San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco is hills, fog, Mission burritos the size of forearms, and pastel Victorians stacked like dominoes. Karl the Fog has his own Instagram, the cable cars are still mechanically pulled by cables running under the street, and the Pacific shows up at the end of every west-bound avenue. The food is wildly good, the views are theatrical, and yes, you'll get cardio just walking to the corner store.

Columbus

Columbus is Ohio State on autumn Saturdays (the Horseshoe holds 100,000+ and they all wear scarlet), German Village's cobblestone streets and brick cottages, and a Short North gallery scene that punches well above its weight. It's quietly become a test market for the rest of America because the demographics line up so neatly. The food scene leans young, weird, and good. 'Buckeyes' here can mean either the football team or the chocolate-peanut-butter candy.