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The only time I remember seeing Houston on TV was in that movie Sidekicks with Chuck Norris. That sort of gave some indication that Houston had some inkling of an Asian population. To assume that the average American is going to know more than that is probably putting too much faith in the American people.
LOL so true. So very true. But this goes back to my point that the media tends to project the biases and tastes of people on the coasts. Here we have narrative and tastes dictating reality on the ground. Almost all my encounters with African Americans who've been to Texas very rarely is Austin even mentioned over Houston and Dallas. Natives are always trying to tell people that Houston is a real city in the sense of stuff that you'd find in most major metro areas like Chicago and such. It has nearly everything Austin had and more just sprawled out. Austin has the natural beauty which puts it a notch above the other cities but other than that it's a pretty generic small college city.
LOL so true. So very true. But this goes back to my point that the media tends to project the biases and tastes of people on the coasts. Here we have narrative and tastes dictating reality on the ground. Almost all my encounters with African Americans who've been to Texas very rarely is Austin even mentioned over Houston and Dallas. Natives are always trying to tell people that Houston is a real city in the sense of stuff that you'd find in most major metro areas like Chicago and such. It has nearly everything Austin had and more just sprawled out. Austin has the natural beauty which puts it a notch above the other cities but other than that it's a pretty generic small college city.
You might find similar type stores/amenities there, but the experience is completely different. Houston, especially when compared to it's peers lacks character, big time. When I ask you to describe what a Chicagoan, Bostonian, Miamian, New Yorker, San Fran person are like, people automatically can describe something. When you ask someone describe your typical Houstonian, I'm sure most draw a blank.
When you say the words Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, etc. people automatically have an image or character of the place in their head. Houston? Most people probably draw a blank as well.
I don't think Houston offers what other big cities offer, but it offers it in a sterile and bland way.
I also think the media has more biased for coastal cities because coastal cities have more character and overall more interesting.
So if we look at the largest coastal cities:
NYC
Boston
DC
Philly
Miami
LA
SF
Seattle
SD
and compare to the largest interior cities:
Chicago
Houston
Dallas
San Antonio
Phoenix
Detroit
Atlanta
Which group is more interesting, has more character and just more attractive as a place to live/visit? Coastal cities by far. So I don't think the media has anything against non-coastal cities, I just think interior cities (except for Chicago and a couple other ones) lack that special character and pull that most people are interested exploring more.
LOL so true. So very true. But this goes back to my point that the media tends to project the biases and tastes of people on the coasts. Here we have narrative and tastes dictating reality on the ground. Almost all my encounters with African Americans who've been to Texas very rarely is Austin even mentioned over Houston and Dallas. Natives are always trying to tell people that Houston is a real city in the sense of stuff that you'd find in most major metro areas like Chicago and such. It has nearly everything Austin had and more just sprawled out. Austin has the natural beauty which puts it a notch above the other cities but other than that it's a pretty generic small college city.
Denver is not on the coast and enjoys a rather favorable reputation.
Dallas and Houston don't have much to set them apart from every other place in America. Sure, there's a large Latino population, but you've got that in Albuquerque. I think lots of people realize that there are lots of Latinos in Texas anyway with Donald Trump constantly bragging about "the Wall" and his cozy relationship with U.S. border patrol officers, but that still doesn't stop images of wall-to-wall suburban sprawl, strip malls and pickup trucks from coming to mind.
Texas is known for doing everything bigger but that doesn't necessarily translate into the best image/reputation. As one poster said, Texas in some ways represents many of the excesses of American culture with huge McMansions, gas guzzling SUVs, sprawl, etc. If there's any place that's quintessentially 'Murica, it's Texas.
This wasn't about Houston having character or not but the point was that it's not even looked at as a major city which is my point. I think the city does character per se but you're right that it doesn't have a cohesive identity that sets it apart from the rest.
