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The Seattle area feels like a very forward-thinking place. That means there aren't a lot of local traditions and most people don't have generations of family here, but it also means trends in urban design, the arts, social values, etc. get adopted here before they do in most of the country, which I personally find refreshing. The built environment feels modern and clean compared to what I'm used to elsewhere, without being completely sprawling un-walkable suburbia. And honestly, I don't find myself minding the rain or the overcast skies that much; it just goes with the vibe of this place. I don't think I want to live here permanently but it's been a good place to spend (so far) half a year.
King County adopted growth management before the rest of Washington state, and it continues to be a stronger version of GM than other counties. The county is mostly wilderness (nearly all development is in the west 1/3) so that's really important, including quite a bit of preservation that would be development otherwise.
Paradoxically (on the surface), the vast majority of the region's office development is in King County. It's more/less than 1/2 of the Seattle area population depending on the measurement you use, but it's probably 95% of the office growth in this decade. That means locating on expensive land. That means office development is generally in much denser formats than most metros, with buildings up to the sidewalk and parking typically below grade.
We've also been leading the region in residential growth, with a heavy slant toward infill or at least denser sprawl.
Maybe 10-15 years ago, King County also redid its namesake, from a bad King to MLK, whose image is now the County's logo.
Johnson county Arkansas. Low population. Clarksville ( less than 10,000) is the largest town. We live just out of the city limits on 25 acres with a 6 acre lake. Clarksville has a hospital and all we need except for specialists. We have to drive to Fort Smith for them.
The people in Johnson county are the nicest I've seen anywhere.
I don't know too much about the history. We moved here when I retired 12 years ago. I was born and raised in Fort Smith but would never live there again.
I tend to agree. My wife was born and raised in Quincy. She can tell me everything about the Boston area, the towns, North Shore vs. South Shore, etc. But I asked her not long ago what county she was born in, and she had no idea.
She and I temporarily moved up to Cape Cod and lived there from 7/2017 - 1/2019 for a year and a half to help care for her mom who is battling Parkinson's Disease and Dementia. The entire time I was there, I heard the name "Barnstable County" no more than 5 times.
So, yeah. I've had that experience. Working with geography, metro rankings, and such on a regular basis for decades, it was new to me that there were some areas where counties just weren't as much of a point of identity as in most regions of the U.S. Nothing bad at all, but something different
Yeah I remember having to double think what county I lived in in Grammar School. "hmm.. Ahh Norfolk" County governments were disbanned a while ago. Everything usually runs on a town by town basis.
Yeah I remember having to double think what county I lived in in Grammar School. "hmm.. Ahh Norfolk" County governments were disbanned a while ago. Everything usually runs on a town by town basis.
And yes, South Shore is the best shore!
Is everybody in a town? Or are there unincorporated parts of the counties?
that's exactly what I meant. Also people identify more with the city or town they live in rather than county.
In Connecticut, county identity co-exist with town identity.
For myself, when I am in Stamford or New York city, I simply say that I am from New Haven county.
Within closer range of my home, I might say the town name.
It is more of practical issue there. Folks in NY tend to use county, say Westchester county, etc . To be honest, I heard so many towns in Westchester county, tough to remember all the names. A simple name such as county name or just Bronx/Queens/Brooklyn, or using my county New Haven county, everybody is happy. I think most NYers of my office will not likely to know or remember all those many CT town names either. It is both way.
Another importance for county in CT, I found the "local" bus in CT tends to mean same county. For example, New Britain, Hartford, West Hartford etc are all different towns, but they are in same county "Hartford county", and their bus and CTfastrak are considered "local" fare. There are cross county buses that charges more in CT. This may not be true in other CT county etc as I am not too familiar with bus system, I have ridden the hartford buses and know this is true on county line. In that sense, CT bus system thinks county line as "local", and outside county border line area are non-local area.
I never went to school in the county I lived in. K-6, I lived in Fond du Lac county and crossed Main Streeet to school in Dodge County. Then we moved to Dodge, and my Jr/Sr High was in Fond du Lac. Now, the sales tax is higher on one side of Main St than the other.
Is everybody in a town? Or are there unincorporated parts of the counties?
Atleast for Mass, Rhode Island and CT.. every land area is divided up into a town, city, etc. Theres no unincorpirated parts of the county. That was a big shock to me when I went to FL and county was coined more there.
But it more or less is divided this way: (Town Map)
A wedge of states from New Jersey to the Dakotas and Kansas subdivides counties into townships, which often have their own elected government. A township is usually a six-mile square on a grid. They are especially conspicuous in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Yeah I remember having to double think what county I lived in in Grammar School. "hmm.. Ahh Norfolk" County governments were disbanned a while ago. Everything usually runs on a town by town basis.
And yes, South Shore is the best shore!
Something that threw me off the whole time I was in Cape Cod was, my wife and I lived in the village of Cataumet, which was in the "township" of Bourne (which is also a town), which is in Barnstable County. It was like that throughout the whole island. Sometimes I wasn't sure where I was exactly, lol. Just something that I'd never experienced before.
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