the state by far
smurfe@reddit
Guns and murder. It's a shithole.
Tinkerfan57912@reddit
Charleston WV capital building is very pretty. It’s large with a gold dome. Inside there are rhododendrons on the ceiling, marble everywhere. It has very pretty gardens through out the grounds along with monuments and a great museum on the grounds as well.
One-Scallion-9513@reddit
basically a suburb with a random gold roof building
Affectionate-Lab2557@reddit
Lansing is a very nice place to live but there's really no reason to visit as a tourist, especially since there are so many other better cities here for tourism. It's wealthy and urban and there are some nice restaurants and bars, though.
tabisaurus86@reddit
I live in Washington and yeah... nobody really gives a shit about Olympia unless they are in college there. It's all about Seattle.
FarFarAway7337@reddit
I'm a native of New Jersey. The capital is Trenton. It certainly has an important place in US history, and used to be known for its industry, but for several decades it's gradually decayed and has its fair share of poverty.
MerbleTheGnome@reddit
Same here, I live in one of the Trenton suburbs and it is much nicer and wealthier.
I think that Trenton was picked due to being in the Philadelphia area, which would have been more important in colonial times, but I always felt that New Brunswick would have been a better choice. It is more central to the population centers of the state, and still has fairly easy access to both Philadelphia and NYC.
FarFarAway7337@reddit
I see your point, but perhaps it's because larger vessels could navigate from Trenton to Philadelphia via the Delaware River. I'm not sure if the Raritan River was quite as good for that to NYC. As for the Delaware and Raritan canal, that wasn't dug until much later.
Trenton was founded in 1679. New Brunswick, not until the late 1700s. Trenton had been the capital of the United States temporarily in 1784, founded by the Continental Congress. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783. At that time, New Brunswick was soon to be run by loyalists of the British government. I guess you can say that Trenton was "more American" at that time.
dmun_1953@reddit
But NJ is the site of the only surviving colonial governor's mansion. Hello perth amboy!
Travelsat150@reddit
The D&R canal is a park now. Bring repellent!
FarFarAway7337@reddit
Yes, indeed. I've walked on it countless times, and many miles of it. People can access the canal in various spots of New Jersey. There's also a canal on the PA side, but it's not always as nice as the Jersey one.
Travelsat150@reddit
You may be the son or daughter of my friends as I also grew up there but born 1956. My sisters house was on the canal side until she moved about 30 years ago. I moved away in 1973 but with family there I’ve gone back every year at least once or twice. Last year I noticed houses up on stilts, which just blew me away Hurricane Sandy? I guess I had missed it before because I’m always driving the canal side and not river road.
FarFarAway7337@reddit
Sadly, both of my parents have passed away. I now live in Europe, but my sister still lives where we grew up.
The Delaware and Raritan canal runs quite a distance of Central New Jersey. Many towns are along it. It runs parallel to the Delaware River for a while before turning west and gradually reaching the Raritan River in New Brunswick.
I still lived in New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy. It was bad, especially for people who lived near the shore. Where I lived, and my family lived, there was some flooding, but the worst was the downed trees and subsequent power outages. That can be a big problem during severe storms. Once we were without power for a whole week.
Travelsat150@reddit
My sister moved up to Essex County during Hurricane Sandy and she lost power for 3 weeks. A tree landed on her front porch and destroyed part of her house, landing on the second floor and going through her bedroom. Fortunately, for her, the tree was on the property of the city, so they were responsible for it, and also even more fortunate was the fact that no one was in the bedroom when it landed.
night-ly-owl@reddit
I was also born in raised in Jersey. I love the history of Trenton, but it's just a sad place now. Maybe one day we will see a revival.
MacaroonSad8860@reddit
I think I’ve only been to mine twice ever: once on a school trip and once for a school competition of some variety.
catslapper69@reddit
Like even counting driving through concord? That sounds crazy to me you must be young and live way up north or something
MacaroonSad8860@reddit
I’m in my mid forties and from the seacoast area. Concord isn’t on the way to anywhere for me.
AtheneSchmidt@reddit
Denver is the largest city for 500+ miles. I've lived in the metro area my entire life. We have the seat of the state government, obviously, as well as one of 4 federal mints, a decent music scene, one of the largest single centers for performing arts in the country.
I know people from several surrounding states who come here for major medical procedures. I'm not a big fan of the traffic downtown, but it doesn't compare to, say, DC or Dallas. We have a great zoo, fantastic museums, and heck, considering we're landlocked, we even have a fantastic aquarium.
The older neighborhoods downtown have beautiful architecture. We're known for our microbreweries, and fantastic sports teams. While not in Denver proper, the metro has Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of the best musical venues in the world. Also within a quick drive are our beautiful mountains, which translate to stunning hikes, skiing, and snowboarding.
Practical-Cow-4564@reddit
A dump. Probably because our Governor is a Narcissistic Democrat.
456name789@reddit
I don’t. I actually had to stop and think a sec which was the capital, and I’ve been to our capitol several times, lol!
Machinebuzz@reddit
Ours is full of fraud and fraudsters.
nygringo@reddit
It was designed that way something to do with the decentralization of political power 😵💫
GandalfTheGrey46@reddit
The city is one of the biggest and fastest growing in America while the capitol complex is plain and unassuming.
Derwin0@reddit
Atlanta is the biggest city in the State and dominates the Southeast.
Turbulent_Bullfrog87@reddit
I grew up in Illinois. The one & only thing I remember about Springfield is the Abraham Lincoln Museum.
I don’t think I’ve ever even driven through Tallahassee.
ConstantinopleFett@reddit
A lot of my dad's lived in Sacramento (not so much anymore for various reasons), so it's special to me, but it's definitely extremely provincial feeling compared to LA, SF, etc. I've never gone to Sacramento except to visit family, and can't think of many other reasons to do so. That being said, there's nothing wrong with it, and you can have fun if you do go there. The average Californian doesn't think about Sacramento very much.
ali_j_ashraf@reddit
My only exposure to Sacramento in media is the main character in Lady Bird wanting desperately to get out of Sacramento
back-better007@reddit
Springfield Illinois. The Lincoln museum is extremely interesting, as is his burial monument. They’ve also preserved the entire neighborhood where he lived. I suppose that was fairly easy to pull off as Springfield hasn’t really developed much since 1865. Two thirds of the state lives in Chicagoland, and Springfield is a good three hours south, fairly close to St. Louis. When it was decided Chicago was just barely settled.
Major_Enthusiasm1099@reddit
I was born in Columbus, Ohio and honestly I think it's a great city. It's not too crowded, COL is medium and you can pretty much get to any side of town within 25-30 minutes. Lots of jobs available, well maintained bike trails as well
Edthelayman@reddit
Hippies with guns.
No_Importance_750@reddit
Sacramento, Capital of California, is a decent sized city actually. It has a bridge and a pretty big downtown area. It has a temperate climate similar to San Francisco but it’s not on the coast. It’s also not the most touristy city.
PhilzeeTheElder@reddit
Michigan here. Lansing is our Capitol and all the Buildings are nice to tour. It kinda all by itself lots of green space around it. Old downtown is not far and kinda has a Hippie vibe. Great Mexican food.
colofarmer@reddit
The state capital the building, or the state capital the city? Most may go to the building once in their life, the city it rarely has much impact, the reputation may or may not include being the capital...
Far_Anything_7458@reddit
Little Rock, Arkansas. Nothing special.
New-Willingness9811@reddit
We got a nuclear sub, probably one of the only cities to have one especially so far from the ocean. Tho technically its north little rocks
Rock-Wall-999@reddit
I am amazed no one has mentioned Austin, TX, the fourth largest city in TX. Also called the Liberal capital of Texas and well known for the University of Texas. It’s a relatively lovely small city, just over one million residents, about 40% of the size of Houston, the largest city.
Dio_Yuji@reddit
Small city?
Rock-Wall-999@reddit
It ain’t near as big as Houston, or DFW. It’s only 13th nationally
Dio_Yuji@reddit
Only? Lol
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
Right? LOL. I am in Houston, and sure, it's smaller, but it's not a small city by any measures. Especially traffic.
Otherwisefantastic@reddit
My city of around 90,000 is a "small city" to me lol. If there's more than a million that's no longer small imo. I guess it just depends on your perception.
JustAnotherDay1977@reddit
Yeah, when I think “small city,” I think about 200,000 or less.
PrestigiousSmile4098@reddit
Salem is a dump LOL
Thelindseyj919@reddit
Austin isn’t weird anymore
getdownheavy@reddit
Helena is sweet and has awesome outdoor activities, as every Montanan enjoys.
11B_35P_35F@reddit
State capitals are just a city in the state that has the govt building in it. They arent anything special. Honestly, I dont find any city special regardless of how big it is or what's in it. I dont like cities. Give me a large town or middle of nowhere any day. Of course, I have to work so I am stuck living close to a city. Woe is me.
dobbydisneyfan@reddit
It’s Boston, so, easy to find out what it’s like 🤣
Theomnipresential@reddit
From Massachusetts. Capital is Boston. Very familiar city to people, and is a great city
MaroonTrojan@reddit
https://theonion.com/pretty-cute-watching-boston-residents-play-daily-game-o-1819574643/
Shadow_Lass38@reddit
Such a walkable city! If you can't walk to it, you take the T--Museum of Science, the historic sites like Old South, Old North, the Revere house, etc. Gorgeous Public Garden, and you can even walk to Charlestown and see Constitution. A quick hop on the Red Line and you're in Harvard Square. Bellisima!
I'm from the little state capital down the road: Providence. Used to have a lively shopping and movie theatre district during the 1960s, before the shopping malls ruined it. Experienced a small renaissance, then that died, too.
At least it's not downtown Atlanta, which has nothing worthwhile--no movies, no department stores, no bookstores, no theater--unless DragonCon and Momocon are on. There's the aquarium (which is excellent) and World of Coca-Cola for the tourists, and that's it.
ScatterTheReeds@reddit
I think they still do water fire there, too.
Slytherin23@reddit
But this is the exception to the rule.
night-ly-owl@reddit
I'd add Austin, Texas is also quite lovely. Total exceptions though.
NHguy1000@reddit
And it shows. MA is very weighted to Boston. For example when the Big Dig ran into money troubled near the end, all road projects were slowed down to shift money to it. Not to mention the Turnpike Authority, instead of disappearing, was restructured to support it.
uberphaser@reddit
And all the big dog debt was dumped onto the MBTA's books so the state could appear to have done a good job.
Meanwhile the MBTA is dying of cancer.
Capricore58@reddit
Hub of the Universe
draftysundress@reddit
Deadass we’re always the center of everything good and I love it!!
krendyB@reddit
Let me guess OP - you’re thinking of New York State & California, and extrapolating that to every other state? We have 50 of them, yes of course people care about their own state capital.
goombalover13@reddit
I think Des Moines, Iowa is probably the only "city" in Iowa. It is the biggest city and metro area in the state. It's also nearly dead in the center and at the confluence of the two major interstates that go through the state. It's kind of fun to look at a map of Iowa and its counties because it's a bunch of gridlines and Des Moines is nearly at the center of all of them.
I really like Des Moines. It's very clean, doing well economically, and has a lot more energy then most places in Iowa. There's also a really great bike trail system all over the city and the surrounding counties. It feels like a smaller Minneapolis to me because it's very white collar and has a similar skyway system between the downtown buildings. Also there's a huge sculpture park just like Minneapolis has at the Walker Art Center.
