San Antonio | Deep In The Heart.

[josh]

Given the section only in Texas is roughly equal distance to Dallas to Houston, it seems a little hard to believe it happens before a DFW-Houston line. Which has like six times the voters in Texas and more than double the total population of potential riders.

The SA to Monterrey line is more likely to happen because Mexico already has funding for their portion and finding a private firm to build the US portion won't be too hard.

[josh]

Not really urban news but still San Antonio news.

In-n-Out selects site for their first San Antonio restaurant

[Spartan]

It's cool, I know your just blowing off steam. Btw I wouldn't say Lawton is Oklahoma version of San Antonio. I would say Lawton is more in line with Killeen. Both cities have a diverse military population, and both are nearly the same size as well.

But all things aren't equal. It really puts Oklahoma in perspective for you when you consider that Lawton really is our San Antone. Keep in mind there's a much sharper drop-off after OKC and Tulsa than there is after Houston and Dallas.

[josh]

But all things aren't equal. It really puts Oklahoma in perspective for you when you consider that Lawton really is our San Antone. Keep in mind there's a much sharper drop-off after OKC and Tulsa than there is after Houston and Dallas.

And by your logic/measurement, Corpus Christi is our Oklahoma City.

[Plutonic Panda]

I would say OKC is more comparable to Dallas than to Corpus.

[josh]

I would say OKC is more comparable to Dallas than to Corpus.

I was showing how moronic his logic is.

With that said, Dallas and Okc are in no way comparable. I'm no fan of Dallas in any regard but it's on an entirely different level than Oklahoma City in every aspect. If you tiered the Texas metros and pretended Texas boundaries magically moved north and encased OKC. DFW would be in Tier 1. San Antonio would be in the second tier and OKC would be in the third tier along with El Paso. Obviously Houston is TI with Dallas.

[Plutonic Panda]

I was showing how moronic his logic is.

With that said, Dallas and Okc are in no way comparable. I'm no fan of Dallas in any regard but it's on an entirely different level than Oklahoma City in every aspect. If you tiered the Texas metros and pretended Texas boundaries magically moved north and encased OKC. DFW would be in Tier 1. San Antonio would be in the second tier and OKC would be in the third tier along with El Paso. Obviously Houston is TI with Dallas.

I understand that, but with any large city in Texas is going to be much bigger than OKC or any city in Oklahoma. I suppose you could say Amarillo is comparable to OKC, but Amarillo sucks ass, at least in my book.

Dallas-scaled down-would resemble OKC closer than any other city in Texas.

[josh]

I understand that, but with any large city in Texas is going to be much bigger than OKC or any city in Oklahoma. I suppose you could say Amarillo is comparable to OKC, but Amarillo sucks ass, at least in my book.

Dallas-scaled down-would resemble OKC closer than any other city in Texas.

Scaled down, it's still not comparable. Just the sheer number of corporations HQ'd there or with a large presence there. The number of F500's HQ'd there. The size of their airport, the amount of people who move there every year, their diverse economy, their skyline, their multiple skylines, the number of pro sports teams, the mass transit, the income, the upscale shopping, the freeway system, etc.

I guess you mean maybe if you called OKC a poor man's Dallas, then maybe, but that man has to be very poor.

Again, I'm not trying to just insult OKC or put it down. Believe me, I want to gag at how positive I'm being towards Dallas. I literally hate the place. But there's no comparison, even on a scaled down level.

That's like Atlanta saying if you scaled down New York City, you'd get Atlanta.

[UrbanRanger]

But all things aren't equal. It really puts Oklahoma in perspective for you when you consider that Lawton really is our San Antone. Keep in mind there's a much sharper drop-off after OKC and Tulsa than there is after Houston and Dallas.

No way. There is no Houston or Dallas of Oklahoma. No way SA would be Lawton. If anything SA and OKC are the most similar to each other. OKC would probably be in the same tier as SA and Austin. OKC is a fine town, which is why I don't get this ridiculous argument on here, but it doesn't even have a lot of the amenities SA and Austin have. It's still growing and I see great things for it, especially it's downtown. But your attempt at trolling is weak.

OKC would be like a mini Dallas, imo. Or maybe a mix between Dallas and Fort Worth or something. Sure it doesn't have the upscale shopping, sports, etc. but it's probably the most accurate comparison. For instance, Houston does not have the shopping or amenities that LA has but the best description of it would probably be a LA and New Orleans mix.

[UrbanRanger]

W Hotel and Residences │ 33 Stories │ Downtown

This is a very beautiful project. I hope to see more of it.

[bchris02]

I was showing how moronic his logic is.

With that said, Dallas and Okc are in no way comparable. I'm no fan of Dallas in any regard but it's on an entirely different level than Oklahoma City in every aspect. If you tiered the Texas metros and pretended Texas boundaries magically moved north and encased OKC. DFW would be in Tier 1. San Antonio would be in the second tier and OKC would be in the third tier along with El Paso. Obviously Houston is TI with Dallas.

I agree with this. El Paso is probably the Texas city most comparable to OKC. It's not demographically or culturally, but in terms of general size and economic clout. El Paso and OKC have both been somewhat left out of the boom that the core Texas cities have experienced. I personally think El Paso is a very underrated town. I really wish OKC would adopt the landscaping standards many areas of El Paso have. That city goes to show you don't have to have lush greenery and 100 ft pine trees to make a place look decent.

[Plutonic Panda]

El Paso is located in a desert man. Do you want OKC to rip all of its grass and trees and turn into a desert? El Paso has also been experiencing quite a boom from what I've heard and I honestly would not compare El Paso to OKC.

