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I can see all of your points except one: the food.
Frankly, it isnt similar. The food diversity in Houston and the accolades Houston has received for food are really only matched by 4-5 other cities in the US.
I thought Houston's food scene was very good but overrated. There's a lot of options and good food but I think you find that in most of the top 20-30 big cities. I'd consider Houston food options closer to Phoenix than NYC or LA. I was mid-late 20s when I lived in Houston and it was over a decade ago so maybe I was wrong and/or things have changed. Both have a lot of Americanized Mexican food. Both have a lot of east coast transplants making fantastic pizza and subs. Houston probably has better fine dining but I wasn't eating like that unless my company was paying for it.
I thought Houston's food scene was very good but overrated. There's a lot of options and good food but I think you find that in most of the top 20-30 big cities. I'd consider Houston food options closer to Phoenix than NYC or LA. I was mid-late 20s when I lived in Houston and it was over a decade ago so maybe I was wrong and/or things have changed. Both have a lot of Americanized Mexican food. Both have a lot of east coast transplants making fantastic pizza and subs. Houston probably has better fine dining but I wasn't eating like that unless my company was paying for it.
A LOT has changed in the Houston dining scene since then. You wouldn’t even recognize it today.
A big thing that might be overlooked is in Phx you can escape the summer heat by driving up to Flagstaff or elsewhere with elevation 2 hours or less away. Houston requires a flight to escape the heat for a few days.
It's also not 110+ all year long or even all summer for that matter. Houston isn't quite as hot but with the constant humidity I'm not sure it would be less miserable than Arizona. A lot of people seem to act like the worst of the worst heatwaves in Phoenix is normal weather.
I moved away from Maricopa County to Harris County.
Maricopa county couldn't hold a candle to Harris county in regards to culture. It's not even close.
Now I have driven to the actual town of Maricopa and I wasn't impressed with the vast expanse of rocks and dirt with a few weeds it was kind of trashy. I remember driving through a dumpy reservation. Ya, you can see a few bald mountains in the distance but it's mostly just nothing.
If you have actually lived here, you would know Maricopa is not actually in Maricopa County, it's in Pinal County. Or you know, used Google.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KoNgFooCj
Which one will be larger in 2030?
Harris County-currently nation's 3rd largest
land area-1,703.38
population 2010-4,092,459
population 2018-4,698,619
absolute change-+606,160
percent change-+14.81
Maricopa County-currently nation's 4th largest
land area-9,200.14
population 2010-3,817,117
population 2018-4,410,824
absolute change-+593,707
percent change-+15.55
Maricopa County is about the size of Connecticut. It's one of the largest counties in the US. The second largest county is also in Arizona (Coconino).
Maricopa County will surpass Harris County, things are growing rapidly on the western side of the County, which is the largest part of the County. I don't even doubt it. Houses are sprouting like weeds. The central and eastern parts of the County are essentially built out to their fullest extent, with a couple small pockets of city infill.
Maricopa County will surpass Harris County, things are growing rapidly on the western side of the County, which is the largest part of the County. I don't even doubt it. Houses are sprouting like weeds. The central and eastern parts of the County are essentially built out to their fullest extent, with a couple small pockets of city infill.
As a Harris County resident, I could care less.
Its not like Maricopa County will all of the sudden have Harris County's cultural institutions, ethnic diversity, or culinary scene.
If Harris County remains larger, its not like it will have Maricopa County's natural beauty, proximity to national parks, or outdoor activities.
Regardless of who is larger, they wont really change.
I think Harris County is attractive enough based on job market alone to maintain it's ranking. Also Harris County is on another level in the culinary scene so I don't know why we're debating that here.
One key difference is that Maricopa County is more dominant in metro Phoenix than Harris County is in metro Houston. In the Houston area, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties have large, thriving suburban communities (Sugar Land and The Woodlands, respectively) that have evolved into major hubs of employment and other activity. There is no such equivalent in the outlying Phoenix metro county (Pinal) - which is more dominated by moderate to lower priced residential development.
I do not see the comment that the culinary scenes are almost equal. Houston is in the top 5 in the country with the diversity and established cuisines including Cajun, Tex-Mex, Vietnamese, and East Texas BBQ. Phoenix I am sure has a great Southwestern and authentic Mexican cuisine but I don't think it is at Houston's level.
I do prefer the terrain around Phoenix with some incredible day or weekend trips within reach. The weather is a wash - dry or wet heat, to me it is just too hot. The non-hot months are incredible in both places.
If oil prices dip and stay there, then I see Maricopa passing, otherwise, Harris county will maintain the edge to 2030 but probably not much longer than that.
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