If I moved back to Iowa I'd very much consider Des Moines.
Drew707@reddit
Someone already did a good writeup on Sac.
So, Carson City...
Nothing really interesting about the place other than it being the seat of government. It's not a very pretty town, but it's less than like 30 minutes from Tahoe which is nice. The population definitely skews more conservative than Reno or Las Vegas, but the surrounding areas are typically deep red. Nevada is a bit odd in the sense that 80% of the population lives in two counties and Carson City is very different from either of those.
HailingCasuals@reddit
Sacramento is okay. It seems like a clean and safe place to live but relatively boring. (Not a lot of nightlife, music, exceptional restaurants, etc.) I visited once for a day so I could be wrong. The city is technically the same size as other cities but the metropolitan area is tiny compared to the Bay, Los Angeles, or San Diego.
Educational_Impact93@reddit
I live in one of the states where our capital is the biggest city (Denver). It helps that Denver is pretty centrally located for the state m
It's a decent medium sized city with all the amenities you'd expect in a city. It seems to lack character of other cities in this country, but it isn't that old relatively speaking either. Pretty meh in terms of cuisine, but better than it was 30 years ago. And not in the mountains, but you can see them!
Danibear285@reddit
My home state has a State University that allows the state capital city to exist.
blipsman@reddit
Springfield, Illinois is a very sleepy town... there are some Abraham Lincoln attractions but that's about it. Spent a night there last spring on way to St. Louis and it's a nothing town other than state government offices. Most of the recent governors spend much of their time in Chicago.
Many state capitals are like this stragetically. One, the locations were chosen to be central for travel to/from in the days of horse and carriage travel while many of the big cities were on coasts or major rivers due to need for shipping/commerce.
Secondly, there was often a desire to separate the government interests from the big business interests and having the capitals away from the major business hub limited fraternizing between the bigwigs in government and bigwigs in business (see current Federal government and how business ties corrupt).
Tabitheriel@reddit
I grew up in Trenton, the state capitol of NJ. It's a post-industrial, depressed city with a high crime rate. There is basically one area that is kinda suburban and nice, there is the "downtown" full of big office buildings, and there are slummy row houses. I grew up in one of those slummy row houses. I don't recommend Trenton.
ancientastronaut2@reddit
Santa Fe is awesome!
Janeiac1@reddit
Nobody cares about the capital being the capital per se; people pick where they live for many reasons, usually related to work or family. Capital cities in general tend to be decent places to live because there is an underpinning of stable employment and the legislatures will budget nice offices and perks for themselves.
I don’t understand what you are asking. Ask yourself why anyone lives where they do and maybe you’ll get an idea. Usually it’s some combination of work and family.
PuppySnuggleTime@reddit
I live in Hawaii, so the state capital is Honolulu. Most people are familiar with it.
watchfulone81@reddit
Hawaii is the only state to have a Royal Palace since it used to be an independent Kingdom.
Individual_Agency703@reddit
Florida has Mar-a-Lago.
Prestigious-Wolf8039@reddit
Yes, but I doubt Hawaii’s royal palace doesn’t have ketchup stained walls.
No_Beautiful_8647@reddit
Yes, beautiful place !
Sad_Alfalfa6007@reddit
Me too
Prestigious-Wolf8039@reddit
Very small.
Dpg2304@reddit
Atlanta, Georgia is pretty cool. It's the biggest city in Georgia by far. I live about 20 minutes outside of it. Traffic is horrendous, but there's a lot of stuff to do. Music and food scenes are great. 4 big sports teams with solid fanbases. Lots of trees. Close to nature and a plethora of lakes. Only about 90 minutes to the mountains.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
Phoenix, AZ is the largest city in the state and the 5th largest city in the US, although the metropolitan area is only the 10th largest in the US.
AZJHawk@reddit
Me too! Plus it has easy access to great nature, both in and near the city. Reddit doesn’t seem to like it very much, but I love it.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
I lived all over the Midwest, IA, Northern WI, Illinois near Chicago, and KS around KC. I always hated the cold weather.
The heat here is no joke, but I vastly prefer dealing with that for 3-4 months than the cold, snow, and ice for longer.
AZJHawk@reddit
Me too - I grew up in the KC area. It isn’t as cold as Chicago or the Upper Midwest, but it was too cold for me.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
My wife and are are both Shawnee Mission grads, her from East and me from South. We met in college at Emporia State.
AZJHawk@reddit
Small world! I’m an SME grad and my wife went to Blue Valley. We met at KU.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
I tease her and call it "Least", she's well and truly tired of that joke!
AZJHawk@reddit
🤣! My brother went to South. At least back in the day (early 90s) there wasn’t a whole lot of difference between the two.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
There probably still isn't! Just the rivalry. We were a decade ahead of you guys, early '80s. Moved here in '87.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
Rock Chalk!
Nouseriously@reddit
Nashville is the nicest place in the state
Diligent-Year5168@reddit
Austin is one of the top Texas cities and the most liberal
DrRichardJizzums@reddit
Austin is overhyped. Most of the stand out things about this city are done better by another Texas city. San Antonio tacos are better. Houston is far more diverse and has better food overall. Houston has actual good museums.
Austin is considered to have a good music scene but IMO that’s just for the expensive ass mega corporate festivals as touring artists frequent the larger cities more. SXSW and ACL are designed for well off out of tourists at this point. The festivals like fun fun fun fest that showcased diverse and non mainstream artists got shut down, tho they were playing mainstream headliners at the end there so maybe it was for the best. Austin is often left out of tours due to its proximity to Houston and if you have to pick one it makes sense to go to Houston.
Austin is expensive AF, for what you get living here. It’s been 15 years since I lived in Houston but comparable living spaces were much cheaper there.
The big thing that Austin wins over all the other Texas cities is that the hill country is gorgeous. It’s flat, ugly and boring like Houston on the east side but once you’re west of 35 the hill country begins and it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a great city if you enjoy being outdoors. Plenty of pretty trails and places to swim at. Sometimes I like to take a drive out west through Austin and dripping springs just for the joy of the view.
I’m not saying Austin is bad, but a lot of people who live here and the people who move here overhype its good qualities.
Fuck Dallas. Cool people don’t want to be there.
Shout out to San Marcos. It’s beautiful there too and if you’re young and want to have a good time it’s a fun town to live for a bit.
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
The one thing Austin wins over Houston is no hurricanes, and the related issues. F*ck Centerpoint.
blking@reddit
My dad grew up there and it was exceptionally boring. It’s Breyer now, but it’s still kinda boring. At least it isn’t a dry town anymore.
meowmix778@reddit
Pretty shitty if im being honest with you.
HeatwaveInProgress@reddit
Austin is nice enough, well know, overrun by tech bros, and very expensive.
ixamnis@reddit
Kansas… Topeka is a bit of a shithole , honestly. Low income city. Streets are poorly maintained. Mall is empty. Lots of businesses come and go.
On the other hand, there is a concentrated effort to renew the downtown area. And it is close to Lawrence and Kansas City. There are some very nice areas of town.
The Capitol building itself has undergone extensive renovations and is a beautiful building inside and out. It is open to the public and there are free tours of the building.
I get the feeling that Topeka is digging its way out of the hole, but time will tell.
Technical-Tear5841@reddit
Florida's capital is Tallassee, it is more of a college town. More like a small city.
ReferenceCreative510@reddit
Tiny.
2PlasticLobsters@reddit
My partner & I moved to Olympia WA from the mid-Atlantic almost 2 years ago. We picked it mostly because of its location. Basically, we're retired people who wanted a new region to explore. Oly is fairly close to the mountains & the ocean.
I love it here. The town is big enough to be lively & diverse, but not nearly as congested as the SeaTac area. There are tons of parks, so lots of places for walks. On clear days, we get views of Mt Rainier. It's so huge that it looks imposing despite being 40 miles away. It's weird to think that we live so close to an active volcano.
It's not the only one, of course. We've made several trips to Mt St Helens. More than 40 years since the eruption, you can still see the effects. It's quite astounding.
The only real downside is the cost of living. Housing & insurance in particular are both pricey.
Overall though, I love it here.
Eastern-Barber-3551@reddit
I live in the NW corner of SC and I've never been to the capitol. Atlanta and Charlotte are both closer
TemperMe@reddit
Raleigh, North Carolina
It has actually gotten very popular recently. It’s still 2nd in population behind Charlotte but the area it’s in is kind of famous and the fastest growing region in the USA.
It’s a part of what’s called the Research Triangle, it’s basically a Silicon Valley type place. They have over 20 universities in the area, many research facilities, multiple of the best hospitals in the state, it’s a leader in engineering, its population is young and progressive (like 60% of people are between 26-35), it’s two hours away from the coast and 3 hours from the highest mountains in the eastern US. Many of the big companies have faculties in the area (Google, IBM, Amazon, etc…), the people in the area skew towards being highly educated.
It’s also been relatively cheap place to live but now that its popularity is sky rocketing, so has the costs. It’s still much cheaper than other large cities ($450k for a nice home)
Known-Highlight-2673@reddit
Des Moines is actually a great city. Smaller, surprisingly diverse, great restaurants, and GOLDEN DOME.
Stuffed-Bear412@reddit
I don't know, because all though I live in Pennsylvania, I haven't lived here for very long and I don't drive so I've never been there. I think it's about 2 hours away.
TrillyMike@reddit
Annapolis is cool, right on the water, get you some crabs n such on the water. The naval academy isthere too and thats cool.
itsatrapp71@reddit
I'm from Kentucky. A riddle here is how do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky, Louisville or Lewisville? Answer is Frankfort.
Even though it's the capitol, it's irrelevant in daily life.
JustSteve1974@reddit
Baton Rouge is pretty much a dump. I avoid it if it all possible.
Jass0602@reddit
I will say, I just drove thru it once and was surprised at how nice and clean it was. BR definitely didn’t give as bad impression as I was expecting. The roads were also a lot better than MS..
Slotter-that-Kid@reddit
Personally I have never really been to my state capital. Driven through a few times but have never had a reason to stop, granted it is about 350 miles from my city.
Berezis@reddit
Nashville, Tennessee is pretty culturally relevant on its own without being the capital. It’s also on a river which is nice
Lurkalope@reddit
I don't know if you meant it this way but this reads like someone who hates Nashville trying to come up with something positive to say about it, which made me laugh (I'm not a fan of Nashville).
Berezis@reddit
Haha, maybe you’re right. I’m actually quite fond of Nashville! But I’m also coming from Murfreesboro which is just a worse version of Nashville (but with much better food).
Lurkalope@reddit
Hmmm, I don't know about better food but that may just be because of the overall number of options. So many good new places popping up in Murfreesboro though.
FeralGiraffeAttack@reddit
Sacramento (capital of California) is kind of a random place for the capital to be when we have cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco which are more well known. Sacramento is hot and kind of boring compared to most other cities here. I rank it just above Fresno or Bakersfield
Wyklar2@reddit
It’s where Sutter’s Fort is (launched the gold rush) and is at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers. The Sacramento River is navigable to the Bay, making it an inland Port city. It has sooo much more going for it than Bakersfield!
FeralGiraffeAttack@reddit
Hey, I said it was ranked above Bakersfield
Thausgt01@reddit
For whatever it may be worth, many other cities were considered for the honor of being California's capitol city, including San Jose, Vallejo, Benicia and even Berkeley. San Francisco got taken out of the running due to the logistical hassle of running train tracks to the city while the issue was up for debate, though filled in temporarily as the capitol during historic flooding in Sacramento back in 1862.
