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Easily the traffic. Look, I get it, all traffic is bad traffic. But people in atlanta will convince you that our traffic is worse than Mumbai, LA, and NYC combined.
Personally, I think it's better than one would expect being a top 10 city, in the sunbelt. But certainly it's nowhere near DC, NYC, LA, Chicago, Seattle, etc.
Houston's economy being reliant on oil. While O&G remains the biggest engine, it's no longer controlling of everything. Other industries (even manufacturing) that have traditionally counted on oil to do business have expanded their clientele exponentially. Businesses aren't fully reliant on the price of the barrel of oil like it was traditionally.
I’ve never lived there, but on visits I’ve never met anyone, strangers or acquaintances or business contacts, who was less than fully welcoming and friendly, sometimes to a degree that almost frightened me. Almost. I remember one trip a few years back when a guy I met on the street offered to give me a tour of the city. Yeah, I took a chance. But he turned out to be totally above-board and we had a great time. I’ve had similar, but less extravagant experiences in the city. So it’s hard for me to imagine living there and being frozen out. Maybe it happens, but I think it’s really exaggerated a lot.
I’ve never lived there, but on visits I’ve never met anyone, strangers or acquaintances or business contacts, who was less than fully welcoming and friendly, sometimes to a degree that almost frightened me. Almost. I remember one trip a few years back when a guy I met on the street offered to give me a tour of the city. Yeah, I took a chance. But he turned out to be totally above-board and we had a great time. I’ve had similar, but less extravagant experiences in the city. So it’s hard for me to imagine living there and being frozen out. Maybe it happens, but I think it’s really exaggerated a lot.
The freeze isn't referring to people being cold or aloof (yeah, maybe it's not the best name). It's that while they may be perfectly friendly and willing to have a conversation, it's hard to get them to commit to any further hangouts. They're fine with the friends they have and don't feel the need to add you to the fold.
Honestly, I can't say from personal experience if it's harder to make friends here than in other places. The only places I've lived where I really made an effort to make friends outside of school/work were here and Reno, and I had a harder time in Reno. But my friends here are mostly in certain "subcultures" and I don't think they're that representative of average Seattleites.
Personally, the biggest exaggeration I've heard is how much Asian/Japanese influence there is in the area. There is a large Asian population, especially on the Eastside and the areas around Beacon Hill in South Seattle, but it's not like Seattle is like Miami or New Orleans where the influence of a foreign country/ies is immediately palpable in the city's vibe. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't a thing people talked about.
The liberalism is not an exaggeration, at least not for the city proper. It was really unusual to me seeing how even the wealthy, far-flung, SFH neighborhoods in the city have mostly voted upwards of 65% Democratic.
Last edited by TheTimidBlueBars; 12-14-2020 at 07:26 PM..
Instead of "exaggerated" could I offer up a "downplayed"?
New England usually doesn't get included in definitions of "the Rust Belt", when it probably should. There's a lot of post-industrial blight and decay that generally gets ignored in the face of the history or the cutesy, tourist towns.
How hot it is. People constantly talk about how Miami is a 100 degrees all the time in the Summer. While it's definitely hot, it rarely gets above the low 90s, and it almost never reaches 100.
Take it from one who spent six summers there: When they talk about how "hot" it is, they are not just talking about the *heat*., they are also talking about the...(altogether now), *humidity*!
Tampa misconceptions:
- It’s cheap. This is true relative to Boston or NYC but it’s not that cheap. The average house price gets dragged way down from high crime areas, safe parts of town cost way more.
- It’s at the beach. Tampa is about 40m from the nearest gulf beach.
- There’s no seasons. Mostly true, but it’s more seasonal than most people think. Our first cold front this year came through the last week of September, which is the beginning of fall... 80s in the winter aren’t uncommon though.
- Tampa is “southern”. Maybe some eastern exurbs, but generally untrue.
Instead of "exaggerated" could I offer up a "downplayed"?
New England usually doesn't get included in definitions of "the Rust Belt", when it probably should. There's a lot of post-industrial blight and decay that generally gets ignored in the face of the history or the cutesy, tourist towns.
My issue with New England being Rust belt is that it’s industry was different. It declined thru the Great Depression and died off post WWII. The Rustbelt was thriving thru the mid 60s. So while Cleveland, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Toledo and Pittsburgh all deindustrialised together. Lowell, Worcester, Providence, Augusta were already 25+ years into deindustrialization. Second Soithern New England is very different demographically. Cleveland, Toledo and Buffalo are very black and white. Hartford, Lowell and Providence are more diverse with tons of immigrants.
Economical stagnet does not equal Rustbelt. Same reason I don’t consider Rochester, NY rust belt. It’s decline happened too late. In the late 90s early aughts with Kodak and Xerox’s decline.
Yes, but it’s an easy mistake to make since Florida is/was known for being cheap. I think a lot of people show up expecting to pay 300k and find out what they want is 600k.
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