Houston vs. Dallas (River Oaks, Center, West: 2014, apartments, condominium)
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Not trying to nitpick you, but how do you figure Los Angeles to be less car dependent than Houston?
And Galveston and it's beaches are only about 40 miles from downtown Houston. Not really even an hours drive without traffic. Just because Houston's city limits don't actually touch the water doesn't make it any less like L.A. as a coastal city. Houston's city limits actually extend into the Clearlake or Bay Area Houston as they call it now (corny name btw) which is only minutes from Galveston bay.
You're correct that the cities are different, L.A. has become a pretty dense metro, but it's starting to happen inner city Houston too. L.A. is older and more established. Houston's still in the making as its still trying to establish itself. Maybe L.A. prefers not to be associated with the likes of being similar to Houston.
To answer your first question, it's very simple. L.A. has much better public transit/transportation than Houston does. L.A.'s rail network covers pretty much the entire metro, including the way-out suburbs as well as the entire city... and their buses have better coverage, run 24 hours even on residential routes, and run more frequently than Houston. L.A. even has a subway line.
Compare that to Houston, where the rail lines are extremely limited only to certain areas of the inner loop, and only the major routes run 24 hours, not to mention less frequently. Hence Houston being more car-dependent. It's not some huge margin, but there it is.
As far as the Galveston thing goes, I grew up in inner-loop Houston and went to Galveston frequently during my time living there. We never were able to make it from central Houston to Galveston in less than an hour. Not even when the roads/freeways were traffic-free. Perhaps if I had lived in one of the Southeast suburbs like Clear Lake, League City, or Friendswood it would have been a much shorter drive, but coming from Montrose it usually took at least an hour.
And yes, Houston's core has been rapidly densifying, and will likely continue to densify... but it's still nowhere close to being like L.A.'s dense core neighborhoods (Koreatown, Westlake, Pico-Union, Mid-Wilshire), which average around 45,000 ppsm. Compare that to Houston's densest core neighborhoods (Montrose, Rice Military, Midtown, Museum Park), which average at just under 10,000 ppsm. Some day Houston might catch up to L.A.'s density/urbanity... but probably not in my lifetime.
As a Houston native who lived in (the city of) Los Angeles for a few years, I just really don't see a whole lot of unique similarities. Houston is definitely more like L.A. than it is like some big Northeastern or Upper-Midwestern city... but any similarities, as I said before, are pretty superficial. As cities, they just feel very different to me. I love both cities for different reasons.
Phoenix and Las Vegas are the most similar cities to Los Angeles. Houston reminds me more of Tampa or Orlando in terms of look and feel, culture and some vegetation.
Phoenix and Vegas are only similar to L.A.'s inland suburbs. As far as actual cities go, they really don't compare at all to the city of Los Angeles, palm trees and mountains aside.
Some of Houston's bay area suburbs are aesthetically similar to Tampa, but again we're talking about cities here. And the city of Houston really isn't much like Tampa, and is even less like Orlando... vegetation and climate aside. The culture is quite different from my experience.
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Originally Posted by qfrankly
Dallas is definitely more Midwestern/Great Plains than Houston. More like Kansas City or St Louis or even Omaha than Los Angeles.
I only ever see these "Midwestern" comparisons (for Dallas) on C-D, and I will never understand them.
Dallasboi. Please do NOT go there. I was trying my best not to call you out.
Oh my gawd! This has seriously got to be the joke of the year already!!!
Did the lady in this video seriously have the balls to say Dallas is like Manhattan not once, twice, three, but four times throughout the course of this video? I don't care if she was talking skyscrapers, Dallas is nowhere near Manhattan in any way shape or form.
But thanks for the good laugh. lol
NOW you see why people laugh at y'all when y'all try to be L.A.
NOW you see how people laugh at y'all when y'all try to be L.A.
I mainly laugh at you when you say these kind of asinine things. And you do it quite frequently, so thank you for the cheap and reliable entertainment.
Nobody is "trying" to be L.A. here. If you honestly think that just because a few posters in these forums see some similarities between Houston and Los Angeles, that the whole city of Houston "wants" to be L.A., then you seriously have your wires crossed.
Besides, wasn't it you who posted the video that compares Dallas to Manhattan? Yeah. You were saying?
