I just recently graduated and am making my way out into the real world, and one of the things I'm most excited about is having the time and the means to travel both in the US and abroad. This got me thinking, what are your favorite cities to travel to? Would you ever want to live there, or would you rather just visit?

I have no desire to live anywhere else but I love visiting New York City and London. San Francisco is another favorite of mine.

We talked about this city on the forum a few months ago, but if you are looking for European flavor without having to cross the pond, check out Montreal. Love that city. Have visited in both summer and winter and both times of year were great. Great food, culture, and architecture. Strolling Montreal neighborhoods is just great fun.

Atlanta, GA, Portland, OR, & Oxford, MS are my favorite places to visit & if the opportunity arose, I'd definitely move to any of them.

We talked about this city on the forum a few months ago, but if you are looking for European flavor without having to cross the pond, check out Montreal. Love that city. Have visited in both summer and winter and both times of year were great. Great food, culture, and architecture. Strolling Montreal neighborhoods is just great fun.

I have to agree with that, also. I was there for a few days last month.

Seattle makes a great destination as does Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. New York is always a great place to visit.

Visisted London and Paris in September, both are great, but preferred Paris over London. Been to Rome a few times, just love it. I think one of the more interesting places was St. Petersburg Russia, like going back to the 60's or 70's. Love Barcelona and their sub system, great place to live or visit.

My favorite domestic cities are NY, Washington, Chicago and SF. Internationally, I like Paris, so much to see and the Metro is so easy to navigate.

Oh man, so many to choose from... I thought Venice was amazing. Lisbon, Portugal is another city that is vastly under-appreciated.

I just recently graduated and am making my way out into the real world, and one of the things I'm most excited about is having the time and the means to travel both in the US and abroad. This got me thinking, what are your favorite cities to travel to? Would you ever want to live there, or would you rather just visit?

If you have a DVR start watching House Hunters International (HGTV) and Rick Steves Europe (PBS). HHI gives you the perspective of people moving over-seas and Rick Steves provides a good visitors perspective for places you might not think of (for instance - stay in Milan and take a day trip to Rome instead of the other way around). Rick will save you a ton of money and let you see more stuff.

Also, Philadelphia is my favorite US city. You can stay busy there for a week and still not see everything. Plus, you can easily day-trip to NYC, Baltimore, and DC.

1. Charlotte
2. Houston
3. Dallas
4. Portland OR
5. Tampa, FL

There is several in Colorado I like to go to, so flying into Denver and wandering around for a week will probably keep you pretty well occupied, especially if you are an outdoors person.

Chicago and SF I love to visit, and could live in either. While I love to visit NYC, I could live in Brooklyn. Favorite international cities to visit - Venice and Hanoi (I haven't visited them all, of course). I could live in London, and it is my favorite city in the world.

For an easy, quick getaway, you can't beat NOLA. Very walkable, great and unique culture, usually pretty affordable and the FOOD! Most people don't like it because they don't care for party atmosphere of Bourbon Street or heard horror stories about crime. IMO the best things about NOLA are to be found outside of Bourbon Street, and if you avoid the bad areas (i.e. Lower 9th Ward, Hollygrove, etc.) you are fine. Plus Southern Louisiana has great opportunities for roadtrips.

For many of the same reasons, I would throw in Charleston SC as well. Plus they have a beach.

An obligatory trip to NYC is always good. Like betts I would suggest to spend more time in Brooklyn. Also Philly is very underrated. On the west coast you should try and go to San Diego.

New Orleans (music, food, culture)
Havana, Cuba (people, culture, sites, music, rum, cigars, amazingly cheap, clean, and safe)
New York City (anything and everything to do, easy to get around)
London (Shopping, sights, people, pubs)
Chicago (anything and everything to do, easy to get around, great steaks in the trinity and original Mortons)
Key West (Funky, food, music)
Boston (history, Red Sox, Charles river, seafood and chowder, Boylston Street, cambridge)

Cities I'd most want to return to are Philadelphia, NYC, Chicago, and Miami. Each has its own brand of urbanity and feature interesting neighborhoods/suburbs on top of great tourist opportunities, both of which are impossible to do in these cities in one visit. Living is another thing altogether, factoring in things like cost, employment opportunities, local culture, and what feels right. Besides OKC, that'd be Fort Worth, Austin, Denver, Indianapolis, and maybe Columbus. Trumping all of those places is Washington, DC, which has those two qualities in spades. It's the only "big city" I'd try to eke out a life in.

Lots of other places to visit for the first time. Of those, Portland and San Diego probably have the best chance at becoming favorites to visit and live in.

Washington, DC. Especially if you go in the winter during the week - little to no crowds at the Museums. Avoid in the spring and summer, as it is packed with school kids. No need to rent a car at all, the Metro is very easy, tons of history, mostly free museums, great food options, and plenty of further excursions via train (Baltimore, Richmond, Philadelphia, etc.)

