What is your favorite backwater* city?
*And to be clear, I don't mean "backwater" to be a pejorative in terms of meaning low-class or uncultured. Rather, I'm referring to a city that has all the usual markings of a city--a busy downtown, a commercial airport, a bus system, a couple of colleges or universities, etc.--but is otherwise set apart from other cities or heavily populated areas. In other words, something like an urban island of sorts, off the beaten path.
It can be either a US city or international, your choice.
I've had something of an odd fascination with Norfolk/Hampton Roads. It is by all indications a major metropolitan area, and yet it's not frequently thought of as such when compared to other East Coast cities. On the one hand, it's a large port and a military hub. It has one of the most impressive collection of bridge and tunnel systems in the country. And it's got your typical expected downtown office towers and other urban markings. But on the other hand, it doesn't have any major league sports teams. It's served by a single interstate system (I-64). It does have two commercial airports (Norfolk International and Newport News), but neither of them are particularly large. There are a couple of colleges and universities, but only Old Dominion and Norfolk State are remotely notable. And it's well off the I-95 corridor. Whereas Richmond (for example) is connected to that long stretch of urban metropolis that goes all the way up to Boston, Norfolk/Hampton Roads is sort of off to the side.
Maybe why I'm so interested in it is because I grew not too far away. And while we were in Baltimore just about every weekend, and DC was the nation's capital and a frequent field trip spot, and we'd occasionally go down to Richmond for road trips, I think I only made it to Norfolk once or twice growing up. It was the one major city within a few hours drive that I rarely experienced. So there's a certain sense of personal mystique to it (even though I'm sure people who might live there might tell me there's nothing really special about it. Still......)
I'm also curious about Manaus, Brazil, which is a large city in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest. It hosted one of the rounds of the World Cup. It's fascinating that such a large city can be found surrounded almost completely by dense wilderness.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Got down there 4 times in the 90's for the Gold Coast Indy Car Race.
The beachfront looks like any other major beach resort town in the world with the high rises and all right on the beach, but the Aussie flair makes it VERY cool.
Looking south
Just a few miles from Duluth and less than a football field away from the lake.
And even in July, that water was cold 
...Syracuse has a cool downtown, nice people, a great university, and countryside just a few miles away. It also has high rates of unemployment and poverty...
...but a neat place, on the whole. Ithaca also has a great university, a stunning location among cloud-capped mountains, a zillion gorges and waterfalls, Lake Cayuga thrusting right into the city, and one of the loveliest downtowns in America. Love 'em both...