If you took away the Westside of LA, Hollywood and the hills, much of what would be left reminds me a bit of Houston. Just urban sprawl and large ethnic enclaves. On the outskirts big burbs. When I mean that it's in the same vein as the other major metros I don't mean that it had the same flavor as far as being a tourist destination just that it's a huge city with a bunch of immigrants. That's why LA wasn't a huge culture shock when I moved here. I had already experienced big city living and diversity.
Denver is not on the coast and enjoys a rather favorable reputation.
Dallas and Houston don't have much to set them apart from every other place in America. Sure, there's a large Latino population, but you've got that in Albuquerque. I think lots of people realize that there are lots of Latinos in Texas anyway with Donald Trump constantly bragging about "the Wall" and his cozy relationship with U.S. border patrol officers, but that still doesn't stop images of wall-to-wall suburban sprawl, strip malls and pickup trucks from coming to mind.
Texas is known for doing everything bigger but that doesn't necessarily translate into the best image/reputation. As one poster said, Texas in some ways represents many of the excesses of American culture with huge McMansions, gas guzzling SUVs, sprawl, etc. If there's any place that's quintessentially 'Murica, it's Texas.
Yeah they poster was me, man. I know that Texas is America super sized. That's the point. It's ethos isn't valued highly as what you'd find in the coasts.
And the other assumption is that Texas cities only claim to diversity is Latinos. That's false. Houston for one has a huge Latino, Asian, south Asian, African (mostly Nigerian and Ethiopian) and middle eastern people with Arabs being the majority. The thing that gripes me is that I have to explain this to y'all and you think it's just boosting. Is it that hard to picture?
If you took away the Westside of LA, Hollywood and the hills, much of what would be left reminds me a bit of Houston. Just urban sprawl and large ethnic enclaves. On the outskirts big burbs. When I mean that it's in the same vein as the other major metros I don't mean that it had the same flavor as far as being a tourist destination just that it's a huge city with a bunch of immigrants. That's why LA wasn't a huge culture shock when I moved here. I had already experienced big city living and diversity.
L.A. is way denser than Houston. When people talk about L.A. sprawl, they mean dense, auto-centric sprawl that goes on for miles and miles. When people talk about Houston sprawl, they are talking about the type of sprawl that's more common in America: large McMansions with yards.
L.A. is also much more diverse than Houston. Houston is not far from the Mexican border (like Phoenix) so it has a large Mexican population. But the metro is only 6.2% Asian (compared to 15% for L.A.). Los Angeles also has a lot of Armenians, Iranian Jews, etc.
L.A. is way denser than Houston. When people talk about L.A. sprawl, they mean dense, auto-centric sprawl that goes on for miles and miles. When people talk about Houston sprawl, they are talking about the type of sprawl that's more common in America: large McMansions with yards.
L.A. is also much more diverse than Houston. Houston is not far from the Mexican border (like Phoenix) so it has a large Mexican population. But the metro is only 6.2% Asian (compared to 15% for L.A.). Los Angeles also has a lot of Armenians, Iranian Jews, etc.
Dude it may have more cus it's a larger city. The is so bizarre that I have to describe to you a city that clearly you've never been to. It's not as dense as LA but the pattern of development is similar much like other sunbelt cities. The large McMansions are out of the city loop and most of the master planned areas are way out. Westheimar road is our Wilshire Blvd, a street that stretches for miles down the city with urban albeit not as dense development.
I mean this is the point I'm trying to make, I say it reminds me a bit of LA in some small respect as far as sprawl and diverse ethnic enclaves and you think I'm dragging LA down or something. This isn't to say that both cities are the exact same but I'm just trying to paint a picture because it's difficult to compare to other cities. It's not like Phoenix or Tucson or Sacramento, St Louis or even ATL.
You might find similar type stores/amenities there, but the experience is completely different. Houston, especially when compared to it's peers lacks character, big time. When I ask you to describe what a Chicagoan, Bostonian, Miamian, New Yorker, San Fran person are like, people automatically can describe something. When you ask someone describe your typical Houstonian, I'm sure most draw a blank.
