businessinsider/houston-best-city-in-america-2014-6 I find all of these Houston is so awesome because... articles rather annoying. Either the town is awesome in which even more people will move here, further emphasizing some of its worst parts (i.e., traffic and sprawl) and or it is not true and then residents look like an overenthusiastic helicopter parent who thinks their child walks on water when he or she doesnt (all hat and no cattle). If, in fact, the town is great then it should be inherently obvious from specific examples without our needing to assert to everyone that it is universally wonderful. Also, almost every one of these articles is written by freelance writers who maybe have read the source material they used to write the article from Wikipedia or from reading Buzzfeed. They might have visited one time if were lucky. These media outlets thrive on readership who read a title like Houston is the worst city in the world and then post their angry responses to correct their misperception. Its like politicians making attack ads to get your attention. Reacting is playing right into their playbook. All of the articles touting financial features are also annoying because much of the information is actually worthless on an individual level. The data are all based on averages when the reality of a residents experience is that a place is somewhere between a linear and an exponential curve in terms of wealth distribution. Houston probably has a small number of very wealthy people that shift the average upward compared to other cities despite all of the folks that live near the ship channel. Lets see an analysis of the lower quartile of the population. Which cities have the most prosperous poor people? Has the lower than average unemployment on the whole in some cities been reflected in the unemployment level of low-skill/low-education workers? How about doing a survey restricted to people who have relocated from another state (to avoid the statism optimism gap) to ask how do they feel about their quality of life aside from their job? Get the questionnaire designed by the folks that study happiness, so it will be based on the items that truly affect peoples happiness rather than what people suppose should make them happy. Things like how much time do people in their city have to spend with their family and friends, how much of a sense of community and support from their neighbors do they feel, which city has the most wellness from mental and physical illness and freedom from anxiety. Really what these articles need to contain is very specific cool things that are unique and encompass the gestalt of the whole experience of living in a place. Just like you know and simultaneously can appreciate the strengths and flaws of own family or friends, you will hear the example and think that is so totally X, warts and all. The goal in the end is not to win the title of best city but rather make it possible to experience the essence of a place with the eyes of an insider while you are there for as long or as short as you are visiting.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 04:40:42 +0000
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