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Well, considering DC's sole reason to be is to house the federal government, and everything ever developed there, from play houses to the Smithsonian, are direct reflections of that purpose, then I'd venture to say if the government factor was removed, San Francisco would easily eclipse DC. If you removed the government from DC, it probably would be nothing but a far-flung 'burb of Baltimore.
Well there's also the military. Which I guess would still be a part of the government but my point is that the just about every branch of the military has a base in the DC area. So that plays a role too. I see what you're saying but actually parts of DC did exist before it became the capitol. These were seperate towns and present day Alexandria and Georgetown were around before DC existed.
I won't argue that without the government and the military DC would not exist. At the same time the government and the military are in DC and so DCs reason for being does have importance it's just that nobody likes the government so it's easier to dismiss DC.
As for what SF does, that depends a lot on how much of the Bay Area we're throwing into the mix. If we're including Stanford and Silicon Valley, then SF is contributing an incredible amount right now since the technology developed within Silicon Valley radically changes your day-to-day living and how you learn about and interact with the world. SF is also one of the larger financial centers of the nation and has had a strong role in modern history when it comes to social and cultural movements.
Now the Silicon Valley is indeed very important to us. But I honestly was not thinking about the Silicon Valley. It is considered part of the San Francisco bay area but technically has it's own metropolitan area according to the census.
Now yeah I guess I will contend that it does kinda sorta affect me since Wells Fargo which owns Wachovia is based in San Francisco. Still gotta stick up for DC but yeah San Francisco is keeping me from having to stuff my money in my mattress.
Now the Silicon Valley is indeed very important to us. But I honestly was not thinking about the Silicon Valley. It is considered part of the San Francisco bay area but technically has it's own metropolitan area according to the census.
So I will stick with saying that DC is more important but each city has it's place but not knowing the business side of San Francisco I won't say it isn't important. But at the same time I don't know how it effects the rest of the country. I don't eat rice a roni so what's in it for me?
Ever worn Levi jeans or any clothes from Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy? Eaten Del Monte fruit? Gone on Twitter, Craigslist or Wikipedia? Banked at or know anyone that does at Wells Fargo or Bank of America? Some of these reference the past and there are many others I could have used as examples (I don't have much time right now and this is off the top of my head), but I'm just trying to make the point that there is much more that has come out of SF beyond Rice-a-Roni.
A better example might be Genentech in South San Francisco - the birthplace of Biotechnology. I'm sure others can fill you in better.
Ever worn Levi jeans or any clothes from Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy? Eaten Del Monte fruit? Gone on Twitter, Craigslist or Wikipedia? Banked at or know anyone that does at Wells Fargo or Bank of America? Some of these reference the past and there are many others I could have used as examples (I don't have much time right now and this is off the top of my head), but I'm just trying to make the point that there is much more that has come out of SF beyond Rice-a-Roni.
No I mentioned Wells Fargo. They bought out my bank Wachovia.
Ever worn Levi jeans or any clothes from Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy? Eaten Del Monte fruit? Gone on Twitter, Craigslist or Wikipedia? Banked at or know anyone that does at Wells Fargo or Bank of America? Some of these reference the past and there are many others I could have used as examples (I don't have much time right now and this is off the top of my head), but I'm just trying to make the point that there is much more that has come out of SF beyond Rice-a-Roni.
A better example might be Genentech in South San Francisco - the birthplace of Biotechnology. I'm sure others can fill you in better.
Just a funny factoid--Wikipedia is originally from St. Petersburg and has only recently moved its headquarters to SF.
St. Petersburg? Yes. And no, I don't get it either. No offense to those in St. Petersburg, but it's just not expected.
Where do Bostonians bash Houston on a constant basis? I personally have had disagreements in the past on the subject of Houston, but I don't believe I have ever bashed it...
By the way, Houston and Boston are pretty close in size, with (considerably) more people in the Boston area if looking at CSA population.
I voted for DC by the way. In my opinion it's the second most important city in this country. But if forced to choose out of this group, it's easily the most important.
Metropolitan and Micropolitan areas are definitely more reliable sources of information since many areas such as Houston do not have very defined CSA's. Using normal info from the Census Bureau, the Boston Metro area (combined with the other surrounding areas) barely makes the top ten while Houston is 6th. As far as city size, Houston is the 4th largest city in the US and Boston does not even have the population of El Paso, TX.
Moving on...
I did not vote for DC on this forum because I feel that DC cannot be put in the same category as the other cities. I feel that DC should stay just as it already is; its own separate place. However if I were forced to vote with DC as an option, I would still say that NYC was number 1. DC would come next, then Chicago, LA then Houston.
Why Houston?
Houston by itself, would be one of the world's largest and most diverse economies. It is also the 4th largest city in the US, 6th largest metro area, has the world's (not the US's, the world's) largest medical center, NASA and the largest conglomerate of oil and energy company headquarters, the largest continuously operating year-round companies in all performing arts, has more fortune 500 companies than any other city in the US except NYC and Is the largest port in the US for international commerce.
Culturally in the United States Houston has the 3rd largest Hispanic and Vietnamese populations, the largest Nigerian, one of the largest Indian and Pakistani, the 12th largest homosexual population and large, significant populations of Chinese, Filipino and people of mixed race. It also has significant populations of African Americans and non-Hispanic whites.
There is no other city on the list after DC, NYC, Chicago, and LA that has greater domestic and international influence than Houston. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but these are the facts. Facts often sound foreign when people live life using only their empirical data and personal bias.
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