RsonW@reddit
San Francisco held most of the actual government buildings up until the 1960s. Sacramento pretty much only had the Capitol and the governor's mansion.
The California supreme court is still in San Francisco.
HowsMyBuddy@reddit
It does have a better river than Fresno or Bakersfield
WarrenMulaney@reddit
Two in fact
eugenesbluegenes@reddit
Has two better rivers.
majortomandjerry@reddit
It makes a ton of sense if you think about what was happening in the 1850s. There was a lot of river traffic between SF and the gold fields, which made Sacramento a big transit hub.
CockroachNo2540@reddit
And the railroads a bit later.
MonkeyBoySF@reddit
When my dad first moved there, I called Escramento. It has improved a lot over the last 25 years but it does feel like another Central Valley town to a certain extent.
Individual-Schemes@reddit
Escramento! Haha that's going on my list!
Along with Mildew Valley, VictimVille... There are a bunch of California cities on the list. That's great!
NAteisco@reddit
Topeka, Kansas is like all those Florida Man stories you hear without any of the alligators or sunshine. Place is a dump
PrairieFireFun@reddit
Won’t disagree about Topeka proper, but the capitol building itself is really great. I would encourage visitors to check it out.
sametho@reddit
I had a pretty good sandwich in their arts district. I was told afterward it was the best restaurant in town
night-ly-owl@reddit
Wheel Barrel? haha
sametho@reddit
Had to go back three years in my Google maps timeline to find it and lmao yes, wheel barrel
night-ly-owl@reddit
It's unfortunate that a restaurant that only serves grilled cheeses is our best restaurant LOL. I would agree with that though. Not a whole lot of great places to choose from. Lawrence just 20 miles east is much better with their restaurant scene.
"It ain't much, but it's honest work."
night-ly-owl@reddit
Came here to say this. I lived in Lawrence for a couple years and absolutely loved it! Now I'm stuck out in the county near Topeka, and I just want to give up every day. The capitol complex is neat, but that's it. It's actually making me consider relocating to JOCO or Wichita.
SeoT9X@reddit
Accurate lol
First_Bar_8024@reddit
Austin-Crappy; bad traffic, high crime, rude-over entitled and over privileged people.
Zaliukas-Gungnir@reddit
It is a big marble nut house in Salem.
deadmonkeyraft@reddit
Missouri resident here. The original (temporary) state capital was in St. Charles, because it was on the Missouri River, at a time when rivers were the main highways. St. Louis is near the Missouri/Mississippi river confluences, but I guess outstate political interests opposed it as a capital. Or something like that I heard from the St. Charles first state capitol building tour guide. It was very interesting, and the street where it is located has been used to film at least one version of Tom Sawyer.
Current capital Jefferson City is also on the Missouri River, roughly in the central part of the state. There is a nice domed capitol building i have seen from the highway, but never toured. The roads leading to Jeff City were smooth and divided long before the road north to Kirksville, where I attended college.
Jeff City also used to be a high school football dynasty (maybe they still are?), and has one of the nicest high school football stadiums I've seen in Missouri. They beat my high school by a lot when we played.
St. Louis and Kansas City (there is a much smaller Kansas City on the Kansas side) vote heavily Democrat, but Missouri as a whole is reliably Republican, though we used to be a toss up. Jefferson City frequently serves as a political counter balance to the one party rule of St. Louis City.
Waisted-Desert@reddit
Ours is the 10th most populated city in the state with less than 60,000 residents. Las Vegas proper has 660,000 and the entire Vegas Valley including all the unincorporated towns like Paradise where the Vegas Strip is located has over 2.4million.
Other than caring about the politics that happen at the capitol building, no one really cares or thinks much about Carson City.
Snoo_16677@reddit
Harrisburg, PA isn't too nice.
Great_Chipmunk4357@reddit
In Texas, where I’m from, the state capital Austin is a major city, but now I live in Florida. Tallahassee might as well be on the dark side of the moon.
_-bush_did_911-_@reddit
Literally the only real city in the state. Yes, fort Wayne exists, and parts of the north west are basically mini Chicago, but Indianapolis screams "city". It's really nice downtown, and has some decent suburbs. If you gotta visit Indiana, I promise most of what you wanna see is within Indy's city limits :)
OneNerdyLesbian@reddit
Indianapolis is the biggest city in Indiana, but a fun fact is that it's the largest city in the US that's not on a navigable body of water. It has the White River, which is too shallow for commercial boats to use. They chose it because it's right smack dab in the middle of the state, and they didn't realize the White River was unnavigable until they'd already started building the city. They got lucky that it didn't take long for railroads to be built through Indy. That's probably the only reason it was able to grow as big as it did.
ConicalSofa@reddit
Pretty sure you can't get to Phoenix by boat (but I've never been there so I may be surprised)
AZJHawk@reddit
It used to be that you could take the Salt River to the Gila to the Colorado. It’s all been dammed upstream, so the riverbeds are dry now, but they used to be perennial.
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
Really all these other obscure small towns the are capitals have water running through them? Interesting.
OneNerdyLesbian@reddit
I said it's the largest city in the country without a navigable waterway. I have no idea about the capitals that are smaller than Indy is.
big_sugi@reddit
I live in Virginia. Richmond is the capital and technically the biggest city.
model563@reddit
For the OP - Richmond is fantastic. Great arts scene, in part because of VCU (VA Commonwealth Uni), which is a state liberal arts school. They celebrate the Edgar Allen Poe connection. And while its history isnt necessarily awesome (capital of the confederacy), they do maintain historical architecture in a lot of places, and embrace cultural modernization.
Honestly, Id live there if I could (currently in Manassas).
SeriousCow1999@reddit
The art museum is world-class. Seriously.
sonicenvy@reddit
so true! VMFA is excellent. A fun fact about VMFA is that they have one of the largest museum operated art conservation labs in the country and they do a lot of conservation for a lot of other museums. I took a museum studies course back in college and my professor's sister worked at VMFA and got our whole class a behind the scenes tour of VMFA and the conservation lab. It was really, really. cool.
SeriousCow1999@reddit
And so many people do not realize how outstanding the VMFA is--I guess it's overshadowed by D.C.--or have never even heard of it.
drumzandice@reddit
I love Richmond - have only been there once but I could definitely live there
DogsBikesAndMovies@reddit
RVA is fucking awesome.
hungaryboii@reddit
I live in richmond it's a pretty fun city to live in, not too big and overwhelming and there's a good amount of stuff to do, except in the winter it gets pretty boring unless you love to drink. I love the music/food/art scenes down here
UltraShadowArbiter@reddit
No idea. It's like 4 hours away and I have no plans to ever go there.
Wide_Breadfruit_2217@reddit
I think most Americans don't care about capitals unless work for the government. They're kind of anticlimatic otherwise. Olympia in WA is a cute town around the state business but nothing like Seattle etc.
AZJHawk@reddit
I live in Phoenix, which is the state capitol. It’s pretty great. I grew up in Kansas, and the state capitol is Topeka. It sucked pretty bad and there wasn’t much reason to go there.
TapeDaddy@reddit
We have the corpse of Abraham Lincoln, and a weird sandwich. Not a whole lot else going on here.
superduckyboii@reddit
Jefferson City is a small, average Midwestern city. Not a lot going on when it comes to things that don’t involve the state government. Columbia (where the University of Missouri is) is only 30 minutes away, is a bigger city with a lot more going on, and is in general a nicer city to live in, so a lot of people live in Columbia and commute to Jeff City for work.
Onyx_Lat@reddit
I've been to Topeka a number of times, but as a small town girl it just looks like "generic big city" to me. The unique thing about it is that all the main streets are diagonal instead of oriented with the cardinal directions. So it's easier to get lost in if you're not a native.
mostie2016@reddit
Keep Austin weird.
Cowboywizard12@reddit
Boston, ours actually is both our state capital and largest city
1Negative_Person@reddit
I live in the Chicago suburbs, but I live in Indiana. Our capital Indianapolis is what I’d call the okayest city in the US. It’s a big city, but not a metropolis. There is some stuff to do; museums, sports, concerts, conventions, a bit of nightlife, but it doesn’t have some stunningly unique culture.
There are jobs in industry (largely automotive and pharmaceutical), tech, finance. It’s pretty well-rounded.
It is the most populous city in the state, and it’s like 15th most populous in the country. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere. It’s just close enough to some other places that it’s not worth flying, and just far enough that it’s inconvenient to drive for a day trip. Lake Michigan and Chicago are fairly close, but really the city itself is just surrounded by the most vanilla of bedroom communities, and boring flat cornfields outside of that.
Indianapolis is fine. It’s not the best city, it’s not the best capital city, but it’s far from the worst.
cntodd@reddit
Oklahoma City is a city that doesn't know what it wants to be. It's stuck in pre-MAPS OKC in a lot of areas, and growing amazingly in others. It isn't a bad city. We have the Thunder, the Comets, good food, some cool historical places, great parks, museums, the Zoo, and nature within city limits. It's a large land city with a smaller town feel. It isn't the prettiest though. It's Oklahoma with more going on.
I live here, and it's not the worst thing ever, but it does need to figure itself out.
qu33nof5pad35@reddit
No idea. I’ve never been there.
kygirl27@reddit
There's a joke where you ask a Kentuckian if our state capital is pronounced "Loo-ee-ville" or "Lew-is-ville." They will inevitably be annoyed and tell you it's "Loo-uh-vuhl." The correct answer is "Frankfort."
Zayknow@reddit
Vaguely related story, as everyone involved was a Kentuckian, but for a final question at bar trivia several of us argued drunkenly on how to properly spell the capital city of New Mexico. Was it Albequerqe or Albuquerque? Obviously, we were all quite wrong.
ChemicalNectarine776@reddit
I just got back from Nashville and it was amazing! Even tho my hockey team let me down while I was there……
Retiredpotato294@reddit
Cheyenne Wyoming in the capitol area is like a giant empty park. The legislature is only in session for two weeks or something, so the rest of the time the area is pretty empty. The old downtown is old western style, but not a lot to do and the restaurants aren’t great. The whole town is only about 65,000 people and there are no other towns for 30-40 miles in any direction, so it’s rarely busy except during Frontier Days, the giant rodeo/concert/carnival. Overall I think it’s mildly dreary. I grew up in NJ and Trenton was a rundown slum.
sacrelicio@reddit
I live in Minneapolis, state capital is St Paul. It's a regular city in the same metropolitan/urban area, but it's a bit smaller and a lot quieter. Different vibe. But the two cities are directly adjacent, there are parts where jt just requires crossing the street to go from one to the other.
Purple-Anxiety7949@reddit
St. Paul Minnesota is a great town. Home to 5 highly ranked private colleges plus 2 public colleges and scattering of others makes it at bit different. Different older more relaxed vibe than across the Mississippi river Minneapolis. Often news media says Minneapolis when something happens in next door St Paul drives locals crazy.
awakeagain2@reddit
I don’t like our capital. There’s a center section with lots of government buildings and virtually no parking and it’s surrounded by downtrodden neighborhoods. The suburbs are pretty average, but the capital itself isn’t much.
bmsa131@reddit
In New York State, Albany is the capital. It’s about 3 hours north of NYC. It’s more central in the state which is a large one. There’s a lot to do in the capital region but Albany itself is meh in my opinion. There is a large university there and most of the jobs revolve around the state. The region itself has a decent amount of nature.
mayonnaisejane@reddit
They call us Smallbany. Lol.
