Santa Maria

Santa Maria

Santa Maria has its own style of barbecue (tri-tip cooked over red oak with pinquito beans and salsa), which is a legitimate regional tradition that locals will fight you about. The surrounding Santa Maria Valley is becoming serious wine country (especially Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). It's quieter and more affordable than its central coast neighbors. The Pacific is right there.

Nashville

Nashville is honky-tonk neon on Broadway, hot chicken so spicy it counts as a personality test, and a music scene that includes way more than country (though country is the headliner). The Ryman Auditorium is still the most acoustically beloved room in American music. Bachelorette parties on pedal taverns are now a recognized weather pattern. Pack stretchy pants for the biscuits.