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Well, that's the thing - there can't really be a definitive map of the sunbelt, since the sunbelt itself is a concept - not a precisely-defined entity.
But does it make sense to exclude a city like Little Rock from the sunbelt? What about Nashville?
If everyone is going to consider Nashville the "sunbelt", you might as well include Chicago which only averages 2% less sunshine and has far less rain than Nashville.
And if the job market is to be considered, too, with the whole "sunbelt" term, then Chicago definitely is more "sunbelt" than Nashville.
We definitely had a strong Sun Belt vibe going here during the 1980s, most especially in the SF burbs.
But with all the more recent problems, we now feel more like the Rust Belt with palms and eucalyptus.
If I had to opine, I'd place the Sunbelt boundary between the Santa Clara and San Mateo county boundary. That puts the Silicon Valley and San Jose in the sun, and the southern SF suburbs in the cold and fog.
That division also answers the question of why the Silicon-Valley type of industries did not extend farther north.
If I had to opine, I'd place the Sunbelt boundary between the Santa Clara and San Mateo county boundary. That puts the Silicon Valley and San Jose in the sun, and the southern SF suburbs in the cold and fog.
That division also answers the question of why the Silicon-Valley type of industries did not extend farther north.
Actually, "Silicon Valley" started in San Mateo County, back in the late 1950s. Well, to be fair, it slopped barely into NW Santa Clara County. Back then, much of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and SJ, in the areas now occupied by tech, were orchards. Back in those days, the term "Silicon Valley" was known only by about 100 or so industry insiders. My Dad was among them.
In terms of SWern culture, the Peninsula used to have a lot more of it prior to being overrun by Eastern carpetbaggers wanting to turn it into another Westchester. When I was a kid, we'd cowboy up, and go riding, where there are now mega mansions. The old 50s and 60s architecture was more into the stucco and red tile - well prior to the "wanna be New England" look now in vogue. Where I now live used to be a substantial rancho - the old adobe is still there in the midst of mish mash infill development. I still find old bones from steers, and, horseshoes, out back.
Another superb Sunbelt expression on the Peninsula is Foster City. A complete, made from scratch, make believe community. The canals are all man made, the land is all landfill, and everything is glassy, glitzy and new. Foster was more in the "Old West" mold than that of a Eastern carpetbagger. Very symbolically, all the land he bought was a former cattle ranch.
Redwood Shores is the wanna be version, but doing a fair job of it.
Another observation along the lines of "we're not really all that different from Texas other than the geography - at least that used to be the case!"
I present Exhibit C, the Cow Palace.
Not only was it once a significant venue in cowboy culture, owing to the "service access point" due to nearby ports and stockyards, for the Greater Western US. It also got lots of local color due to the then extensive array of ranches within a 50 mile radius.
In addition to famous quilt of old ranchos stretching from Noe Valley, south southeastward, down the length of the state, then, nearly ad infinitum across the border into the heart of Mexico, there were also the truly massive facilities across the Bay. I can remember driving along old Hwy 17 as a kid, and seeing miles of ranches and wheat fields from Milpitas to San Leandro. There are still a few remnants left in Fremont, west of I-880, near the Bay, between Mowry and the old Fremont Dump.
So, the Cow Palace was both a venue for overall Western US cowboy culture as well as the true local yokels.
Of note, SE Alameda County, Eastern Santa Clara County, SW San Mateo County, huge chunks of the North Bay, patches in Contra Costa, and of course in the hinterlands beyond, are still cowboy country, full on.
If everyone is going to consider Nashville the "sunbelt", you might as well include Chicago which only averages 2% less sunshine and has far less rain than Nashville.
And if the job market is to be considered, too, with the whole "sunbelt" term, then Chicago definitely is more "sunbelt" than Nashville.
Chicago is way too cold to be part of the Sunbelt.
Oh, that's fine. Many threads have some silliness in them. But I still think the fundamental question is unsettled. There are people living in cities which might be "sunbelt" towns or might not be, depending on who does the definitions.
That's an urgent problem, one that we have to solve right here, right now. Tens of millions of unfortunate people out there are not sure whether their cities are in the "sunbelt" or not. Millions of others have incorrect opinions on the subject. This is unacceptable!
That's an urgent problem, one that we have to solve right here, right now. Tens of millions of unfortunate people out there are not sure whether their cities are in the "sunbelt" or not. Millions of others have incorrect opinions on the subject. This is unacceptable!
Let's see if we can get some stimulus funds to help fix this massive and urgent problem. We may have to get FEMA involved...
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