OttoVonPlittersdorf@reddit
There's some lovely architecture! And the State Library is there!
DBthecat@reddit
Albany kind of sucks imo.
But yes the region is nice
EffectiveCycle@reddit
My brother lives in a suburb of Columbus. It’s become the largest city over the past couple decades. Ohio State is probably one of the biggest reasons why. But outside of visiting him I don’t go much, I prefer going to Cincinnati.
Slow_Dealer_7766@reddit
From Ohio Originally and i preferred Cincinnati over Columbus also, nothing wrong with Columbus I just like how Cincinnati is more urban and walkable
Atlas7-k@reddit
It’s the biggest because it was able to annex all the inner and outer ring suburbs in the 60’s. The metro areas of all 3 Cs are within 10k people at last count.
Von_Bass@reddit
Irrelevant, Delaware's state capital Dover is in the middle of nowhere basically. The only time I go there is for really niche scenarios or as a stop before heading to the beaches down south. It was made the capital as a compromise with the 2 southern counties of Kent and Sussex (Delaware has 3 counties, counties are just the way we divide states). The original capital was New Castle in New Castle County but the capital should be in Wilmington (also in New Castle County). The only important thing in Dover is the Dover Air Force base, that's it. In Delaware, Wilmington is the most important and has much more to do.
SabresBills69@reddit
historically you didn’t want the state capital to be in the largest state otpr it was wanted to be more in the center of the state. the concern was big city would dominate state policy.
most state capitals have….
government buildings
many have a public university/ college in town Was a law school
they could have some sort of stste history museum
Barkerfan86@reddit
Frankfort, Kentucky here. Its a small capital compared to othere (population 20-25 thousand) and its a nice town. Its big enough that you don’t know a lot of the people and we have a lot of decent restaurants and some decent shops, and its small enough we don’t have to deal with a lot of traffic problems. 45 minutes from Louisville and 30 minutes from Lexington, so if you want to go to a city it is just a small drive.
ConicalSofa@reddit
I grew up in Lansing and now live in Providence. Despite both being classified as "medium sized cities," they're very, very different places.
You say state capitals aren't always the major city, and that's definitely the case with Lansing, which lives in the shadow of Detroit and, to a lesser extent, Grand Rapids. There are some funky art spots here and there, but by and large most of the culture and fun stuff to do are in East Lansing, a college town that abuts Lansing. Lansing itself is kind of gloomy and run down, rust belt vibes. Not completely of course, but I can't imagine anyone visiting Lansing for fun.
Providence is the biggest city in RI, but also kind of exists in the shadow of Boston. Unlike Lansing, though, Providence has a lot more going on on its own. Sure, a lot of that is from stuff that has been priced out of Boston, but you can wander around downtown Providence and find some amazing bars and restaurants, theaters, just a lot more fun. There are some sketchy areas, sure, but the better areas are a lot better than the better areas of Lansing. People do come to Providence for fun.
Besides having big state capitol buildings, I struggle to think of much else that Lansing and Providence have in common.
msabeln@reddit
Jefferson City, Missouri was specifically carved out of the wilderness to be the state capital. It’s located near the center of the state, and as it predates modern transportation, its location on the Missouri River was important. It was possible to travel there from most of the state via boat.
The city itself is has a population of about 43,000 and has more industries than just government. I had a girlfriend who lived there for her first job out of college but didn’t find it too exciting. I’ve visited several times and enjoyed the limited nightlife that was available but wouldn’t really want to live there. I suspect that a lot of folks drive the 30 miles to Columbia, which is a much larger and more exciting university town.
partywerewolf@reddit
Best city in the state, chronically underfunded because the rest of the state hate us.
judgingA-holes@reddit
My capital is also the largest city, so...
Vikingaling@reddit
Well… it was the capital of the confederacy so 😬. It’s nice now though.
HC_Let_Down@reddit
Jefferson City MO is kind of funny. On the banks of the Missouri River and on the Katy Trail, it kind of just pops up out of nowhere lol. It's in the geographic center of Missouri, but it's not so bad. Quiet for the most part, medium ish sized city
WhatABeautifulMess@reddit
Pretty but full of crabs and Seamen.
Merivel1@reddit
I spit out my tea 🤣
iDontSow@reddit
Harrisburg. I don’t care for it.
meredith312@reddit
Albany, NY is just a regular city, with the biggest and stupidest traffic circle I've ever seen. My daughter went to school there and I never failed to miss my exit. It's actually quite pretty, though.
FinsFan305@reddit
I live in Florida for years and never have even been to mine. There’s no reason for me to go or want to go there.
Individual-Schemes@reddit
It's intentional.
Capitals are intentionally in obscure cities. The point is to divide the seat of power away from economic interests and to be in a place that's politically neutral.
I've been to Sacramento a few times for work stuff. It's a cute little town like most capitals across the States.
MamaPajamaMama@reddit
Not always. Denver, for example. Salt Lake City. Phoenix. Atlanta. Boise. Boston.
Ronwell-Dobbs@reddit
Yep, should mention Indianapolis too. It’s the largest city in Indiana.
MamaPajamaMama@reddit
Yeah I didn't name them all, there are lots of state capitals that are the economic center of the state.
swedusa@reddit
Surprised I had to go this far down to see this comment. I thought it was well-known that capitols were in many cases intentionally placed in a smaller city.
Different_Car106@reddit
Springfield is...meh I guess? Idk.
I grew up in Wisconsin though; I like Madison
night-ly-owl@reddit
Wisconsin is the most peak midwestern state. I said what I said.
HuskerPhil11@reddit
Lincoln is a really nice small city with its defining feature probably being that it's home to the State University. Like most of Nebraska it's not a very old city so outside of the Capitol and few other buildings there's not a lot of character in the architecture, but it's still a nice place to visit.
Particular-Agent4407@reddit
Iowa capital is triple domed and fairly ornate. It is based loosely on the US capital. It is quite ornate inside as well. What happens inside it has become very ugly though.
RobotShlomo@reddit
Boring. It's primarily a city where there's a lot of office workers. Once 5pm rolls around it clears out. I've gone to events at the Civic Center, and there was literally nobody on the streets.
BananaJelloXlii@reddit
Most populated city in the state. Columbus Ohio
possums101@reddit
In New Jersey the state capital, Trenton is completely disregarded by the state. There are nice pockets like the part my mom lives in but I would not say Trenton is a nice place to live. When you drive around it’s clear nobody’s really investing in the city. There’s a lot of poverty and some crime. Even the downtown area where all the state government buildings are isn’t worth visiting. Just a bunch of empty storefronts and a few businesses sprinkled here and there. It’s sad honestly.
JudgeJuryEx78@reddit
The Barracks Museum is cool though.
RsonW@reddit
Sacramento:
"Being two hours from everywhere means that you're nowhere."
Sacramento's claim to fame really should be that it is the most racially integrated city in America. Plenty of other cities are as diverse as Sacramento, but Sacramento is one of the few cities in which the wealthiest neighborhoods are as diverse as the poorest neighborhoods.
jstar77@reddit
Ours is in economic decline and slowly becoming a ghost town.
spawnofangels@reddit
Not really. Annapolis is nice. Richmond is meh. Most people prefer to go to cities closer to DC in these states i.e. Bethesda and Arlington
Accomplished_Mix7827@reddit
Topeka doesn't have the best reputation. It's pretty rundown and one of the rougher cities in Kansas (which, to be fair, its competition is, like, two real cities, a few KC suburbs, and the two college towns)
Most people don't care that much and don't go there except if they have business with the government or the nearby military base
Vermontguy-338@reddit
Montpelier is the only one in the country without a McDonald’s. Another win for Vermont.
night-ly-owl@reddit
Topeka, Kansas might be one of the worst capitals in the country. The capitol building and grounds are stunning, but the city is an impoverished, dangerous, crime-ridden cesspool with a really sad and overwhelming meth problem. I really have nothing positive to say about Topeka.
Budsygus@reddit
In my state the capital is the biggest city by a good margin, as long as you include surrounding areas.
I tend to stay away. Every time I go anywhere near downtown the homeless population gets overwhelming.
No_Entertainment_748@reddit
St Paul is Minneapolis's little brother but is great in its own right. Theres a chip on its shoulder/point to prove attitude about the city
wrfostersmith@reddit
It’s the second largest city in Minnesota by population, but since Minneapolis and St. Paul are a single urban area, it seems like a counterexample to OP’s point. It is not obscure and together the 2 cities are fantastic.
bull0143@reddit
Yes, it really is the Twin Cities and that is how everyone thinks of it. Minneapolis is a little more lively and outside the box. St. Paul is a little more conservative and academic. They both have cool neighborhoods and restaurants; a focus on the arts and preserving natural spaces; and thriving communities enhanced by various waves of immigration since their founding. We are lucky to have these cities right beside each other, and the metro around them.
Hot_Aside_4637@reddit
Party in Minneapolis, breakfast in St. Paul.
opinesesame44@reddit
At Cecil's
JustAnotherDay1977@reddit
Yep, nice city. But in terms of “feel,” it seems more like just another big city than a state capitol.
Fun-Dragonfly-4166@reddit
i live very near Washington, DC. My state capital is very far away.
No_Beautiful_8647@reddit
Sacramento, California is kind of meh. If you live there, chances are you work for the government in one way or another. In many ways it’s the only time Southern California people ever get to live up north.
wackobandit6@reddit
I grew up in Salem, Oregon. Sleepy little city that has more to offer than people credit it for. It has gorgeous parks and a couple of nature preserves. It's on a river right in the heart of the Willamette Valley, so it is surrounded by farmland. There are world-class vineyards and wineries that people travel from all over the world to visit.
It's still a pretty quiet place that closes down at about 8pm. One of the things we talk about in Salem is how close other things are - it's an hour to the ocean, an hour to the mountains, and an hour to the big(ger) city that is Portland. So, a few of the main things to do involve leaving Salem
TheDwarvenGuy@reddit
Its kinda artsy fartsy and gentrified
Lot of neat srchitecture though
Mlliii@reddit
Taos?
AgreeableCommission7@reddit
Santa Fe
IAmBaconsaur@reddit
I mean, there isn't much else of a city in my state. It's a small city, but it's really spreading out with lots of suburban areas, but there's some cool stuff downtown. Does everyone need to go to Des Moines once in their life? No, but if you ever end up there, it's not nearly as boring as you'd expect it to be, you just need to look for things that align with your interests.
iangeredcharlesvane2@reddit
Iowa is one of the few states that decided to move their capital as the needs of the state changed. Our famous state capital gold encrusted dome building is in Des Moines, our largest city and a very central location.
Iowa moved its capital from Iowa City to Des Moines in 1857 to better serve the state's westward-expanding population and to place the government in a more central, accessible location.
The relocation, completed via wagon!!, aimed to accommodate rapid agricultural growth and facilitate easier travel for legislators across the growing state.
Des Moines was selected for its central geographic location within the state. The 1857 constitutional convention formalized the move, while allowing the University of Iowa to remain in Iowa City as a consolation.
The old stone capitol in Iowa City was becoming cramped for the growing legislature. The move in 1857 was difficult, requiring treasures to be moved by wagon and dealing with harsh winter weather.
