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I feel the same way. Most of these people post NE and Cali cities.
But quite honestly I do think these are the most interesting cities in many ways; that being said I think a collection of cities that best give an overview of america would not just be the 5 largest or most important
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidphilly
I also think another tact could be made
For example:
1 an urban monster (Default to NYC)
2 a city that is the heartland and remnant of the industrial might and engine that made america what it is but is now on harder times (Detroit/Cleveland/St Louis all work in this context)
3 the new American city modern growing sprawling (Houston or DFW or maybe even OKC as the example of the grower fit best)
4 A technology hub in the modern sense (SJ/RDU/Austin)
5 A coastal city with large immigrant populations (Miami or SD both work well for me on this)
To me this may be a better cross section of what America is than pick the 5 largest cities or whatever - a trip to each of these 5 probably gives a better cross section of cities in America than any other list the more i think about it. Maybe there are other categories that work better dunno but these were just some quick thoughts.
In this way I would actually leave DC out in that although it is the capital it doesnt really present a unified image of what America is outside of it.
am curious if others have thoughts on categories and such that offer an insight into a good sampling of America.
I realized that after the first 5 minutes talking with him. If you ask the average American, he would associate San Francisco with Technology before he would San Jose, even if it's not entirely correct. If you watch "The Social Network", how many times is San Francisco (e.g. Golden Gate Bridge, SF Skyline, The Bay Bridge, Transamerica Building, Downtown SF locations) portrayed in the film? How many times is San Jose portrayed? The reason for the discrepancy you might ask......San Francisco is the anchor city in the bay area, not San Jose. So as any normal, rational, unbiased individual would, I included the industry of the less important town within the metro of the anchor city 35 miles north.
Anchor city? All that means is that it is a figurehead. When people weigh the importance of New York, they look at all the people who commute to midtown and downtown, not 30-50 miles south of there. Wall Street and Madison Avenue are in Manhattan. Silicon Valley (named for the Santa Clara Valley obviously) is not even in the same county, area code or metropolitan area as San Francisco. Speaking of area codes, 408 is going to be the first in Northern California to split into an overlay because there is so much industry here, not there.
And you citing a Hollywood film just makes you look even more desperate. San Francisco showed up in just that one nightclub scene and one brief bit later. Did you even see the movie?
Anchor city? All that means is that it is a figurehead. When people weigh the importance of New York, they look at all the people who commute to midtown and downtown, not 30-50 miles south of there. Wall Street and Madison Avenue are in Manhattan. Silicon Valley (named for the Santa Clara Valley obviously) is not even in the same county, area code or metropolitan area as San Francisco. Speaking of area codes, 408 is going to be the first in Northern California to split into an overlay because there is so much industry here, not there.
And you citing a Hollywood film just makes you look even more desperate. San Francisco showed up in just that one nightclub scene and one brief bit later. Did you even see the movie?
What more do you want...
1. 200 companies are in San Francisco. Twitter, Craigslist, Wikipedia, etc.
2. San Francisco is the more iconic city.
3. Industry leaders (read: credibility) pair San Francisco, along with Berkeley as integrated communities within the Startup industry.
4. The average American associates San Francisco more with technology than San Jose. Most people have never heard of San Jose.
You're biased but I get it. San Jose residents have a little brother complex/insecurity issues from being under the shadow of San Francisco. I'm from Philadelphia, I understand. But get real. San Jose will never be the main city in the Bay Area & it's not disrespectful to include San Jose with San Francisco when for all intents and purposes, it's a suburb/satellite city 35 miles south. Reason being, if San Francisco was destroyed today, the Bay Area would suck ass. I've watched "The Social Network" atleast 30 times. They show San Francisco all throughout the film. I didn't see San Jose's skyline once.
I'm not disrespecting Silicon Valley, I'm just including the area with the more iconic city in near distance. Stop being so sensitive. I didn't mean anything by it.
I agree kidphilly but my criteria would be a city that repectfully represents each regions of the United States since each region is so different and individual.
1. Mark Zuckerberg & Sean Parker drive to a VC meeting for revenge. Mark gets out of the car in a bathrobe. They're in Downtown San Francisco.
2. The scene before that, a still shot of San Francisco's skyline is shown. It shows the morning rush hour on The Bay Bridge toward San Francisco.
3. The club scene where Mark has drinks with Sean, the Transamerica Building is shown.
4. Mark Zuckerberg & Sean Parker go to meet with Peter Thiel at Clarium Capital's offices. There's a still shot of Downtown San Francisco before Peter Thiel hands Mark the term sheet for the investment.
A blockbuster film about the fastest growing company to ever grace Silicon Valley, currently worth $50 Billion USD & you don't think it's relevant to the discussion that San Jose isn't shown once in the film while San Francisco has many shots. Typical. The normal, average viewer would get the idea that Facebook was located in San Francisco's city limits, not the Valley. That's the entire point of the discussion; that there's more people who think San Jose/Silicon Valley is connected to San Francisco than those who don't.
Last edited by siliconvalleyboss; 04-07-2011 at 12:35 PM..
I agree kidphilly but my criteria would be a city that repectfully represents each regions of the United States since each region is so different and individual.
That could be another take - maybe a Charlotte or Atlanta as the new Southern city - think there could be many categories that work but just purely saying NYC/LA/Chicago misses a lot of what America is all about
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