Battle of "number four" US cities:SF, DC, Houston or Boston? (living, state)

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

The American people know that those "influential organizations, associations, think tanks, non-profits and academic institutions" (and lobbyists) are the sources of corruption in the American government and to our elected officials.

You really have no idea what you're talking about. Do you understand the difference between a lobbyist and a think tank? Do you understand what an academic institution is? Or did you just decide to post some talking points?

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by adavi215

So who would you say is 4th?

I like SoCal moreso than NorCal , however I have lived in NorCal
30 years and SoCal a mere 1 yr & 2 months.If I was to choose a
city by a beauty contest it would be S.F. hands down , GDP it would
be Philadelphia , Political sphere of influences Washington DC , now
the native S.F. folks don't consider S.F. # 4 or #5 they consider it #1 or #2 in these United States of America.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by tmac9wr

Absolutely not haha. What are you talking about? Can you cite some specifics?

howest2008: lots of stuff like "the prop 13 movement" , Reagan
fiscal conservative movement , three strikes you're out anti-crime
movement, gay marriage , gay domestic partnerships , prop 8 ,free
community college for residents , etc. etc.


What do you mean? That our bark is greater than our bite? Didn't I already show a couple reasons why our bite may be greater than our bark? On top of having similarly sized GDPs (Yours is greater for MSA, ours is greater for CSA), we're arguably the greatest medical research area in the world. That won't show up in GDP statistics, but I would say it's pretty important. We also are home to the most influential university on the planet and the number one tech school on the planet.

Howest2008: Harvard and MIT aren't alway ranked #1 "ITW" Sanford and UC Berkeley are also World Leaders.....

Two of the top three management consulting firms on the planet are located in Boston (Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company). We're also arguably the third most important private equity hub in the world behind New York City & London. Assets under management don't show up in a city's GDP, so our financial power doesn't show up on our bottom line.

Howest2008: If it doesn't show up then we can't rank you....

What? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at here...but if you're questioning the power of MIT, you must have missed it when I posted:

"if the active companies founded by MIT graduates formed an independent nation, their revenues would make that nation at least the 17th-largest economy in the world" (Source)

Howest2008: good point..........

Every statistic that has been listed in this thread has been either urban area, MSA, or CSA. Nothing has been city-proper. And on top of that, you're not exactly right. Harvard has a good deal of their campus within Boston, including their Medical School.

Howest2008: but I was going Head to Head City Proper.....

Here's a couple pictures I took 5 minutes ago from the 14th floor of my building (John Hancock Tower)

That dome you see in the direct center is the Great Dome of MIT (sorry about the quality, it was taken with my BlackBerry)


Not too far behind the Citgo sign (located on the left side of the picture) is Harvard...please excuse the reflection.


So while MIT is technically not in Boston, and Harvard is 50/50...you can clearly see they're located deep within the heart of Boston's urban core.

BTW, I don't think Boston is the fourth most important city in the country. I voted DC (though I personally think it's #2), and would place SF at #5, with Boston/Houston at #6.

People tend to go the Official Info On The Subject which said that
Harvard and MIT weren't in Boston Proper....

[adavi215]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

I like SoCal moreso than NorCal , however I have lived in NorCal
30 years and SoCal a mere 1 yr & 2 months.If I was to choose a
city by a beauty contest it would be S.F. hands down , GDP it would
be Philadelphia , Political sphere of influences Washington DC , now
the native S.F. folks don't consider S.F. # 4 or #5 they consider it #1 or #2 in these United States of America.

Ok you have me lost. SoCal is easy #2 in the nation. I figured, according to this thread, 1,2,3 were NYC, LA(SoCal), and Chicago. Which leaves the above mentioned metros vying for #4. Can you explain?

[tmac9wr]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

lots of stuff like "the prop 13 movement" , Reagan
fiscal conservative movement , three strikes you're out anti-crime
movement, gay marriage , gay domestic partnerships , prop 8 ,free
community college for residents , etc. etc.