JuZNyC@reddit
I drove past Albany for the first time last month and it was actually bigger than I thought. I don't know why I thought Albany was gonna be like the other small Huddson Valley towns
IamGleemonex@reddit
Austin, TX has changed a lot in the 25+ years I have been here. It was a college town with an emerging tech scene when I moved here in the late 90s. At that point, it was mostly known for being the home to the University of Texas and being “the live music capital of the world” with tons of small venues for music of basically all kinds, plus even then hosting SXSW in the spring and ACL in the fall. And of course 6th street which was arguably the second most famous street of continuous bars and restaurants next to Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Another interesting thing about Austin is that for a long time (from 1931 through 2001) there were local ordinances which banned any building from being taller than the state Capitol. So there were no skyscrapers, the tallest buildings downtown were in the 20 story range. It was actually UT of all places that got this to change as they wanted to expand their stadium, but this would have exceeded the ordinance, so they had to get a waiver. After UT got the waiver, it paved the way for other places to get waivers and in 2001, it was officially removed.
That tech scene continued to grow, as did the city as a whole which brought in tons and tons more people, and now Austin is the 11th biggest city in the US which real estate prices that have shot through the roof (compared to the rest of Texas but still cheap for Californians) and the roads haven’t kept up with the population size quadrupling.
This also brought in a very cool restaurant and food scene, the removal of the building size ordinance means downtown is littered with skyscrapers like any other big city, including now the tallest building in Texas. But it also meant that things like the local live music scene have gone away to some degree. The cost of rent on those little venues went up too much to keep them open. And local musicians have been priced out of living in Austin, and now have to either live in the suburbs or move somewhere else.
marc4128@reddit
Downtown Annapolis is quaint and historic.
imnottheoneipromise@reddit
A HOT HOT HOT MESS. Jackson Mississippi is our capital and it’s a problem. High crime, high corruption, bad water, overtaxed utility systems… just to name a few. I wouldn’t live there if you paid me. Matter of fact I wouldn’t live in most places in Mississippi, but I like the gulf coast
One-Association-5005@reddit
It's a tiny city. The people there have an over-inflated ego. It would be a bunch of farms if the capital wasn't there.
AshySlashy11@reddit
Nashville. Full of drunk, out of state bachelor/ettes in cowboy boots and hats who think downtown Nashville is rural Texas.
fried_clams@reddit
Mine is great. I live in one of these States, that has its largest city as its capital.
Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts,
Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming
Fangsong_37@reddit
Indianapolis was the mandated choice after it was determined that Corydon was not central enough. It has grown into a bustling city with plenty of attractions and the busiest roads in the state (I-465 bypasses the city in a large oval loop). I used to live there and would walk long distances or take the bus to get where I needed to go.
CloudedLeopardDaemon@reddit
Of course we do. Making some random small town in the state's geographic centre the capital is a weird thing that only recently-founded states do.
ramblinjd@reddit
South Carolina has three nearly coequal cities with the one in the geographic center being the capitol. It's a fine city. It's probably the least cultured of the three main candidates, but a decent compromise.
huhwhat90@reddit
Montgomery is very hit or miss (mostly miss). There's a lot of interesting history in the area and the city is nice enough around downtown and the Capitol, but it can get sketchy fast. There are definitely better places to be in Alabama.
Martha's Place is good, though!
RobinFarmwoman@reddit
Santa Fe was founded in 1610. Not only the oldest capital in the US, but one of the oldest cities. It is a tourist destination. It is at 7,000 ft of altitude with mountains all around, used to be some great skiing before climate change. Also has some amazing cultural opportunities such as the Santa Fe Opera. It's full of museums and art. We can take a train up there from Albuquerque, which is the state's largest city by far. We tend to go up there for protests or legislative days, or to visit friends that live there, but we pretty much avoid it otherwise because it's so touristy and expensive.
RespectablePapaya@reddit
Olympia has the capital building and there is a moderately sized commercial/retail district. The waterfront is also nice. You could spend a pleasant afternoon there, but it's nothing special. Other than the capital building it's a fairly mundane mid-sized coastal PNW city.
RachelWWV@reddit
Charleston, WV is the largest town. Our population has been dropping for decades, but so has the state population. The town has a lot of nice historic buildings but because of the population drop we have an increasing number of abandoned houses and commercial buildings. We lost a lot of federal funding after we went below 50,000 people in 2020 so the city is having a harder time keeping the area looking normal/nice.
Defiant_Network7916@reddit
I'm from Boston, its the hub of the universe.
Upstairs_Highlight25@reddit
I like my state capital. It is a fairly calm city with several collages and lots if parks and natural spaces. Going to one of the colleges there is really common in rural areas as the city is easier to navigate for someone not use to city life than most of our other cities and the colleges there have lots of resources for helping you get used to city life.
holymacaroley@reddit
It's a nice enough city, has a few cool museums etc. My city is not the capital but has a bigger population, by around double.
Charlesinrichmond@reddit
Very nice hipster city. It's like a southern Brooklyn. Richmond, Virginia.
The fact it's the capital is good for the economy, but doesn't really matter to the culture. To answer the question, no one really cares about state capitals.
VanillaCavendish@reddit
I’d say most Americans don’t care much. States I’ve lived in: 1. Maryland. Annapolis isn’t a major city, but it has the Naval Academy in addition to state government. The state is small enough that it’s easy to reach Annapolis from the D.C. suburbs or Baltimore. 2. California. Sacramento is so far from Los Angeles that it might as well be on the moon. 3. Minnesota. St. Paul borders Minneapolis. You can walk there if you have enough time. 4. Nevada. Carson City is tiny and remote. 5. Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is pretty easy to get to from Philadelphia with frequent trains. 6. Ohio. Columbus is the state’s largest city, though Cleveland and Cincinnati have larger metro areas.
MetroBS@reddit
I don’t even know how to describe Dover, Delaware to you.
The south side of the town is a massive Air Force base, the north side has multiple small college campuses. In between is a nice historical little town with a certain run down rustic charm. The area near the government buildings is very nice and well curated. The east side of town has a lot of businesses and commerce and the west kinda just fades into farmland.
Oh and there’s a huge nascar track too
SukunasStan@reddit
My home state's capital is Trenton. Yuck
blanknullvoidzero@reddit
Extremely suburbanized corporate tech bro hell run by christo-fascist oil barons and their cronies.
It was a kinda cool hippie vibe/college city 30 years ago, but that's dead and gone.
No-Contact6664@reddit
This is what people who can't adapt think about Austin and it's not original or accurate.
HistoryHustle@reddit
Austin is definitely not the biggest city in the state which has three MSAs in the top 10 — Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. It does have an internationally known music scene, a very large university, and a recognized cultural vibe, unlike her larger metro sisters. It just has attracted a lot of folks in recent decades, which isn’t always welcome.
No-Contact6664@reddit
In the US, capital cities were generally chosen. Stephen Austin found Waterloo and they made it the capital because it wasn't Houston. It's not supposed to be the largest city or have the museums and sports teams.
The city isn't run by oil barrons (the state is.)
The city actually owns its own utility one of two in the entire country. When you pay your electric bill in Austin you're getting renewable power and the city is getting funds.
Socalbruh@reddit
I mean you make a fair point for my state. If I think about traveling, it’s to LA, SF, SD. I kinda forget Sacramento is our capital. I’ve been a few times but it’s nice that other cities can thrive without being the capital.
144Boston@reddit
Bostons nice. Some people compare it to European cities. Very old with tight streets. Driving in it sucks
Shadow_Lass38@reddit
The only people who drive in Boston are the people who have to (cops, delivery people, etc), tourists, and crazy people. Smart people take the T.
SRSchiavone@reddit
Neither Trenton NJ or Albany NY is all that nice. NY at least has NYC, but Jersey doesn’t really have any nice big cities
TheJokersChild@reddit
NJ does have some really nice small towns, though, once you're west of Rt. 206.
SRSchiavone@reddit
Oh certainly, but I wouldn’t tell someone who has 48 hours in Jersey to go enjoy AC, Trenton, Camden, or Newark. There are nice places and great restaurants and historical sites in all, but by and large none of them are nicer than the aforementioned small towns
da_Doctah@reddit
Still waiting to hear from Montpelier.
Semi-Pros-and-Cons@reddit
Both of the residents must be busy today.
Libinky@reddit
Frankfort KY is a beautiful smaller city on the banks of the KY river. Come visit! Lived here 20+years and love it!
Blue387@reddit
I visited Albany to see the inauguration of Eliot Spitzer as governor. I also wandered around the capitol area and walked around the underground mall space. There was also the state museum which I visited. The roads looked like crap.
Semi-Pros-and-Cons@reddit
I liked Albany the couple of times that I've been there. Big enough to have good amenities, but small enough to be manageable. I've heard people say that it's boring, but I filled up a weekend with plenty of things to do, and I stayed within walking distance of my downtown hotel.
travster23@reddit
Austin is the least Texas city in Texas
Coldfyre_Dusty@reddit
Lived in Kentucky for nearly 5 years and never been there. Frankfurt just isn't really important as a city other than a stop on the way from Lexington to Louisville.
Where I grew up in Minnesota on the other hand, beautiful capital, both of the Twin Cities were great. Decent public transportation, great parks and trails, good mix of nature and urban, and by far the biggest and most important city(s) in the state.
Whybaby16154@reddit
No - state capitals aren’t worth visiting. They’re full of politicians that ruin everything they touch.
TheJokersChild@reddit
Two I've been to are also really slummy and run-down once you get your eyes down from the domes of their capitol buildings.
My current one is not that terrible, but it is small and kind of depressing. They tell me it's the only one without a McDonald's.
casapantalones@reddit
It’s … fine.
_mur_@reddit
Carson City is really nice! It has a reputation for being boring (compared to other Nevada cities) but that’s all relative. It’s right on the edge of the mountains and has a lot of hiking/biking trails. The downtown area is small but pretty cute. The surrounding area has pretty stunning natural beauty. It’s only a half hour drive to Reno (which is basically next door in Nevada terms).
watchfulone81@reddit
I’m from Columbus, Ohio.
Columbus is as of the last few decades the largest city in Ohio (population nearing 1,000,000 in the city proper).
Franklin County has about 2 million people in it.
The Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area has about 3.5 million people in it. While Cleveland and Cincinnati proper have less population, their metro areas are larger and contain more people.
Due to not being “land locked” Columbus & surrounding metro area has continued to spread out and grow over the last 80 years.
Overall, Columbus does pretty well as it has a very diversified economy. There is a large college, several medical systems. Several banks are based here and/or regional operations centers, state, local and federal government (I happen to work for the county). There used to be a sizable manufacturing industry but less so in the last 50 years. There is a very large logistics presence in this city and surrounding communities. Columbus is pretty well much 1 day’s drive from like 80% of the population east of the Mississippi River and is semi centrally located in the country.
We have semi-mild winters. We get snow but not like up by the Great Lakes and we have hot summers. We are at risk for tornadoes and thunderstorms but thankfully they are rare.
Columbus is used as a test market because it represents a good sampling of the general population.
Bluemonogi@reddit
I live in Kansas and Topeka is the capital city. I have driven through Topeka but never really spent time there as I don’t live close to it. It is the 5th largest city in Kansas and was founded in 1854 and became the official state capital in 1861.
I don’t hear people talking about how much they love Topeka. I guess it is okay?
