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People either love or hate California. It seems everyone has an opinion about it one way or another. In my personal experience I haven't met many people outside of native Texans that have a positive feeling about it. I see there are many Texas defenders here and that's great. It's just my personal experience to not meet many people who have much love for it.
Who would have much love for a state that's portrayed in the media as America super sized? Super sized homes, trucks and big egos. Also seen as the land of consumption, sprawl, heat and McMansions. Most of what the media hates about America is all aggrandized in Texas, LOL. Which is weird because Texas isn't the most right wing state, isn't the most pro-gun, heck I've heard Michigan is way more a hunting state and AZ has crazier gun laws. California surprisingly has one of the highest number of white nationalist hate groups.
In the same vein people are ingrained to think California is this bastion of left wing looniness, where if there was a fake news article that said its now legal to marry your dog in CA people would be like "yup that's California", people likewise expect a right wing crazy incident to happen in Texas.
In my personal experience I haven't met many people outside of native Texans that have a positive feeling about it. I see there are many Texas defenders here and that's great. It's just my personal experience to not meet many people who have much love for it.
Agreed. I think Austin probably has the best reputation of any city in that state. Texas, imo, does not have a particularly good or bad reputation. It is the state that gave us Ted Cruz, but I don't think it's necessarily seen as a hotbed of religious conservatism. It has some nice cities but none that anyone really raves over aside from maybe Austin. I think a lot of Americans see Texas as having a strong economy with a relatively low cost of living. But I'm not sure if the positive images go beyond that. It's not like you say you're visiting Texas for the weekend and get "OMG!"
Agreed. I think Austin probably has the best reputation of any city in that state. Texas, imo, does not have a particularly good or bad reputation. It is the state that gave us Ted Cruz, but I don't think it's necessarily seen as a hotbed of religious conservatism. It has some nice cities but none that anyone really raves over aside from maybe Austin. I think a lot of Americans see Texas as having a strong economy with a relatively low cost of living. But I'm not sure if the positive images go beyond that. It's not like you say you're visiting Texas for the weekend and get "OMG!"
True but to native Texans the assumption that Austin is the best city and that its somehow an oasis in a desert of right wing extemism is so ludicrous to us. Every native Texan knows that Houston and Dallas are the true modern, international and cosmopolitan cities in Texas. Austin would be Sacramento while Houston would be LA by comparison state wise.
This hype the media has about Austin can only be attributed to its young hip techie ala Bay Area vibe.
Agreed. I think Austin probably has the best reputation of any city in that state. Texas, imo, does not have a particularly good or bad reputation. It is the state that gave us Ted Cruz, but I don't think it's necessarily seen as a hotbed of religious conservatism. It has some nice cities but none that anyone really raves over aside from maybe Austin. I think a lot of Americans see Texas as having a strong economy with a relatively low cost of living. But I'm not sure if the positive images go beyond that. It's not like you say you're visiting Texas for the weekend and get "OMG!"
Well, the Texas barrier islands are well known Spring Break destinations (especially South Padre Island).
I think that the most liked states often incur the most dislike as well. That certainly seems to be the case for places like California and Florida, the latter maybe getting a bit more hate in the internet age.
As far as New York, most people don't know a damn thing about it except that New York City is located there. Otherwise, regionally there are so many pissing contests between the Northeastern states that I can't say that any state likes their neighbors. It is a sibling rivalry, and usually good natured, but it is fierce.
Seattle, contrary to public opinion, is not a state. Nor is Portland, but these two cities do stand in for why many people claim to like their respective states. Without these cities, a lot of outsiders who claim to love Washington and Oregon might find themselves horrified at how much the states differ from their chief cities.
Colorado does seem to be widely liked. It is truly the flavor of the week. This has not gone over the increasingly expanding heads of Coloradans.
Being born here and having lived along the Front Range most of my life, Colorado to me is simply "home", nothing particularly special.
Over the course of my career in the medical device industry, I've traveled a great deal for business. Approximately 1 million air miles. East to west, Canada to Mexico. I've also been to the Caribbean and South America on vacation. I've seen mountains, forests, lakes and oceans. Cities large and small. Taken cruises. I feel very fortunate that I'd had the opportunity to travel whilst earning a living.
I like it here just fine, but honestly don't see what all the fuss is about. I don't perceive Colorado as some kind of "Nirvana", like many others who've moved here or aspire to do so. For me there are quite a few states, primarily in the Intermountain Region, that I could live in and be perfectly content.
This hype the media has about Austin can only be attributed to its young hip techie ala Bay Area vibe.
Maybe they have a well-oiled marketing machine.
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Austinites are pretty much everything the rest of Texas despises; politically Liberal, socially diverse, obsessed with the latest artful food fads (shaved brussels sprouts during my visit), kooky vintage fashion, upcycled jewellery, nude swimming, community values and shopping local. Pretty awesome, huh?
Anyway you slice it, Austin is seen as the "hip" city in Texas. I think Dallas and Houston are seen largely as ordinary Americana.
I think that's the part that puzzles native Texans! LOL. The Houston burbs sure, but the city of Houston is not Americana. That's weird to think its viewed like that. It's crazy diverse with ethnic enclaves and has real African American history in the Wards. Big flea markets (called swap meets in CA), bodegas, botanicas to get your Santeria needs, wild ethnic restaurants, hipster neighborhoods, etc.
Austin is not as diverse in fact it's majority white, gentrified, and not weird anymore but annoyingly quirky. All that you'd expect from a giant college town that caters to the creative class.
I think that's the part that puzzles native Texans! LOL. The Houston burbs sure, but the city of Houston is not Americana. That's weird to think its viewed like that. It's crazy diverse with ethnic enclaves and has real African American history in the Wards. Big flea markets (called swap meets in CA), bodegas, botanicas to get your Santeria needs, wild ethnic restaurants, hipster neighborhoods, etc.
Austin is not as diverse in fact it's majority white, gentrified, and not weird anymore but annoyingly quirky. All that you'd expect from a giant college town that caters to the creative class.
What else are people supposed to go off?
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.
And I suppose that's great for UT and LSU students. But it's not like those places get the same type of love Napa does.
No, its for college students from around the country (and the world).
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