10 Best Small Town Main Streets in the United States.
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- Опубліковано 16 чер 2023
- Are you looking for a great small town with an old-school, main street to invest in real estate or just relocate to? Look no further than the small town's main street! These charming streets are lined with shops, restaurants, and other businesses, making them a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
In this video, we'll take a look at 10 of the best small-town main streets in the United States that I have visited. We'll explore the history, charm, and real estate opportunities of each town, so you can find the perfect place to invest.
So whether you're looking for a place to retire, start a business, or raise a family, be sure to check out these 10 best small-town main streets in the United States!
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Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Nantucket, Massachusetts, Greenville, South Carolina, Salisbury, North Carolina, Montclair, New Jersey, Madison, Wisconsin, Galveston, Texas.
I live in Oregon and there are some nice downtowns in the state (Jacksonville, Oakland), but I was blown away when my wife took me to where she grew up in Iowa. The little town is named Pella (where Pella windows are made). Pella was settled exclusively by Dutch immigrants in the 1800s. The downtown buildings are all Dutch front architecture. They have the largest windmill in the country. They also have this glockenspiel clock with Dutch figurines entertaining the townspeople at the top of each hour in the afternoon. Each year they have a tulip festival. You'll feel like you're in Holland if you ever visit the place.
I’m shocked Pella didn’t make the list, it’s the first town I thought of when I saw the title of this vid. The Dutch letters…so good.
I'm also surprised Pella, IA was not mentioned. Galena, IL is also a pretty downtown area. With the exception of Elizabethtown, KY, it seemed like only the coasts were represented in this video...Fly over country, is still flown over!
Great tulip festival Too
I grew up in Pella and lived there through college. Great place to grow up and have a childhood. Make sure you check out Jaarsma Bakery and yes...a great downtown area that is all walkable and reminds you of a simpler time.
It’s not Holland but The Netherlands ;) Holland is only 2 provinces IN the Netherlands.
Harpers ferry is one of the most beautiful drives you’ll ever take. the bridge that connects Va, md and wv, is a sight to behold.
Jim Thorpe is an amazing town. I've been visiting this town since I was a kid. Love the history and places to eat and drink.
Algiers Point New Orleans. Whole place is is a Main Street.
Jim Thorpe is called Switzerland of America. Starting prices for a house is around hundred thousand under if build a piece of land is cheaper. No high paying jobs perfect for work at home.
Too bad it's called "Jim Thorpe," though. 😣
Prescott Arizona! Great old west downtown with many historic buildings and the picturesque Courthouse Square.
I actually lived in Solvang when there were actual Danish people living there!
Prescott is darling. Been there. Very cool whisky row and square. Western.
check out Greenville, SC. an amazing city with a river running right through it. I have traveled a lot throughout the US and this is my favorite place.
Greenville is very nice. Also, it is not what anyone would consider “a small town.”
Once you head west from downtown, Greenville get pretty sketchy.
I used to live there. One of the most sane cities left in America
290 Main Street Great Barrington MA
We are considering Denison, Tx, supposedly the longest continuous Main St in the US
My hometown Paducah Ky.
Downtown died when regional mall opened on the west end.
Today every building has been restored to original condition down to the original colors and occupied.
Lots of art, shops, dining, entertainment etc.
Last full weekend in September is the BBQ on the River. Yummy!
50k plus folks come in from everywhere.
Book your rooms early.
I lived in Paducah when I was small. Still remember the address where I lived, and the wonderful bakery just down the street.
Telluride Colorado
Upstate NY has so many to consider. Saratoga springs, Cooperstown, Geneva, Watkins Glen, Geneseo, and Canandaigua could all be on this list easily.
I like main street Lake placid
skaneateles and naples too
So true!!!!! Upstate NY has so many beautiful places to see and visit!!!
I was just thinking Skaneatales belongs on this list
Ouray Colorado
I am in Elizabethtown practically every weekend lol. My husband was stationed on Fort Knox and we never left. I love the square and all the shops and eateries.