No_Sorbet1634@reddit
OKC has the Cock ring which should be world famous
Original-Revolution2@reddit
OKC is one of the exceptions to state capitals being mostly irrelevant. The OKC metro accounts for \~40% of the population in Oklahoma and something like 45% of the state's GDP. It's basically the only economic, political, and cultural hub in the entire state. Tulsa used to be a contender, but that city is slowly decaying and hasn't seen any proper growth in decades.
3X_Cat@reddit
I've never visited my state capitol and likely never will. I lived in another state and visited the capitol of that state once. I wasn't impressed.
Sea-Consequence7156@reddit
Many states chose to have the capital far from the largest city/cities as a way to avoid that one city dominating political power in the state. Springfield Illinois as the capital vs Chicago is the classic example
uresmane@reddit
Our state Capitol is St. Paul, where I live. It's across the river from the biggest city, the state capital is the second biggest city. Minneapolis across the river always jokes about how our city is a suburb, even though it absolutely is its own City.
too_old_to_be_clever@reddit
It is small. There are a lot of wooded areas and trails. There isn't a lot here to do.
Welcome to Tallahassee
Dave_A480@reddit
A lot of them in the Midwest are university towns.
They are almost never the largest city in the state, because they are either intentionally centrally located (Madison, WI) or they are picked based on what was economically important in the 1800s & thus didn't become the biggest because the economy/technology changed....
Fine-Meet-6375@reddit
It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from there. (Pierre, SD)
largos7289@reddit
Trenton??? LOL don't go there without a shotgun. it's a dive.
scylla@reddit
I live in my State Capital 😂 Austin is the 2nd largest state capital in the US ( after Atlanta where I had lived previously ) Its not just the state capital but a major tech-hub and has a massive university right in downtown.
https://www.beecreekphoto.com/images/xl/Austin-Skyline-with-Texas-Capital-Night-Pano-2025-DR69349.jpg
It's still only the 4th largest city in Texas.
Maxpower2727@reddit
I live in Sioux Falls SD, which is a city of about 225k and growing fast. Our capital, Pierre, has about 14k people and is right in the middle of nowhere. It's not even along an interstate. There's nothing around it and basically no reason to go there if you don't work for the state government.
Round-Lab73@reddit
It's the biggest city in the state and the cultural and economic hub. It's the only town in the state people from outside the region can name
Electrical-Let-6121@reddit
Frankfort Kentucky is one of the smallest state capitals, beautiful hills around it and several distilleries around the area. Kentucky horse country too
Personal-Molasses-11@reddit
I like Frankfort. It's very Kentucky. Bourbon distilleries, the Salato Center for Kentucky wildlife, the history museum, Rebecca Ruth Bourbon balls, Daniel Boone's grave overlooking the Capitol, it's a nice trip for a small town.
VernonDent@reddit
30 minutes to the second largest city in the state, 45 minutes to the largest. Just over an hour to Cincy. So city stuff is handy when you need it but not in your back yard.
50Shekel@reddit
Columbus is a soulless corporate college town. Or at least that's how it feels compared to Cleveland
monsieurgoodman@reddit
trenton as a city isn’t great but the suburbs are very nice
mothertuna@reddit
It’s where I grew up. Its fairly liberal compared to more conservative parts of the states. It’s small but it’s more city than not so it was always a shock to see most of the state is rural.
Chickenman70806@reddit
The tallest in the nation
RoosterzRevenge@reddit
Its weird
sean8877@reddit
Lived in Albany, NY for many years. I liked it a lot and there were lots of state jobs. My mother's entire family were/are all state workers.
FROG123076@reddit
I live in a Capital City and it is the biggest city in the state as well. It is expensive, but also close enough to rural areas that you get the best of both city and country life.
latin220@reddit
Boston is like a European capital a small one. The roads wind and taverns, nice little shops mixed with row houses and beautiful skyline. The people of New England are cold and quick to the point but also quick to help and happy to share a pint with a friend once you break that icy exterior they often have.
Prestigious-Comb4280@reddit
I love Boston.
Cyber_Punk_87@reddit
Vermont here, and our capital is the smallest in the US, and while technically a city, the population is only around 8,000 people. We’re the only state capital without a McDonald’s, and I think the only one without a Starbucks, too.
It’s not well-known outside of New England. Locals often call it Mont-peculiar because it’s a weird little town. It’s pretty close to the center of the state (slightly more north). Lots of good restaurants, some really cool shopping, and lots of good events happen there. The downside is that it’s also in a major floodplain and has severe floods every decade or so (and minor floods most years).
TsundereLoliDragon@reddit
Never had a reason to go to Trenton when I lived in New Jersey. Never had a reason to go to Harrisburg since living in PA the last 30+ years. All I know about Harrisburg is the capitol building is really neat.
https://www.pacapitol.com/Resources/Images/capitol-complex-aerial.jpg
ChemistRemote7182@reddit
Our neighbors over in VT did it right, I really like Montpelier.
boulevardofdef@reddit
Here in Rhode Island, Providence is not only the state capital but the state's only real city. Nonetheless, the state has moved a lot of services to the neighboring suburb of Cranston.
darkhuntresssyn45@reddit
Underwhelming. You'd think Las Vegas or Reno would be the capital, but nope, Carson City.
Ranger_Prick@reddit
Missouri's state capital, Jefferson City, is the only one in the contiguous 48 states that does not sit on a federal interstate. So that gives you a little bit of an idea to the kind of backwater town it is.
theycallmethevault@reddit
Frankfort, KY is really pretty small and incredibly boring. The only real career jobs there are government jobs, and it’s a mass exodus at 4:30pm during the workweek because most employees don’t live there.
steve_french07@reddit
Boston is the shit!
20characterusername0@reddit
Usually (but not always), the state capital is simply the most central location of the state.
Those kind of decisions were made, long before the city developed. In some cases, commerce and industry developed around that city as an epicenter. Sometimes, especially on the coast, that’s simply impractical.
Look at New York. Albany and the surrounding region is historically a shithole, my apologies to those who live there, but parts of it look like it was bombed out and boarded up. But then you look further East and you have the perfectly situated ports which facilitated trans Atlantic ~~slave~~ trade for centuries. The largest banking center in the world. Markets that used to sell ~~Africans~~ live stock, evolved to transact paper certificates to represent such stock, and then increasingly sophisticated financial instruments.
Such a city was always destined to flourish, while Albany is just kindof… there.
In the southeastern U.S. You’ll have exceptions. Assuming it wasn’t obliterated in the civil war, these cities benefited early from their connection to the old world, and effortfully but successfully retained their rich culture. I’m talking about Charleston and also (against all odds) Richmond and Atlanta.
TK1129@reddit
I’m from New York and went to college up in the state capitol of Albany. I grew up in the New York City suburbs and Albany is very small city in comparison. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch once referred to Albany as a small town without a good Chinese restaurant. He was pretty accurate.
skyway_walker_612@reddit
Saint Paul is very Saint Paul. It's got some nice neighborhoods (cathedral hill) but it's somewhat unremarkable.
That's ok for me though I am not really into the built environment as bring special. I like nature more than concrete buildings for instance.
spencer_hood@reddit
It's Nashville. A lot of people are familiar with it.
Affectionate-Use6412@reddit
I have been to my state Capitol once and have never felt so much than I was going to be mugged. Got followed on the way in to the city, got followed leaving the venue we had driven there for. Do not need to repeat.
K_N0RRIS@reddit
Annapolis a very old and small city. It looks very english colonial. Most of our capital cities on the east coast were established long before the US population exploded and because those cities were so small, they didn't really have the room to grow into huge cities. Usually the capital city is tucked away in the center of the state and it generally acts as legislative area, not a business area. The business based cities are usually not too far away.
Do we care about our state capitals? I'm sure the people who live in them love them, but me living in the largest city in my state (Baltimore), I assure you I don't think about Annapolis at all unless they are passing some dumb laws that affect us here or something.
Aloh4mora@reddit
I don't care at all about Olympia. Sorry, Olympia.
niemir2@reddit
Albany is a pretty normal mid-sized city.
Quartia@reddit
As someone who has lived there, yes. It is a normal city with everything that a city needs, schools, hospitals, museums, and absolutely nothing more than that.
draftysundress@reddit
I LOVE BOSTON I LOVE BOSTON I LOVE BOSTON. I want to move back asap but I can’t afford it. But also, everywhere in mass has high rent so may as well try making it work in the city I love.
I love public transportation and taking the T, walking everywhere, everything is all in one place usually, it’s beautiful, and I have always felt safe, even at night downtown and walking alone. The people there are sooooo nice!! (I’m a cape codder, if you think Bostonian are mean, go to the cape. You’re gonna learn fast) The only crime I ever experienced was my car got broken into, but this is literally the only crime I’ve encountered in 5 years in Boston. I can’t think of anything bad about Boston! I love it there so much.
WORhMnGd@reddit
It’s pretty nice. Austin, Texas is known for being “weird”. Like, our literal slogan for supporting local businesses is “keep Austin weird.” It was well known as being full of drugs, hippies, lots of nature trails, and a slowly dying place.
Sadly Google set up here so the population and traffic EXPLODED and we’re having difficulties building more roads/expanding roads/keeping COL down.
Gwtheyrn@reddit
Olympia is... I guess just like most cities on the Puget Sound. It's a bit more upscale than Tacoma or Bremerton, and there are more lawyers. It does have a thriving punk rock scene.
CountChoculasGhost@reddit
I’ve never been 🤷♂️
thewayneman3@reddit
Obscure and far away. I’ve only set foot in my state capital once or twice.
Quix66@reddit
Baton Rouge is now unfortunately the most populous parish after Hurricane Katrina happened to wipe out much of New Orleans.
The state government, industry, petrochemical, and two main state universities are our major sectors, not tourism as most important in New Orleans.
We have the tallest state capitol building in the US, a 34 story art deco skyscraper.
It’s a generally hot, humid, lush Southern city with lots of trees and flowers. Residents love their gardens here.
Winter is fairly brief and generally no colder than 28F, and that’s not that frequent. It’s common to have temps in the 70Fs or 80Fs during the winter. Snow is rare, with many years or decades between.
Watson9483@reddit
I’m originally from Jefferson City, Missouri. I love it because it’s my hometown, but it’s pretty boring. There’s a cute downtown, and some good restaurants here and there. A huge percentage of people that live there work for the state. It’s home to Lincoln University, which was the first black university in the state. Columbia is not far away and has more going on.
CousinBarnabas1967@reddit
Santa Fe, New Mexico is the oldest city that is a state capitol in the USA, conversely it has the newest capitol building in the USA
Finndogs@reddit
Well, I live in Springfield, so I like it. About the size I desire and usually has something to do.
Mysterious-Meat7712@reddit
Boise is one of the few state capitals that is also the largest city.
It’s awful here. Don’t come.
claudiatiedemann@reddit
Georgia’s capital is Atlanta, which is the largest city in the state and in the entire Southeast.
PrimusDCE@reddit
Richmond, VA is awesome, a very fun place. Same artsy/ counterculture vibe as an Austin or Portland. It's an art city with VCU at the center. It is the home of GWAR to put it in perspective.
JustAnotherDay1977@reddit
I lived in Richmond briefly and loved it. Such a great mix of big city feel without the big city sprawl…and some beautiful architecture.
PineappleNaan@reddit
Flat. We pretend it is a mythical city that is rumored to exist somewhere in the 300 mile expanse between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
GrammarLyfe@reddit
Hated, but I have a soft spot for it.
MrQuizzles@reddit
Rhode Island is the smallest state, and so it's dominated by its state capital and largest city, Providence. If you' live in Rhode Island, you either live in Providence or a suburb of Providence.
