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“Flat And Featureless”: 41 Places In The United States That Don’t Live Up To The Hype
There are certain locations that show up on TV and in shows so often, we begin to feel like we’ve already been there. New York and Los Angeles come to mind, but also the more cowboy parts of Texas or Las Vegas.
Someone asked “Which US state gets glorified in movies but doesn’t live up to it in real life?” and people shared their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, hope and pray you got refundable tickets, upvote your favorites and share your own examples in the comments down below.
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#1
Nevada, specifically Vegas though. The main strip is a huge shopping mall disguised as hotels and casinos. To its credit Fremont Street rules, it's the weird side of Vegas that I actually like.
provocative_bear:
Vegas is seriously overrated. The desert immediately surrounding Vegas is seriously underrated. Stunning vistas for hours in all directions
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#2
Texas likes to boast about freedom and being the most free state but in reality they rank as the least free state. Texas has a lot of corruption especially in the courts.
Multa Nocte (she/her/86 47) 1 day ago
The politics in Texas are off the chain - very frightening.
#3
You could watch a film like “Hoosiers” or “Rudy” and think that Indiana is a quaint place to live but it’s a christian nationalist hole, everything is dirty, and most hoosiers are operating with a pill dependency and 3rd grade reading level.
#4
Arizona. Waaaayyy too hot and the Phoenix megalopolis is just completely off the chain.
It is glorified as some mystical land of amazing wonder but really is just a frying pan with a billion critters that will mess you up if they sting you.
Kate Johnson 1 day ago
I was born there and lived there for the first 43 years of my life before I escaped. I call it the brown place. Everything is brown, especially the air. Seriously, our housing community was named "Sienna Heights" - the height of brown! I like Washington a whole lot better.
#5
New York.
We get all kinds of movies set in the glitzy areas of Manhattan but when Hollywood ventures out of their comfort zone into the outer boroughs it’s to tell a tale about the mob or the hood.
Lord knows they don’t bother much with upstate at all.
the_flying_condor:
I'm from central New York. It's a shame that people aren't aware of how nice it really is in the rest of the state. Between the finger lakes, Adirondacks, thousand islands, etc it really is amazing. Given the choice between snow in the winter, or the hellish stuff you get in other states like hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfire season, I'm quite keen to stay right where I'm at after taking the last 15 years to move around and check out other parts of the country and the world.
Upstaged75 18 hours ago
I've been to the finger lakes and it's a beautiful area. Watkins Glen state park has some of the most incredible views I've ever seen.
#6
Suburbs and small-town usa. I'm sorry, but its boring as hell. Hallmark loves Small-town USA, but in reality, it's horrendously boring with literally nothing to do.
And state wise, Texas. Cowboys and prayer doesn't solve anything. Its the one star state for a reason.
R Dennis 1 day ago
I live in a small town. It really depends on the people. My neighbors, even the ones I don't care for, are good people. My next door neighbor and I swap homemade booze and bbq - my 'shine is better, but his smoked deer is phenomenal. The (former?) Trumper across the street plows our street and driveways for fun - I say former because his flag came down and he never replaced it. We all bonfire together and hand out Halloween candy together. I prefer the birds, deer, and frogs to sidewalks, heavy traffic, and streetlights.
#7
From movies it's nearly impossible to know that half of Colorado is as flat and featureless as Kansas.
johnnyseattle:
Seriously, if there wasn't a sign, you wouldn't know you left Kansas for a few hours easy. I was shocked at this when I drove from Virginia Beach to Seattle.
ImpendingBoom110123:
Kansas is one of the worst states to drive through.
#8
The answer is Texas.
Texas is a lie sold to people in Movies and advertising, and glamorized to foreigners. It’s really just bad weather, bad landscape, fake cowboys, draconian politics, overcrowded cities and highways, and half the state being a barren wasteland of oil rigs and overpopulated cattle farms.
If you want a real Western experience and beauty, head to all the national parks and natural beauty around the four corner states. The Grand Canyon, Zion, Durango, Arches, Moab, Hopi Res, Sedona, Taos, etc. Don’t go to Texas.
