“Flat And Featureless”: 41 Places In The United States That Don’t Live Up To The Hype

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

West Virginia. Despite my best efforts everytime I go I never run into mutant hill people or cryptids.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Nevada, specifically Las Vegas. It is all marketing to get your money.

Delaware. Every time I see it mentioned in a movie, it's like they think it exists.

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.

Wisconsin is severely underglorified. Wisconsin has everything you could ever need and doesnt get hyped enough tbh.

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.