I live in Hallowell Maine. It is a small town just south of Augusta. There are no chain restaurants or stores here on main street (Water Street). All businesses are locally owned. It is on the Kennebec river. In the summer there are bands everywhere, many playing outdoors on patios. There are street musicians too. There are musicians playing here year round. There are buildings here over 200 years old.
That sounds like the exact place I want to move to! I love the Bay Area in Northern California, but... I'm ready for a new experience!
Galena, Illinois. Literally perfect.
Wow! You just wrote what I was going to. LOL.
I am from Chicago and I love Galena.
And they literally have a Main ST.
@Mikestakes it is perfection. I can't believe it didn't make the list. I mean Field of Dreams. I love it there.
A lot of people probably don't know about it cause Illinois is considered flat and farmland. The driftless area region that includes Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois. Very hilly and beautiful with some steep grades near Galena. I ski at Chestnut and it's a great destination to get away.
Read my mind…. If you’ve never seen Galena and if your into history it’s absolutely amazing!
Was going to recommend Galena also! And Princeton, IL is less known, but very cute.
Carmel by the Sea is one of my top small town main streets
It’s beautiful, but unless you are one of the .01% you can never live there.
Crested Butte, Colorado is my all time favorite small town Main Street and ski town. I love the skiing and victorian architecture, but it's expensive like all other ski towns out West. In Michigan, my favorites are either Cadillac Michigan or Manistee.
We’ve been to crested butte …stayed in mount crested butte ….crested butte is nice.
Fun fact: the Von Trapp family, of The Sound of Music lore, settled in Stowe, Vermont.
Make sure you get the Grilled Bratwurst sandwich on Pretzel bun with green apple SaurKraut.
That resort is amazing.
I would add New Hope, Pennsylvania and perhaps its sister town across the Delaware river, Lambertville, New Jersey. Weekends are incredibly crowded but the main streets are just amazing. Canal boats, locomotives, boutiques, it has everything. I can imagine the prices of houses must start in the millions however.
Phoenixville! Ardmore!
My sister lives in New Hope her house is 1.2 million
@@kelmike060404 is it in the borough or a surrounding township that uses New Hope mailing address
@@phillygrunt2154 she’s technically Solebury. She’s about five minutes from Main Street.
@@jamesmorris-iy7pb Newtown.... one word.. but you're right, the borough has a great main street. You can see some of it in M Night Shyamalan's movie Signs.
Blowing Rock, North Carolina is a beautiful small touristy town with a scenic main street and friendly locals. I love these videos and always can’t wait for #1! Why wouldn’t people want to stick around for the best part?? Someday you’ll highlight McMinnville, OR I hope! 😊
Portsmouth, NH. Absolutely the most gorgeous town I've ever been to--many parts of it look like out of the 1950's postcard. Very expensive to live there, but that's why. Been trying to find other small towns like that across the US, but haven't really seen any yet.
Portland Maine is not that much different
@@tnickknightIs Portland ME really a small town? It’s at least not a small metropolis.
Stayed a night there last month… possibly an obligation for being a Portland native… Oregon, that is.
I should have given myself more than an hour in Portsmouth.
Lived downtown for a year and it was the best year of our life. Even during Covid. The people are just as amazing
Downtown Newport RI is a close second for us
Downtown Newport RI is a close second for us
I know it's considered a state park but Market St on Mackinac Island, Michigan is great during the summer and Halloween weekend. (I think Market St is the main st). No motor vehicles allowed besides emergency vehicles. Only horse/carriage, walk, or bicycle.
You may be thinking of Main/Lakeshore Drive/M-185. It has businesses on both sides of the street. Market is a block over. Although about 80% of Mackinac Island is Mackinac Island State Park, the downtown area is not. The Governor's Summer residence is in the Park. So, if you visited The Pink Pony or the Butterfly House or Ryba's Fudge, you were on Lakeshore Drive/Main/M-185. M-185 makes a full circuit of the Island. Like almost all locals who don't work there, I only visit the Island (and it's just called "the Island" here; if you're referring to the other islands of the Straits, you name them, like Bois Blanc and Round) when someone who visits ME wants to go. It's worth a single trip, for sure. My grandfather, in the 1940s, wintered the horses from the Island on his farm in Presque Isle County.