Phoenix and Vegas are only similar to L.A.'s inland suburbs. As far as actual cities go, they really don't compare at all to the city of Los Angeles, palm trees and mountains aside.
The San Fernando Valley, much of which is a part of Los Angeles city limits looks a lot like the older parts of Phoenix and Vegas, just denser and not in a desert. But the similarities are there. To be fair, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington have superficial similarities to the eastern, more industrial parts of Houston.
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Some of Houston's bay area suburbs are aesthetically similar to Tampa, but again we're talking about cities here. And the city of Houston really isn't much like Tampa, and is even less like Orlando... vegetation and climate aside. The culture is quite different from my experience.
Clear Lake, which is within Houston's city limits is also aesthetically similar to Tampa. Also, besides Jacksonville, Tampa is one of the more industrial cities in Florida and is a major port. Not as major as Houston, but a diverse port city like Houston. Also, it's a Gulf-Southern city with a large industrial heritage and many of the closer in neighborhoods have similar look, feel and architecture. Sulphur Springs and Seminole Heights are very similar to the Heights in Houston for one. Obviously there are huge differences between the two, but enough notable similarities , which is why I picked it. You sound as if you're nitpicking for nitpicking's sake. Unlike Tampa, Clearwater and St Petersburg were built and designed for leisure and reflect that look and feel which is why I used Tampa as an example and not those cities. Orlando is way more than International Drive and I-4 by the Theme Parks. The older, more established areas have similarities to Houston and it was a small southern town before its boom, and yes, I'll concede that it caters to a different type of person than Houston, but it certainly has notable similarities.
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I only ever see these "Midwestern" comparisons (for Dallas) on C-D, and I will never understand them.
The layout, culture, and vibe may be more stereotypically Texan than Houston and has strong Southern elements, but there is enough of a Midwestern twist in its culture and aesthetic for it to be notable. Kansas City is definitely Dallas' half-sister city in many ways. Oklahoma City is its little brother city, though it has more in common with Fort Worth. Dallas has a lot more in common with those cities (can't forget Wichita and Tulsa) than it does with Shreveport, Little Rock, Baton Rouge, or Jackson, MS. I bet a Midwestern transplant from Wichita, KCMO/KCK, or Tulsa would feel more at home in Dallas than they would in Houston.
The only southern city Dallas has anything in common with is Memphis, and that's only in certain communities.
I mainly laugh at you when you say these kind of asinine things. And you do it quite frequently, so thank you for the cheap and reliable entertainment.
Nobody is "trying" to be L.A. here. If you honestly think that just because a few posters in these forums see some similarities between Houston and Los Angeles, that the whole city of Houston "wants" to be L.A., then you seriously have your wires crossed.
Besides, wasn't it you who posted the video that compares Dallas to Manhattan? Yeah. You were saying?
I WAS SAYING.....that the only way to get through to the Houstonians is to post a video about Dallas that also have random comparison opinions.....just to see how quick the opinions were discredited by the Houstonians.
Just so they can grasp where the people who disagree with them are coming from when they compare Houston to LA.
The San Fernando Valley, much of which is a part of Los Angeles city limits looks a lot like the older parts of Phoenix and Vegas, just denser and not in a desert. But the similarities are there. To be fair, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington have superficial similarities to the eastern, more industrial parts of Houston.
I lived in Canoga Park for a while during my time in L.A. The Valley is basically the original blueprint for Western U.S. "suburbia". The template for which most sunbelt suburbs are based on. There are a few areas of the Valley that share some obvious similarities with places like Phoenix (Northridge, West Hills, Granada Hills, Chatsworth), but the older, more dense neighborhoods in the Southern half of the Valley (Van Nuys, Reseda, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks) looked and felt like nothing I ever saw in the entire 8 years I lived in Phoenix. It reminded me even less of Las Vegas. Phoenix reminded me more of the Inland Empire... Ontario, West Covina, Pomona, Upland, etc.
Comparing the industrial parts of L.A. like Wilmington to Houston? Sure, if you're only talking about the ship channel and the industrial sections of Baytown, Deer Park, and Pasadena. An oil refinery is an oil refinery. I'm talking about actual neighborhoods. If one must compare L.A. neighborhoods to Houston neighborhoods, then the only similarities I would agree with are Sharpstown/Van Nuys, Uptown Houston/Century City, Montrose/Melrose area of Hollywood (and that's kind of a stretch, really), and the Heights/Pasadena.