First state to allow gay marriage: Massachusetts
First state to allow Domestic Partnerships: Vermont

I'm not sure how Proposition 13 has affected the country...could you please explain?

Proposition 8 is absolutely not a new trend or "movement". It simply repealed gay marriage. Not really something to be proud about.

This link says that community college in California is the cheapest in the country...but it doesn't say it's free. Either way, I don't see how that's influential towards the country...

Howest2008: Harvard and MIT aren't alway ranked #1 "ITW" Sanford and UC

Berkeley are also World Leaders.....

Stanford and UC-B are both fantastic schools. Won't deny that. However, Harvard is the most influential University on the planet and I explained the economic influence of MIT in my prior post.

Howest2008: If it doesn't show up then we can't rank you....

I'm not sure why the link wasn't working...but here it is again: Link

If it doesn't work still, this is what the list looks like:

1. McKinsey & Company - New York City
2. Boston Consulting Group - Boston
3. Bain & Co - Boston
4. Booze Allen Hamilton - Tyson's Corner, VA (Washington DC)

I also mentioned earlier that Boston could be the #3 private equity hub in world...here's the United States rankings:

City; Capital Raised over 10 year period
1. New York City ; $646 billion
2. Boston ; $196 billion
3. Menlo Park/Palo Alto ; $103 billion
4. Los Angeles ; $86 billion
5. San Francisco ; $80 billion
6. Chicago ; $75 billion

As far as I know, only London ranks higher than Boston outside of the United States.

Howest2008: but I was going Head to Head City Proper.....

But nobody else was. Comparisons on this site goes under the assumption that you're speaking of the Metro of a city unless specifically stated otherwise.

People tend to go the Official Info On The Subject which said that

Harvard and MIT weren't in Boston Proper....

Still don't understand why that matters.

[sbarn]

Originally Posted by Howest2008

I like SoCal moreso than NorCal , however I have lived in NorCal
30 years and SoCal a mere 1 yr & 2 months.If I was to choose a
city by a beauty contest it would be S.F. hands down , GDP it would
be Philadelphia , Political sphere of influences Washington DC , now
the native S.F. folks don't consider S.F. # 4 or #5 they consider it #1 or #2 in these United States of America.

I'm from the Bay Area and have never heard anyone claim that SF is the #1 or #2 most important city in America... if they did I would laugh, because clearly these titles go to NYC and LA.

I would agree with someone who puts the Bay Area at #4 though... but its probably #5 after DC.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by sbarn

I'm from the Bay Area and have never heard anyone claim that SF is the #1 or #2 most important city in America... if they did I would laugh, because clearly these titles go to NYC and LA.

I would agree with someone who puts the Bay Area at #4 though... but its probably #5 after DC.

I think things have changed radically for the Bay Area within the last fifteen years with almost all developments making the Bay Area more influential rather than less.

It may be way smaller than a lot of other areas, but I think it's a shoe-in for the top five with possibly an argument for up to #3.

[sbarn]

^^^ Not that much smaller... its got over 7 million people.

[tmac9wr]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

I think things have changed radically for the Bay Area within the last fifteen years with almost all developments making the Bay Area more influential rather than less.

It may be way smaller than a lot of other areas, but I think it's a shoe-in for the top five with possibly an argument for up to #3.

#3? I wouldn't go that far. It's the solid #5 in my opinion though. I don't see any way you could rank San Francisco over Washington DC or Chicago. Those two cities wield great political/corporate power.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by adavi215

Ok you have me lost. SoCal is easy #2 in the nation. I figured, according to this thread, 1,2,3 were NYC, LA(SoCal), and Chicago. Which leaves the above mentioned metros vying for #4. Can you explain?

I think that LA is #2 in the Country , but there has been a lot
of thread about LA Vs. SF where "a lot of people" on those threads
don't feel that way , I guess it's their's prerogative to think that
way don't you "you can't really force thought onto a person" a
person is going to believe what they want to believe. Some people
believe that SF is Better & Greater than NYC and LA and Chicago.