Starting parallels between Texas and Australia (Houston, Dallas: best city, hotel, to live in)

[Trimac20]

Has anyone else noticed the strong parallels between Texas and Australia?

For starters:

Population:

Texas: 25,674,681 (2011)

Australia: 22,328, 800 (2011)

GDP:

Texas: 1,207,432 million

Australia: 924,840 million


Main industries:

Both depend heavily on natural resources (oil in Texas, minerals in Australia). Both are strong agricultural producers, sharing a widespread cattle/beef industry.


Major Cities:

Both have roughly the same number of major cities, and the top 5 cities of each have similar populations. Going by metropolitan area:

The Texan city and Australian equivalent:

Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex: 6.3 million
Sydney-Wollongong-Gosford: about 5.5 million

Houston: 5.9 million
Greater Melbourne: 4.3 million

San Antonio: 2.1 million
Brisbane: 2.0 million!

Austin: 1.8 million
Perth: 1.7 million!

El Paso: 801k
Adelaide: 1.2 million

And so on...

Culturally speaking: both have a somewhat similar culture. Cowboys/stockmen, a love of country music in the 'Outback' of each place. A reputation for being down to earth and friendly and 'red-blooded.' In the stereotypical accents of both the word 'snake' sounds like 'snike' to American ears, lol. Both are well known for their wide open spaces and everything being 'big.'

Geographically they are similar with large parts of both being covered in plains/desert.

The highest peak in Texas, Guadalupe peak, is about 2,900 m vs 2,300 m in Australia.


Of course the differences are considerable, of course, but I just thought it was quite interesting how closely Australia and the Lone Star State mirrored each other.

[love roses]

I've noticed that a bit too.

[hoffdano]

I have thought for a long time that Texas and Australia are natural cousins. The friendliness, "can do" attitude, wide spaces, etc. are common to both. I have never met an Aussie I didn't easily get along with.

One difference is guns. Australia has strict gun controls compared to Texas' embrace of gun ownership.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

I have thought for a long time that Texas and Australia are natural cousins. The friendliness, "can do" attitude, wide spaces, etc. are common to both. I have never met an Aussie I didn't easily get along with.

One difference is guns. Australia has strict gun controls compared to Texas' embrace of gun ownership.

Gun laws are more lax for farmers in the country. I used to live in the country and young kids could shoot high powered rifles (culling roos, for instance). But yes, overall gun laws have become tougher and tougher. I'm thankful shootings are a rare occurrence in the Lucky Country.

[ReppingDFW]

Doesn't Australia also have draconian smoking laws and outrageous cigarette prices?

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by ReppingDFW

Doesn't Australia also have draconian smoking laws and outrageous cigarette prices?

I'm not a smoker, I don't know what you consider 'draconian' laws. Being a non-smoker, I welcome any law that reduces smoking.

[Texas Liberal]

Another similarity: they both speak English (Sorta).

[H'ton]

I visited Australia a few years back and it was a greta visit! It did have a bizarro-American feel to it so this post makes sense.

Sydney has to be the best city I've ever visited, all things considered. Truly amazing and it had such a vibrant core for a metro the size of Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth. It feels like it should be supporting a larger metro. something the size of a Los Angles or Chicago.

The old buildings in Sydney actually reminded me of the old buildings in downtown Houston. Think of the Rice Hotel, shaded to adress the summer sun because it was common sense back then. I know they had their period of demolishing old buildings but it seems as if they were able to salvage more of them instead of turning them into parking lots.

Hopefully, their Texan cousins will continue to develop their urban cores, as Sydeny and Melbourne have done!

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by H'ton

I visited Australia a few years back and it was a greta visit! It did have a bizarro-American feel to it so this post makes sense.

Sydney has to be the best city I've ever visited, all things considered. Truly amazing and it had such a vibrant core for a metro the size of Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth. It feels like it should be supporting a larger metro. something the size of a Los Angles or Chicago.

The old buildings in Sydney actually reminded me of the old buildings in downtown Houston. Think of the Rice Hotel, shaded to adress the summer sun because it was common sense back then. I know they had their period of demolishing old buildings but it seems as if they were able to salvage more of them instead of turning them into parking lots.

Hopefully, their Texan cousins will continue to develop their urban cores, as Sydeny and Melbourne have done!

Glad you liked Sydney . It is a beautiful city. What I notice is that our cities have stronger downtown cores than American cities of a similar size, better public transport - and yet still have sprawling suburbs. I personally prefer Melbourne, I think you'd like it too (in some ways it's a better example of urban livability). Sydney is ranked an 'alpha+' city and if you're in Circular Quay with all the tourists it does feel like a city much bigger than 4.6 million or nearly 6 million depending on how large you extend it to.

I only saw Houston from afar, but I have to say that's one area where the Texas cities are lagging behind. In terms of urban vitality.

[Texas Liberal]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Glad you liked Sydney . It is a beautiful city. What I notice is that our cities have stronger downtown cores than American cities of a similar size, better public transport - and yet still have sprawling suburbs. I personally prefer Melbourne, I think you'd like it too (in some ways it's a better example of urban livability). Sydney is ranked an 'alpha+' city and if you're in Circular Quay with all the tourists it does feel like a city much bigger than 4.6 million or nearly 6 million depending on how large you extend it to.

I only saw Houston from afar, but I have to say that's one area where the Texas cities are lagging behind. In terms of urban vitality.

Texas isn't really going for urban vitality. Texas is more interested in providing jobs and affordable housing for families, and doing a pretty decent job at that.