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Have you ever been to LA? When I first visited there last summer for the first time I immediately felt the Houston/LA connection I've been feeling for years the moment I stepped off the plane. You have the same urban sprawl, chaotic zoning (or lack of), both near an ocean with tropical vegetation abound, extreme levels of diversity (esp. Asian & Hispanic), downtown areas are very comparable in size & architecture (though LA's is a little denser).
Houston & Atlanta's similarities come from their piney woods setting, mega wide freeways, & Southern culture. Other than that they're not the same. One might even argure Houston has more in common with New Orleans & Southern Lousiana than with Atlanta because of the large Cajun Culture & Deep South connection the two cities share which becomes more appartent the further east you go towards Beaumont/Port Aurthur near the Texas-Louisiana border. Galveston has one of the largest Mardi Gras in the country after New Orleans, it can especially be felt there.
I think what shocked me the most about LA & nailed the Houston/LA similarities for me was how flat a lot of the Los Angeles Metroploitan area was & their gritty/industrial sides. Hollywood only wants you to see its side of LA though with the Holloywood sign looming over downtown & glamourous billion dollar homes up in the hills which most people can't afford anyways.
Have you ever been to LA? When I first visited there last summer for the first time I immediately felt the Houston/LA connection I've been feeling for years the moment I stepped off the plane. You have the same urban sprawl, chaotic zoning (or lack of), both near an ocean with tropical vegetation abound, extreme levels of diversity (esp. Asian & Hispanic), downtown areas are very comparable in size & architecture (though LA's is a little denser).
Houston & Atlanta's similarities come from their piney woods setting, mega wide freeways, & Southern culture. Other than that they're not the same. One might even argure Houston has more in common with New Orleans & Southern Lousiana than with Atlanta because of the large Cajun Culture & Deep South connection the two cities share which becomes more appartent the further east you go towards Beaumont/Port Aurthur near the Texas-Louisiana border. Galveston has one of the largest Mardi Gras in the country after New Orleans, it can especially be felt there.
I think what shocked me the most about LA & nailed the Houston/LA similarities for me was how flat a lot of the Los Angeles Metroploitan area was & their gritty/industrial sides. Hollywood only wants you to see its side of LA though with the Holloywood sign looming over downtown & glamourous billion dollar homes up in the hills which most people can't afford anyways.
Exactly! I lived in LA for over 20 years. Only 2 years so far in Houston but I completely agree with your assessment.
Have you ever been to LA? When I first visited there last summer for the first time I immediately felt the Houston/LA connection I've been feeling for years the moment I stepped off the plane. You have the same urban sprawl, chaotic zoning (or lack of), both near an ocean with tropical vegetation abound, extreme levels of diversity (esp. Asian & Hispanic), downtown areas are very comparable in size & architecture (though LA's is a little denser).
Houston & Atlanta's similarities come from their piney woods setting, mega wide freeways, & Southern culture. Other than that they're not the same. One might even argure Houston has more in common with New Orleans & Southern Lousiana than with Atlanta because of the large Cajun Culture & Deep South connection the two cities share which becomes more appartent the further east you go towards Beaumont/Port Aurthur near the Texas-Louisiana border. Galveston has one of the largest Mardi Gras in the country after New Orleans, it can especially be felt there.
I think what shocked me the most about LA & nailed the Houston/LA similarities for me was how flat a lot of the Los Angeles Metroploitan area was & their gritty/industrial sides. Hollywood only wants you to see its side of LA though with the Holloywood sign looming over downtown & glamourous billion dollar homes up in the hills which most people can't afford anyways.
houston does parallel los angeles in many ways sure, but the fact that both houston and atlanta are two metros of similar size located in the south pretty much kills any other argument. and it goes much deeper than you claim.
the truth is los angeles is a massive alpha metro, and the ways houston compares to it aren't proportionate. yes both cities are diverse, but los angeles dwarfs houston in this area.
im sure many houstonians would like to think theyre more like los angeles than atlanta but it just isnt the case
Since you posted this in the Houston forum, do you really expect to get an unbiased opinion?
Youre not going to be able to tell I huge difference between life in the two being an outsider. I came from Cali, and besides subtle differences, there isnt much difference between the two.
People harp on the snobbyness of Dallas. I havent seen it yet. Everyone here has been very nice and welcoming to us. You will find snobbyness in both cities and laid back people in both.
Dallas is more fashionable/dressy and that often gets confused with pretentiousness. In Houston, people dont dress up as much and thats fine. This is a point that gets overplayed.
Is Dallas a wannabe LA? No. Dallas just is what it is. The funny thing is Houston posters live to compare Houston and LA, yet come down on Dallas because they say its trying to be like LA. Both cities are what they are. Houston is Houston and Dallas is Dallas.
Dallas is multipolar whereas Houston isnt. There are more people in the city of Houston just like there are more people in the DFW metroplex than Metro Houston. Alot of people in Houston seem to be bent out of shape about this, but truth is both metro areas are almost exactly the same size in land area. The populations are just distributed differently.
I agree with the posters who have said, go where you can work. I would never have left LA if I wasnt laid off. When given the choice between Houston and Dallas, we choose Dallas, but thats just because my wife liked it better. I didnt care either way.
