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• 3 years - 62 posts - Latest - RSS
• Thread: 87 Goods vs 54 No Goods

1. Economist
   34d5
   

   Geography matters. Because non-coastal cities usually can expand in every direction, supply curves are flatter. Hence, increases in demand yield smaller increases in price.

   Houston is a coastal city, sort of, but it can easily expand north, west, and southwest with no barriers at all. Nothing but relatively unproductive flat land out there. And they just keep building it out.

   Same with LA and it's still unbelievably expensive.
   Houston is expensive near downtown and in the "cool" areas but you always have the option of buying a cheap huge house with a pool in the suburbs.

   This is false. Where is LA metro going to expand to that it hasn’t already? Into the desert?

   3 years ago # QUOTE 1 Volod 1 Vlad !

2. Economist
   61da
   

   Geography matters. Because non-coastal cities usually can expand in every direction, supply curves are flatter. Hence, increases in demand yield smaller increases in price.

   Houston is a coastal city, sort of, but it can easily expand north, west, and southwest with no barriers at all. Nothing but relatively unproductive flat land out there. And they just keep building it out.

   Same with LA and it's still unbelievably expensive.
   Houston is expensive near downtown and in the "cool" areas but you always have the option of buying a cheap huge house with a pool in the suburbs.

   This is false. Where is LA metro going to expand to that it hasn’t already? Into the desert?

   Are you saying LA isn't sprawling?

   3 years ago # QUOTE 1 Volod 0 Vlad !

3. Economist
   67b6
   

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Los Angeles metropolitan area has a total area of 4,850 square miles (12,561 km2), while the wider combined statistical area covers 33,954 square miles (87,940 km2), making it the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area.

   According to the United States Census Bureau, the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area has a total area of 10,062 square miles (26,060 km²), of which 8,929 sq mi (23,130 km2) is land and 1,133 sq mi (2,930 km2) is water.

   3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

4. Economist
   9ecd
   

   How does it compare with Chicago?
   This thread piqued my curiosity.
   - Foreign bro living in Chicago

   Much hotter weather (extremely hot and humid ten months in the year). No income taxes (!!). *Slightly* less corrupt city government. More geographically spread out. More polluted air.

   Ten months is an exaggeration. It's 5 months and after after 8 it's fine to eat on the patio of a restaurant.

   Nah, you’ve never lived there. People run the AC until late November.

   Lol. October through April in Houston is very mild and nice. Beginning of May and end of September as well

   3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

5. Economist
   1ab3
   

   How does it compare with Chicago?
   This thread piqued my curiosity.
   - Foreign bro living in Chicago

   Much hotter weather (extremely hot and humid ten months in the year). No income taxes (!!). *Slightly* less corrupt city government. More geographically spread out. More polluted air.

   Foreign bro living in Chicago here.

   How are the summers then? Are they a hot version of Chicago's winters?

   3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

6. Economist
   e271
   

   How does it compare with Chicago?
   This thread piqued my curiosity.
   - Foreign bro living in Chicago

   Much hotter weather (extremely hot and humid ten months in the year). No income taxes (!!). *Slightly* less corrupt city government. More geographically spread out. More polluted air.

   Foreign bro living in Chicago here.
   How are the summers then? Are they a hot version of Chicago's winters?

   From June to September, you get 35-38 in the day, 25-30 at night. The rest of the year, great weather.

   And the food is very good here

   3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

7. Economist
   b746
   

   How does it compare with Chicago?
   This thread piqued my curiosity.
   - Foreign bro living in Chicago

   Much hotter weather (extremely hot and humid ten months in the year). No income taxes (!!). *Slightly* less corrupt city government. More geographically spread out. More polluted air.

   Foreign bro living in Chicago here.
   How are the summers then? Are they a hot version of Chicago's winters?

   Hot summers are much easier to deal with. Just turn on the a/c. Go to the pool.

