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Houston is my 1st home and the DC area is my 2nd. This is tough but from my POV:
Better housing costs- Houston
More diverse- Both
Better public transportation-DC
Better layout- assuming the layout of streets etc? Definitely easier to get around in Houston. Street names just don't change out of the blue hahah
Better restaurants- both have great restaurants but Houston for the Viet food =)
Better shopping-tough one but I tend to shop more when I'm in Houston.
Better parks- DC
Better events/festivals- DC for sure and most are free!
Better schools/universities-DC
Better scenery-DC
Better cultural institutions (museums, art galleries, etc.)-DC wins but Houston is cool too.
Family is in Houston but work is in DC. As of right now, I'm not ready to move back to Houston yet.
^^ I was JUST about to jump on that one myself. DC quite easily wins in higher education. Not only do you have Georgetown. But you have George Washington as well which is tier 1. I believe Howard is the most prestigious HBCU in the nation with the best academics. Most HBCU's attract people from the region. Howard gets them from the nation and world.
Since I lived in DC and I spent significant time in Houston, here is mine.
Better housing costs - Houston
More diverse - Both
Better public transportation - DC
Better layout - Houston
Better restaurants - Both
Better shopping - Houston
Better parks - DC
Better events/festivals - DC
Better schools/universities - DC
Better scenery - Both
Better cultural institutions - DC
You know what? I take back what I said about DC having a better layout in the Inner Core. Those dammned diagonal Streets throw me way off every time I go up there. Houston has a more sensible grid system within the Loop, and even with its incosistencies, its easier to get around than the District.
I wanted to see if Houston really has surpassed or equaled Washington in diversity (I'm assuming that it's racial/ethnic diversity in the OP). Most of the other subjects are either subjective (parks, shopping) or obvious (housing costs). But diversity is truly neither.
I looked at the 3-Year American Community Survey Estimates 2006-2008 on the U.S. Census Bureau American FactFinder website and viewed the "Selected Population Profile" for both MSAs and MSAs only. I did not include the CSAs.
-------------------------------- Total Population
Total Population: Houston MSA Population - 5,603,882 Washington MSA Population - 5,306,742
White Population
The Census Bureau classifies Latin-Americans, Europeans, and (I think?) Western Asian/Middle Eastern as "white".
White Alone Population: Houston - 3,570,148 Washington - 3,048,751
White Alone, not Hispanic or Latino: Houston - 2,410,434 Washington - 2,740,401
Black Alone Population
The Census Bureau classifies Africans (immigrated from Africa) as "black".
Black Alone Population - 942,299 Washington - 1,372,769
Latin-American Population
Houston has a total of 1,865,649 Latin-Americans to Washington's 633,399.
Houston has a huge population of Mexicans (1,448,453) compared to Washington's meager 103,555 (3-Year American Community Survey Estimates 2006-2008).
But Houston's non-Mexican Latin American population is figured at 417,196 , while Washington D.C.'s non-Mexican Latin America population is 529,844.
Washington D.C. does have larger numbers people from most Central American and South American countries.
Puerto Rican: Houston - 23,792 Washington - 41,070
Guatelmalan: Houston - 30,676 Washington - 42,723
Honduran: Houston - 48,740 Washington - 28,246
Salvadoran: Houston - 133,855 Washington - 190,478
Bolivian: Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 33,260
Columbian: Houston - 29,520 Washington - Under the 20,000 population threshold
Peruvian: Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 33,191
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold for Cuban, Dominican Republican, Costa Rican, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Argentinian, Chilean, Ecuadorian, Uruguayan and Venezuelan.
So while Houston can claim 1,200,000 more Latin-Americans than Washington, Almost all of that is from one country (Mexico). Washington holds its own on people from many of the other countries within Latin America.
Asian Population
Houston has 319,945 people that count as Asian alone, while Washington has 447,345.
Houston's Vietnamese population is higher than Washington's (83,522 to 57,799 Vietnamese alone), but that is the only Asian ethnicity.