JayWantsACat 21 hours ago
I see a lot of foreign channels who like to talk about the US, whether out of genuine interest or for the clicks, but one place they always talk about and make a first visit is Texas and I'm always like "WHY?!?!" Sure, the BBQ is a big but outside of that there's not much else of a draw, for the most part? You could argue this for every state but they make it seem like Texas is some huge interestring OMG YOU GOTTA GO THERE and outside of the BBQ, what else is there that would interest a foreigner...?
#9
Texas. The only thing that is actually big in Texas is the hubris. Like every state, it has great food, cool spots, and its share of problems. But flying a football field sized Texas flag over every self storage facility and car dealership is not a substitute for personality. Maryland does the same thing, but somehow it’s charming whereas Texas just feels like it’s trying to convince you that it’s better than everything else. At the end of the day, Texas is just a state along with 49 others.
#10
Basically a lot of movies tend to portray the life if you're rich with no responsibilities.
California gets glorified we endless summer, relaxed, party vibe.
Texas gets the wild west vibes, good old boys, ranchers and independent living.
Hawaii always seems to show the premium resort lifestyle, as if it is the norm for those living on the island.
keyboardtek 5 hours ago
A friend who lived in Hawaii said it was one of the most expensive places to live because so much has to be shipped in.
#11
West Virginia. Despite my best efforts everytime I go I never run into mutant hill people or cryptids.
Upstaged75 18 hours ago
The state is really beautiful. Unfortunately it gets a bad rap due to the people. My brother always used to hum that tune from Deliverance every time we traveled there as kids. 😁 The university (WVU) is lovely and I seriously considered going there. Harper's Ferry is also a lot of fun - so is tubing on the Shenandoah river.
#12
Alaska. Half the state population lives in Anchorage. Movies and television never show Spenard.
Pretty much wherever there are people there's junk lying around. Cars on cinder blocks and stuff. Fishing junk. Natural Alaska is mind-blowing. People Alaska is bad.
FreeTheUnicorn 1 day ago
Spenard is prettyvmild compared to analogous areas in comparably sized cities. Even I Los Anchorage you're never more than half an hour from wilderness if you aren't pretentious, Alaskans are generous, community minded and hilarious, even on the railbelt. I've never lived anywhere where people were so open to letting you out down roots.
#13
The desert/plains side of Texas is always depicted as this cool “real men, real freedom” type vibe.
If you go there: at best it’s horrendously hot and boring, at worst you’ll deal with a super xenophobic population and be disrespected by an obese, inbred looking jerks.
#14
Almost every representation of Louisiana in movies is New Orleans, which is far from the rest of Louisiana.
If you want true Louisiana, watch The Waterboy.
Kate Johnson 1 day ago
We visited my MIL in Lake Charles and it resembled a 3rd world country. But good catfish.
#15
I will say, not a movie, but Yellowstone really gives a false perception of Montana. Oh it’s beautiful, but they never show WINTER.
LoadCan:
The whole "trust fund jack wagons play acting at being ranchers" is pretty spot on though
StrangeOne 1 day ago
I've seen Yellowstone in winter in documentaries, such as National Geographic videos. Wildlife there have it tough. Bison get trapped trying to walk on the icy rivers and drown. Coyotes get banished from their pack and have to find a new pack and territory.
#16
Nevada, specifically Las Vegas. It is all marketing to get your money.
Panda McPandaface 15 hours ago
Las Vegas doesn't pretend otherwise does it? I don't know, I've never been (and won't be going to the U.S. any time soon for orange reasons).
#17
Vermont. Movies make it seem like this beautiful utopia, especially in the Fall. Once you live there a few years the reality sets in that most people are struggling to get by, there's not many high paying jobs, it takes ages to see a doctor, the mail doesn't get delivered half the time because they're understaffed. It's undeniably pretty but there's a lot of hardship going on there.
FreeTheUnicorn 1 day ago
If you're tired of Vermont after a few years, you're welcome to head back to New York or wherever. If you want good buying power and efficient health care, the US is probably not for you
#18
Wisconsin is severely underglorified. Wisconsin has everything you could ever need and doesnt get hyped enough tbh.
