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I wanted to add that while I do think it is possible to skim an entire city in 5 days, in order to get a true feel for any town, you HAVE to walk it. One single neighborhood can become its own world when you explore it on foot, and you just don't get that impression when you're driving through.
Agreed. If I had never been there before, I could go to NYC and "skim" the whole city, all 5 boroughs, in five days, no problem. However, my conclusion is just going to be very general and broad: "it's big. It's dense. It has tons of skyskrapers. Tons of taxi cabs. Etc. etc.". It's not until I hit the pavement that I actually get a sense of the city's nuances and diverse character.
In Houston, much is hidden just beneath the surface. To a first-time visitor "skimming" the city (most likely from a fast-moving car on one of the many freeways), it's mainly going to seem like this big, sprawling, flat, mostly suburban maze with different clusters of "skylines" popping up in various places to break the monotony. However, take a stroll down lower Westheimer in the Montrose neighborhood, or down Washington Ave in the West End, or a trek through the Rice Village, or the Med Center, or along Hillcroft in the Ghandi district, or West 19th in the Heights, or Navigation Blvd in the 2nd Ward... and you will find that the character, culture, architecture, and overall vibe of the city varies greatly from one area to the next. Those areas were just a few examples too. There are many others.
That poster seems to have spent most of his/her time in Houston on the North side of the metro. The Woodlands isn't even Houston. It's an exurb that is it's own city. Certainly part of the Greater Houston area, but quite profoundly different from the core city of Houston. Greenspoint? Part of Houston, but way out on the fringes of the city-proper. Houston covers 600 square miles. Much bigger area-wise than most other big cities. And that's just the city itself. The metro covers 10,000 square miles. That's the size of the entire state of Massachussetts. Five days to absorb all that? I seriously doubt it.
Still, after all that diversity and variation, when all is said and done, Houston is very much a Southern city.
I don't understand the whole "Hispanics and Asians make a state less Southern" mentality.
Seriously? There is not a thing that about Hispanic or Asians cultures that is similar to Southern. Differnt religions, different heritage, different accent, different cuisine. Southern and Asian is completely exclusive of each other. Most Asians would advise their children to stay away from such a culture.
A city can feel southern for a dozen reasons that have nothing to do with demographics. I'm familiar with these neighborhoods you're talking about but the city still feels southern to me, if that's possible for a major city at all.
And Asians and Hispanics don't have to be un-southern.
I doubt he literally means that he explored every single inch of the city, but sampling all of the main sections is indeed possible within 5 days.
Lol. You ask an Asian or Hispanic if they consider themselves southern. You are gonna get a whole lot of weirded out faces.
Seriously? There is not a thing that about Hispanic or Asians cultures that is similar to Southern. Differnt religions, different heritage, different accent, different cuisine. Southern and Asian is completely exclusive of each other. Most Asians would advise their children to stay away from such a culture.
Lol. You ask an Asian or Hispanic if they consider themselves southern. You are gonna get a whole lot of weirded out faces.
I'm a native Texan. What makes you think I haven't asked them? What makes you think I would even need to ask them and that it wouldn't be something they would willingly acknowledge on their own? See, I grew up around Mexicans that had southern accents and ate southern food. That seals it for me.
So it's obvious that you are (yet again) speaking on subjects which you have no real world knowledge of.
I'm a native Texan. What makes you think I haven't asked them? What makes you think I would even need to ask them and that it wouldn't be something they would willingly acknowledge on their own? See, I grew up around Mexicans that had southern accents and ate southern food. That seals it for me.
So it's obvious that you are (yet again) speaking on subjects which you have no real world knowledge of.
Yeah right. You know Hispanics with Southern accents? I am born and raised in Florida, one of the most Hispanic states in our nation and I have never seen that.
No, but my ex of five years was Chinese. I have a good idea of what that culture is like.
Right, but did you ever live in a large Asian community? Do you know what most Asians think or believe in? I'm just curious how you could make a blanket statement like the one you made earlier. Sure, there are many Asians who choose not to assimilate into whatever region they immigrate to, but there are also many others who do. They're not all exactly alike in their thinking and customs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CravingMountains
Yeah right. You know Hispanics with Southern accents? I am born and raised in Florida, one of the most Hispanic states in our nation and I have never seen that.
In Texas, there are many, many Mexican-Americans with roots going back hundreds of years in the state, and many of them do speak with twangs and drawls.
I lived in Alpine (in the Big Bend) many years ago. Even though the landscape is Western, and the lifestyle for many is ranching, I still would call it part of The South, because of the Southern Baptist dominance of the local culture. There may have been even be more Catholics, but,
Hmmm, now that I come to think of it, the day to day social scene for European Americans was Baptist dominated (Southern) while the day to day social scene for Hispanics was Catholic dominated (Southwestern).
At the time I lived there, sad to say, there was a definite social divide based on race/religion.
So I guess maybe the town was Southern and Southwestern both, with not much meeting in the middle.
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