Indian: Houston - 76,232 Washington - 107,700
Chinese: Houston - 64,768 Washington - 86,503
Filipino: Houston - 36,038 Washington - 50,243
Korean: Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 71,633
Vietnamese: Houston - 83,522 Washington - 57,799
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold for Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Hmong, Indonesian, Japanese, Laotian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Thai and Other Specified Asian.
African Population
The Census Bureau counts all people of African heritage as "black" as an ethnicity including those that immigrated from Africa. I had to use "Country of birth" rather than "Race or ethnic groups" within American Factfinder 2006-2008 American Community Survey. Note: This will only include people who are 1st generation immigrants rather than their American-born 2nd generation children.
All foreign-born African residents: Houston - 41,514 Washington - 151,259
Foreign-born Eastern African residents (including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia):
Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 42,692
Foreign-born Ethiopian: Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 28,920
Foreign-born Central African residents (including Cameroon):
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold
Foreign-born Northern African residents (including Egypt, Morocco, Sudan):
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold
Foreign-born Southern African residents (including South Africa):
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold
Foreign-born Western African residents (including Cape Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone):
Houston - 20,057 Washington - 65,164
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold for Eritea, Kenya, Somalia, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, South Africa, Cape Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Other Specified African.
Western Asian Population
Also only under "Country of birth" rather than "Race or ethnic groups". Western Asian population includes people from Armenia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen. Note: This will only include people who are 1st generation immigrants rather than their American-born 2nd generation children.
All foreign-born Western Asian residents: Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 23,693
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold for all specific nation foreign-born Western Asian population.
European Population
Also under "Country of birth" rather than "Race or ethnic groups". Note: This will only include people who are 1st generation immigrants rather than their American-born 2nd generation children.
All foreign-born European residents: Houston - 54,854 Washington - 106,988
Foreign-born Northern European residents (including Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom/Scotland/England:
Houston - 20,466 Washington - 25,980
Foreign-born Western European residents (including Austria, Belguim, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland):
Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 28,277
Foreign-born Southern European residents (including Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain):
Both cities were under the 20,000 population threshold
Foreign-born Eastern European residents (including Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine):
Houston - Under the 20,000 population threshold Washington - 38,011
I could use the "ancestry" tab, but more often than not, the descendants of European immigrants have pretty much "easily" assimilated into "white" American society and would have less impact on diversity itself if regional cultures and traditions are not truly kept.
Australian, Oceanic, and Pacific Islander Population
Neither cities were above the 20,000 threshold for this type of population.
-----------------------------------
Houston's Mexican population is gigantic. But it seems like Washington (as of this moment) still has a much wider variety of people from different backgrounds around the world.
Last edited by tenken627; 08-12-2010 at 04:25 PM..
Better housing costs- Houston by a mile
More diverse- Houston
Better public transportation- DC of course
Better layout- Houston's grid is easy to learn
Better restaurants- Houston
Better shopping-honestly don't know
Better parks- Houston
Better events/festivals- DC by far
Better schools/universities (Rice ranked @ 17, Georgetown ranked @23) slight edge to Houston
Better scenery- DC
Better cultural institutions (museums, art galleries, etc.)- DC duh
6-4 in favor of Houston
DC has great restaurants, so I don't know if Houston wins out on that and DC has one of the largest percentages of parkspace in any american city and some of the most iconic parks.
Also, I think it's unfair to go by rankings alone because Georgetown is a huge school compared to Rice. Rice is great at what it does, but it can't do as much simply for the fact that it is a rather small school and fields in which it simply does not compete (law school for instance).
DC has great restaurants, so I don't know if Houston wins out on that and DC has one of the largest percentages of parkspace in any american city and some of the most iconic parks.
Also, I think it's unfair to go by rankings alone because Georgetown is a huge school compared to Rice. Rice is great at what it does, but it can't do as much simply for the fact that it is a rather small school and fields in which it simply does not compete (law school for instance).
lol, it is all just opinion, mine isn't gonna make either city greater or less important. I rated the resturants in Houston better because I like them better, but you are right that DC has many good ones, it is just my opinion. Same for the parks and schools. I happen to love Houston parks. They are some of the biggest urban parks in the country (two of the top ten biggest). And I have a bias for Riice, I went there.
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