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And Las Vegas is actually the most eastern suburb of Los Angeles. True but neither Las Vegas or Los Angeles will ever agree.
But geographically they are hopelessly southwestern and draw water from the Colorado. That makes you hard core southwestern.
The dwellers in So CA can think whatever they like...but they still drink Colorado River Water.
Las Vegas and L.A. are separated by hundreds of miles of wide-open desert. How do you figure Vegas is an "Eastern suburb" of L.A.? Unless that's sarcasm (and you'd still be reaching), that's one of the most absurd and ridiculous things I've ever read in these forums... which is really saying something.
By that logic, Minneapolis-St. Paul is the Westernmost suburb of Chicago, and Pittsburgh is the Westernmost suburb of NYC. Utter nonsense.
The trend is that America's center of population has been moving to the south and west. If the trend keeps up, does that mean that SoCal will end up being the biggest center of population in the U.S.? I mean, I just can't imagine hundreds of millions of people living in one region of the nation (southwest). And I can't imagine how much it will cost to live there. It's already ultra expensive. Not to mention the serious water supply issues that are imminent.
The whole migration seems to be climate driven. The southwest is warm and dry. The northeast is cold and damp. So, I could understand that. But, do you think that people will eventually migrate west from Florida even, to get away from the humidity? Will people migrate down south from places like Seattle and North Dakota to get away from the cold?
How do you think it will look in 50 years from now? Will SoCal become the biggest megalopolis in the nation, instead of the BosWash corridor, which is 457 miles long?
This also begs the question: Is the climate and scenery of the southwest really the absolute best the nation has to offer for everybody? I mean, I know people from the northeast who moved to SoCal, and although they enjoyed it, they couldn't wait to move back east for the greenery. They said that SoCal is just too brown/dry for them. Now, my friend who lives in San Diego is moving to Orlando in March.
I believe the south and the west are the two regions that are to receive the most growth over coming decades. The south is to receive most of the growth, including places like Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arkansas, I believe. Much of the west (not exclusively SW) is also primed to grow. This includes places considered Southwest such as Arizona and Nevada, as well as points further north such as Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Idaho. I believe much of the growth out west is to occur outside of California.
I can address your question about Floridians moving west, even though I am not from Florida, I'm from Houston which is identical in geography and climate. I lived in Phoenix for several years, before returning to Houston last month. The majority of people from Arizona, seemed to be from cold climates. There were Californians seeking lower taxes/cost of living, but most people there were from the Midwest, the Northeast, the Great Plains, and the Pacific NW in some cases. The people from colder climates tended to love the lack of snow and constant sunshine. Being from a warm climate, I couldn't see why people were so excited about the warm weather. In the summer, I had an especially difficult time with the heat. Everyone in AZ said Houston was humid and Phoenix was a "dry heat." One of the biggest debates on these boards is the dry heat vs the humid heat issue. I only notice the humidity when I'm returning from a drier climate, otherwise I don't notice it's here. If you to live in a warm climate and can't afford the California coast, you must pick your poison: extreme dry desert heat of the SW or humidity of the South.
Obviously I don't believe deserts are the best solutions in the nation for everyone, but the coastal mediterranean sections of SoCal are quite nice. I love the palm trees and moderate temperatures of San Diego for example, but what I don't like is the lack of rain and greenery. As a fair skinned individual, I prefer clouds and rain to sun. I also appreciate lush greenery, and while LA and SD are somewhat green, they are nowhere near as green as East Texas and points east.
I don't see SoCal overthrowing the BosWash corridor. There is only so much coastal temperate mediterranean paradise in California. Before too long, it turns into hot, dry, dusty, brown desert and not everyone wants to live in that type of climate. I know it wasn't for me.
Also, not all moves are weather related. But even so, I truly believe everyone has their own preferences when it comes to weather. My father lives in Arizona (a native born Angeleno) and he believes that Arizona has the best weather in the country. I, on the other hand struggled with it. Just the other day he asked how our weather in Houston was and I told him, "It was in the 60s and the skies were gray." He said, "eww," and I said, "I have no problem with that." One of my best friends is moving to Colorado, and while the climate/geography there would not appeal to me, she couldn't be any happier to be moving there.
