Hispanics In The Southwest - Texas Tech University: Fill & Download for Free

Excluding the obvious choices in the Anglosphere (e.g. Australia, Canada, maybe South Africa, which would probably be the first 3 in that order) makes this a lot more interesting and telling, imo.Outside the anglosphere I would say the clear #1 is Brazil. The language difference and everything makes it a lot less obvious, but if you look closely the comparisons get pretty uncanny.Huge country- primate economic and (arguably) cultural powerhouse of its continentColonized by Europeans but has been independent for ~200 yearsHistory of racial strife- AND known for creating genres of popular music fueled in part by racial tensions that the old white people attempted (unsuccessfully) to controlLegitimately democratic but relatively dysfunctional government with, from my understanding, a good bit of corruption (basically, compared to Europe, Brazil is like the US politically except even more ridiculous? Please correct me if I’m wrong here)Very outgoing, outspoken, gregarious culture, especially compared to its mother country and other places in EuropeVery Christian and very culturally influenced by Christianity, despite considerable diversityBatshit when it comes to sportsRelatively wealthy but with loads of income inequality (moreso than the US)The big cities are mostly concentrated in one stretch along the east coast a few hours apart, in a way that’s really only matched by the US, Australia, Japan and a couple other developed countriesThe areas closer to the equator remain very influenced by African (and, to a lesser extent, indigenous) culture, while the areas toward the poles are richer and way whiterSurrounded (almost) by countries in the Hispanic world and isn’t always the most friendly to said places, moreso (I think?) than vice versaOutdoorsy and image-conscious in a manner reminiscent of SoCal, Miami, or even ColoradoLots of fried food (or so I’ve heard)Obsession with steakConvenience oriented (in the cities at least, ive heard) like the US and unlike most of EuropeOverall I’d say it’s probably something like:BrazilGermany- big; economic and cultural powerhouse of its continent; relatively young country conglomerated out of a bunch of little separate states with common backgrounds; strange mix of socially progressive and conservative values and legislation (though in many ways the opposite mix from the US); workaholic culture (relative to its neighbors?), less urbanized and maybe more provincial in places than most of Western Europe (from my understanding, rural Germany can be isolated and conservative in much the same way as the rural US); had to learn a lot by coming to terms with its shitty history; but profoundly prosperous and industrious from a global viewpoint despite everything.Israel- young country; complicated relationship with religion; even more complicated relationship with the people who were there right before them; relatively wealthy but with income inequality; powerful military that serves as one of the country’s major points of national pride; global tech hub; full of *immigrants*; diverse in a way; kind of legitimately democratic but corrupt, partisan, and recently controlled by fearmongering; kinda likes TrumpChina- big; imperialist; proud; economic superpower; money/business focused; historically one of the cultural centers of the world; extremely intense work culture and even more intense achievement culture for young people; used to be intently isolated from the rest of the world but is now involving itself in other countries’ business as much as it can get away withNetherlands- money/business focused; very capitalist culturally despite it’s social safety net; can often be a world leader in social progressivism despite liberal attitudes not necessarily being so universal across the board; agricultural powerhouse (#2 worldwide after the US but with a fraction of the population), tons of immigrants in the cities; a few people whining about the tons of immigrants in the cities. Basically like New York.Russia- similar brand of imperialism for the most part, no matter how much both try to hide the similarity; big; lots of way too cold places up north where no one lives; Christian and very religious; historical global hub of literature and other Western artistic expression a little while back; some continuity with mainstream European culture but still intent on doing its own thing; likes TrumpFrance- historical global cultural hub; another one with strange mix of socially progressive and more conservative values; thinks it’s special and a bit obnoxiously dismissive of the rest of the world; people whine about people who aren’t fluent in their bullshit language; lots of immigrants (at least in Paris) and lots of people who don’t like that there’s lots of immigrantsBelgium- basically the same reasons as the Netherlands and France, plus a center of global political power and a government that’s known for its impossible bureaucratic inefficiencyMexico- guess this is pretty obviousColombia- this might be a reach but aside from the Hispanic connection, Colombia has the colonial history like most of North America, the Christian influence, the outgoing, gregarious culture, and the Paisa culture has this kinda Old West cowboy thing going on. They seem to value freedom in a very “open space” kind of way, like much of the Southwest US and especially Texas.Honorable mentions: Thailand, Turkey, Japan, Argentina

