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Fort Worth not "hip" enough?


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#51 Dismuke

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 02:07 PM

The thing is that if one is seeking that which is stereotypically "redneck" one is more likely to find it in the far eastern half of the Metroplex and points east than here in Fort Worth and points west.   Think Mesquite, Balch Springs and Kaufman County and go beyond into East Texas.   That is the part of the state where the culture still has a heavy Southern influence. And there is even a hillbilly influence (a lot of long time families there originally came from Tennessee).   Fort Worth and points west, by contrast, is more Western in its culture than Southern.   Cowboys, cattle ranches, stockyards and such are something that is part of Western culture - not Southern.   If one is going to use stereotypes,  let's at least use them accurately.

 

As for stereotypes in general - I think they can be, as a general rule, ok so long as if they are used strictly for humor in a context where it is clearly well-understood that there is nothing malicious intended, which I think is the case with the movoto.com piece.   On the other hand, unfortunately,  the term "redneck" is often used as a slur sanctioned by a certain type of Politically Correct bigotry  - and such bigots rarely get called out, because to do so, of course, would be Politically Incorrect. 


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#52 Doohickie

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Posted 13 May 2013 - 12:47 PM

As for stereotypes in general - I think they can be, as a general rule, ok so long as if they are used strictly for humor in a context where it is clearly well-understood that there is nothing malicious intended, which I think is the case with the movoto.com piece.   On the other hand, unfortunately,  the term "redneck" is often used as a slur sanctioned by a certain type of Politically Correct bigotry  - and such bigots rarely get called out, because to do so, of course, would be Politically Incorrect. 

 

I think everyone uses stereotypes, whether they admit it or not.  One of the characteristics of the human experience is that people group, classify and organize like things together.  So we see something with round things on the bottom, we assume it rolls.  If it has wings, we assume it flies.  If it says y'all, it's from the South.  Once classified, we add characteristics to that class of things.  It helps to make sense of the world, so that we don't have to learn things over and over; we identify trends of the different classes and modify them as needed.  Some people are better at keeping their models of the world (stereotypes) up to date as new information is received.  When they get locked in, resulting in harmful prejudices, stereotypes acquire a negative aspect.


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#53 RD Milhollin

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Posted 10 December 2014 - 09:45 AM

To me a fairly surprising result from a study measuring how well cities attract younger people:

 

http://www.star-tele...th-net-top.html

 

Arlington (#2) and Fort Worth (#12) do well against New York, San Francisco, Austin, Madison, Portland, etc. in providing affordable housing, a healthy job market, and "trendy activities" that young people look for when deciding where to live. Dallas and Houston weighed in at #14 and #16 respectively. Over time this could have a significant effect on startups and other "creative" endeavors that could add value to the local economies. It might be interesting to k ow if these new residents are preferring to live in suburban settings or in more urban environments. 



#54 McHand

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Posted 10 December 2014 - 10:26 PM

From the article:

 

 

 

“One of the biggest things I love about Arlington, it’s right in the middle of Fort Worth and Dallas,” Peña said. “You have the best of both cities without being immersed in them every day.”

 

 

How sad.  Being immersed in a city is one of the most rewarding things I've ever experienced.  I unfortunately had to travel to Sao Paulo to do that, but my views of cities have never been the same since.  They've changed for the better.  (While I'm on the topic, Rio de Janiero proved itself to be quite the urban environment.  Excellent bus system, live/work, urban parks, etc.)

 

I guess for some people, the suburbs really is where it's at.


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#55 Austin55

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Posted 10 December 2014 - 11:07 PM

I'm 20, living in Arlington, and can't wait to get to a proper city. I also find it hard to believe many young folks living in Arlington visit FW much. I know very few people my age who do, it's all about Dallas and day trips to Austin for nearly all my Mansfield/Arlington friends. 



#56 Fort Worthology

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Posted 12 December 2014 - 02:13 PM

FWIW, I know a lot of under-30 folks living in Arlington, and virtually every one of them can't wait to get out of it (or has recently done so).  A good friend moved to central-city San Antonio not long ago and has never been happier.


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#57 eastfwther

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 06:23 AM

I'm 20, living in Arlington, and can't wait to get to a proper city. I also find it hard to believe many young folks living in Arlington visit FW much. I know very few people my age who do, it's all about Dallas and day trips to Austin for nearly all my Mansfield/Arlington friends. 

I wouldn't put much validity in these lists. It seems every off-beat publication and/or website puts them out on a regular basis.  I'm not going to believe for one second that Arlington ( and Fort Worth, for that matter) is more attractive to young people than Austin, Houston or even Dallas.   I would love to believe it (about Fort Worth) , but I honestly can't.  My cousin is an instructor at TCC and she swears that the vast majority of her ex students that stay in the metroplex, head east, at least for jobs.  I didn't buy it as soon as I saw Arlington sandwiched between New York and San Francisco..two of the coolest cities in the world. Really??? 



#58 Austin55

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 07:03 AM

I think Arlington does have a lot of appeal because of its cheapness, but it's not a place that people say "hey! I WANT to live there" except for die hard cowboy fans and things. 



