More alike: Los Angeles and Houston or Los Angeles and Miami? (state, largest)

[Akhenaton06]

I've seen this come up in a few threads in here, so I'd like for the discussion to commence: Are LA and Houston more alike, or are LA and Miami more alike?

[NorthDeKalb]

Definitely Miami. The Houston comparison never crossed my mind prior to reading about it on C-D.

[HtownLove]

I think Miami is too compact. I have heard more people compare Houston to LA than Miami to La

[gwillyfromphilly]

From a physical stand point LA and Houston are built more similarly as a city, but from a media stand point LA is definitely more similar to Miami.

[Efilnikufesin]

Miami and LA both have the coasts, movie stars, etc.

Kind of hard to jet ski or surf fish in Houston.

[BigCityDreamer]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Miami + Orlando + some mountains = Los Angeles.

[californio sur]

There are parts of Miami that really remind me of Los Angeles: some of the art deco buildings and the paint color of buildings is similar to Santa Monica. The strong Spanish influence and language is quite alike in both cities. The palm trees and warm climates plus beaches. The harbors are big though Miami has more cruise ships than Los Angeles. Both cities are celebrity-driven with lots of clubs and nightlife. One thing I haven't noticed in Miami is lots of marijuana smokers like LA but I think the drug culture is pretty obvious in both cities. I think Los Angeles is more liberal overall than Miami but both cities are Democratic and I think Miami has strong unions like LA. Both cities seem pretty Catholic as well.

I can't really say I have been in Houston because a lay over at the George Bush airport doesn't qualify as a bona fide visit. But based on what I have read and photos I can see a similarity between Houston and Los Angeles as well. Believe it or not, there are oil refineries in Los Angeles and once their were many oil wells. Houston is spread out like LA and a relatively young major city that will likely surpass even Chicago in population some day soon. Houston is the largest city in Texas like LA is the largest in California.

[DANNYY]

Originally Posted by californio sur

There are parts of Miami that really remind me of Los Angeles: some of the art deco buildings and the paint color of buildings is similar to Santa Monica. The strong Spanish influence and language is quite alike in both cities. The palm trees and warm climates plus beaches. The harbors are big though Miami has more cruise ships than Los Angeles. Both cities are celebrity-driven with lots of clubs and nightlife. One thing I haven't noticed in Miami is lots of marijuana smokers like LA but I think the drug culture is pretty obvious in both cities. I think Los Angeles is more liberal overall than Miami but both cities are Democratic and I think Miami has strong unions like LA. Both cities seem pretty Catholic as well.

I can't really say I have been in Houston because a lay over at the George Bush airport doesn't qualify as a bona fide visit. But based on what I have read and photos I can see a similarity between Houston and Los Angeles as well. Believe it or not, there are oil refineries in Los Angeles and once their were many oil wells. Houston is spread out like LA and a relatively young major city that will likely surpass even Chicago in population some day soon. Houston is the largest city in Texas like LA is the largest in California.

Houston-Miami-Los Angeles (All three have in common):
- Palm Trees (More prevalent in Miami & Los Angeles though)
- Coastal cities
- Port cities (more prevalent in Houston & Los Angeles though)
- Sunbelt sprawl
- Cruise ships dock
- 3 of the top 5 largest skylines in the country
- All of them are kind of weak on mass transit right now, but all of them are expanding like crazy
- These three are among the ONLY 4 major metros that are Minority-Majority (the other being Bay Area)
- All three are considered some of the most diverse cities ethnically in the country, and all three have a prevalent Latin American culture
- All have Mediterranean/Spanish style homes (Miami is more prevalent though)
- All busy international airports
- All of them are points for entry for immigrants

Houston-Los Angeles (Only these two):
- Both on I-10
- Both over 450 square miles of land
- Both have nearly identical skylines (by height and size)
- Both have multiple business districts
- Both have extensive and large highways
- Both have ports that are among the worlds busiest, Houston is the busiest in USA for tonnage, Los Angeles for cargo
- Both are natural disaster prone
- Both have almost an exact same number of Fortune 500 companies (Houston has a little bit more)
- Mexican Americans make majority of the Hispanic population
- They get a bad wrap for air pollution
- Both cities are missing a professional sports team (Houston NHL & Los Angeles NFL) but both have been trying to get it

Miami-Los Angeles (Only these two):
- Beach culture
- Media presence
- Celebrity highlights
- Drug culture (as referenced before)

Houston-Miami (Only these two):
- Hot & Humid
- Both are in the American South
- Panamax 2014 will drive their ports to prosperity (more so than now)
- Both are considered points of entry for Latin America (Miami by sea) & Houston (by airport)
- Both are in states without income taxes
- They are both economically tied to the Gulf Coast
- Both are considered Sub Tropical atmospheres
- Both are in Hurricane Risked areas

All three cities have their own identity, and they should ever be called "Mini-Los Angeles" or anything like that. They share similarities, and thats it, they aren't smaller replicas of each other though. All three are similar and Los Angeles is definitely the middle child that connects Houston to Miami, but I don't think saying one is more alike with another is properly displayed, at the end of the day, all three together have more alike with each other than they do with other cities.

PS- I didn't vote, I think there should have been a "All 3 are similar in many ways" option.

Housing:

Miami Area:


Los Angeles Area:


Houston Area: (Actually my neighbors house, Lol)

[californio sur]

Excellent summary Danny.

[grindin]

What Gwilly and Dannyy said.