What you also have to understand is that there are alot of people from both cities who hate the other just because. My Dad and my mother are both like that. My Dad hates Dallas for virtually no reason. When questioned he just says "people from Dallas dress up too much". My mother hates Houston for the humidity alone, but I once heard her say "I would rather live in Iraq that Houston". No wonder they divorced. Stupid all the way around. The rivalry is stupid. People say and do things that dont make sense just because.
Honestly, if you have never been here, you wont think the differences are that massive. Just find a job and visit both. Nothing anyone on here says can really say for sure where you would want to be since we dont know you.
Since you posted this in the Houston forum, do you really expect to get an unbiased opinion?
Youre not going to be able to tell I huge difference between life in the two being an outsider. I came from Cali, and besides subtle differences, there isnt much difference between the two.
People harp on the snobbyness of Dallas. I havent seen it yet. Everyone here has been very nice and welcoming to us. You will find snobbyness in both cities and laid back people in both.
Dallas is more fashionable/dressy and that often gets confused with pretentiousness. In Houston, people dont dress up as much and thats fine. This is a point that gets overplayed.
Is Dallas a wannabe LA? No. Dallas just is what it is. The funny thing is Houston posters live to compare Houston and LA, yet come down on Dallas because they say its trying to be like LA. Both cities are what they are. Houston is Houston and Dallas is Dallas.
Dallas is multipolar whereas Houston isnt. There are more people in the city of Houston just like there are more people in the DFW metroplex than Metro Houston. Alot of people in Houston seem to be bent out of shape about this, but truth is both metro areas are almost exactly the same size in land area. The populations are just distributed differently.
I agree with the posters who have said, go where you can work. I would never have left LA if I wasnt laid off. When given the choice between Houston and Dallas, we choose Dallas, but thats just because my wife liked it better. I didnt care either way.
What you also have to understand is that there are alot of people from both cities who hate the other just because. My Dad and my mother are both like that. My Dad hates Dallas for virtually no reason. When questioned he just says "people from Dallas dress up too much". My mother hates Houston for the humidity alone, but I once heard her say "I would rather live in Iraq that Houston". No wonder they divorced. Stupid all the way around. The rivalry is stupid. People say and do things that dont make sense just because.
Honestly, if you have never been here, you wont think the differences are that massive. Just find a job and visit both. Nothing anyone on here says can really say for sure where you would want to be since we dont know you.
but isnt dfw built around two major cities? last i checked it was
but isnt dfw built around two major cities? last i checked it was
Depending on the definition of major city, you could say DFW has about 4 major cities of which Dallas and Fort Worth are two.
The bottom line is that DFW and Metro Houston are within 100 square milage of land in terms of size. The population distribution is different with DFW than it is with Houston. Instead of small to mid-sized suburbs dancing around one major mega city, DFW has larger suburbs orbiting 2 major cities. Yet at the end of the day, you have a similar number of people in both places in a similar land area size.
On this front, only the population distribution is different.
Depending on the definition of major city, you could say DFW has about 4 major cities of which Dallas and Fort Worth are two.
The bottom line is that DFW and Metro Houston are within 100 square milage of land in terms of size. The population distribution is different with DFW than it is with Houston. Instead of small to mid-sized suburbs dancing around one major mega city, DFW has larger suburbs orbiting 2 major cities. Yet at the end of the day, you have a similar number of people in both places in a similar land area size.
On this front, only the population distribution is different.
100 square miles is a lot of sq miles in a lot of other cities. That pretty much swallows up Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore...but I get your point. 2 centers of unequal distribution as opposed to one.
Depending on the definition of major city, you could say DFW has about 4 major cities of which Dallas and Fort Worth are two.
The bottom line is that DFW and Metro Houston are within 100 square milage of land in terms of size. The population distribution is different with DFW than it is with Houston. Instead of small to mid-sized suburbs dancing around one major mega city, DFW has larger suburbs orbiting 2 major cities. Yet at the end of the day, you have a similar number of people in both places in a similar land area size.
On this front, only the population distribution is different.
dallas and fort worth are far larger than any other cities in dfw. and you do know that both cities started off as seperate entities that eventually grew into each other right?
most native texans i know will tell you that dfw is essentially a combination of two places but if you ask what the biggest city is they will tell you houston
dallas and fort worth are far larger than any other cities in dfw. and you do know that both cities started off as seperate entities that eventually grew into each other right?
most native texans i know will tell you that dfw is essentially a combination of two places but if you ask what the biggest city is they will tell you houston
I am a Native Texan, and I don't care either way. If a city can grow so much that it combines with another city, then more power to them. Especially if it makes the area better in any way.
Why do you people keep this up? I haven't been to Dallas, but once I get my next car I am going to enjoy lots of things about Texas(Louisana also). Dallas will be on my list of places to go, and guess what......I will enjoy it for what it is!
100 square miles is a lot of sq miles in a lot of other cities. That pretty much swallows up Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore...but I get your point. 2 centers of unequal distribution as opposed to one.
The DFW metro area is 149 square miles larger than Metro Houston. Houston is 214 square miles larger than Dallas.
Its all about popluation distribution. Metro Houston and DFW are just set up differently.
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Stupid all the way around. The rivalry is stupid. People say and do things that dont make sense just because.