I also believe that while the south and west are to receive the brunt of the growth, I believe that some older cities outside these regions may experience revival.
Around one in three Americans combined currently live in the cities/MSAs of NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Dallas-Ft Worth, Houston, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta and Miami. NYC and Washington DC are among the top 5 for population growth of major US cities. Other metro areas like Minneapolis-St Paul (+3.5%), Indianapolis and Columbus OH (both up around 3.5%), Boston (+3%) and Baltimore (+2.2%) are on the growth end of the stick which should indicate that not "everyone is moving to the Southwest". If anything the responsible/sustainable growth is happening by and large in the established big cities of the Northeast and Midwest since they're not flooded with "growth" in low skill service sector jobs like much of the Southeast and Southwest, not to mention other environmental issues such as the potential for depleted water supplies.
As all of the weaklings leave the North for an easier life elsewhere, we are slowly building a society of indestructible humans up here from those who remain. It's all part of our plan to take over the world. And when the Southwest finally goes to war with the Great Lakes Region when it runs out of water, your army will be filled with weak-minded transplants who cry about using an ice scraper. It is a grim outlook for the Southwest, to say the least.
As all of the weaklings leave the North for an easier life elsewhere, we are slowly building a society of indestructible humans up here from those who remain. It's all part of our plan to take over the world. And when the Southwest finally goes to war with the Great Lakes Region when it runs out of water, your army will be filled with weak-minded transplants who cry about using an ice scraper. It is a grim outlook for the Southwest, to say the least.
Love this...and throw in the brigades from Chicago, Ohio, Indiana Minnesota and Wisconsin and those weak sunshine-addled fools will simply be reduced to begging for a bit of that sweet Midwestern water.
If you look at the statistical pattern you find that the growth in Southern California and Southern Florida is driven by Latin-American immigration. People move where there are jobs and opportunity. Weather and location may play a certain roll but then we talk about remote regions like Alaska. The main reason why Midwest has lost population is not because of the weather but because of the death of the American industry. Some Midwestern cities see once again growth (economically or demographically or both) but it stems from a re-urbanization of American cities which have driven poor people out of the “core-city†and into the suburbs.
Chicago, Washington DC and Philadelphia have recently started this process and so they see process in the latest census. Boston and San Francisco started in the 1980 and have therefore seen growth since 1990. Class is strongly correlated to race, which implies that when cities initiate gentrification processes the African-Americans and Latinos will leave and move further out. The Washington DC black population was 71.1 percent in 1970 and is today down to 50.7 percent. The white population was 27.7 percent in 1970 and is now 38.5 percent. In the same time there is a growing number of Hispanics and Asians.
You don’t have to be a genius to understand that many attractive core cities will turn white and Asian with a Latino close suburbs around. African-Americans will be forced out on the countryside and live in impoverished Satellite-cities. Blacks are actually leaving Los Angeles for the suburbs while white college educated liberals moving in. In general, the most liberal cities are actually those cities who force most black (percentage of population) out – like ultra-liberal San Francisco and Austin.
Yeah that's true. While California has appealing natural beauty, no question about it, I still prefer the greenery and lushness of Florida. CA is just drab, dry and brown. I also love thunderstorms. I still love it out west though. But 72% of the American population does not live in the West. As such, the centers of employment are extremely limited, primarily to super high cost areas.
Las Vegas and L.A. are separated by hundreds of miles of wide-open desert. How do you figure Vegas is an "Eastern suburb" of L.A.? Unless that's sarcasm (and you'd still be reaching), that's one of the most absurd and ridiculous things I've ever read in these forums... which is really saying something.
By that logic, Minneapolis-St. Paul is the Westernmost suburb of Chicago, and Pittsburgh is the Westernmost suburb of NYC. Utter nonsense.
Where do the largest group of citizens in Las Vegas come from?