I’m from Yellow Springs, Ohio. Great small town. Midwest town. This is the town Dave Chappell always talks about in his skits. 👍🏽
Sedona Arizona
I love Ashland Oregon and Sisters Oregon. Really cute towns. People like to rag on the west coast these days but it is truly beautiful here. The coastal towns on the Oregon coast are really cute and nice. Astoria is also really nice.
As someone who lives about 15 minutes from Burlington, VT, I was so stoked to see Church Street at #1.
Main Street, Blue Ridge, GA. Helen, GA is also very quaint.
I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula in the central coast region of California. My favorite "main street" is in Pacific Grove, just south of Monterey or north of Pebble Beach & Carmel by the Sea. Pacific Grove's main street is called Lighthouse Ave., where most of the shops & restaurants are located. It is just a few blocks up from Oceanview Blvd., which runs along the waterfront & is famous for all the Victorian style mansions (a few have been turned into B&B's). Pacific Grove's nickname is "Butterfly Town USA" because it is one of the stops along the California coast where the western U.S. population of Monarch butterflies migrate to every winter. Have you ever been there? 🦋🦋🦋
I’m so happy some mentioned these three gems…. I love Pacific Grove, PB and Carmel….
Staunton Virginia would absolutely be worth a look!
Visit Prescott, Arizona for a western vibe and history AZ history lesson
Staunton Va. Lots of beautiful Victorian architecture, Shakespeare Theater and an amazing city park.
Great list Briggs. I Love Solvang! A lot of great small towns in USA and yes, the West coast has a lot! I would nominate Port Townsend and Edmonds in Washington.
I agree there are some other small towns no one promotes that have old style angle parking etc. Quaint
I second those towns! And perhaps Washington's take on "the whole Dutch theme": Leavenworth.
I was thinking of Port Townsend, too! (I was racking my brain to remember the name.) Really charming place!
I can't believe I still haven't checked out Solvang! My daughters and I took a road trip a couple of weeks ago and drove right by. Dang it! What was I thinking???? (Sometimes we neglect the cool places in our own backyard!)
(BTW, Briggs made a mistake in referring to the Danish town of Solvang being "Dutch" - it's actually "Danish." And then others chimed in about Holland/the Netherlands, etc., but... It's actually Denmark. It's easy to get those 2 countries/languages/names confused. My wife is Dutch - otherwise I wouldn't know either! And we now have some friends who're from Denmark - they speak Danish and are referred to as "Danes." The Dutch speak Dutch and are referred to as Dutch, but there's controversy as to whether or not their country should be called the Netherlands or Holland. 😂)
Stillwater, MN and Beaufort, SC are some of the best small town main streets I’ve been to. Touristy places like bar harbor, ME and Hyannis Port, MA are nice but just very crowded. Annapolis Main Street is also very pretty
Stillwater 👍🏿👍🏿
I went to school in Stillwater! It is beautiful!..its been 25 years tho..I gotta go back
Galena, IL had a great main street full of shops and restaurants without being overly touristy
I concur having been there on occasion.
Still has but I find it very touristy.
I live a little over an hour away from Galena and grew up about half an hour away. It is touristy but then again it is a tourist town. Vinny Vanucchi's sounds good about now.
Karen here America is a great place isn't it?
-Boulder City, Nevada
-New Hope, Pennsylvania & Lambertville, New Jersey (across the river from each other)
-Frenchtown, New Jersey up the river from Lambertville
Red Bank, NJ too ⛵️
Gig Harbor, Washington is beautiful especially around the harbor. Also, Aurora, Oregon which is known for antique shops. Fort Collins, Colorado whose “Main Street” was the design Disney used for their Main Street.
🤫
I live near Aurora Oregon and you are right. It’s really cute and nice.