#19
Florida. Its absolutely Florida. The LEAST egregious thing I've ever seen was an episode in Burn Notice where they go to Tallahassee (where I lived at the time) and were under a bunch of overpasses (or fly-overs as they call em) waiting to go into some multi story building like its some kind of metropolis. There's only 1 overpass anywhere near the capital that isn't even for an interstate (looking at you Thomasville Rd) and its only a very few amount of buildings over 10 stories. Everything that makes that state look good is horse poo and the most accurate portrayals are basically anything you see about Miami.
Upstaged75 18 hours ago
My family vacations in Florida every year on the Gulf Coast. It's incredibly beautiful - I've been to Bermuda and various places in the Caribbean, and it's just as nice. I wouldn't want to live there year round like my grandparents did, but we have an amazing time while we're there.
#20
Not a state, but Hollywood. As a resident of California Hollywood is absolutely awful. First thing that hits you is the stench of pee and the visual of a homeless man pooing on the walk of fame.
#21
Delaware. Every time I see it mentioned in a movie, it's like they think it exists.
#22
Probably the inverse here, but as a lifelong NJ native, we spend 10 months of the year getting pilled on in all types of media until come summer time.
Then all of you freaks clog up our beaches and parks.
Upstaged75 18 hours ago
My brother and his family live in a lovely little town in NJ, just across the river from Philly. I don't love the state overall, but there are some nice small towns that seem like a great place to grow up.
#23
Hawaii
former Hawaiian residents get asked the most of any other state, "why'd you leave Hawaii and move here?"
if you've only watched movies or vacationed there, you wouldn't know, but if you've lived there or spent some time there, you'll quickly realize the discrepancy between Hollywood and reality.
palabear:
I loved Hawaii but driving from the south side of O’ahu to the north shore, you see how many people are struggling. It’s much different off the beaches.
AP 20 hours ago
an islander said they wanted to get out of hawaii. they lived there their whole life, and being in the middle of the ocean with nothing else around, i understood. You can't roadtrip anywhere, there's only so much to do there. She said she wanted to live in Los Angeles, which I laughed inwardly about. The grass is always greener!
#24
Movies tend to glorify almost all states they are supposed to be set in. Nobody wants to see the actual everyday experience of sitting in traffic or driving past a plethora of strip malls or boring suburbs.
#25
North Dakota. Because I've seen multiple movies and TV shows set there, and I'm pretty sure it's just people not realizing they're actually in Canada.
healthycord:
I didn’t know it was glorified lol. Drove through last summer and while it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, it wasn’t what I would call a looker of a state or teaming with people.
Stayed the night in Bismarck and had a meal there downtown. Folks seemed nice.
ND is pretty in its own way. One thing I wasn’t prepared for were all of the oil dikes just on the side of the road. I’m sure I’ll drive through the state again at some point and hopefully I could spend some time to actually look at some stuff. We were just bombing it from WA to Wisconsin and made it in 2.5 days. Long drive.
#26
California. Movies make it look like everyone is living by the beach in perfect weather, driving convertibles and chasing dreams. Then you get there and realize half the population is sitting in traffic paying $18 for a sandwich.
Pavel Hjaalsen 1 day ago
Nope. That whole "eighteen dollar sandwich" thing was a hoax. It's more like 30.
#27
Not a state but L.A. Its is only fun if you like spending 70 dollars on an Uber ride and spending half your vacation in traffic.
Janelle Collard 1 day ago (edited)
I used to live in Southern California in the '70's and '80's. It was awesome! Now? Not so much. First of all - it used to be *affordable* - I could pay my rent, utilities, groceries, etc., from ONE income. Now? 3 or 4 wage earners are needed just for the basics.
#28
Alabama. “Southern Charm” is just people being rude to you who are too cowardly to actually insult you.
#29
I mean LA and Southern California is mostly shown through the lens of a Hollywood movie set. Once you’ve done a studio tour you realize how fake everything truly is.
#30
California. It comes across as this bastion of progressive people. In reality, if you're not in LA or SF, it's pretty darn conservative, and unaccepting of weird people.
#31
Connecticut always gets portrayed as being hoity toity but apparently it’s mostly rural with lots of places that are run down and dangerous (which is going to be true of every state).
#32
Texas. Most of Texas metro areas are just sprawling big box stores and concrete.
Viking_Musicologist:
Office Space does a pretty good job of painting suburban Texas really looks and feels like.
