Chicago has the sports, Los Angeles has the movies, New York City has the bright lights: we know what defines the USA’s biggest cities on the surface. Yet for locals, it’s less about the glitz and glam and more about the intimate comedy clubs and community-minded flea markets that make their city a home. Ready to discover a totally different side to the USA’s most loved cities? Senior Editor Zoë Rutland rounds up the best hidden experiences only locals know about.

Walk down some of Los Angeles’s hippest boulevard’s and it’s like seeing the pages of Vogue spring to life: the latest streetwear staples, one-of-a-kind jackets, breezy beachwear. Yet, chances are, those effortlessly cool garms you’re eyeing up didn’t come from an expensive boutique or a chain mall. The city’s true retail heart is its swap meets: essentially flea markets where thrifty locals outfit their next brunch get-up and grab a bite to eat while they’re at it. The Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet is one of the buzziest in the city, with vendors selling everything from clothing to plants, food stalls satiating bargain hunters, and – on weekends – cover bands and Latin rhythms soundtracking all that rifling.

Los Angeles Like a Local

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Nashville is the birthplace of country music as we know it, so y’all would be forgiven for thinking that’s the only genre that seeps through Music City’s bones. Oh so wrong. Mozart and Beethoven might not be Nashvillians themselves, but you’ll be second guessing their origins once you hear the Nashville Symphony play their greatest compositions. This isn’t your average orchestra; rather, in true Southern spirit, the Nashville Symphony has endless fun merging old and new at their downtown home, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Expect everything from original renditions of David Bowie’s greatest hits to poignant violin covers of the Star Wars opening theme.

Nashville Like a Local

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It’s no overstep to say that Portlanders are a kooky bunch – this is a city where you’ll pass bagpipe-playing unicyclists on your way to work, and be served a nightcap by bondage-wearing bartenders once the day is done. It’s a city built on self-expression, which is pretty apt given that its unofficial motto is “Keep Portland Weird”. And the city’s nightlife scene certainly got the memo, with subversive improv acts and hardcore Dungeons & Dragons sessions seeing free-spirited locals come out to play.

Booklover’s Burlesque is arguably the most thrilling (and dare we say sexiest) event once the sun sets, shaking up the norm of classic literary readings in true Portland spirit. Here, readings of everything from poetry to memoir are followed by sensual burlesque, draglesque, and boylesque performances inspired by each piece. Who would’ve thought that Virginia Wolf could be so tantalizing?

Portland Like a Local

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Colorful townhouses sloping hilltop neighborhoods and cable cars rumbling up steep streets are the images that spring to mind when thinking of San Francisco. While we don’t recommend peeping inside those houses while catching your breath mid-walk, there is one house in The Mission where having a peek is strongly encouraged. While public art seems to take over every available inch of the city, Peephole Cinema is easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there. Amble down Orange Valley until you come across a hole in the red side-wall street, marked only by a discreet hanging sign, and peer in: through the peephole is a stream of silent short movies curated around a theme, from the likes of the supernatural to visual illusions. It won’t give you an insight into San Fran real estate (sorry), but it will showcase the heart of the city’s characteristic creativity.

San Francisco Like a Local

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It’s said that NYC is where dreams are made of – where comics with a fire in their belly and budding theater performers put down roots, hoping to one day make it onto the world stage. These creatives are the backbone of the city, yet the blinding lights of Times Square and Manhattan aren’t the only places to find them. Over in Bed-Stuy, the Black-owned Brooklyn House of Comedy has managed to remain under-the-radar, but that’s not to say it doesn’t compete with the likes of the iconic Comedy Cellar and Village Underground. At night, long-time Bed-Stuy locals filter into this warm venue, hoping to witness the next big comic to become comedy royalty. Enjoy an evening of belly laughing and trying not to spill your drink with every chuckle.

New York City Like a Local

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Think of Austin and you’re likely imagining spirited locals two-stepping in honky-tonks with a drink in hand. This is, after all, a place where nights revolve around live country music and good beer. Austin has more breweries than any other city in Texas, and even yoga classes and baby showers are booze-fueled here. Yet Austinites know a good night out doesn’t always need to involve alcohol (though live music is non-negotiable). At 5pm every weekend, the unmarked Sans Bar opens for the #sobercurious, serving up imaginative zero-proof cocktails alongside karaoke, drag bingo, dance parties, and – hooray – live music. Austin knows how to party, whatever the fuel.

Austin Like a Local

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As the birthplace of the skyscraper and home to year-round rooftop bars, Chicago isn’t short of architectural masterpieces or places to admire them from. Early morning joggers literally hot-foot it to The 606, an elevated walkway that rivals NYC’s High Line, while dog walkers prefer to stroll the Chicago Riverwalk and soak up the skyline. Yet wonders lie in wait on the ground, too. For those seeking peace and quiet, the North Shore Trail remains something of a local secret thanks to its out-of-the-way location, tucked away on the city’s far north side. Meander along the northern branch of the Chicago River, from Ravenswood to suburban Evanston, and soak up the cool Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park and stunning Bahá’í House of Worship en route.

Chicago Like a Local

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