Easy choices: New York; Philadelphia; Chicago; Seattle; Montreal

Maybe overlooked: Richmond, VA; San Diego; Chattanooga, TN; Greenville, SC; Charleston, SC; Ft Smith, AR; Toronto

Cities I avoid whenever possible: Houston; Dallas; Phoenix; Los Angeles; Las Vegas

If you are looking for smaller cities - Chattanooga and Charleston should be at the top of your list. They are two of my favorite small cities.

My conservative Republican neighbor three doors down went to Havana(!) for some medical procedure at 1/5 the cost asked for in the states, he said it was a great experience. They said the hospital itself was very nice, not like luxury hotels like they make them here for marketing purposes, but that's not what hospitals are for anyway. They stayed an extra week and took in the sights and said Havana and the beach scene at the resorts were incredible...and cheap as well. He came back saying that he didn't sense any fear from the people about their government, easy going friendly people, (it helped his wife knew Spanish), but he said an amazing number of people in Havana and at the resorts knew English.

I'm a Philadelphia lover, great, great city! I think Hoboken is an under the radar city that's a lot of fun and keeps a smaller town charm even though it's just a stones throw (right across the river) from Manhattan. And beautiful views!

I went to Havana and some other coastal cities for a week in December to do legal research for a class I was teaching as an adjunct. It is a great country. The people were very friendly and the city was very clean. The people we encountered welcomed American travelers and were very helpful Never once did I feel unsafe and I am the type that likes to get out and wander off the beaten path. It will be a huge boon when the countries open up which I see happening after the Castro brothers pass. If not, may see another revolution as the younger Cubans thirst for more freedom and technology. I would go again in a heartbeat and is definitely one of my top places to visit. (btw...I don't speak Spanish)

I went to Havana and some other coastal cities for a week in December to do legal research for a class I was teaching as an adjunct. It is a great country. The people were very friendly and the city was very clean. The people we encountered welcomed American travelers and were very helpful Never once did I feel unsafe and I am the type that likes to get out and wander off the beaten path. It will be a huge boon when the countries open up which I see happening after the Castro brothers pass. If not, may see another revolution as the younger Cubans thirst for more freedom and technology. I would go again in a heartbeat and is definitely one of my top places to visit. (btw...I don't speak Spanish)

Exactly what my neighbors said. The younger the person the more they are ready for more change, but they said a lot of people said there's already been a huge change under Raul Castro. But everyone seemed to still have a deep respect for Fidel and their independence, revolution. Strange, given our mainstream media coverage. I thought it all sounds fascinating. Thanks for your post!

Was it your legal research that allowed you to circumvent the travel embargo?

Was it your legal research that allowed you to circumvent the travel embargo?

Before he even answers, I can tell you they are not even enforcing it. You just need to fly out of Canada or Mexico. Cuba does not stamp the passport for Americans that ask them not to. If you thik about it, it's such a silly law. You can go anywhere in the world including North Korea, but not this island 90 miles off our shores. Though, my neighbor, got an "educational exchange" for his medical procedure though that has nothing to do with it.

Large cities: New York, SF and Paris.
Smaller cities: Durango or Pagosa Springs, CO, Hilton Head, SC.

If you are looking for smaller cities - Chattanooga and Charleston should be at the top of your list. They are two of my favorite small cities.

The riverfront area in Chattanooga is beautiful.

If you have a DVR start watching House Hunters International (HGTV) and Rick Steves Europe (PBS). HHI gives you the perspective of people moving over-seas and Rick Steves provides a good visitors perspective for places you might not think of (for instance - stay in Milan and take a day trip to Rome instead of the other way around). Rick will save you a ton of money and let you see more stuff.

Also, Philadelphia is my favorite US city. You can stay busy there for a week and still not see everything. Plus, you can easily day-trip to NYC, Baltimore, and DC.

I know exactly what you're talking about. My girlfriend LOVES House Hunters International and got me to watch a few episodes with her. So many BEAUTIFUL places! The show gives you a pretty good idea of different neighborhoods in cities like London and Paris too which I really liked. The prices in those neighborhoods however... :(

There is SO many places I want to go that its almost overwhelming, but I guess that gives me plenty to look forward to! I've never been to any of the big cities in the NE or west coast, so I have plenty of domestic traveling to do as well. I've been up around Pittsburgh with one of my buddies for the last 3 months and will be here until next November for training, so we're definitely planning on hitting all the cities in the NE before we move back to OKC.

As with anyone from OKCTalk - if you make it to the Jax area PM and I'll give you the 50 cent grand tour.

1. Charlotte
2. Houston
3. Dallas
4. Portland OR
5. Tampa, FLme personally, I would replace Tampa with Miami, but that's me. Although, with looking at Seattle, that might be my first priority as of now, to visit.

Was it your legal research that allowed you to circumvent the travel embargo?

You can travel to Cuba legally under certain exceptions including journalistic, educational, and research which I qualified under all three for this trip. We had a file an inch thick with our documentation and I had to ask the Cuban passport stamper three times to stamp my passport before she would do it. No one questioned me coming back into the states. I do not think the travel embargo would pass constitutional muster nowadays anyway if challenged. Although the Supreme Court has said that the right to travel internationally isn't a fundamental right....there still must be some type of govt interest that out weighs our right to freely move and freely associate.