Providence itself is a cool little city. It's chock full of colleges and universities. It has a great art scene, a great food scene, an LGBT+ community that punches far above its weight and some great parks and public spaces. It's not a bad place to be at all.
quietly_annoying@reddit
St Paul is the quieter twin when compared to its sister Minneapolis, but it has beautiful parks and pleasant neighborhoods.
wbishopfbi@reddit
I live in mine (Atlanta), and I mostly like it. Lived in the suburbs for many years and prefer the city.
Grouchy_Tower_1615@reddit
It's definitely a different town for sure it isn't the original capital of Iowa that was Iowa city.
PaulaAna@reddit
Sacramento is absolutely not the first city that comes to mind if you think California (Mostly likely it's gonna be Los Angeles or San Fransisco)
I care a lot about Sacramento though!...
... With a lot of bias owing to the fact I was born and raised there \^.\^;;
pete_blake@reddit
Lincoln, NE is the 2nd largest city in the state...roughly 300,000 population, fairly laid back university/state government town. The Capitol building is pretty cool...most people like the city, it's one of a very few small blue dots in an incredibly red state.
Mr_Salty87@reddit
I’m from Maryland, and our capital (Annapolis) is absolutely gorgeous. Picture old brick and stone buildings, cobbled streets, and sailboats on the Chesapeake as the backdrop to it all. It’s a small town compared to other cities and metro areas in Maryland, but it’s home to the US Naval Academy, so I’d say it’s not obscure at all. Since Maryland is such a small state and easy to drive across, many of us went on school field trips to Annapolis as kids. The actual statehouse building itself is the oldest statehouse in the country, dating back over 250 years.
NIN10DOXD@reddit
Charlotte is bigger than Raleigh, but both are some of the fastest growing cities in the US. While Charlotte’s economy is built on banking, Raleigh is all about technology.
Raleigh (2nd largest) has more of the other major cities in our state closer to it. It has basically grown into Durham (4th) and Cary (6th).
Raleigh is also more known for academia as North Carolina State (our premier engineering school)is in its heart. Then Duke is Durham and then our state’s flagship university UNC is in Chapel Hill which is basically grown into Durham.
I’m a bit biased because I grew up an hour or less outside Raleigh so it’s my preferred metro in my state.
LinuxLinus@reddit
I’ve actually never been to the capital (Olympia) of the state where I live now.
In the state where I grew up — Oregon — the capital is Salem. It’s kinda dull and famously the most racist town in the state where, though I couldn’t tell you why that is.
Awdayshus@reddit
It's the second biggest city in the state, and it shares a border with the biggest. Saint Paul is the capital and Minneapolis is the bigger city. Collectively, they are known as The Twin Cities to people all over the country. Regionally, they are "The Cities."
gardengrowsgreen@reddit
Our state capitol is also our largest city and probably the only city most people who are unfamiliar with Utah can name.
Sad-Corner-9972@reddit
*Theocracy is the exception amongst US states
DogsBikesAndMovies@reddit
When Washington state was being formed, there was a debate as to which city would be the capital and which would get the pulic university (University of Washington). Olympia thought they won by getting the capital. Nope, Seattle won. Olympia isn't bad, but it isn't even close to being as lively and fun as Seattle.
SheenPSU@reddit
I mean, the largest city and the capital (3rd largest city) are 20 mins from eachother and aren’t that much different
NH is very small so even our biggest city is pretty small
LongjumpingEchidna25@reddit
Indianapolis is a car city, famous for the Indy 500 and Gen Con. The city has been making improvements to pedestrian infrastructure and public transportation, but it's still not great. However there are some good urban trails that run through the city. The city is very spread out and low density. Plenty of good food and diversity. We are the headquarters for Eli Lily, which produces tirzepatide and other pharmaceuticals. The suburbs around the city are growing rapidly. One of the city's nicknames is Circle City due to the circular plaza at the center of the city.
Consistent_Post_2558@reddit
If we care about our state capitals, it’s usually because the place itself is nice/interesting rather than caring specifically because it’s the capital city. Though some of the state capitals are quite nice… but that’s not something you typically visit except as a child or if have some explicit purpose for going to the capital.
Right now I live in Virginia - I like Richmond because it’s a fun artsy city that has a different vibe than the DC area (where I live) and it has a good metal scene.
I used to live in Maryland, I went to Annapolis pretty often - literally never saw the state house. We would always go for fresh blue crabs or oysters - it’s a cute town with lots of walkable areas and good seafood.
I grew up in Austin, Texas… so obviously I care about Austin since I’m from there. It’s also home to one of the largest universities in the US, has a reputation for live music and had a fun/artsy vibe (which is slowly fading away) - it’s also a center of a lot of the high tech industry outside of California.
Junkley@reddit
Depends on the state. Some state capitals(Ex: Phoenix, AZ and Denver, CO) are the biggest and most important cities in their state and as a result are cared about a ton by state residents.
There are other states that have significantly large state capitals but they are overtaken in relevance by another(usually larger) metro area. Think Sacramento, St Paul, Columbus and Austin. These are in the middle as they are important to many still and have a big amount of cultural relevance within the state.
Then at the bottom of the spectrum there are the state capitals that are small and significantly dwarfed by other cities in their state and have almost zero relevance outside of state government. Places like Pierre, Montpellier, Frankfort and Juneau and Jefferson City.
MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit
I grew up in New Jersey, where Trenton is the capital. In the entire time I lived there, I went there once, for a football playoff game. We got there, got off the buses, played, got on the buses, and left.
It doesn’t have a good reputation at all and no one I know goes there for any reason. I don’t live in NJ now but I kind of wonder how much of the reputation is suburban folks scared of cities, and how much is deserved.
cinnamongirl73@reddit
Annapolis has a lot to offer. Restaurants on the water, shops, etc. but I’ve never been a fan. I always just go to Baltimore. It’s bigger, it has some awesome historical stuff (the bar that Edgar Allen Poe was last seen in-still there-still named The Horse You Rode In On-stuff like that). They have water taxis, paddle boats, booze cruises. The aquarium, etc., it just seems like there’s more to do in Baltimore. Oh, duh. I’m from Maryland, since I just dove right into it. 😂😂😂
BidRevolutionary945@reddit
Boston is awesome. I also lived in Washington state and loved Olympia. Lived in CA too but Sacramento is lame.
thegreenfury@reddit
Depends on the state. You're right that often the capital is not the most well known city. I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina and its a really nice place. I think we're lucky that it is part of an area known as the Triangle made up of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill which are all close to each other and have well regarded major universities. So its also a university town and has lots of young energy, not just legal/government-centric stuff. Its one of the fastest growing areas in the country.
babassu_seeds@reddit
Ì actually partially wanted to move to New Mexico because its capital appeared in a song ("Santa Fe" from Rent). But then I discovered that Santa Fe was expensive and not really where things happened--that would be Albuquerque.
After I moved, I did visit Santa Fe. It's beautiful and has distinctive architecture.
syndicatecomplex@reddit
Harrisburg is where the mostly dysfunctional state government is, and that's about all there is to say about it. There's really not much else it the city itself, though people do seem to like the suburbs especially Hershey.
tcspears@reddit
It's going to vary by state... In my state (Massachusetts), the capital city is Boston, and that's also our largest city. It's across the river from Cambridge, and and hour away from Worcester, which are also large cities, that have their own distinct cultures. The region I'm in (New England) is more densely populated than other regions in the US, so there are a ton of other cities you can get to in under an hour by train or car from Boston. Since we're a former British colony, a lot of our culture, architecture, traditions, and even road design come from the UK.
Our region borders New York state, and their capital is Albany, which is not as big as New York City. New York City is definitely the cultural and economic capital of that state (if not the whole US), while Albany is a university town with lots of government buildings. New York City was formerly part of New Amsterdam, and the state was Split between the Dutch and the French, so the culture, traditions, architecture, and urban planning are radically different from my region.
what-the-fach@reddit
Albany somehow makes perfect sense and no sense at all.
upnytonc@reddit
I’m in NC. Raleigh is our capital. I live in a suburb of Raleigh. It’s a nice city, but nothing unique or overly interesting stands out about it to me. It’s a family friendly city.
esk_209@reddit
Maryland's state capital is a lovely town -- Annapolis is both the capital and the location of the Naval Academy. Do I "care" about it? Not any more than I "care" about any other town that I don't live in, but it's nice place to visit. Good restaurants, some fun things to do, loads of history, very walkable.
Flimsy_Equal8841@reddit
Ours is the largest city in the state.
Sad-Corner-9972@reddit
Des Moines anchors the largest metropolitan area in Iowa (by far). It’s sprawling, car dependent and much of it is waste of good farmland. The capitol building itself is rather attractive.
There are far worse places, weather permitting.
Lab-Rat-6100@reddit
It makes sense to have the state government center separate from the big industrial or business hubs. Real estate and other costs are lower easing burden on taxpayers.
jakerooni@reddit
Frankfort is boring and everyone who goes there complains about the roads being difficult to navigate.
Bastyra2016@reddit
I don’t think about it much. We had to memorize each states capital in the 5 th grade. That’s probably the last time I considered the topic
Judgy-Introvert@reddit
I know where our state capital is. I don’t make a point of visiting it as it is a good distance away from where I live. I think I’ve only been there once.
anonymous_fart5@reddit
To be honest, I have a better idea of what a few other states' capitals are like than my own. I can't remember the last time I've been to mine.
boundtoearth19@reddit
Columbus is a college town that got massive fairly recently though with some pretty neat stuff. Their Japanese market is amazing! Also German Town is so adorable! Neat architecture! And OSU games are always a blast!
All that said, sometimes the city feels artificial to me. Lots of suburban sprawl, no public rail access, parts of the city die when OSU isn’t in session. Still a neat place but there’s more to Ohio than just Columbus!
But yeah Columbus is our largest city so not obscure at all. She just got big more recently than the other Cs!
CaptainAwesome06@reddit
It's the largest city in the state and 3X+ larger than the 2nd largest city, by population.
It just feels like a city. Nothing special about it, if you've been to other cities before.
When I lived in Northern Virginia, DC seemed more like our capital than Richmond. But Richmond also just felt like a small city. Again, nothing super special about it.
scottwax@reddit
Austin's motto is "keep Austin weird".
Pemminpro@reddit
Dovers a hole
Basically the only attractions are really the autoracing track, a casino, and acouple of museums...and I guess the airbase but thats not in the city proper.
lacaras21@reddit
Madison is generally regarded as one of the most livable cities in the entire country. A lot of great urbanism and a lively community that cares about their city and neighbors, not to mention the Capitol itself is beautiful, the dome on it, while slightly shorter than the Capitol in DC is larger by volume.
Pemminpro@reddit
Dovers a hole
Basically the only attractions are really the autoracing track, a casino, and acouple of museums...and I guess the airbase but thats not in the city proper.
skicanoesun32@reddit
Montpelier is a nice, small city when it isn’t flooding. There’s some neat shops (including a catnip dispensary, yes it’s really catnip), cafes (Red Hen is moving there temporarily), a thriving summer farmers market, a movie theater, the Vermont History Museum, and I hear the post office is back open!
Throwaway-ish123a@reddit
Annapolis: Picturesque town with a tranquil, colonial harbor, sailboats with their tall masts lazily drifting in front of well kept red brick colonial buildings and cobblestone streets. Great upscale restaurants and shopping too.
r2k398@reddit
Pink
TehTJ13@reddit
Frankfort, Kentucky, is one of the smallest state capitals in the country. It’s fine.
