Tulsa

Tulsa

Tulsa was built by 1920s oil money and the downtown looks the part: Art Deco everywhere, like Gatsby moved to Oklahoma and never left. The Greenwood district, once known as Black Wall Street, now holds one of the most powerful civil rights museums in the country. The Tulsa Remote program pays new arrivals $10,000 to move here, and enough have taken the deal that there's a real scene now. The Gathering Place park alone is worth a flight.

Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne sits where three rivers meet (the St. Joseph, the St. Marys, and the Maumee), and the riverfront has been transforming into a real public space. The Children's Zoo is consistently ranked among the country's best. It's the second-largest city in Indiana, with the friendly small-town feel still intact. Cheap, easy, and quietly improving.