Quote:
Originally Posted by Viffermike
No worries. You didn't offend me at all. But your ignorance (please take that word by its actual definition and not as a put down) is frustrating.
You're grossly oversimplifying based on a very short amount of first-hand experience in one part of the "Metroplex" that's a well known and extreme microcosm of North Texas' commercialist values. I've lived here for 25 years and lived in both the central city and the 'burbs, am very well acquainted with the entire North Texas area, and at one point earned my living as an expert on the culture of the area in a number of ways. (Also: GDP is a national measure of economic generation. It does not measure spending and is not applicable below the national level ... but I digress ... )
The commercial space statistic is for any city, not just large ones by population, and it has nothing to do with available space and everything to do with profitability as a function of that space. "If you build it, they will come" doesn't quite work; you have to add "and spend money" to the end.
That said, it appears that Dallas does not have the per-capita restaurant distinction any longer. That now appears to be held by San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. is second. However, Dallas does still spend the most per capita on eating out and on alcohol, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Your source for the latter is here.
Finally, I guess we define awesomeness differently. I find Frisco to be homogenous, plain, characterless, and manufactured with artificial opulence. It is also one of the most conservative places in the entire country, both socially and politically (... but I'm not going to go there any farther.) As a culturalist, it's not my cup of tea.
Hey, man: glad you're happy up there. Just don't use it to paint a picture of the entire Metroplex.  |
Thanks for the explanation. By no means did I think Frisco is representative of DFW metroplex or Texas as a whole. I am glad it is not.
After living in downtown Chicago for 6 years and experiencing a much 'cultured' sense of living, I definitely prefer the homogeneity of where I live now. To me, culture is about knowing your neighbors, hiking around the parks, fixing up your house/car, not being frightened to walk around your neighborhood, etc... Living in the city around a bunch of homeless, rich, violent, and young people and having the opportunity to eat at indy restaurants and pay for parking isn't my type of 'culture' it's just urban. Also, I cannot find more homogeneity than living in a condo where every apartment above you is exactly the same. To each their own.