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Originally Posted by qfrankly
Clear Lake, which is within Houston's city limits is also aesthetically similar to Tampa.
I did already say that Houston's bay area suburbs, which would be Clear Lake (a suburb that the city of Houston annexed, but still a suburb) are similar to Tampa. That's the only similarity I picked up on between Houston and Tampa. Granted, I haven't been all over the greater Tampa Bay metro... but what I did see definitely didn't make me feel like I was back in Houston.
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Originally Posted by qfrankly
You sound as if you're nitpicking for nitpicking's sake.
People often say that in these forums whenever someone has an opinion that differs from theirs. I could very easily say the same thing about you, but it would be redundant.
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Originally Posted by qfrankly
Kansas City is definitely Dallas' half-sister city in many ways. Oklahoma City is its little brother city, though it has more in common with Fort Worth.
I spent a month in KC on a job back in '97, and nothing about it reminded me of Dallas. Not even remotely. "Sister city"? Sorry, I just didn't see it at all.
I don't consider Oklahoma Midwestern. Neither does the U.S. Census Bureau. Oklahoma is straight-up Plains-Southern.
Obviously you see both Houston and Dallas very differently than I do. That's fine. I'm not trying to change your opinions, but I strongly disagree with them. Call that "nitpicking" if you like. It doesn't matter to me. I'll just call it a difference of opinion. A big difference of opinion.
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Originally Posted by dallasboi
I WAS SAYING.....that the only way to get through to the Houstonians is to post a video about Dallas that also have random comparison opinions.....just to see how quick the opinions were discredited by the Houstonians.
Just so they can grasp where the people who disagree with them are coming from when they compare Houston to LA.
I love the way you say "the Houstonians", as if you're at war. I'm not sure how you think you're going to "get through" to anybody with your methods of communication.
The bottom line here is that Houston really isn't much like L.A. and Dallas really isn't much like the Midwest... and that Houston and Dallas, though significantly different cities, are actually much more similar to each other than they are to any other U.S. city/metro... much to the chagrin of many Houstonians and Dallasites.
Last edited by Bobloblawslawblog; 01-24-2015 at 12:10 AM..
Phoenix and Vegas are only similar to L.A.'s inland suburbs. As far as actual cities go, they really don't compare at all to the city of Los Angeles, palm trees and mountains aside.
The San Fernando Valley, much of which is a part of Los Angeles city limits looks a lot like the older parts of Phoenix and Vegas, just denser and not in a desert. But the similarities are there. To be fair, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington have superficial similarities to the eastern, more industrial parts of Houston.
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Some of Houston's bay area suburbs are aesthetically similar to Tampa, but again we're talking about cities here. And the city of Houston really isn't much like Tampa, and is even less like Orlando... vegetation and climate aside. The culture is quite different from my experience.
Clear Lake, which is within Houston's city limits is also aesthetically similar to Tampa. Also, besides Jacksonville, Tampa is one of the more industrial cities in Florida and is a major port. Not as major as Houston, but a diverse port city like Houston. Also, it's a Gulf-Southern city with a large industrial heritage and many of the closer in neighborhoods have similar look, feel and architecture. Sulphur Springs and Seminole Heights are very similar to the Heights in Houston for one. Obviously there are huge differences between the two, but enough notable similarities , which is why I picked it. You sound as if you're nitpicking for nitpicking's sake. Unlike Tampa, Clearwater and St Petersburg were built and designed for leisure and reflect that look and feel which is why I used Tampa as an example and not those cities. Orlando is way more than International Drive and I-4 by the Theme Parks. The older, more established areas have similarities to Houston and it was a small southern town before its boom, and yes, I'll concede that it caters to a different type of person than Houston, but it certainly has notable similarities.
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I only ever see these "Midwestern" comparisons (for Dallas) on C-D, and I will never understand them.
The layout, culture, and vibe may be more stereotypically Texan than Houston and has strong Southern elements, but there is enough of a Midwestern twist in its culture and aesthetic for it to be notable. Kansas City is definitely Dallas' half-sister city in many ways. Oklahoma City is its little brother city, though it has more in common with Fort Worth. Dallas has a lot more in common with those cities (can't forget Wichita and Tulsa) than it does with Shreveport, Little Rock, Baton Rouge, or Jackson, MS. I bet a Midwestern transplant from Wichita, KCMO/KCK, or Tulsa would feel more at home in Dallas than they would in Houston.
