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If were talking college educated, Austin, Raleigh, and Lexington, KY are the most educated Southern metros.
Of the big four Atlanta is.
However, demographics play a huge role in this too. If were comparing the big four of the South (DFW, Atlanta, Houston, and Miami), Atlanta by far has the lowest number of immigrants from poor countries. Houston's job economy is quite blue collar because of oil and gas. Most of these jobs pay well but dont require a college degree. That probably explains Houston has a higher average salary than DFW, Atlanta, or Miami but has the lowest college education rate of the four.
I voted for Nashville - 'The Athens of the South'.
I feel that the city's architecture surpasses all the other cities listed. The Greek Style buildings look gorgeous. The only city to have a full-scale replica Parthenon. New Orleans, Charleston and Savannah would all be closely behind as far as architecture goes.
They have a big music culture - Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Johnny Cash Museum and Ryman Auditoreum. Lots of Bostonians (I am a Bostonian) I know go to Nashville for their vacations, and this category plays a big part of that.
Nashville (I believe) was the first progressive southern city. It was the first southern city to establish a public school system in the 1800s. Nashville was also the first city in the world to receive airmail which was by balloon. Nashville also has many upscale colleges and universities. I also hear Nashville is an up and coming 'food city'. Nashville also has it's fair share of history (from late revolutionary period 'Nashborough', through the Civil War, to the Civil Rights Movement to today).
My gut tells me (I know I will be mocked) that Nashville is still on the up and up. Again, this is my opinion.
I have never been to Nashville (would love to visit someday). I have been to Orlando and Miami of all the cities on this list and those are my 2 favorites. My vote of Nashville came from an unbias opinion and knowledge I have about the city.
I voted for Nashville - 'The Athens of the South'.
I feel that the city's architecture surpasses all the other cities listed. The Greek Style buildings look gorgeous. The only city to have a full-scale replica Parthenon. New Orleans, Charleston and Savannah would all be closely behind as far as architecture goes.
I'm not getting the architecture argument here at all. I'm not seeing where Nashville has done anything particularly innovative or creative with respect to architecture. Maybe it truly has (the Parthenon replica would not be an example of such), but I'm not aware of such.
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They have a big music culture - Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Johnny Cash Museum and Ryman Auditoreum. Lots of Bostonians (I am a Bostonian) I know go to Nashville for their vacations, and this category plays a big part of that.
That would certainly figure into the creative side of things.
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Nashville (I believe) was the first progressive southern city. It was the first southern city to establish a public school system in the 1800s. Nashville was also the first city in the world to receive airmail which was by balloon. Nashville also has many upscale colleges and universities. I also hear Nashville is an up and coming 'food city'. Nashville also has it's fair share of history (from late revolutionary period 'Nashborough', through the Civil War, to the Civil Rights Movement to today).
Not sure how one can designate any one city as the first progressive city in a region overall. Different cities will have their own claims to fame in this area but no one city was the first in every respect.
I think Nashville deserves a mention here but probably not for the reasons you cite aside from its music culture.
Creativity and intellectualism aren't that similar. It does not make a ton of sense to group them together. There is some intersection, but not enough to group together.
The hard part about this poll is not one of these cities has a significant attribute of all of these qualities in one bundle. Some have stronger attributes in areas and are weaker in areas than others.
Also some of these metros are still growing and are fairly small in comparison to others.
Austin's social climate is incredibly academic and approachable and also very liberal... however in terms of urban planning, Austin hasnt done anything outside the box. Of all cities mentioned, In terms of education alone, Austin has the highest 4 year grad rate (58%) with DFW falling shortly behind (52%)
Raleigh Durham is similar but a bit less liberal and is a bit more out the box in terms of Urban Planning.
DFW by far has the best infrastructure of all of the mentioned metros and are very out the box in this aspect. It also has a fairly apt educated crowd which is a reason it pulls in so many high end jobs from the Pacific (that and geographic location).
Houston is decent in this area. University of Houston is okay. Urban planning is about average for a southern metro its size.
Atlanta offers a very affordable education and a formidable graduation rate. The intown areas of Atlanta are starting to get more creative in terms of urban planning. The suburban areas, not so much. As far as the social climate? In the health field it's pretty apparent Atlanta easily triumphs. In the tech field ... its exceptional but there are better places for tech currently.
I knew that the Triangle was very tech-savvy, of course. But that doesn't necessarily translate into intellectualism or even always creativity. I suppose exactly what is being created and engineered has a lot to do with what kind of a place it is.
Creativity and intellectualism aren't that similar. It does not make a ton of sense to group them together. There is some intersection, but not enough to group together.
I mean, I tried to explain the intersectionality between them in the LA/Chicago thread. But whatever. If you want to say that creativity and intellectualism are quite distinct then just assume I'm asking which city on the list exemplifies both at the same time.
I knew that the Triangle was very tech-savvy, of course. But that doesn't necessarily translate into intellectualism or even always creativity. I suppose exactly what is being created and engineered has a lot to do with what kind of a place it is.
The Triangle is more Boston-type tech-savvy with life sciences and healthcare dominating as opposed to Silicon Valley-type tech-savvy (although it has some of that as well), and like Boston, the Triangle's educational institutions form the bedrock of its tech-driven economy and even its very identity; with that in mind, it's not a stretch to imagine a general intellectual vibe in the Triangle. I also think Raleigh being the state capital is a contributing factor as it is home to the state's museums of art, history, and natural sciences which help to satisfy intellectual curiosities.
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