Especially Dallas and Fort Worth those cities are basically two unruly steers lassoed by concrete.
Debby Keir 1 day ago
I had always imagined (not being from the US) that Big Box stores were those storage places where you rent a box or even shipping container to store your stuff if it didn't fit into your home, or if you were moving. And then I thought, well, they use this phrase such a lot, how the heck can there be so many storage places in the US - don't they ever use the stuff they buy? So, I looked it up, and no, it's not storage units, it's huuuuge supermarkets (of which we have some, but not prolifically, in Europe) Irrelevent to this, but it shows that there IS a difference between English and American, and the gap is widening.
#33
I’d say more cities so like LA and NYC. Lot less trash and homeless in the movies compared to real life.
Oh and the constant smell of pee. Also the constant sirens and construction. The snow always being pristine in New York movies annoys me too. It doesn’t show how it becomes black as coal with yellow from all the dog and human pee.
And when it unfreezes in the spring all species poos are on the sidewalk because no one picked it up during winter.
MediocreKirbyMain:
My friend’s currently in NYC for the first time in their life and the #1 thing they’ve had to say about it is that it smells like pee everywhere lol
#34
Garland, Texas was glorified in Zombieland. It's actually marginally worse.
#35
I grew up near NYC. I miss it dearly. But I’ll hot take and say NYC/New York
Now that I visit the city as a tourist moreso than I did as a kid, it’s fascinating to think NYC is so large and vibrant and diverse but seemingly 95% of movies set in NYC all film around the same 1 sq mile in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan.
I’m not saying the rest of NYC is bad. More areas should be featured. But if you visit much and expect it all to look like the movies , you quickly find out you can walk all of it in just a couple hours.
#36
Montana for sure. Everyone sees all the pretty scenery and move there not researching cost of living, jobs, wages, etc… not to mention the winters.
#37
Not state but the City of New Orleans.
They usually just show the French Quarter (which isn't that big to begin with) and make it look like the whole city and that it's just constantly Mardi gras everyday.
Yeah, it can be fun be it's still a tourist area. The rest of the city and state is pretty ugly.
#39
Delaware.
I have never seen an underground fighting club, or the wholesale destruction of skyscrapers by a bunch of anarchists.
I also have never seen Superman hanging around.
Nor have I seen a bunch of weird musical gemstone shaped people at the beach.
#40
Not a state but Buffalo was really dressed up and made to seem more vibrant in Bruce Almighty. However, since that movie the city has come a long way and is absolutely thriving and beautiful in its own unique way.
keyboardtek 5 hours ago
I grew up in Buffalo back in 1950's -70's. It was a good city to be "from". Lots of good music and good food. Brutal winters drove me out. North Carolina in the Raleigh area was a vibrant metro area to live in and lots of jobs there for the tech minded and medical field.
#41
All of them.
None of them ever quite live up to their reputation for movies and the like.
What do you think ?
Earonn - 1 day ago
Tbh, I expected a bit more than "State X doesn't look like it does in movie Y". I mean....yes? A movie takes place in a handful of spots at best, usually in one city, how could it portray a whole, giant state? Do I need to warn people that Edinburgh is not representative of all the rest of Scotland?
Toby Flenderson 1 day ago
probably you do.... the comments here about Texas for example, stereotype it just as unfairly as any movie does. It's a huge place with incredible variety.
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CA Hyde 1 day ago
Got it. Most overrated and not realistic are #1 Texas and #2 California. The two places not on my bucket list anyway!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
As long as you don't go to Los Angeles itself or San Francisco itself, California is an awesome place XD
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Earonn - 1 day ago
Tbh, I expected a bit more than "State X doesn't look like it does in movie Y". I mean....yes? A movie takes place in a handful of spots at best, usually in one city, how could it portray a whole, giant state? Do I need to warn people that Edinburgh is not representative of all the rest of Scotland?
Toby Flenderson 1 day ago
probably you do.... the comments here about Texas for example, stereotype it just as unfairly as any movie does. It's a huge place with incredible variety.
Load More Replies... CA Hyde 1 day ago
Got it. Most overrated and not realistic are #1 Texas and #2 California. The two places not on my bucket list anyway!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 day ago
As long as you don't go to Los Angeles itself or San Francisco itself, California is an awesome place XD
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