Apart-Disaster-3085@reddit
The city itself is fine. The neighborhood it's in is very ghetto. It has struck me how common state capitals are in run-down parts of town.
Do I care? Not at all.
Dio_Yuji@reddit
We have a quaint downtown that is bustling at lunch, but dead by 9:00 PM, with the exception of some weekends when there are festivals. We have a large flagship university too. The old neighborhoods are great. Beautiful, tree-lined streets, great restaurants, parks, etc.
But….
In the 1960s there was desegregation and the construction of the interstate system, which went right through town. Black folks with money fled the city for the suburbs, as did all the whites who were scared of blacks moving in to the neighborhood. The result was urban decay that we’ve never recovered from. We’re high in crime, poverty, and more segregated than ever. And ever since the interstate was built, we’ve become so auto-centric, that we rank high in terms of traffic congestion, crashes, roadway deaths, road rag, etc. Most new development is on the edge of town in wetlands and flood zones. We had a massive flood ten years ago that we learned nothing from.
All in all, it’s still a fun place to live, but we seem to be on a downward trajectory that feels inevitable
onacloverifalive@reddit
Unless it’s also a major city, no, American’s don’t give much special priority to state capitals. We do memorize all the state capitals in grade school, though.
Often there are some worthwhile things there like large universities, zoos, and architectural government buildings, but the major cities all typically have even better amenities.
anclwar@reddit
I hate mine on a philosophical level. The city itself is fine, I guess, but the political decisions that come out of it often have me wanting my city to secede from the rest of the state and join DE or NJ.
Holiday_Actuator2215@reddit
Boston is the quintessential state capital !
rockmediabeeetus@reddit
It’s a city. It exists and I guess the building itself is pretty depending on taste and preference, but no one is coming here just to see it.
EatLard@reddit
Our state capitol is a small town in the middle of the state, and not even on a major highway. It’s significant because that’s where state government is located, but otherwise not a major part of the economy. Great place to go if you enjoy fishing though.
bmiller218@reddit
Of those cities/towns where they know you're not local in the way you pronounce it.
EatLard@reddit
We have a couple of those towns. Belle Fourche is another one.
xSparkShark@reddit
Boring
GeneseeJunior@reddit
I'm originally from New York and lived in Albany for a year. It's nice. The State Museum is cool.
I currently live in Atlanta. It's not my favorite place in the world, but there are some great people and things here.
It's kind of neat being so close to your legislators - gives you a tad more influence and understanding of processes of governance.
Duque_de_Osuna@reddit
We do not. A lot of state capitals were picked for being centrally located before cars. I live in Pennsylvania and the capital is Harrisburg. It’s not a large town but it’s in the middle of the state.
I know in Europe the largest city is usually the provincial capital, which makes sense.
Ambitious-Guava-7947@reddit
Boring
OldRaj@reddit
Indianapolis: state capitol and largest city. NFL team, NBA team, Final Four every few years (this weekend), and a lot of auto racing. We also host a lot of trade shows and conventions.
Mangledpie@reddit
It has the government buildings, a museum, and a college. Capitals are supposed to be close to the middle of the state so it’s easier for people to travel there. That was more for when people had to travel by horse, though.
RandomSlimeL@reddit
I've lived in at least 2 states where the capital was technically important from administration but was culturally second.
PreviousGolf9541@reddit
I think you’ll get 50 different answers to this question.
MotherOf4Jedi1Sith@reddit
When my sons was younger, he and I liked to play Pokémon GO. There was a big event and had a meet up in Austin, TX so we decided to go there to play. We actually went inside the Capitol Building, as it was very hot outside. The building was nice, as was the park nearby we played in.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
Sooooo boring.
Useful-Touch-9004@reddit
I think for the most part the state capitols are more of where the state goevernment is based. However i live in Massachussetts so Boston is the biggest city. Its a great place to go lots of stuff to do. Parking sucks though.
Hannibam86@reddit
Trenton is... interesting to put it nicely.
Thiugh it is historical and played an important part in the Revolution.
Greyface13@reddit
I used to go to Albany NY a lot for work. Everyone else would get a hotel room near the airport, but I got a room in a beautiful room near the Albany office. It was downtown so I had beautiful walks in the morning cold. They had a lovely coffeeshop where they served a tasty breakfast. Once at work there would be the best bagels in the world
phydaux4242@reddit
Concord New Hampshire
If it weren’t for the state house it would be a wide spot on a dirt road.
Quick-Ostrich2020@reddit
I live in Colorado, as well at the state capital. It is also our largest city by far so I can't relate too much to the original question since Denver is the economic center of the state.
I've also lived in the Tennessee state capital too and Nashville is also the most populated city as well as the economic center of the state.
dystopiadattopia@reddit
Nope. It's a small city where legislators can fuck us over in comfortable isolation.
Alert-Meringue2291@reddit
I live in metro Atlanta, which is, by far, the biggest city in Georgia. As in a few other states, it breaks the rule of being an obscure state capital. Atlanta is a vibrant city with a lot going on. There are pluses and minuses, but for the most part, I enjoy the diversity, the cultural and entertainment opportunities and the overall vibe. The worst aspects is the traffic. It’s a major transportation center and congestion is a common problem.
10k_Uzi@reddit
Concord is confusing to me because it’s not nearly as big as Manchester. And everyone just assumes Manchester is the capital because it’s where basically where everything happens.
MacaroonSad8860@reddit
Ha found another one! Nobody goes to Concord for anything except school things!
10k_Uzi@reddit
We only really went there cos it was the last place where Newicks was.
ContentBanana2094@reddit
Newicks!!!😪
MacaroonSad8860@reddit
I thought there was still one in Dover/Newington
10k_Uzi@reddit
I believe it also died now.
Prestigious_Power_67@reddit
Dover is still there
MacaroonSad8860@reddit
At least Warrens is still around! I do hate that I have to drive to Maine for decent seafood though.
Theomnipresential@reddit
Concord is basically the gateway to the emptiness of northern NH
TorrEEG@reddit
Lansing, Michigan was picked for location. It's pretty disappointing. The roads are bad in the capital and there are a surprising number of boarded up houses nearby.
Inevitable_Unit_937@reddit
I've never been there.
Both_Painter_9186@reddit
Albany, NY is kind of like a mix of a run down rust belt city and a mini version of NYC. The construction is sort of NYCesque (old architecture and brownstone apartment buildings) and their’s a waterfront and all that, but theirs entire areas of the city which are basically boarded up like Detroit in Robocop. The roads are shit. Its cold and snowy and gray like 5 months out of the year. The autumn and spring are beautiful.
Theirs good jobs with the state government and good food and half decent night life, but most people live in the suburbs. That area of NY is beautiful nature wise. You’re on the northern edge of the Hudson Valley which is probably one of the most beautiful areas in the country, and about an hour or so away from the Adirondack Mountains and Lake George. TL:DR- the city itself is sort of dumpy to live in, but the greater “metro” area if you can call it that, is stunning.
ATLDeepCreeker@reddit
"Care" in what way? The Capitol city is just the seat of government.
Do you mean do we have pride in our state capitals? I guess some do, because its a nice or pretty city.
But most people wouldnt think twice about it.
Monkeynavyseal@reddit
Pretty chill for the most part most of the time I just go up there to do shopping at the mall for clothes by the way it’s Annapolis if you didn’t know
wieldymouse@reddit
Only driven through it to get elsewhere.
Normal_Tumbleweed@reddit
Not super nice itself, but the suburbs of it are
knacaj21@reddit
I live in a state capital. It is a very desirable place to live. The largest university in the state is located here and is a prestigious public university nationally. Our population tends to be very liberal and educated. I work for the state government. We also have one of the nicest Capitol buildings in the nation. The natural topography of the city is also very unique.
brillig_vorpal@reddit
Isthmus be Madison!
AlakayP@reddit
Madison?
knacaj21@reddit
Correct! On Wisconsin!
Individual-Schemes@reddit
My friend lives in Madison! Do you know her?
knacaj21@reddit
Yes, I personally know all 285,000 residents of Madison!
AlakayP@reddit
The topography bit tipped me off. Love Madison, it's a beautiful city and the people are wonderful.
I-am-a-constant-LIAR@reddit
When I was in California, state capital: Sacramento I was surprised it was not as high populated as what I was used to in L.A. A more relaxed feel about it then the concrete jungle I was expecting.
But, in general, I find most people I know don't care much about the state capital, and I have not known anybody who goes there for other than business, nobody goes there tourist style from what I can tell. (National capital, D.C. is different)
Pugilist12@reddit
Harrisburg is so depressing. There’s a great burger shop near the Capitol Building though, so theye got that going for them.
mdez93@reddit
The only good thing is Harrisburg is a place called Sawyer’s in the spring or summer. Otherwise, yawn a pretty boring place.
shadowmib@reddit
It's just like any other big city except there's more government buildings
ThePickleConnoisseur@reddit
I’ve never been. Never really had a reason to go when the rest of the bay is closer and has more to do
Not_An_Isopod@reddit
No clue I’ve never been there. It’s like an 8 hour drive for me.
Mental_Internal539@reddit
Annapolis MD, not our largest population and it's a very nice city.
AnchBusFairy@reddit
Yes, because it's where you go to petition your state government.
My state (Alaska) capital is Juneau. I enjoy visiting the place even though it takes an airplane flight to get there. it's a wonderful town with a lot of atmosphere (yes, the atmosphere is often rain) The lodging there is funky. It's an Alaskan thing to be functional and clean but not fancy and maybe a bit worn. Yes, it's expensive. Expensive funky lodging.
I like going for a walk. It's got coffeeshops, restaurants and boutiques-many of them aimed toward cruise ship tourists. But I've most often visited in the winter. I bring ice cleats for my boots. Mountains rise up directly behind the town, the other side is Gastineau Channel. On some visits, I walk along the waterfront. On others, I hike up Gold Creek.
StillC5sdad@reddit
Cool
NickElso579@reddit
Baton Rouge is a shithole, all the Crime of New Orleans without any of the rich culture and architecture.
Ericp02@reddit
I live in Cheyenne, WY The entire state is lack luster
RolandDeepson@reddit
In Wyoming, your dog can run away from home and remain visible for days.
belowsealevel504@reddit
Not cute. Over run with a big university.
Intergalacticdespot@reddit
Well the heroin phase of the 00s seems to have mostly faded. Unfortunately the meth phase from the 10s is still going strong. Its also a great place to get shot, mugged, though to be fair you're far more likely to be a victim of a less serious crime, usually involving theft. RE: Meth capital.
Theres parts of it that are really nice. Just normal people don't live in those parts. Its not the biggest city though the sprawl from the two biggest cities are slowly absorbing it so we'll see.
OPsDaddy@reddit
I had to look this up, but in terms of city population, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It might be best known for Three Mile Island, which is actually in a neighboring town.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are the most important cities in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg isn’t even the cultural epicenter of the region, that’s Lancaster. It is kind of a suburban hell.
It was also mentioned in The Clash song Clampdown!
da_Doctah@reddit
Since I live in what is both the capital and largest city in my state (and in fact the largest state capital in the country) I'd have to say it's just like every other city in the state but bigger, or it's like every other city above a certain size.
HoldOnHelden@reddit
I live in Washington DC. I don’t have a state, but my city is every state’s capital. ;)