The Vision
The Underrated Guide began with a vision to illuminate the outstanding music, arts, food, drink, and culture in second and third cities. The cities that have a plethora of offerings that often go unnoticed. We are talking cities overshadowed by the overrated monoliths that we have come to love, revere, and at times dread due to the overpriced eats, costs of travel, and those other tourists that ruin it for the rest of us, and so on. You know what I’m talking about.
At times, the guide will explore facets of popular culture, mainstream content, and engagement through travel and exploration. The main focus is to highlight the underdogs, the roads less traveled, and the underrated places that go unfeatured.
The secondary goal of the guide is to engage our readers in a way that fosters a culture of reading at a time of major decline. All of the written work on this page is thoroughly researched and centers on the writer’s perspective. Our photos are also captured by the writers of the guide. The greater purpose of this work is to inspire new readers, engage with our audience in a way that invites critical thinking, and remind our readers that the journey is far greater than the destination.
Welcome to the Underrated Guide.
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Meet Andy Gold
Hello and welcome to my site. My name is Andy Gold, and I am the founder of the Underrated Guide (UG).
The inception of UG was a vision of mine that sparked around 2022. I had moved to Rochester, New York, from New York City at the end of 2020, and little did I know what I was in for.
Coming from major cities on both coasts, the idea of living in a medium-sized one was not anything I had ever imagined for myself. In a way, it was fate that brought me here, but it is the arts, culture, music, and stellar food scene that has kept me in Rochester.
I created the guide because I love to write, travel, eat, catch live music, explore, and I wanted to share the uniqueness of Rochester and of other second and third cities that are often overshadowed by larger cities.
If you’re here and following along, then you’re probably interested in what some of the less-traveled places have to offer, and I can say with full certainty that there are numerous, underrated, and fun things to do.
Thanks for reading and following along on this journey!