Keep in mind that the current population of Texas is 29 million. Houston is the 4th largest population center in the U.S. and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is 10th. (It’s an area with a group of large cities literally bordering each other—Dallas, Plano, Denton, Irving, Arlington, Bedford, Euless, Garland, Richardson, Addison.)San Antonio is also a major city, 188 miles from Houston. (However, unlike the Metroplex, there’s no “direct connection” between SA and Houston.)Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston are MAJOR tech centers. Tech folks routinely move from one to the other. (I lived in Houston 13 years, then moved to Dallas 25 years ago.) Houston is considered the “capital” of the U.S. oil industry. (Check out “Offshore Technology Conference”.)There will be a LOT more opportunities for both work-study programs, internships, and entry-level career jobs in Texas than in Boston. Plus, there won’t be that “New England / Yankee snob” perception that many people have when they hear “Boston”.Dallas is basically “a Northern city —that happens to be in Texas”. (Fort Worth is referred to as “Cow Town” and has a much more typical Texan vibe. The term is not considered an insult.) There are millions of folks in the Metroplex and Houston originally from the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area—including me.Also, nationally, certain cities are looked on as “regional” “cultural” capitols. Those include Boston, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angeles. (To a lesser extent also Philadelphia and Miami.)The climate in Dallas is a lot more moderate. We don’t get snow. It does get cold in winter and hot in summer and we do get tornadoes. But it varies a lot less than an area with a seafront.Texas does have a somewhat arrogant attitude versus “everywhere else”. A basic rule of advertising is, “It doesn’t matter if you’re selling pizza or hand lotion—make sure you have the word Texas in your ad at least 3 times!” That does work in reverse too—there definitely is a preference to hire people who were educated in Texas. So a UT grad would definitely have an advantage in getting hired for employment, having their company be considered for jobs, etc.Related to that, there is a lot of “big money” in Texas. Decades ago someone was elected mayor of Houston. Before he took office he visited a number of the world’s major cities, asking, “What do they have in common? What could we do in Houston?”New York. Boston. Los Angeles. London.They’re all seaports. ... Houston is FIFTY MILES INLAND ...The Port of Houston is now the fourth busiest port in the U.S., thanks to the Houston Ship Channel. — Hey, … it’s TEXAS …That same kind of “big money” is available and used for other massive projects, e.g., Texas Instruments here in Dallas, and Halliburton in Houston. And particularly going into the mid-21st Century, massive projects like those will increasingly need MIS. How do you track all the shipments at the 4th-busiest port in the U.S? Or the new Amazon Fulfillment Centers? Tesla will be building a production plant in Austin.Texas is the Southwest, not the Deep South. There is a huge Hispanic influence here, because Texas was once part of Mexico. Many people are fluent in Spanish, and all of us are familiar with Hispanic culture as a result of the history and heritage.There are a lot of cultural and economic ties, particularly to Mexico, but also to Central and South America. Of course, those are emerging markets and over the next 5–20 years their need for IT will grow exponentially. Someone with strong ties to Texas and familiarity with the culture from spending 4 years in Texas would have a much easier time getting involved with those markets versus someone from Boston.

The Episcopal Priest who married us was from Austin originally but ended up in Washington as a lobbyist for The Church. He was then assigned to the less hospitable, in his words, Storrs, Conn. He pined for Austin. His love of music, good food and a more “progressive” climate called him home. He now attends free (he is on SS) courses at a variety of institutions. We speak frequently and each time he raves about Austin’s walkability. And he especially enjoys the climate as opposed to arctic temps in Storrs , CT or the elusive patterns in DC.Austin is the fastest growing city in the US, Besides calling itself the Music Capitol of the Country it is also referred to as the Tech Capitol of the Southwest (if not the country east of Silicon Valley) Austin is very walkable and extremely handy-capped accessible. Besides the expanse of cultural and epicurean (real Mexican not just Tex-Mex cooking) offerings the State of Texas is off the charts on income taxes…it has none. However Caesar must be paid. The sales/use tax is a couple of points higher than DC (6% vs 8%) but there are as in the District, varied add-ons for Hospitality, Entertainment and restaurant dining (but not food trucks). Compared to the District you will be shocked at what $200,00 can buy you in Austin. $400, 000 will be the equivalent to over a Million bucks in our Capital area.I am told that the DMV in Austin is a cakewalk as opposed to DC. If you are a religious practitioner there are within the City Limits every imaginable opportunities from Buddhists to ultra-orthodox Jews. Evangelical Christians are abound. One can, by discretely inquiring, even find fellowship amongst snake-handlers. Or at least so am I told. The RC population is especially bolstered by the number of Hispanic congregants.Safety might be a shock to you. While the crime rate per 100,000 people is 5345 per year in the District, it is only 41.43 per 1k in Austin. That has a lot to do with the lower property and auto insurance rates which are bargains down south.Although DC has some excellent higher institutions of learning, the University of Texas with its 40 acre campus is a dominating presence in the City. With over 50,000 students, its tuition make it the 14th (Forbes) rated best buys in the USA. The campus offers a cross-section of speakers/artists/performers and almost daily motion picture/documentaries plus indy screenings. If there is a charge it is nominal. The highest ranked public high school system in America is Austin’s. As in DC, especially of late, speaking Spanish is a fantastic leg-up. There are opportunities, some with little or no charge, to become bi-lingual.Last, but not least, there is Longhorn football, You may be a Redskins devotee but Orange & White Saturday f’ball is a mind-blowing experience. Even if you can’t score a ticket from a student who is going to Beaver City (where there are a ton of Buechners) for the weekend, just being co-mingled with the pre-game tailgaters, vendors and fellow non-ticket holders will take you through the day. Want to actually watch the game just sidle up to one of the hundreds of TV’s on the parking lots…most likely someone will offer you a slow-cooked brisket (this is Texas not KC or Carolina) plate and a Shiner’s Bock.The airport is clean and accessible although the much ballyhooed light rail between San Antonio is still only on the drawing board. It’s only a 80 minute drive at legal speeds of between 75 & 85 MPH so you can still visit the Alamo and stroll the canal to the ever-present sounds of the Mariachis in one afternoon and evening. Back in Austin Über has gotten itself straightened out after an original kerfunkle with the City about driver IDs . (Only after Über threatened to depart). There is a competent light rail and Metro-link system that is modern and efficient w/o suffering the DC system’s on-going problems of maintenance and scheduling. Although it’s expansion is a hot political question. Speaking of politics you will be leaving America’s most BLUE (State but not truly) to one of the REDDEST. But Austin is best described as an outlier. Firmly in the grip of “Progressive” elements you will still find Greens, antifascists ,even a few Libertarians. A veritable smorgasbord of political (sometimes rowdy)discourse.I love the town not just because Canon Robert Johnson (yes, his dad designed the LBJ library and his mother was Ladybird’s best friend) Brooks lives there but because it is as cool a place to live at a reasonable COL that you can find in this fine Republic.Hook em’ Horns!