Love Gig Harbor, also Mukilteo, WA.
@AnnBaron1... I live in Fort Collins, CO, during the winter holiday season when the trees are lighted in Old Town on College Ave. is probably one of the most scenic streets.
What a great idea for a video. I would just say that any walkable street with locally owned restaurants and stores (especially book stores) constitutes a great Main Street.
Ferndale, CA in the redwoods south of Eureka has a beautiful quaint downtown. The buildings are Victorian style with breathtaking mountains at the end of the street. I visited last September after seeing pictures of it and it's even better in person. It has that small town vibe with friendly people.
I forgot about Ferndale , it’s beautiful!
Yes! All those towns in the Redwoods are amazing.
I got to see the Redwoods over 20 years ago. Really awesome loved it. 😊
@@chucke756 Trust me, not much has changed up there since 2003 🙂
Berea Kentucky deserves a spot on this list! The arts and crafts capital of Kentucky with a beautiful downtown area!
Country living Marengo Illinois farmers for Trump2024.
Beautiful Benicia by the Bay, North Bay, Northern California. Benicia is a wonderful Main Street community with lots of friendly people. We also Love dogs.
Benicia came to my mind when I saw the title of this video. Gently sloped, long main street with cute shops and a view of the water the whole way.
Hi neighbor
Love your videos Briggs. Always an automatic watch for me.
Ashland OR; Ellicott City MD (severely damaged in a flood a few years back but bouncing back) 👍
If you like small town main streets, then you will really like Fredericksberg, TX!
Lock Haven, PA
California has major problems but Ferndale is a nice small town. Beautiful. They filmed a few movies there one of them being the 1979 TV mini series Salem's Lot.
Yes 👍 Ferndale is one of my faves because I know people there!😂
Ferndale is gorgeous!
I agree Ferndale is charming.
Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vinyard Haven. All on Martha's Vineyard. Just gorgeous. Also Annapolis MD, and Nantucket.
You can do the 10 best quaint towns in Vermont alone.
Or in any New England state
Agree. I've travelled and visited a few VT towns. Killington. Northfield. Stowe. Waterbury. Montpelier. Even Burlington. Lots of nice towns on VT 100.
Fort Collins, Colorado
Yay! You did a video on Main Streets! Thanks!
Main Street in Hingham, Massachusetts. Beautifully preserved colonial homes and historic buildings. Very long road that starts in South Hingham and ends near Hingham Harbor
I moved from Florida (lived in Portland Maine for 40 yrs before) Fayetteville TN They have a lovely main st downtown with very historical buildings that have the antiques, small cafes and clothing stores Courthouse and Library are also in historical buildings. People here are so nice and helpful I think they should be in your video too. Thanks
Watkins Glen, New York has a great main street. I miss seeing that street that l used to visit fairly often. The small town vibe is still very evident. The tow is a resort town in some aspects, but overall the town has many wonderful people.
Why do people in Elizabethtown, KY drive in reverse?
I love that place too, great in fall with leaves turning color.
Wife and I spent a weekend there.
Very beautiful place.
The Gorge was awesome.
Lunch at Wildflower Cafe. First rate.
Hear they closed up.
Iowa City, IA is awesome!
Paradise is just about any settlement on the California coast. Lot of movies have been filmed in Monteray for good reason. You can buy a whole country in Europe for less than home in Monterey. For the small town Main Street look its Seal Beach next to surf city U.S.A .. Huntington Beach. City motto. "The is no life east of Pacific Coast Highway".
Greenport, NY. It's an adorable town, right before Orient Point on the north shore of Long Island. They have a main street, shops everywhere and even an antique carousel. It's definitely a good time just walking thru or stopping to get some food. I suggest checking it out.
Jim Thorpe PA, Stroudsburg PA and Bethlehem PA. All great downtowns.
I live right in between and have to agree. Jim Thorpe is nice if you’re into outdoorsy stuff like hiking, biking and rafting. Bethlehem has a great restaurant/night time scene and has lots of history. Also has the oldest book store in the country.
