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I don't think that it is illegal to consider SC, Virginia or other areas of the Southeast. For the average person what really matters is what is in your effective range, not what area is considered part of your state. For an average person considering Texas, what they are really considering is the Triangle. Sure you can claim West Texas but it is such an outlier that it might as well be a different state since you have to go so far to get to it. The distance is over 400 miles from Austin to the Big Bend Natl Park. If you were in Dallas or Houston it would be further. Beyond 400 miles you are starting to think about flying which makes the distance less important.
What can a person do in NC with 400 miles? In NC people are realistically going to move to mostly Charlotte & Raleigh with some diverging to Greensboro, Asheville & the military area of Fayetteville. Let's say that you live in Charlotte. You could go to Atlanta, Nashville, Norfolk & Richmond Virginia, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Jacksonville Fl & DC!
What other options do you have in a 400 mile range in the Triangle? New Orleans (If you are in Houston) & OKC?? There really isn't anything much within your effective range of Texas that you really want to see other than New Orleans realistically. The states surrounding Texas New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana & Oklahoma. Those places aren't amazing states in terms of economics or culture. Meanwhile the actual cities, or than Austin, really aren't that beautiful themselves. So in Texas you effectively are in the middle of a giant ranch; while in NC you can see more beauty in your living space, and have more to do in a weekend drive.
Sure Texas is the larger and more cosmopolitan state, they have that benefit. However if I were to own property, which one would I want to say, "I live here" as time progressed.. I think NC.
Texas for it's bluebonnets and wildflowers. There is no where on earth prettier in the spring then in Texas to see and smell hills and roadways filled with bluebonnets. Then come the Indian paintbrush, cosmos and seas of whites in the hills. The beaches at South Padre while brown and not silky white quartz as in FL are flat and you can walk for miles on both legs. The beaches in NC are all banked making one leg always higher or lower than the other while walking. Beach lovers it would be south Texas. Warm winters would be south Texas. Spring hill country Texas. The rest of the year the green pine trees and perfect climate of coastal North Carolina. History in both states. Summer too hot in both. Life is perfect in hill country of Texas in spring for bluebonnets. Texas has the friendly lane for driving along the long highways. Best idea ever.
I don't think that it is illegal to consider SC, Virginia or other areas of the Southeast. For the average person what really matters is what is in your effective range, not what area is considered part of your state. For an average person considering Texas, what they are really considering is the Triangle. Sure you can claim West Texas but it is such an outlier that it might as well be a different state since you have to go so far to get to it. The distance is over 400 miles from Austin to the Big Bend Natl Park. If you were in Dallas or Houston it would be further. Beyond 400 miles you are starting to think about flying which makes the distance less important.
You don't have to go as far as West Texas in order to reach high mountains from the Texas Triangle cities. Another poster has shown in this thread that the Sierra Nevada mountains of Mexico are within reasonable driving distance/time from many Texas Triangle locales, plus other chunks of the state not in that megaplex. And those Sierra Nevada mountains soar well above 12,000 ft, dwarfing the Appalachians, which are not even above 7,000 ft at the highest point. The Texas Triangle cities are closer to higher mountains than NC cities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicist027
What can a person do in NC with 400 miles? In NC people are realistically going to move to mostly Charlotte & Raleigh with some diverging to Greensboro, Asheville & the military area of Fayetteville. Let's say that you live in Charlotte. You could go to Atlanta, Nashville, Norfolk & Richmond Virginia, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Jacksonville Fl & DC!
What other options do you have in a 400 mile range in the Triangle? New Orleans (If you are in Houston) & OKC?? There really isn't anything much within your effective range of Texas that you really want to see other than New Orleans realistically. The states surrounding Texas New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana & Oklahoma. Those places aren't amazing states in terms of economics or culture. Meanwhile the actual cities, or than Austin, really aren't that beautiful themselves. So in Texas you effectively are in the middle of a giant ranch; while in NC you can see more beauty in your living space, and have more to do in a weekend drive.