[Snowman]

I agree with this. El Paso is probably the Texas city most comparable to OKC. It's not demographically or culturally, but in terms of general size and economic clout. El Paso and OKC have both been somewhat left out of the boom that the core Texas cities have experienced. I personally think El Paso is a very underrated town. I really wish OKC would adopt the landscaping standards many areas of El Paso have. That city goes to show you don't have to have lush greenery and 100 ft pine trees to make a place look decent.

While it is somewhat close population wise, El Paso has less than half the GDP of OKC, at the rate ours has grown the last few years it will be closer to a third this year or next. Out of Texas cities, we are probably closer to San Antonio than El Paso.

[bchris02]

El Paso is located in a desert man. Do you want OKC to rip all of its grass and trees and turn into a desert? El Paso has also been experiencing quite a boom from what I've heard and I honestly would not compare El Paso to OKC.

I didn't mean literally their standards. There are cues OKC could take from El Paso like planting trees, rock or brick fences around subdivisions rather than wood, medians on streets with double turn lanes, and streetlights/sidewalks along every street.

[josh]

While it is somewhat close population wise, El Paso has less than half the GDP of OKC, at the rate ours has grown the last few years it will be closer to a third this year or next. Out of Texas cities, we are probably closer to San Antonio than El Paso.

The GDP of OKC, as of 2012, was 63 billion and grows by 2-3 billion annually.

The GDP of El Paso, as of 2012, was 29 billion and grows by 1-2 billion annually.

You are correct on El Paso's GDP being half of OKC's, however, in order for it to be 1/3 the GDP, OKC's GDP would have to jump to 90 billion or so. I doubt that would have happened in 2013.

[Snowman]

You are correct on El Paso's GDP being half of OKC's, however, in order for it to be 1/3 the GDP, OKC's GDP would have to jump to 90 billion or so. I doubt that would have happened in 2013.

I may have seen an old number, the one I had seen was around 24

[josh]

I may have seen an old number, the one I had seen was around 24

Yeah, that's an old number.

These are the 2012 numbers.

[bchris02]

While it is somewhat close population wise, El Paso has less than half the GDP of OKC, at the rate ours has grown the last few years it will be closer to a third this year or next. Out of Texas cities, we are probably closer to San Antonio than El Paso.

OKC is roughly at the half way point between El Paso and San Antonio using the metric of GDP. Tulsa is closer in population to El Paso and their GDP is 37 billion, so I would say Tulsa and El Paso may be more comparable than OKC and El Paso. I was noticing San Antonio seems to underperform in GDP compared to cities its size. It's below Austin and significantly below Kansas City and Charlotte.

[josh]

I couldn't tell you, it is a bit puzzling.

I think with Charlotte it's because they are a banking center. Second only to NYC. In 2001, with just a 1.5 million metro population, their GDP was $100 billion.

[JoninATX]

Agreed, OKC is more in line with San Antonio. Also if OKC and Tulsa were in Texas I would rank them with.
Tier 1. Houston/DFW
Tier 2. Austin/ San Antonio/ OKC
Tier 3. Tulsa/ El Paso

[JoninATX]

Also one thing, it is amazing how Texas has so many other cities ranging from small to large.

By Metropolitan (Not in order)
100k: Abilene, San Angelo, Longview, Victoria, Wichita Falls .
200k- 450k: Tyler, Laredo, Waco, Amarillo, Brownsville, Bryan- College Station, Midland- Odessa, Lubbock, Beaumont- Port Arthur, Temple- Killeen.
450k- 900k: Corpus Christi, El Paso, Mc Allen.

[josh]

There's just no way OKC would be TIER 2.

Oklahoma City:

Population: 1.3 million. (15% growth rate)
Fortune 500 companies: 2 (both in the 200 range)
Gross Domestic Product: 63bn


Tulsa:

Population: 1.1 million (10% growth rate)
Fortune 500 companies: 2 (One in the high 100s)
Gross Domestic Product: 47bn

OKC's stats aren't very impressive in comparison and that's with being the largest metro in the state and the capital of said state.

IMO, the university and an NBA team doesn't elevate OKC up a tier if it were in Texas.

[bchris02]

Agreed, OKC is more in line with San Antonio. Also if OKC and Tulsa were in Texas I would rank them with.
Tier 1. Houston/DFW
Tier 2. Austin/ San Antonio/ OKC
Tier 3. Tulsa/ El Paso

Perhaps, but I think OKC is distinctively below Austin and San Antonio but above Tulsa and El Paso. Texas doesn't really have any cities that compare to OKC in terms of size and significance. All of the major ones are either above or below us. I would rank it like this.

Tier 1: Houston, Dallas
Tier 2: Austin, San Antonio
Tier 3: OKC
Tier 4: El Paso, Tulsa, Corpus Christi
Tier 5: Tyler, Laredo, Waco, Amarillo, Brownsville, Bryan- College Station, Midland- Odessa, Lubbock, Beaumont- Port Arthur, Temple-Killeen, McAllen

[josh]

I revised my post to show the difference between OKC and Tulsa instead of OKC and San Antonio.

[josh]

Perhaps, but I think OKC is distinctively below Austin and San Antonio but above Tulsa and El Paso. Texas doesn't really have any cities that compare to OKC in terms of size and significance. All of the major ones are either above or below us. I would rank it like this.

Tier 1: Houston, Dallas
Tier 2: Austin, San Antonio
Tier 3: OKC
Tier 4: El Paso, Tulsa, Corpus Christi
Tier 5: Tyler, Laredo, Waco, Amarillo, Brownsville, Bryan- College Station, Midland- Odessa, Lubbock, Beaumont- Port Arthur, Temple-Killeen, McAllen

I'd add El Paso and Tulsa to Tier 3 and move McAllen to Tier 4 with Corpus.