Which of these do you see as one metro area? (unemployed, to live in)

[Redrum237]

Yeah, Chicago60614, your analysis of all the cities sounds about right.

And mdp_az, as for North Carolina, I'd agree that Raleigh and Durham appear to be one metro to me. What about Greensboro and Winston Salem, would you call them one metro?

[kcee510]

Originally Posted by machiavelli1

Only Dallas/Ft Worth and Minneapolis/St Paul

The others have multiple self sufficient cities and you could argue in the Bay Area case that San Jose is more important than SF these days...

As a life long Bay Area resident I can assure you it is ONE metro. San Jose might be more important when it comes to the tech industry but have you ever been there? It's one giant suburb. It doesn't even come close to matching SF on a cultural level. San Jose struggles just to get tourists to come stay in the city.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Redrum237

Some metro areas' status in the USA is heavily debated. For instance, some call Washington-Baltimore one metro, others call it two. How would you classify the following? (my classifications are in brackets)

Dallas-Ft. Worth (1)
Minneapolis-St. Paul (1)
San Fransisco-San Jose-Oakland bay area (1)
Washington DC-Baltimore (2)
Los Angeles-San Diego (2)

Feel free to list any other places in which the number of metro areas is in question

I agree with your classifications, but I've never seen anyone lump LA and SD into one metro area.

[WanderingImport]

You guys left out Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach..otherwise known as South Florida. =P Or for that matter, Tampa-St. Petersburg.

[City Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Redrum237

Yeah, Chicago60614, your analysis of all the cities sounds about right.

And mdp_az, as for North Carolina, I'd agree that Raleigh and Durham appear to be one metro to me. What about Greensboro and Winston Salem, would you call them one metro?

Raleigh-Durham looks and feels like one metro area.

The Triad, even though they are apart of the same metro area, they look like separate metro areas, simply for the fact that development patterns between Greensboro and Winston-Salem are not touching (Kernersville in the middle, an exception). In fact, between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, it becomes much less developed, to a semi-suburban/rural state for maybe twenty miles. Such is not the case between Raleigh and Durham.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

You guys left out Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach..otherwise known as South Florida. =P Or for that matter, Tampa-St. Petersburg.

Absolutely. You could also throw Bradenton/Sarasota into the Tampa-St. Petersburg mix for argument's sake.

[UrbanLover]

Originally Posted by Redrum237

Some metro areas' status in the USA is heavily debated. For instance, some call Washington-Baltimore one metro, others call it two. How would you classify the following? (my classifications are in brackets)

Dallas-Ft. Worth (1)
Minneapolis-St. Paul (1)
San Fransisco-San Jose-Oakland bay area (1)
Washington DC-Baltimore (2)
Los Angeles-San Diego (2)

Feel free to list any other places in which the number of metro areas is in question

The MSA and CSA covers these topics. The MSA covers less territory and land space than the CSA.

In the MSA and CSA the Dallas-Ft Worth metro is one.

In the MSA and CSA the Minneapolis-St Paul metro is one.

In the MSA San Fran-Oakland are one. But, San Jose is in it's own for the MSA and is only combined into San Fran-Oakland in the CSA

The same is said for Baltimore and D.C. They are seperate in the MSA and together in the CSA because it covers more ground.

LA and San Diego are always different and have NEVER been lumped together in the MSA or CSA.

That is the facts and the way the government sees it. I completely agree with the way that it's set up.

[mdp_az]

Originally Posted by City Fanatic

Raleigh-Durham looks and feels like one metro area.

The Triad, even though they are apart of the same metro area, they look like separate metro areas, simply for the fact that development patterns between Greensboro and Winston-Salem are not touching (Kernersville in the middle, an exception). In fact, between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, it becomes much less developed, to a semi-suburban/rural state for maybe twenty miles. Such is not the case between Raleigh and Durham.

Very good summary of the Triad. The main reason Raleigh & Durham feel more like one metro area is that it is tied together by Research Triangle Park which is really the main employment center of the region and the genesis of much of the region's growth and prosperity over the past 50 years. There is an incredible amount of intercounty communting in the Triangle region due to RTP; I would think much higher than in GSO & W-S.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Originally Posted by UrbanLover

The MSA and CSA covers these topics. The MSA covers less territory and land space than the CSA.

In the MSA and CSA the Dallas-Ft Worth metro is one.

In the MSA and CSA the Minneapolis-St Paul metro is one.

In the MSA San Fran-Oakland are one. But, San Jose is in it's own for the MSA and is only combined into San Fran-Oakland in the CSA

The same is said for Baltimore and D.C. They are seperate in the MSA and together in the CSA because it covers more ground.

LA and San Diego are always different and have NEVER been lumped together in the MSA or CSA.

That is the facts and the way the government sees it. I completely agree with the way that it's set up.

Totally agree. Detroit-Ann Arbor same thing. Two MSAs, One CSA.

[grindin]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Absolutely. You could also throw Bradenton/Sarasota into the Tampa-St. Petersburg mix for argument's sake.

When I lived in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Bradenton-Sarasota didn't really feel as if it was a part of the Tampa Bay Area. There were some connections, but it definitely felt as if it was far enough to have an identity all its own. YMMV of course.

What about Lakeland? There seemed to be ties to both Tampa and Orlando (midway between both) but Lakeland/Polk County seemed as if it were all to itself. There were suburbs of Orlando in Northern Polk County/Davenport though. They're far from Orlando itself, but close enough to the Disney resort areas.

There were people in St. Petersburg who referred to Tampa or even Clearwater as if they were on another planet, but St. Pete and Tampa are definitely one unit.

South Florida is a united unit. There is no break in development between Homestead and Jupiter. PB County has its own radio and television stations that serve PB, Indian River and Martin Counties though. Boca Raton has more ties to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, but the further north you go, the more separate it can feel. My relatives in WPB talk about Miami as if it is on another planet. It is about 60 miles or so away so I understand, but I thought that PB County had a San Bernardino/Riverside-LA type of relationship to Miami, but it seems to be more like a Baltimore/Washington relationship.