Well, first off, Texas has so many large cities in different subregions that there is already so much that can be experienced without having to leave the state. And each of those large cities are quite varied in culture, to the point that travelling between is like travelling between different states.
Furthermore, there is more to LA than just New Orleans. You have the state capital Baton Rouge, gambling hotspot Lake Charles, and many other cities like Alexandria and Lafayette. For Arkansas, Little Rock is quite the interesting city. Tulsa in OK is also worth checking out. New Mexico has Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces (although those cities are quite far from the Triangle). You are also forgetting that the Texas Triangle, at least, has access to quite a few key cities in an entire foreign country, and thus is in closer access to radical cultural changes than NC cities.
You know nothing about Texas, claiming that only Austin has beauty, and that the state is a "giant ranch". Laughable. First off, San Antonio is also in the same Hill Country region Austin is in, so you already screwed up there. Then Houston's natural scenery is not really any different than that of coastal Southeast cities; lush and green; so if you call Houston's scenery ugly, you might as well call the entire coastal plain of the Southeast ugly, including Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Mobile, and Wilmington. Finally, DFW, contrary to popular belief, does indeed have its own areas of rugged topography.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicist027
Sure Texas is the larger and more cosmopolitan state, they have that benefit. However if I were to own property, which one would I want to say, "I live here" as time progressed.. I think NC.
And in your reasoning, you exhibit that you know nothing about Texas. Your argument, thus, is invalid.
You don't have to go as far as West Texas in order to reach high mountains from the Texas Triangle cities. Another poster has shown in this thread that the Sierra Nevada mountains of Mexico are within reasonable driving distance/time from many Texas Triangle locales, plus other chunks of the state not in that megaplex. And those Sierra Nevada mountains soar well above 12,000 ft, dwarfing the Appalachians, which are not even above 7,000 ft at the highest point. The Texas Triangle cities are closer to higher mountains than NC cities.
Well, first off, Texas has so many large cities in different subregions that there is already so much that can be experienced without having to leave the state. And each of those large cities are quite varied in culture, to the point that travelling between is like travelling between different states.
Furthermore, there is more to LA than just New Orleans. You have the state capital Baton Rouge, gambling hotspot Lake Charles, and many other cities like Alexandria and Lafayette. For Arkansas, Little Rock is quite the interesting city. Tulsa in OK is also worth checking out. New Mexico has Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces (although those cities are quite far from the Triangle). You are also forgetting that the Texas Triangle, at least, has access to quite a few key cities in an entire foreign country, and thus is in closer access to radical cultural changes than NC cities.
You know nothing about Texas, claiming that only Austin has beauty, and that the state is a "giant ranch". Laughable. First off, San Antonio is also in the same Hill Country region Austin is in, so you already screwed up there. Then Houston's natural scenery is not really any different than that of coastal Southeast cities; lush and green; so if you call Houston's scenery ugly, you might as well call the entire coastal plain of the Southeast ugly, including Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Mobile, and Wilmington. Finally, DFW, contrary to popular belief, does indeed have its own areas of rugged topography.
And in your reasoning, you exhibit that you know nothing about Texas. Your argument, thus, is invalid.
I'm not going to debate that Texas has a lot of diversity, but it sounds like you're not all that familiar with NC's geography, either.
Charlotte is about 2.5 hours/125 miles from the top of Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. Raleigh is 4 hours/250 miles away (though both are considerably closer to smaller mountains.) Meanwhile, to reach something of that approximate elevation in TX, say to the Davis Mountains or Big Bend- you'll need to travel a lot further- around 6 hours and 400+ miles from San Antonio or 8 hours/525+ miles from Dallas, or 8.5 hours/600 miles from Houston. I didn't include slightly shorter excursions though potentially dangerous border towns because I don't think they're comparable. And just like the poster above mentioned TX flowers as something special, I'd take the lush forests of the Blue Ridge and the amazing fall (and spring) colors in NC over TX in a heartbeat.
I'll give the beach advantage to NC, as well. Outer Banks beat any TX beach I've visited in person or seen pictures of.
