Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is the Texas Gulf coast city where Selena grew up (the memorial on the bayfront is moving). The USS Lexington aircraft carrier is permanently parked downtown as a museum. The beaches at Padre Island National Seashore are some of the longest undeveloped stretches of barrier island in the country. Sun-soaked, breezy, and salt-aired in equal measure.

Wichita

Wichita is the Air Capital of the World, with Cessna, Beechcraft, and major Spirit AeroSystems facilities all here. The Arkansas River runs through downtown, and the Old Town district has brick streets, breweries, and the kind of friendly Kansas pace that makes the rest of the country envious. The flatness is real, and the sunsets are enormous because of it.