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Calling the DFW area the Metroplex is not new, but apparently if some people haven't heard the reference it clearly must not be legit. The Twin Cities is more commonly heard nationally and in pop-culture. Referring to MSP as the "Twin Cities" is more of a branding, like how Detroit is "Motown", I don't think that DFW is branded as "the Metroplex" in the same way.
Yeah, even Motown is more well known than the Metroplex, I would have to say. Big Apple, City of Angels, Windy City, Twin Cities, Motown, can't think of many other big city nicknames, well I guess I know The Metroplex now, not even sure how it earned that nickname. Nothing against Dallas, I think it's a great city, but what makes it earn that name?
Yeah, even Motown is more well known than the Metroplex, I would have to say. Big Apple, City of Angels, Windy City, Twin Cities, Motown, can't think of many other big city nicknames, well I guess I know The Metroplex now, not even sure how it earned that nickname. Nothing against Dallas, I think it's a great city, but what makes it earn that name?
"A metroplex is a contiguous metropolitan area that has more than one principal anchor city of near equal importance."
It's a technical term that has turned into a synonym that is equated with DFW. Quite simply DFW is a metroplex. It makes sense, with that definition you could say that MSP is also a metroplex, or that DFW are twin cities and so on. It comes down to splitting hairs, which is something we make an art of on here.
Honestly, no one outside Texas really uses the term Metroplex.
Outside Texas, its either "DFW" or just "Dallas". The city name Dallas is more well known than "Metroplex", "Twin Cities", "Minneapolis", or "St. Paul".
"A metroplex is a contiguous metropolitan area that has more than one principal anchor city of near equal importance."
Right, I always have thought of this as a blanket term for many, many metros, not specifically for DFW. If anyone referred to DFW that way in the past, I just figured it wasn't DFW-specific, but used as a descriptor. DFW claiming "Metroplex" for itself was completely unknown to me until the thread the OP is referencing here. And I've spent a good bit of time in DFW. So Twin Cities runs away with this in a big way, as way more people say "Twin Cities" than the cities themselves (Minneapolis, or St Paul, or MSP etc.), at least in the Midwest. It's considered the name of the metro, the one everyone uses if they're going to the region. "Metroplex" seems like a modern branding move and less a natural naming progression.
Charlotte metro area. It's not a very common nickname at all though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Austincool
There are multiple twin cities with the "twin cities" nickname, so Metroplex.
Really? I've never heard of the nickname applying to other cities. The closest I've heard is Winston-Salem's nickname, the Twin City (singular).
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The Twin Cities is more commonly heard nationally and in pop-culture. Referring to MSP as the "Twin Cities" is more of a branding, like how Detroit is "Motown", I don't think that DFW is branded as "the Metroplex" in the same way.