When you say the words Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, etc. people automatically have an image or character of the place in their head. Houston? Most people probably draw a blank as well.
I don't think Houston offers what other big cities offer, but it offers it in a sterile and bland way.
True, many in the US draw a blank when Houston is mentioned... but I doubt the average American can tell you much about places like Florianopolis, Cape Town, Milan, or even Buenos Aires. That is, Houston is just a foreign city in the minds of many Americans in terms of how they connect with its street level. Like many of those foreign cities I named, the only images people have in mind when they think of Houston is, often times, just general images that don't relate to the city specifically, but rather, the general region/territory/etc the city is in (Texas/US South, in the case of Houston). Unfortunately, unlike those other foreign cities, the territory Houston is in just so happens to be associated with the exact aspects the Coast Media despises (hardcore religious conservatism, pollution, sprawl, etc). This same problem applies to every city in Texas that isn't Austin, to varying extents; Austin is different because the culture it is associated with happened to connect with the zeitgeist of the US for at least some period of time (1960s, during the Hippie era), and continues to be imparted by many who took part in the counter culture of that time period, and continued the fight (in the form of political/legal matters).
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanCheetah
I also think the media has more biased for coastal cities because coastal cities have more character and overall more interesting.
So if we look at the largest coastal cities:
NYC
Boston
DC
Philly
Miami
LA
SF
Seattle
SD
and compare to the largest interior cities:
Chicago
Houston
Dallas
San Antonio
Phoenix
Detroit
Atlanta
Which group is more interesting, has more character and just more attractive as a place to live/visit? Coastal cities by far. So I don't think the media has anything against non-coastal cities, I just think interior cities (except for Chicago and a couple other ones) lack that special character and pull that most people are interested exploring more.
The fact that Houston is even being called an interior city is proof positive of just how foreign it is in the minds of many Americans; so foreign, that people can barely place it on a map. Since Houston is on a coast, anyway, it can easily take the 3rd option, and be exempt from this whole Both Coasts vs Interior nonsense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Denver is not on the coast and enjoys a rather favorable reputation.
Dallas and Houston don't have much to set them apart from every other place in America. Sure, there's a large Latino population, but you've got that in Albuquerque. I think lots of people realize that there are lots of Latinos in Texas anyway with Donald Trump constantly bragging about "the Wall" and his cozy relationship with U.S. border patrol officers, but that still doesn't stop images of wall-to-wall suburban sprawl, strip malls and pickup trucks from coming to mind.
Texas is known for doing everything bigger but that doesn't necessarily translate into the best image/reputation. As one poster said, Texas in some ways represents many of the excesses of American culture with huge McMansions, gas guzzling SUVs, sprawl, etc. If there's any place that's quintessentially 'Murica, it's Texas.
Houston and Dallas are often said not to be too distinct from "every other place in America," an ironic viewpoint, considering that, culture-wise, there are more well-known US cities that fit the description of places like Denver than of either Houston or Dallas.
Another thing is that true offerings both cities have just can't seem to be seen as their own. This is seen with your mention of how you talk of Albuquerque having a Latino population in response to Houston and Dallas having such populations; is Alberquerque really going to offer the same brand of latino culture that you have in Dallas, or Houston?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
L.A. is way denser than Houston. When people talk about L.A. sprawl, they mean dense, auto-centric sprawl that goes on for miles and miles. When people talk about Houston sprawl, they are talking about the type of sprawl that's more common in America: large McMansions with yards.
L.A. is also much more diverse than Houston. Houston is not far from the Mexican border (like Phoenix) so it has a large Mexican population. But the metro is only 6.2% Asian (compared to 15% for L.A.). Los Angeles also has a lot of Armenians, Iranian Jews, etc.
Houston being foreign to the minds of many in America, exhibit A.
Last edited by Wipe0ut2020; 07-05-2016 at 04:01 PM..
I would love to discuss this more, but I feel that this thread has far been derailed with talk of Texas. Thus, if you want to discuss with me about anything I said in this thread, feel free to message me.
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