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Side note: did someone create a bunch of duplicate accounts to rack up a bunch of sudden votes for Dallas? Seems odd that in one day it surged to first runner up.
Of course, I called this earlier. Dallas had 10 votes last night. Boston had the most, followed by Atlanta, Philadelphia and Houston. I saw 20 total votes when I woke up this morning. You don't even see many arguments for Dallas in this thread which makes it very interesting.
Boston +3 within 24 hrs, Atlanta +3 Houston +1 Philadelpha +3 and Dallas +14
Last edited by cdw1084; 03-23-2020 at 11:59 PM..
Reason: Numbers
Which is better known doesnt have to do with importance.
Houston has more foreign investment, more foreign diplomatic missions (consulates), more foreign born residents, and more overnight foreign visitors from overseas (Mexico and Canada dont count).
Houston is also the largest exporter of goods in the country by a pretty good margin too.
Keep in mind, this doesn't include export of services where metros like NYC and Boston would do well in that area and it doesn't make it more important than DC for example. But the movement of goods overseas are still a very important function of international trade which makes Houston one of the most important cities in the country tied to the global economy.
I could see cities like Dallas or Atlanta being higher than Houston in the domestic pecking order because of things like airport traffic, media share, well-known Fortune 500 firms, and some other stuff, but when you tie-in the international component, Houston is just more connected in that regard.
I have Boston firmly as the '6th' city and probably Houston at 7 but I think you can make good arguments for the other cities at that spot too.
Smaller economy, it doesnt dominate a particular industry, lower per capita GDP, its less international, etc. All of those things can be objectively shown statistically.
Nope. Its objectively less important than Boston and Houston.
Hell-to-the-Nah.
6. Atlanta
7. Boston
8. Houston or Dallas or Philadelphia or Miami or Seattle
Neither Houston nor Atlanta are particularly “international.” Atlanta seems to be better-known internationally though... Perhaps because of its airport, the olympics, and, yes, its heavy black culture. But overall, neither one of them are an LA, Toronto, Montreal, Miami... They’re far from it.
Have you done intensive international travel to come to this claim?
Also, Houston not particularly international? Is this a joke?
Have you done intensive international travel to come to this claim?
Also, Houston not particularly international? Is this a joke?
Yes, I have. And lived abroad for most of my life. I guess it depends on what you’re looking at. Based on foreign investments, neither one of them rank high at all.
Someone replied to me explaining why it should be seen as more international than Atlanta. I can agree with that.
Last edited by Arcenal813; 03-24-2020 at 04:47 AM..
I don’t find it all that surprising... What I’m surprised by is how long it took for it to get votes, the manner in which it got them, and how it hasn’t been a major topic of debate in this thread. Why wouldn’t it be above those cities?
Boston and Seattle are way more important than their populations would indicate. One reason why is their high per capita GDP, they're 2 and 3 nationally after the Bay Area.
They both have disproportionately high traffic from foreign air carriers. Miami has that too, but has nowhere near the per capita GDP.
No coincidence either that all are seaports with histories of international transport.
I'd say Boston #6, Seattle #7.
Interior cites like Atlanta, DFW, Houston, Philly have a lot of people, all because of affordable and available land relative to land-constrained seaports. But this also brings down their per capita GDP, and traffic from foreign air carriers. Seattle handles more pax on foreign air carriers than Atlanta or DFW, despite their massive airports.
I'd say Atlanta, DFW, and Houston round out the top 10, almost in a tie, with Philly being 11. Philly was the country's original lots of land, lots of people metro and even when it was battling NY for largest city, it had far less int'l sea traffic than Boston. I spent the first 40 years of my life in the NE Corridor, and it always felt a step down in importance from NY, Bos, and DC.
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