4 ms·

I live in a tier 3/4ish city and the coffee shop scene here is sad, but it was sad before COVID.

ghaff 2y ago
I’m not sure how Starbucks ( or most coffee shops) are really third places. I imagine most people immersed in their phones or laptops would tend to brush off any serious attempts at conversation. To another comment about this being all about lack of walk ability in many places I’m also not sure that being able to walk around an urban core suddenly makes it a social center absent some persistent stimulus. My experience is groups of friends and activity partners generally tend to happen without close physical proximity.
- a1o 2y ago
  It depends, I used to live in a very urban area of the city and the ground floors of most residential buildings were commercial. The Starbucks that was near where I lived had a lot of recurring locals that simply did remote work there in the tables, so you could meet people because it was essentially most of the same people everyday and you eventually had some interaction so you ended meeting the others - like work/student colleagues from different companies. I actually didn't remote work at the time but I used the space to study because my apartment was damn small. But this was before COVID and sadly that Starbucks unit closed during covid and I ended up moving from that small apartment to a suburban house around the same time.
pc86 2y ago
I have no idea what someone means when they say they live in city like this. What makes a city tier 1? What's the difference between tier 3 and tier 4? What's worst tier? When does something move from "not-a-city" to the worst tier?
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  It’s an amalgamation of income/wealth potential, population size, and relative desirability amongst the general populace to (reflected in land/housing prices). Obviously, there is no objectively true ranking, just people’s opinions.
- packetlost 2y ago
  Generally I go by desirability (which includes jobs, amenities, etc.) then population size, but as others have pointed out it's a loose metric that doesn't measure anything objective. To give some very subjective examples: Tier 1: LA, NYC, SF, Chicago, Seattle Tier 2: Denver, DC, Austin, Minneapolis, San Diego, Houston, Philadelphia I'm in Madison, WI which is barely a city but ranks high in desirability pretty consistently and has housing prices to match.

I’m not sure how Starbucks ( or most coffee shops) are really third places. I imagine most people immersed in their phones or laptops would tend to brush off any serious attempts at conversation. To another comment about this being all about lack of walk ability in many places I’m also not sure that being able to walk around an urban core suddenly makes it a social center absent some persistent stimulus. My experience is groups of friends and activity partners generally tend to happen without close physical proximity.

a1o 2y ago
It depends, I used to live in a very urban area of the city and the ground floors of most residential buildings were commercial. The Starbucks that was near where I lived had a lot of recurring locals that simply did remote work there in the tables, so you could meet people because it was essentially most of the same people everyday and you eventually had some interaction so you ended meeting the others - like work/student colleagues from different companies. I actually didn't remote work at the time but I used the space to study because my apartment was damn small. But this was before COVID and sadly that Starbucks unit closed during covid and I ended up moving from that small apartment to a suburban house around the same time.

pc86 2y ago

I have no idea what someone means when they say they live in city like this. What makes a city tier 1? What's the difference between tier 3 and tier 4? What's worst tier? When does something move from "not-a-city" to the worst tier?

lotsofpulp 2y ago
It’s an amalgamation of income/wealth potential, population size, and relative desirability amongst the general populace to (reflected in land/housing prices). Obviously, there is no objectively true ranking, just people’s opinions.
packetlost 2y ago
Generally I go by desirability (which includes jobs, amenities, etc.) then population size, but as others have pointed out it's a loose metric that doesn't measure anything objective. To give some very subjective examples: Tier 1: LA, NYC, SF, Chicago, Seattle Tier 2: Denver, DC, Austin, Minneapolis, San Diego, Houston, Philadelphia I'm in Madison, WI which is barely a city but ranks high in desirability pretty consistently and has housing prices to match.