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I absolutely do not agree that Dallas is more important than Houston. They both have their advantages but Houston being the center of a very important industry gives Houston a huge advantage. That said, Dallas does have a more diverse economy but is not central to any industry.
You don’t have to agree, but it is more important. It is larger, growing at a faster clip.. all the while maintaining a higher median household, per capita income and lower poverty rate.
I absolutely do not agree that Dallas is more important than Houston. They both have their advantages but Houston being the center of a very important industry gives Houston a huge advantage. That said, Dallas does have a more diverse economy but is not central to any industry.
I agree.
DFW is domestically inportantant because it is centrally located to basically the entire continental US.
Chicago's central location was a huge plus until the center of US population started shifting south and further west. I don't see Dallas having any challenge for central location anytime soon (There just isn't enough around places like Denver or KC), but location only gets you so far.
Houston has been slowly diversifying is economy the last few decades.
I think it will remain competitive with DFW if it continues to invest in infrastructure (especially drainage).
Despite an energy slump got half of the decade it has remained competitive.
Houston is investing tons in education also.
Dallas has too, but Houston was already ahead.
There's no comparison when it comes to the number of schools in Health Sciences, Law, Business etc.
DFW is ahead in technology, but Houston has stated work on multiple incubators for start ups so that help narrow the gap and bolster diversification.
Both cities have lakes but Houston has lakes AND beaches but does little to incorporate them into Houston's brand. I went with a friend this summer and he visited Galveston and was shocked by how empty the beaches were and how warm the water was. Yes it was the height of covid but he was more concerned with how little the beachfront is geared towards leisure.
I hate to compare the transit systems because Houston has more of an urban light rail system (pretty much confined to the core), while DFW has an extensive commuter rail system (Not core focused). Houston needs to join its current system with commuter options in order to make the system make sense. Houston did have the better bus system but buses to me should be a support to mass transit and not the backbone.
DFW I give props for the mileage but I'm not sure what I would recommend to boost the ridership as the urban development does not bullseye to the core as it does in Houston. I guess in that case it would be more of a focus on TOD, but on a system that large that's going to take decades.
Overall, I agree that Houston is the more important city nationally but DFW is more important regionally.
Houston has the more international face, economy, the consulates, etc. DFW has the more domestic presence (Huge airport, logistics giant, central reserve offices for the area..).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atadytic19
Overall, I agree that Houston is the more important city nationally but DFW is more important regionally.
Houston has the more international face, economy, the consulates, etc. DFW has the more domestic presence (Huge airport, logistics giant, central reserve offices for the area..).
Nationally DFW is definitely more important. Internationally however, Houston is definitely more important.
The opinions expressed here are always going to be somewhat anecdotal in nature, especially because the idea of a city "tier" is not an objective measure.
In terms of the cultural significance debate of Austin vs. Charlotte, I wouldn't say that you have to rely on my anecdotes at all. Austin is in the news every other day for one thing or another, whereas I can't remember the last time Charlotte has got the spotlight for anything. That's not a dig on Charlotte, it's just that the metro is more low key. And even though it is difficult to quantify, the amount people talk about a metro or hear about it is a big factor in what tier a city resides in.
I will agree with you that Charlotte is more well known among people in the Northeast, and a big part of that is because North Carolina is such as big destination for transplants from NY, NJ, etc. However, I think Austin has gets quite a bit more recognition nationwide.
It does look like Charlotte has a budding tech scene, but it doesn't have momentum and scale of Austin. If we were just comparing the two economies in a traditional sense, I would agree that it would be harder to argue Austin that is better than Charlotte because of its tech scene. Charlotte has a ton of white collar jobs in banking and is pretty important in that regard. However, we are talking about what tier Austin is in, and the companies in Austin have quite a bit more prestige and name recognition.
I don't think pro sports are a super important amenity for the vast majority of people that aren't season ticket holders. Yeah, it's nice to go to a game every once in awhile, but I would never choose to move to one metro over another because one city had a football team.
Rapid transit is a moot point because both metros are still super car centric. Charlotte does have a more robust rail system, but I wouldn't move to either cities without a car.
Everywhere I've lived, when I tell a person I'm from Texas it's always "I've always wanted to live/move to Austin." Never fails.
I used to live in Charlotte and have attended several Hornets/Bobcats games so I'm aware of the existence of that franchise as well as the Panthers, but Austin will be getting an MLS team next year also. That's what I was referring to.
But the difference between Austin and Charlotte is that Austin had absolutely no major league sports presence before being awarded a MLS team. People living in or moving to Charlotte at least had the NBA and NFL until now.
Ha! with Durham "Raleigh-Durham" the economic numbers are much closer.
But I Still stand by Raleigh being The Star of Tier III
Wouldn't you rather be the Superstar of Tier III then the Runt of Tier II ??
Both cities have lakes but Houston has lakes AND beaches but does little to incorporate them into Houston's brand. I went with a friend this summer and he visited Galveston and was shocked by how empty the beaches were and how warm the water was.
Only thing in your entire summary that I have to dispute. Galveston gets extremely packed. You were likely there on a slow time. That said, it’s not like Santa Monica and Miami Beach where there’s people there even on week days because it’s farther from the high concentration areas of the metro.
And as for investing in drainage, thank God they have. As much as it’s been raining this year, we’d be back in 2015.
Nationally DFW is definitely more important. Internationally however, Houston is definitely more important.
Yes, that's what I meant.
DFW is a centrally located Beast, like Chicago.
Houston I would say is more Specialized and international like SF.
Consolidations may make DFW more nationally important if it can hold off Atlanta to the East and Phoenix to the west.
Dallas also relies heavily on ports in LA and Houston. Containers in those pretty cities are placed directly on trains headed to DFW for storage and distribution. So these cities do have related economies also.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag
Only thing in your entire summary that I have to dispute. Galveston gets extremely packed. You were likely there on a slow time. That said, it’s not like Santa Monica and Miami Beach where there’s people there even on week days because it’s farther from the high concentration areas of the metro.
And as for investing in drainage, thank God they have. As much as it’s been raining this year, we’d be back in 2015.
Yes, like I said, the area was just reopening after covid shut downs. But what I meant is beach related development. The beach is there, there are hotels, but what he was talking about is suplemental development.
He wanted to go buy a case of water and walk up and down the beach selling water.
There are no vendors, little if any businesses renting jet skis, the souvenir shops are far and few Inbetween.
Ofcourse there could be more hotels, but apart from that there really isn't much of a supporting cast either.
Same for the lakes and rivers. I had no idea that there were about 4 rivers running through the metro
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