Minor Cities SMACKDOWN! (Austin, Beaumont, Waco: school, suburban, land)

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Mark-Tyler is Special

I think Tyler should add Longview to even up the population almost equal to Lubbocks, so we can catch up in the vote. Call it Tyler/Longview like Midland/Odessa and Killeen/Temple/Belton

However, not many Longview folks on the forum.

I think one day Tyler & Longviews metros will merge. Its only a matter of time.

[Angel713]

Merge, as in sprawl? I don't see how. Tyler's development is all south of I-20 isn't it? And Longview's is pretty much all north of it. Plus, I'd hate to see that stretch of I-20 paved over. It looks so nice out there.

[An0nym0us88]

Originally Posted by Angel713

Really???

I don't know if that's sarcasm but it really is compared to many small airports.

[MrMcCoySays]

This is hard. I've lived in Killeen, Temple, Waco, and Beaumont.

Killeen will always be about Fort Hood. And that's a good thing. When I lived there, we were exposed to a lot more (entertainment; different cultures) than most small town people are simply because of all the soldiers there.

But of all those cities, I honestly feel as if Tyler has more promise at becoming more nationally known.

Killeen definitely has the edge when it comes to different races and cultures, though.

[jluke65780]

Originally Posted by MrMcCoySays

This is hard. I've lived in Killeen, Temple, Waco, and Beaumont.

Killeen will always be about Fort Hood. And that's a good thing. When I lived there, we were exposed to a lot more (entertainment; different cultures) than most small town people are simply because of all the soldiers there.

But of all those cities, I honestly feel as if Tyler has more promise at becoming more nahttp://www.city-data.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=10571655tionally known.

Killeen definitely has the edge when it comes to different races and cultures, though.

Not more than Waco. Waco has Baylor University which already gives it more nationally known prominence. Killeen got amazing diversity, and some of that feeds over into Waco. Also Waco's Methodist Home brings in people from all over the country (I went to school with lots of Ethiopians and Nigerians, as well as Vietnamese).

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

Not more than Waco. Waco has Baylor University which already gives it more nationally known prominence. Killeen got amazing diversity, and some of that feeds over into Waco. Also Waco's Methodist Home brings in people from all over the country (I went to school with lots of Ethiopians and Nigerians, as well as Vietnamese).

True, Waco is a little more diverse than Tyler. Baylor University however is not very diverse itself with majority of the students being White or Hispanic.

Tyler has a HUGE medical presence in the region...the largest in East Texas. This draws doctors from India & Nigeria to the area. We also have a sizable Filipino population that work as nurses in the two main hospitals of Mother Frances & ETMC. Even back when I was in Catholic grade school I had a few Filipino class mates. The majority of them (over 90%) are Catholic.

[MrMcCoySays]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

Not more than Waco. Waco has Baylor University which already gives it more nationally known prominence. Killeen got amazing diversity, and some of that feeds over into Waco. Also Waco's Methodist Home brings in people from all over the country (I went to school with lots of Ethiopians and Nigerians, as well as Vietnamese).

Well I mean it's a matter of opinion. Tyler just seems to have more to it. It could one day form a metro with Longview with a population of almost 430,000 people, and with it being the "capital" of East Texas, it really doesn't have any other city to compete for the region. Waco, on the other hand, sometimes sits in the shadow of other Central Texas towns

[MrMcCoySays]

Originally Posted by Angel713

Merge, as in sprawl? I don't see how. Tyler's development is all south of I-20 isn't it? And Longview's is pretty much all north of it. Plus, I'd hate to see that stretch of I-20 paved over. It looks so nice out there.

Yes, but both cities are connected by TX-31.

[jluke65780]

Originally Posted by MrMcCoySays

Well I mean it's a matter of opinion. Tyler just seems to have more to it. It could one day form a metro with Longview with a population of almost 430,000 people, and with it being the "capital" of East Texas, it really doesn't have any other city to compete for the region. Waco, on the other hand, sometimes sits in the shadow of other Central Texas towns

No way, Waco is considered the most majorish city between Dallas and Austin. The Killeen area is only growing faster due to being close to Fort Hood. While Baylor is not too diverse, it has people from all over the country and lots of students who got into education remaining living in Waco after school. However, what top private schools are really diverse.

Waco does have Providence Hospital; which has ranked in the top hospitals in the country.

[MrMcCoySays]

Originally Posted by jluke65780

No way, Waco is considered the most majorish city between Dallas and Austin. The Killeen area is only growing faster due to being close to Fort Hood. While Baylor is not too diverse, it has people from all over the country and lots of students who got into education remaining living in Waco after school. However, what top private schools are really diverse.

Waco does have Providence Hospital; which has ranked in the top hospitals in the country.

All of that is true but there are several times where Killeen has overshadowed Waco simply due to the army base. I've had to explain to several people, that Waco was "this town about an hour away from Fort Hood/Killeen," and they would reply, "oh, okay. I know what you're talking about."

When I lived in Killeen we would also get a lot of concerts and shows that did not play in Waco. People like Tyler Perry, Rickey Smiley, and other comedians made stops in Killeen but not Waco back in the day. And that time Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, David Banner, and Choppa came to Killeen; there was a lot of Waco folks that came down for that. 50 Cent had a scheduled concert, but it was cancelled.

And don't forget the Family Days, where the schools closed down and everybody went to see Ludacris, Ja Rule, Jessica Simpson, XSCAPE, TI, And1, Trina, and lots of others.