Where does Las Vegas get its gas? Its aviation fuel? From where are its grocery stores stocked? Its Dept Stores? To what location do the Las Vegas warehouses distribute?
You are getting fooled by the 4 hour trip. But the trucks make a round trip each day. Close 15 and Las Vegas starts to run out of everything in a week.
I believe the south and the west are the two regions that are to receive the most growth over coming decades. The south is to receive most of the growth, including places like Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arkansas, I believe. Much of the west (not exclusively SW) is also primed to grow. This includes places considered Southwest such as Arizona and Nevada, as well as points further north such as Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Idaho. I believe much of the growth out west is to occur outside of California.
I can address your question about Floridians moving west, even though I am not from Florida, I'm from Houston which is identical in geography and climate. I lived in Phoenix for several years, before returning to Houston last month. The majority of people from Arizona, seemed to be from cold climates. There were Californians seeking lower taxes/cost of living, but most people there were from the Midwest, the Northeast, the Great Plains, and the Pacific NW in some cases. The people from colder climates tended to love the lack of snow and constant sunshine. Being from a warm climate, I couldn't see why people were so excited about the warm weather. In the summer, I had an especially difficult time with the heat. Everyone in AZ said Houston was humid and Phoenix was a "dry heat." One of the biggest debates on these boards is the dry heat vs the humid heat issue. I only notice the humidity when I'm returning from a drier climate, otherwise I don't notice it's here. If you to live in a warm climate and can't afford the California coast, you must pick your poison: extreme dry desert heat of the SW or humidity of the South.
Obviously I don't believe deserts are the best solutions in the nation for everyone, but the coastal mediterranean sections of SoCal are quite nice. I love the palm trees and moderate temperatures of San Diego for example, but what I don't like is the lack of rain and greenery. As a fair skinned individual, I prefer clouds and rain to sun. I also appreciate lush greenery, and while LA and SD are somewhat green, they are nowhere near as green as East Texas and points east.
I don't see SoCal overthrowing the BosWash corridor. There is only so much coastal temperate mediterranean paradise in California. Before too long, it turns into hot, dry, dusty, brown desert and not everyone wants to live in that type of climate. I know it wasn't for me.
Also, not all moves are weather related. But even so, I truly believe everyone has their own preferences when it comes to weather. My father lives in Arizona (a native born Angeleno) and he believes that Arizona has the best weather in the country. I, on the other hand struggled with it. Just the other day he asked how our weather in Houston was and I told him, "It was in the 60s and the skies were gray." He said, "eww," and I said, "I have no problem with that." One of my best friends is moving to Colorado, and while the climate/geography there would not appeal to me, she couldn't be any happier to be moving there.
I also believe that while the south and west are to receive the brunt of the growth, I believe that some older cities outside these regions may experience revival.
Very well stated. I have lived in the Southwest for 15 years and while I love the weather, ecological diversity (Yes, it does exist!) and the laid back lifestyle, I sometimes find myself missing the greenery, culture and seasonal weather back east, the Southeast in particular. I don't think you will see that drastic of a population shift to the SW because the population centers (jobs) will remain east for quite a while. California, to me, is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S., however, COL, Congestion, its politics and laws are what is driving thousands out of the there to other states. I do think Arizona, due to its national image in the press, often gets overlooked. You experienced a bit of that and decided it wasn't for you. However, you also may have noticed that daily living here is different from how people view it nationally. Regardless, people are still moving here from those colder climates in droves. The desert certainly isn't for everyone, but many are making the adjustment. I can see the southeast really growing, in spite of the low pay, because of the cheaper COL, milder seasons (winters) and the natural beauty and diversity of the landscape. As for the Florida issue, regardless of what anyone says, outside of Hawaii, some of America's best beaches are found on that peninsula Again, even though the south and west are growing rapidly, I don't think cities like New York, DC, Philly and Boston have much to worry about as long as they keep producing the jobs.
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Again, even though the south and west are growing rapidly, I don't think cities like New York, DC, Philly and Boston have much to worry about as long as they keep producing the jobs.