Interiorwise, the piedmont of NC is pleasant but I'll give the edge for the Hill Country and scattered interesting features- dissected plateaus, uplifts and canyons are pretty interesting features in TX's seemingly unending expanse of land.
Both have strong histories and changing demographics, and both are proud of their (mostly southern) heritage. Texas does have a wider variation of cultures, or at least it feels that way. And with that many big cities, I'd probably give the overall cultural edge to TX.
Overall, I'd take NC any day of the week. IMHO it's prettier, and you can escape the metros more easily to see a wider variety of things. But this is a good matchup; both states have a lot to offer and a good amount of diversity.
Last edited by bartonizer; 01-19-2016 at 03:02 PM..
I'm not going to debate that Texas has a lot of diversity, but it sounds like you're not all that familiar with NC's geography, either.
I never really referenced what NC has/doesn't has in my previous post (a response to another poster about what Texas offers), so it is quite erroneous of you to jump to conclusions so quickly pertaining to knowledge of NC's geography.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bartonizer
Charlotte is about 2.5 hours/125 miles from the top of Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest point east of the Mississippi. Raleigh is 4 hours/250 miles away (though both are considerably closer to smaller mountains.) Meanwhile, to reach something of that approximate elevation in TX, say to the Davis Mountains or Big Bend- you'll need to travel a lot further- around 6 hours and 400+ miles from San Antonio or 8 hours/525+ miles from Dallas, or 8.5 hours/600 miles from Houston. I didn't include slightly shorter excursions though potentially dangerous border towns because I don't think they're comparable. And just like the poster above mentioned TX flowers as something special, I'd take the lush forests of the Blue Ridge and the amazing fall (and spring) colors in NC over TX in a heartbeat.
The mountain cities of Mexico that I mention are quite a bit into the country, and aren't border towns; I am talking cities like Monterrey. The Texas Triangle cities aren't all that far from such mountainous cities; from San Antonio to Monterrey is 5hrs, Austin to Monterrey is 6hrs, and Houston to Monterrey (as the crow flies) would be about 6.5hrs, at least. The mountainous Mexican cities not only are much closer to the Texas Triangle cities than Big Bend/Davis mountains, they also are by mountains much higher than anything in Texas, and east of the Mississippi, with peaks well over 12000ft. And although Mexico is a whole other country, the OP said it himself; effective range matters.
The Texas bluebonnets are special because they are endemic to the state; you will not see the kinds of blooms characteristic of such flowers in any other state. On the other hand, Texas also has beautiful areas of fall/spring colors (both traditional, and subtropical/tropical sense).
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Originally Posted by bartonizer
I'll give the beach advantage to NC, as well. Outer Banks beat any TX beach I've visited in person or seen pictures of.
Depends on what you are into. The OBX has super high sand dunes, better for sand-sporting activities than any Texas beach. On the other hand, Texas beaches are better at capturing a "tropical paradise" feel than NC beaches. One, they are warmer (in both water temps and climate), allowing for larger varieties of exotic subtropical/tropical organisms can exist, unlike in NC; you won't find coral reef areas off NC, and you won't see as much variety in subtropical/tropical landscaping, unlike Texas. Coconut palms grow on the South Texas beaches, just to underscore my point. Texas beaches also have softer, more comfortable sand, and at a pristine state, have much clearer, blue water (areas of beach in Texas that have murkier water were spoiled by the actions of man).
Quote:
Originally Posted by bartonizer
Overall, I'd take NC any day of the week. IMHO it's prettier, and you can escape the metros more easily to see a wider variety of things. But this is a good matchup; both states have a lot to offer and a good amount of diversity.
Plenty to see and do outside the Texas metros; NC metros have no real advantage in that department, honestly.
No, seriously, I am a new poster here, and just so happened to disagree with the points other posters put forth so far. I then responded to them. Nothing new here.
No, seriously, I am a new poster here, and just so happened to disagree with the points other posters put forth so far. I then responded to them. Nothing new here.
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