Pacific Northwest vs. Deep South - which has better cities & scenery? (crime rate, compare)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Economy - Boeing is the biggest exporter by value in the USA and has presence both in PNW and the South. Microsoft is the gorilla in the room in terms of software here and smashes anything in the deep south. Starbucks. Etc. I can't possibly imagine how anything except Disney in Florida even comes close.
History - The south. The PNW is very new relatively speaking. Not to say there aren't some intersting tidbits, but can't compare, too new.
Natural scenery - Just my $.02, the PNW. The Ozarks and other areas there are pretty, but nothing compares to the Cascades and Olympic mts, in my opinion.
Urbanness - PNW easy.
Education - PNW easy. I find it funny people say that the Deep South has great education when they really mean they have great football programs.
Museums - Have no clue.
Public transportation - PNW hands down. Anyone who's been to Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver, BC can never say the Deep South and the car-centric culture even comes close.
Weather - Choose your poison. Hot and humid summers and mild winters, or mild summers and drizzle. Personally, I have very sensitive skin and HATE HATE HATE hot and humid summers. Don't miss those one bit. PNW by a mile for me.
Food - It's a tie.
Proximity to other regions - of course the Deep South.
Economy - Boeing is the biggest exporter by value in the USA and has presence both in PNW and the South. Microsoft is the gorilla in the room in terms of software here and smashes anything in the deep south. Starbucks. Etc. I can't possibly imagine how anything except Disney in Florida even comes close.
Where does Coca Cola rank? (It's the first thing that popped into my head).
Edit: What credit do you give to a purely domestic company, like the retail giant Wal-Mart?
The Pacific Northwest is certainly more pretty than the Deep South but economically, I don't think it's even close.
It's one thing to compare Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Miami individually but when you factor all four together in the region, you're talking one major economic powerhouse that Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland just can't even come close to matching. Then the South also has Birmingham, Orlando, New Orleans, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Charleston to spare.
Urbanity is a different story. Seattle and Vancouver are both highly urban and Portland's claim to fame is it's pioneering of urban development codes rarely seen outside of Europe so I would say the Pacific Northwest edges out the south in this matter. Not that the southern cities don't have urbanity...
The south is much better connected to the rest of the country than the PN. I felt very iscolated when I visited Seattle. To the east you have a whole bunch of nothing (Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota) before you get to a state with much of anything in it.
California is to the south of Oregon obviously but the drive there is long and no moderate sized cities are passed through. In the south you would go from Miami to Orlando to Jacksonville to Atlanta then up I-85 to Columbia to Charlotte to Raleigh/Durham to Richmond, then on up to DC, Philly, NY, etc.
Economy - Boeing is the biggest exporter by value in the USA and has presence both in PNW and the South. Microsoft is the gorilla in the room in terms of software here and smashes anything in the deep south. Starbucks. Etc. I can't possibly imagine how anything except Disney in Florida even comes close.
History - The south. The PNW is very new relatively speaking. Not to say there aren't some intersting tidbits, but can't compare, too new.
Natural scenery - Just my $.02, the PNW. The Ozarks and other areas there are pretty, but nothing compares to the Cascades and Olympic mts, in my opinion.
Urbanness - PNW easy.
Education - PNW easy. I find it funny people say that the Deep South has great education when they really mean they have great football programs.
Museums - Have no clue.
Public transportation - PNW hands down. Anyone who's been to Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver, BC can never say the Deep South and the car-centric culture even comes close.
Weather - Choose your poison. Hot and humid summers and mild winters, or mild summers and drizzle. Personally, I have very sensitive skin and HATE HATE HATE hot and humid summers. Don't miss those one bit. PNW by a mile for me.
Food - It's a tie.
Proximity to other regions - of course the Deep South.
You sell the south short on economy. Yes, theres Microsoft, Starbucks, and Formerly Boeing, but the south is far more strong when it comes to econemy.
I lived in Oregon as well as East Texas, so I'll try to be as unbiased as possible...
Economy- PNW has high unemployment rates, so South
History- The South has most interesting historical sights, however PNW has amazing Native American culture
Natural scenery- PNW has a dramatic coastline and mountains that makes southern "mountains" look like hills. Despite the more attractive climate for beach going, Southern beaches are often dirty and relatively unimpressive in comparison.
Urbanness- Probably PNW as Portland and Seattle feel much more dense than any southern city. The sprawl of Southern cities does not feel urban and in fact make them feel much less that.
Education- PNW probably (no offence)
Museums- Tie. Houston and Portland both have some amazing museums, can't speak for other cities, but they're probably up there too.
Public transportation- PNW. Portland has some of the best transport for a medium sized city
Weather- Depends on preference. PNW has milder summers, and putting up with 8-9 months of rain is worth it. Beats a humid summer that lasts 4-6 months, although the thunderstorms there are something to witness.
Food- Again, apples and oranges, both have amazing food. However, I would say the South has more variety, especially if you add East Texas into the mix.
Proximity to other regions- The South easily.
I still prefer PNW as it is my home, but I've learnt a lot from living in Houston and having a mother who is from East Texas.
Wow, I didn't expect the poll result to be such a blowout. So, everyone seems to be saying that Seattle and Portland have good public transportation. Interesting. Do these cities have rapid transit? I'd like to see some maps.
Where does Coca Cola rank? (It's the first thing that popped into my head).
Edit: What credit do you give to a purely domestic company, like the retail giant Wal-Mart?
Walmart is based in Bentonville, Arkansas so it's not really included in one of the states listed in the OP's question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mezter
You sell the south short on economy. Yes, theres Microsoft, Starbucks, and Formerly Boeing, but the south is far more strong when it comes to econemy.
We aren't talking about the entire South though(Texas, North Carolina and Florida aren't included)---we're talking about Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Atlanta has large diverse economy with some famous international corporations--though what's in the rest of these states?(Not trying to be snide--I'm just not that familiar with the economy of the Deep South). There's some manufacturing in the area from companies that have sought take advantage of the low cost non-union labor down there, and Louisiana has the oil industry--probably a lot of military bases contribute to the economy as well.
The GDP of Georgia is a little higher than Washington State though per capita Washington outranks any of those states. Oregon, Alabama, and Louisiana all have similar GDPs. The unemployment rate in all of the states being compared is around 8-9 percent except for Alabama which has an unemployment rate of 7.4 percent. Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina rank 43-45 for the worst unemployment rates in the country with South Carolina with a rate of 9.1 percent.
There's also BC, which the OP is including as part of the Pacific Northwest for this discussion--which has a lower unemployment rate than any of the states in question and has been seeing some good economic growth tied to the strong Canadian economy.
So I really don't know, maybe people can provide more evidence that supports this assertion that the southern states in question have a much stronger economy than the Pacific Northwest...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