The only southern city Dallas has anything in common with is Memphis, and that's only in certain communities.
I lived in Canoga Park for a while during my time in L.A. The Valley is basically the original blueprint for Western U.S. "suburbia". The template for which most sunbelt suburbs are based on. There are a few areas of the Valley that share some obvious similarities with places like Phoenix (Northridge, West Hills, Granada Hills, Chatsworth), but the older, more dense neighborhoods in the Southern half of the Valley (Van Nuys, Reseda, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks) looked and felt like nothing I ever saw in the entire 8 years I lived in Phoenix. It reminded me even less of Las Vegas. Phoenix reminded me more of the Inland Empire... Ontario, West Covina, Pomona, Upland, etc.
Not disagreeing with you on this. I was originally referring to the metro area as a whole, and as a whole, the Inland Empire part of the LA metro is the most similar to PHX and LV. But for the city of LA itself, the parts of the SF Valley that you bring up are the most similar, which is why I bought the region up, but knew about the differences between many of the neighborhoods, I didn't feel like breaking them all down the way you did, so thanks for that.
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I did already say that Houston's bay area suburbs, which would be Clear Lake (a suburb that the city of Houston annexed, but still a suburb) are similar to Tampa. That's the only similarity I picked up on between Houston and Tampa. Granted, I haven't been all over the greater Tampa Bay metro... but what I did see definitely didn't make me feel like I was back in Houston.
Subjective. But I'm not the only one who noticed the similarities between the two and I stated the reasons why. But again, this is subjective and as you stated, you haven't even been all over the Tampa Bay Area to really make a judgment call. Let me guess...you arrived at the airport and drove to Clearwater beach and thought you saw "Tampa"?
There are different parts of the Tampa Bay Area with their own character and differences, just like Houston, so maybe that's why you didn't see the places I was referring to. I highlighted the areas that I felt were the most similar, not the same or make someone feel like as if they were back somewhere else. There are major differences (Houston doesn't have a Bayshore Blvd equivalent and Tampa doesn't have Uptown/Galleria) between Tampa and Houston, but they're similar enough. More similar (in the superficial sense) to me than the superficial similarities between LA and Houston.
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I spent a month in KC on a job back in '97, and nothing about it reminded me of Dallas. Not even remotely. "Sister city"? Sorry, I just didn't see it at all.
Good for you, want a cookie? I didn't know you were the only one allowed to have an opinion on what something reminds you of. If we go with metro areas, Overland Park is a smaller version of Plano and Raytown reminds me of older parts of the DFW burbs. The Ward Parkway/Country Club plaza area in KCMO is very similar to the Uptown/Turtle Creek area of Dallas. Note I said "half-sister," not just sister cities because of the fact there are lots of differences between the two.
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I don't consider Oklahoma Midwestern. Neither does the U.S. Census Bureau. Oklahoma is straight-up Plains-Southern.
Neither do I consider Oklahoma Midwestern. It's a Plains-Southern area just like North Texas, but there is Midwestern influence in those areas. Further north in KS/MO/NE, is Plains Midwestern with little to no Southern influence. The Ozarks and Bootheel of MO have more southern influences. Like Texas, Missouri spans multiole regions.
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Obviously you see both Houston and Dallas very differently than I do. That's fine. I'm not trying to change your opinions, but I strongly disagree with them. Call that "nitpicking" if you like. It doesn't matter to me. I'll just call it a difference of opinion. A big difference of opinion.
You gave your opinion, I gave mine, and that's that. It must matter to you because that's the second time you mentioned that I said you were nitpicking. Note that I don't believe the comparisons I made meant they were exactly like the other. Houston is Houston, Dallas is Dallas and they have their own character and I agree they are more similar to each other than any city outside of Texas. I was just thinking of out-of-state comparisons that were the most similar to me.
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I WAS SAYING.....that the only way to get through to the Houstonians is to post a video about Dallas that also have random comparison opinions.....just to see how quick the opinions were discredited by the Houstonians. 