#59 hannerhan

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 08:55 AM

"Cool" is very subjective.  While it's amusing to see Arlington ranked between New York and San Fran, I can't say that I'd rather live in either of those cities over Arlington.  I get to travel to a lot of cool global cities for work, and while I love going to New York or London 1-2 times per year, it would be my personal nightmare having to actually live in one of those places.  And I'm not a suburbs guy at all...I just appreciate the ease of living that I'm afforded in Fort Worth. 



#60 JBB

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 09:16 AM

Arlington's appeal is nothing to do with hip or cool and everything to do with its affordability and central location. I lived in SW Arlington for about 9 months in 2001-2002 and I couldn't get away fast enough. It took forever to get anywhere, especially my commute to and from the west side of Fort Worth, and even getting to anything in Arlington was a pain. Our apartment complex was on the service road for 287, so to get back to the shopping area at Little Rd. and Green Oaks meant driving out of the way to the next intersection or cutting through a neighborhood, either way a 15 minute journey. My wife worked at a school in Johnson County and her driving to work every day on a 2 lane farm-to-market road with a 60 mph speed limit made me a nervous wreck. The only great thing about it was living in a new, gated apartment complex in a huge 2 bedroom unit with 12 foot ceilings that ran around $1 a square foot per month. When my wife changed jobs the next summer, the post-9/11 recession was in full swing and the housing market was a mess. We were able to get in a 2 bedroom apartment in Bedford for less than the one in Arlington and we got a steal of a deal on a house 6 months later.

Alright. Story time is over. All that to say that I found Arlington affordable, but far from convenient. North Arlington might be another animal and that might be where the younger crowd is landing, but I would bet they are very transient in nature and end up moving out quickly.

#61 Russ Graham

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 09:22 AM

Interesting when you think about what 20-somethings are looking for - their wages are far lower than they were for 20-somethings 15 or 30 years ago.  So cheap rent would be a huge factor that allows you to do other things.  San Francisco and New York are living on the "cool" reputation they built up when it was affordable to live there - because they were such terrible places in the 70's.  Typical 20-somethings can't afford to live there.  So, I guess what I'm saying is I can see how the younger crowd would appreciate Arlington as a place to live.   I think the typical cycle is something like: 1) It's a terrible place to live (e.g. Detroit) - everybody leaves.  2) it becomes really cheap to live there.  3) A bunch of rotten kids move in and make it a cool place to be.  4) Rich people find out about it and buy everything up.    Arlington has been in between steps 2 and 3 for a while now. 



#62 gdvanc

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 09:46 AM

The survey was done by Vocativ - yet another "new type of media company".

 

They did not ask anyone where they want to live. Here's their methodology; judge its academic rigor for yourselves:

 

"To reach our top 35, we started with the 100 most populous cities in America and used open-source Internet data to measure vital stats like salary and employment rates, and the cost of rent and utilities, as well as everyday concerns like public transportation, weather and crime. We also considered lifestyle metrics such as the price of dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and an ounce of high-quality weed—you know, the important stuff—as well as access to live music and sports."



#63 Fort Worthology

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 10:35 AM

Ah yes, the palace of cool hip modern youth that is...Buffalo Wild Wings.


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#64 gdvanc

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Posted 16 December 2014 - 11:22 AM

I forgot: A big thank you to the Star-Telegram for passing along this important information. Your commitment to the high standards of quality journalism is inspiring.



#65 Austin55

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Posted 01 March 2016 - 11:24 PM

So, been a year since this has been discussed. I've felt a bit of a move towards FW being more hip in 2015, just seems to be getting recognized more, etc. Or maybe I just pay more attention.  Curious if anyone else has noticed? 



#66 Jeriat

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Posted 02 March 2016 - 12:58 AM

Seems about the same to me...


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#67 renamerusk

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Posted 02 March 2016 - 07:21 AM

If by "Hip" you mean "recognition", then yes; for lately, the City is being mentioned and even showcased more broadly.  Businesses and developers (Facebook, first-time-in-the-state hotels and restaurants, ESPN/AT&T Stadium, edgy gatherings/Cannibas Convention, Majestic Realty, etc) indicate a rising change in awareness of Fort Worth.  

 

The Van Cliburn, the Museums and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo mixture is an oddity that continue to create curiosity about the City.



#68 JBB

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Posted 02 March 2016 - 09:51 PM

So, been a year since this has been discussed. I've felt a bit of a move towards FW being more hip in 2015, just seems to be getting recognized more, etc. Or maybe I just pay more attention.  Curious if anyone else has noticed? 

 

In one year, I've passed the milestone of 40 and realized as clear as ever that I'm too old to judge hip and too old to give a damn if anything is hip or not.



#69 Mr_Brightside526

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Posted 03 March 2016 - 10:41 AM

I think if you live/work in/around the city's core, then yes, I do feel it has become more hip. But when I venture out to suburbia, I don't have any feelings of being hip or having identity....



#70 johnfwd

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Posted 03 March 2016 - 11:13 AM

I suppose Fort Worth, at least the Stockyards, has gotten national attention lately...the clip of the Stockyards on Stephen Colbert's first show and then the silly Super Bowl skit by the "Texas Law Hawk."






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