Interesting, never heard anyone calling some place a Tier 1.5 city. Is this a recent development as "almost official" as the Tiers itself, something obvious I just never picked up on or people taking pride in their Tier 2s doing really well?

Also why does the Tier list keep expanding downwards? Wasn't being called a Tier 4 basically exclusively an insult? Sub culture not being satisfied with just embracing rotting anymore, but now racing for the bottom of the sea?