Texas cities and their out-of-state equivalents (Houston, Dallas: spring break, colleges, quality of life)

[DTXman34]

Originally Posted by Tex Luthor

So true. I always tell people that Dallas is a great place to live and work, but sucks as far as vacation/visiting. But there are also places that are great to vacation in and visit but crappy to live or work in, so I guess there's that.

It's mostly because of the surrounding scenery. The Gulf Coast of TX isn't exactly a great place for vaca either.

[Spade]

Yeah San Antonio and Orlando are not similar at all outside of theme parks.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Houston and Dallas are closer to other boomtown sunbelt cities.... Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami than either LA or NYC

Yeah I see Dallas and Houston as the two leading sunbelt cities with Atlanta, Miami and Phoenix a little behind them, in that order and Vegas pretty far behind them by most metrics.

They have a several city lead in terms of GDP over the other sunbelt cities, but while they hold substantial leads over the other sunbelt metros, they are still closer in numbers to Atlanta than LA.

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by MrJester

What are some out-of-state equivalents to Texas cities?

Austin seems thoroughly Califonia-ized, with its high-tech sector, college hipsters, indie bands, draconian zoning ordinances, expensive real estate, Whole Foods, hilly scenery, and wine country. Austin is the Silicon Valley or Bay Area of Texas.

Houston is unique; I can't think of any out-of-state equivalents. We here in California laugh at how backwards Texas is (without any justification), and I get the feeling that the rest of Texas bashes Houston. No one roots for the Astros or Texans outside of Houston, Houston real estate is the cheapest among the four major Texas metros, Houston is unplanned even by Texas standards (no zoning ordinances), Houston is the most religious and conservative among the four major metros (although Harris County leaned towards Hillary), Houston has the "awful" Florida-levels of humidity and mosquitoes and hurricanes, Houston's economy is the most oil-dependent among major Texas metros, etc. Houston will always be the Texas of Texas.

El Paso would certainly be most akin to Albuquerque or Phoenix (although not as cold as Albuquerque nor as hot as Phoenix). But its desert climate and Southwestern heritage says it all.

This is an US forum but still few cents.

I am lucky to have lived in a city that was very similar to Houston. Both are not overpriced, humid, coastal with port, built on traditional industries yet relevant , no scenery, no NYC/LA tees/brands, reasonable traffic, called conservative and Diverse.

The most important similarity is people dont brag about it but dont give a sheet about what others are saying .

Its also an example of how cities can grow without getting grossly overpriced .

Austin reminds me of the Indian city of Bangalore - small , pricey and overhyped for scenery and only Tech jobs.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by shanv3

This is an US forum but still few cents.

I am lucky to have lived in a city that was very similar to Houston. Both are not overpriced, humid, coastal with port, built on traditional industries yet relevant , no scenery, no NYC/LA tees/brands, reasonable traffic, called conservative and Diverse.

The most important similarity is people dont brag about it but dont give a sheet about what others are saying .

Its also an example of how cities can grow without getting grossly overpriced .

Austin reminds me of the Indian city of Bangalore - small , pricey and overhyped for scenery and only Tech jobs.

Would you care to divulge the name of this city in which you lived that was very similar to Houston ?

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

Yeah I see Dallas and Houston as the two leading sunbelt cities with Atlanta, Miami and Phoenix a little behind them, in that order and Vegas pretty far behind them by most metrics.

They have a several city lead in terms of GDP over the other sunbelt cities, but while they hold substantial leads over the other sunbelt metros, they are still closer in numbers to Atlanta than LA.

Yeah, Vegas has boomed but started further back so is probably in the tier with Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando and Tampa in that regard.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Spade

Yeah San Antonio and Orlando are not similar at all outside of theme parks.

There are theme parks here?

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

Would you care to divulge the name of this city in which you lived that was very similar to Houston ?

Singapore.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by shanv3

Singapore.

Singapore has a much lower crime rate than Houston, is more well planned, has better traffic, and better schools.

Singapore is basically a big city that is every bit as nice as The Woodlands, Sugarland, or Sienna Plantation.

But good comparison of Singapore to Houston: it's a little-known fact that Singapore is one of the largest oil-refining centers in the world, probably on par with Houston. Half of the world's crude oil flows through Singapore at some point. They've built entire islands like Jurong filled with nothing but oil refineries and oil storage, and now they're running out of space, so they're actually building underground reservoirs filled with oil. Singapore also does vast quantities of energy trading, and they build more oil rigs than any other country in the world.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

There are theme parks here?

six flags sea world