   3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

8. Economist
   dbc8
   

   300,000 people every year are moving out of Dem-controlled metro areas like NYC and San Francisco into southern cities like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix, but let's all pretend this isn't indicative of anything wrong with progressive urban policies.

   3 years ago # QUOTE 5 Volod 2 Vlad !

9. Economist
   cd8b
   

   I thought zoning laws were supposed to protect the poor and destitute.

   "That's our story and we're sticking to it!" - every blue sh!tty from LA to Seattle.

   3 years ago # QUOTE 3 Volod 0 Vlad !

10. Economist
    b746
    

    There's actually a decent mount of building restrictions in certain areas. Historic neighborhoods and deed restrictions that have minimum lot sizes.

    In the city the houses zoned to good schools are pretty expensive. Not LA or SF but most people still move to the suburbs to access good schools.

    The difference is in the suburbs where houses are cheap, large and zoned to good schools.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

11. Economist
    451e
    

    Houston is a sprawling hell hole. op is a moron.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 2 Volod 1 Vlad !

12. Economist
    dfe9
    

    Houston has no zoning laws and cheap housing because of a common cause: much less demand to move there vs NYC, SF etc.

    I do agree with OP though that most zoning laws are dumb. Sure, I don't want a chemical plant in my backyard, but parking, historical preservation etc are stupid.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

13. Economist
    2b28
    

    Houston has no zoning laws and cheap housing because of a common cause: much less demand to move there vs NYC, SF etc.
    I do agree with OP though that most zoning laws are dumb. Sure, I don't want a chemical plant in my backyard, but parking, historical preservation etc are stupid.

    A lot of zoning laws are much stupider than either of those examples.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

14. Economist
    8791
    

    More hurricanes in NY & Cal might bring down housing prices there.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

15. Economist
    34d5
    

    More hurricanes in NY & Cal might bring down housing prices there.

    Ridiculous. Natural disasters drive up housing costs. Gtfo undergrad.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

16. Economist
    8791
    

    Tell that to the owners of flooded houses.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

17. Economist
    b746
    

    Houston has no zoning laws and cheap housing because of a common cause: much less demand to move there vs NYC, SF etc.

    It's the third latest city

    3 years ago # QUOTE 1 Volod 0 Vlad !

18. Economist
    2c6e
    

    How does it compare with Chicago?
    This thread piqued my curiosity.
    - Foreign bro living in Chicago

    Much hotter weather (extremely hot and humid ten months in the year). No income taxes (!!). *Slightly* less corrupt city government. More geographically spread out. More polluted air.

    Foreign bro living in Chicago here.
    How are the summers then? Are they a hot version of Chicago's winters?

    From June to September, you get 35-38 in the day, 25-30 at night. The rest of the year, great weather.
    And the food is very good here

    Sounds awful if you don't have AC, but Chicago can be like that during the summer too.

    Maybe I'll visit the city sometime. In a way it seems like an underrated place, much like Chicago itself.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 0 Vlad !

19. Economist
    7349
    

    I may be missing the sarcasm but I'm pretty sure housing is cheap *because* of the lack of zoning, not in spite of it. (Full disclosure: I currently live in Houston.) The lack of zoning allows for a more efficient use of resources, e.g. more mixed-use spaces and quicker turnover in response to changing market conditions. This is in contrast to other major cities which restrict, to one degree or another, the manner in which land may be developed. Layer on rent controls, historic preservation zealotry, and NIMBY-ism and you get places like SF and NYC. It may mean there's an adult store next to a high-end shopping mall (see: Zone D' Erotica) but the boogeyman of an oil refinery behind a school is a canard. What's more, I thoroughly enjoy the ability to walk to a work, a grocery store, and a handful of bars which is not common in many places with strict segregation between residential, commercial, and entertainment districts.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 1 Volod 1 Vlad !

20. Economist
    82e7
    

    Houses are cheap because they will be under water (literally) in a few years.

    3 years ago # QUOTE 0 Volod 1 Vlad !

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