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As far as the weather is concerned to some people, Hot and humid is not for them. You also have people that feel that they do not want to be forced into driving everywhere they rather have driving as an option or a last resort. I will give you the fact that Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas are booming with jobs and a lower cost of living. Yes you may get a bigger house for less money in the burbs but to some people, that is not their vision of the American dream. You have people that are content with a hi-rise condo or a rowhouse within a city environment.
Some people just do not want to live in a sunbelt environment where everything is spread out.
Some people may not want to live in a sunbelt enviroment, but all you have to do is look at which cities are growing at this moment and that would be Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, and Charlotte. All of these cities are either in the south or west. Maybe the old American dream was to get to New York and live the fast paced life and rent an apartment, but this 2009 and things have changed. If an area is growing over 100,000 people a year in a recession, that area is doing an outstanding job with its resources. These are the only major cities in the country that are "really" growing.
Speaking on the weather, The summers can be humid in the south and the north can have some harsh winters. Based on a 365 day yr, I'd much rather live in the south because of weather, look at Arizona and Florida, home to retirees because of the weather mainly.
Also, you stated that some people are content with a high rise or rowhouse which is fine, but I wonder who in their right mind would rent out an apartment for $1500 a month or buy a house with a yard and a driveway for the same price in the south. It's only logical to assume that more people would want the house.
Finally, as for being spreaded out, what's wrong with that? That's the route that the american cities are taking now. All the cities that are growing, are spreaded out. These areas have a major city where people work and surburbs where people stay.
More Southwest. Its own thing. Except for some of East Texas, it is much different from LA, MS, AL, GA, AR, KY, TN, SC.
Definitely agree texas is different...outside of far east texas in old south stuff, and houston as a new south city... Texas is a whole different ballpark or cultural norms. Think ... the Wild West... that is texas, where most of that history went down...u know... San Antonio (Alamo) Dallas / FT WORTH ..
Texas is pretty OK in my book... definitely different than alabama/georgia/missisippi/arkansas/tennessee/south carolina version of the South ...
and honestly Louisiana is definitely a different vibe than the rest of the south... I also prefer that as well, to me, much more "cultural" than the rest...or at the least, stuff I like more than the rest...
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdw1084
Finally, as for being spreaded out, what's wrong with that? That's the route that the american cities are taking now. All the cities that are growing, are spreaded out. These areas have a major city where people work and surburbs where people stay.
eh...pretty sure dallas and atlanta miami and houston are trying to urbanize more at this point as they realize they probably went too far in the other direction.
More Southwest. Its own thing. Except for some of East Texas, it is much different from LA, MS, AL, GA, AR, KY, TN, SC.
Texas is its own thing in many ways (and as a Texan I am proud of that), but it is definitely not the "Southwest" if by such a definition it means inclusion into a region with New Mexico and Arizona. Most of Texas is Southwest as in "western South." This is totally different in historical and cultural terms from the "southern West" Southwest of the latter two states. Texas is essentially a Southern state.
I want to live in a large country style house in the middle of a cotton field surrounded by nothing but nature itself, and sit outside on a huge veranda and watch the amazing thunderstorms roll in, while sipping on a good glass of red wine.
Texas is DEFINATELY it's own thing. It is the south, but it's is OWN south. Not the same south of GA, VA, NC, ect, ect. Texas has more of a western vibe. It's STILL southern, but with a huge WESTERN influence. San Antonio and Austin are 2 of the BEST examples I can give you. With the heavy hispanic/mexican influence in the two cities, it gives them more of a southwestern feel.
... it isn't even useful unless you live in a specific location, most cities you can live virtually anywhere that is populated and get on the subway in a few blocks walk...
some more examples to beat it into their heads. I covered that in the ridership and it is mostly poor blacks that use Marta and this was published by the city of atlanta in 2007, still won't get it. it is a losing battle.
Clearly their version of "extensive" is different than most peoples.
sunbelt cities are horrendous and not even considerable if you don't wanna drive yourself bonkers to live without a car, other cities you are often better off without a car.
Ladies and gentlemen, how it's done.
I have nothing against the South personally outside of the fact that I'm much more Liberal than the norm there, so if southern cities started developing more centrally I would consider them the same way I consider other places.
And what's interesting is that Paris, Boston, London, Washington, Madrid, and Barcelona are all low-mid rise cities. Most people live in flats, true, but it refutes the idea that cities necessarily have to be "Manhattanized".
And on some level I can empathize with people in Atlanta or Texas cities. The state of Michigan is very counter productive when it comes to developing transit as well. I could only dream of that criss-crossed and color-coded map in Detroit. =\
I just drove from Raleigh, NC to Phoenix, AZ last week, and honestly.. the south really sucks.. those ugly woods dont stop from the atlantic to Shrevport, LA.. the south is alot larger then the west.. also was established before it.
Texas originally was part of the west.. but somewhere in the last two decades they became the south. blah.. The south squared is probably.. Miami to Raleigh, To OK City? down to San Antonio..
The West... California holds it down.. With a few outside cities (Portland, Seattle, El Paso,Albequerque, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Reno
Im all for the California lifestyle over the South.. but it's so biased being that Ive lived in the south and absolutely hated it, from the massive amounts of polin in the air, to the humidity and dirty swamps.
Sure the west doesnt have tropical beaches, but does the south have a Lake Tahoe?
The south has the everglades, the west has Yosemite.
The south has alot more cities, the west has a city bigger than any 3 southern cities.
The south has Miami, the west has Vegas
blah blah blah... I love the west, from the desert to the pacific.
only Texas shuts me up about the south, the rest of it can go in the garbage.
Lol maybe not Miami.. but yea..
I just drove from Raleigh, NC to Phoenix, AZ last week, and honestly.. the south really sucks.. those ugly woods dont stop from the atlantic to Shrevport, LA.. the south is alot larger then the west.. also was established before it.
Texas originally was part of the west.. but somewhere in the last two decades they became the south. blah.. The south squared is probably.. Miami to Raleigh, To OK City? down to San Antonio..
The West... California holds it down.. With a few outside cities (Portland, Seattle, El Paso,Albequerque, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Reno
Im all for the California lifestyle over the South.. but it's so biased being that Ive lived in the south and absolutely hated it, from the massive amounts of polin in the air, to the humidity and dirty swamps.
Sure the west doesnt have tropical beaches, but does the south have a Lake Tahoe?
The south has the everglades, the west has Yosemite.
The south has alot more cities, the west has a city bigger than any 3 southern cities.
The south has Miami, the west has Vegas
blah blah blah... I love the west, from the desert to the pacific.
only Texas shuts me up about the south, the rest of it can go in the garbage.
Lol maybe not Miami.. but yea..
If my history is correct, then Texas seceeded from the union during the Civil War. it is also obvious that Texas was part of the Western expansion because it was the Western most part of the country at the time. Also, Alabama and Mississippi were apart of the Western expansion. just wanted to go over some history.
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