Bethlehem is boooooing
How about doing smaller college towns, like Oxford MS. A lot of character for a Mississippi town. I’m sure there are several others. I’d enjoy hearing about your thoughts on small college towns. Thanks
Two towns I lived in with nice main streets: Redlands, CA’s State St & Grayslake, IL’s Center St.
Love all your choices on this video!
Just visited Cold Spring, NY. Hard to beat on so many counts, especially it’s scenic setting
PARK CITY UTAH🤙
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 🥰🥰🥰
Or Magna, Utah
LFGGG
Even in the middle of summer, it’s awesome!
What’s even more awesome is that it’s only ~30 minutes out from the large city of Salt Lake, making for an easy weekend getaway.
Lawrenceville, Ga.
Chesterton, Indiana. It's got a quaint main street that is the home for The Wizard of Oz festival. Valparaiso, Indiana is also nice. Then there is New Buffalo, Michigan...Three Oaks, Michigan also has a nice little main street.
There are so many neat little downtowns in Michigan. Milford & Lexington are two more cool towns
Excellent video and I really like the theme. Please do more, perhaps 10 best main streets in each state? I have an RV van and always drive through the downtowns of small towns as I travel. It's a treat when I come find an interesting or charming main street.
Thank you for sharing!
Please look up Peru Indiana
Virginia City Nevada.
I have two I wanted to mention in Colorado: Salida and Gunnison. They are small western art towns with the nicest people, no commercial business, aside from one Safeway, and very nice Main Streets. Crested Butte is a free van ride away from Gunnison.
Head up north in WA, and stay east of Seattle and it's nice (still expensive). Snohomish has a great historic downtown along the river. Still a small town with a good feel and not the same problems that plague the cities but not too far from things. Both Leavenworth (Bavaria themed town) and Winthrop (more western themed) are great little towns. As for CA, the towns along Hwy 49 next to the Sierras, the old gold mining towns, are really great.
I stay near Bothell. Leavenworth is awesome during Oktoberfest
Hanford & the Seattle freeze are bonus points.
Bar harbor Maine Also New Hope Pennsylvania is a lovely Main Street
Bar harbor ,..exceptionally nice (in season)
You could do a top ten New England small towns. Maine and Vermont are the most scenic states, but there are some nice towns and villages all throughout New England that are lesser known.
Seriously this channel is all.
Love, deeply love, the content.
Senoia GA has such a nice main street that's the one they use in TV
Saint Charles, MO is a great example of a small town Main Street. Founded in 1769, it was once the state capital of Missouri before the capital was relocated to Jefferson City.
I live in Webster Groves, and I LOVE going to St. Charles. It never gets old!
Yeah, but it has no pre-1800's buildings left. And they way the city keeps growing it may not keep old buildings if new development continues to take over.
estas park colorado is one of the most beautiful little towns ive ever been too
It definitely is ….gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park
SO EXITED TO SEE MY HOME ON ONE OF YOUR VIDEOS! Thank you for mentioning Elizabethtown, KY! It's my town, my husband and I moved here in 2020, and are raising our 3 kids here. The schools are great! I will say, housing prices skyrocketed right after we moved here, our home value increased some 60% in the last 3 years.
St. Joseph Michigan is a beautiful town on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. I also like Safety Harbor Florida just outside Tampa
Helen GA, Newnan GA, and Senoia GA ❤❤
I really love Saratoga Springs NY and Burlington VT :) nice main streets with cute shops and historic homes/buildings.
I commented this before getting to number 1! I was not expecting burlington to make the cut cause it’s so small but happy it did.
Have you ever been to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard? Their Main streets are gorgeous beyond belief! Boulder CO and Telluride CO are amazing too!
Good stuff excellent narrative smart well spoken as always !
Gig Harbor Washington. I grew up there. The main sweet is still good.
My favorites I've been to include Galena IL, Minoqua WI, Fairhope AL, Park City UT, Mariposa CA, and would love to see Jackson WY.
I grew up and lived in SW WY about 3 hrs from Salt Lake City, UT for 24 yrs ( one of the coldest windchill parts of the state ) and both Jackson, WY and Park City, UT are very nice. Not like other places within their respective states, though.
Solvang. YES!! :) Thanks for including it. Went there on our honeymoon and many years after that. Especially great in December. Something great about a Scandinavian Christmas.
I don’t know if King Ave. in Alexandria, VA counts for your criteria in this video, but that “Main Street” is awesome…. Very touristy, but awesome.
Keene, NH. Main Street has (or had, not sure now) the widest paved main street in the US. Lived there a long time ago. Great little town with lots of small businesses.
Half the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh honestly
Ooo this is right up my alley!
Wellsboro PA Tioga County seat. Amazing history, geography (PA Grand Canyon), and architecture. One of the most quaint town parks you will see.
I just made the same suggestion!:)
Bardstown KY got robbed, if you make your way back to Elizabethtown, you’re less then an hour from Bardstown. Please go check it out, those big brown buildings with the weird looking windows are Barrel storage units for grandmas cough medicine.
Houghton Michigan - College Town in the UP
Has lots of snow and Winter Carnival
Thank you for the video.
Thank you for mentioning Ellsworth! I used to have a small home in Franklin…just down the road.
Thomasville, Georgia
Highlands, North Carolina
Great list as always!
Two cities I highly recommend, I lived in Thomasville for 16 years and spent many vacations in the Highlands area. Both have great walkable downtown areas with shops and restaurants.
Have you been up here to highlands area lately? Im in franklin, use to live in bryson city. Use to go to highlands cause it’s right up the road and scenic drive.
Bumper to bumper now! Scary on that road . They did close it to big trucks finally but you get huge motor homes and dump trucks etc still.
Land and homes in this area are still selling overnight, sight unseen. We have like 8 grocery stores now, Aldi, chick fil a etc etc etc
Like 7 roundabouts and traffic is awful.
Seems we are now the new florida. Not happy about it at all and probably selling and going somewhere away from east coast. As much as I’ll miss this place, it’s now walleyworld. Cutting off tops of mountains and building houses .
I love that area for the great roads and scenery. Wayah road just west of Franklin is a stand out up there. I live in Florida and I know exactly what you mean, I hope that area doesn’t get overdeveloped. Western Carolina is my favorite vacation destination.
Last time I was up there was October 2021
I was going to also say Cashiers and Highlands, NC. Haven't been there for years, but really cute back then.
Cashiers is great but it doesn’t have the walkable downtown area like Highlands. Waynesville and Boone are great too
I loved this video and I think you are right on with many towns. I would like to add some that you should investigate: Gettysburg, PA, Ridgefield, CT, and Prescott, AZ.
Prescott is great but is it small? It's kinda big!
YES I AGREE ! HAVING LIVED AND MOTORCYCLED A LOT IN TEXAS LOVED SMALL TOWNS.
Fort Collins, CO, during the winter holiday season when all the trees are lighted in Old Town on College Ave. is probably one of the most scenic main streets in America.
Greenville SC and Madison IN are 2 places with great main streets.
We were vacationing in Orlando and kind of stumbled upon Winter Park 😮 It’s absolutely gorgeous. Park Ave has tons of shops and restaurants, a large park area with large trees, it’s cobblestone streets with a train station downtown. Bonus was the golf course with a cemetery right in the middle. Just a beautiful oasis in the middle of a very busy touristy city
Berlin,MD nice shops great architecture. Plenty of parking
Great videos! I liked Manitou Springs, Co. cute shops, good food, hiking hill from hell (Barr trail) and a cool little cog rail that takes you up to pikes peak.
Main Street Lexington, VA is also pretty great
Great list Briggs!! Definintely agree with Burlington, VT as number 1. Church St is a blast! UVM students are too! And maybe even some former IBM employees?
I’m glad you kept to the coasts
Greenville SC is the best Main Street I've been to. Great shopping, eating and the Reedy Park. I'm also biased because I live here.