Poor Houston, so misunderstood

[grude]

Is there a single US city with a image in the popular imagination as at odds with reality as Houston? People who have never been to Texas imagine its some kind of redneck mecca where people wearing cowboy hats ride horses to work while their kids learn about god creating the universe in school :)

Houston is probably one of the most cosmopolitan cities outside of NYC, the amount of immigrants and immigrant targeted businesses is amazing. You can find Nigerian, Serbian, and Vietnamese restaurants in the same shopping strip. There are parts of the city where the street signs are in Vietnamese, there are Walmart sized Asian groceries, which country do you want imported food from because Houston probably has it. Hell there was a tiny shop on Bellaire serving Paan(betel nut mixed with other stuff) if you're looking for authentic ethnic food from a hole in the wall that caters only to immigrants Houston is crawling with them.

Then there is the Montrose area which had a concentration of gay and lesbian themed bars and businesses, I mean in Texas you'd never see that right? The community is getting less concentrated but for a long time Montrose was known for its gay and lesbian community.

The funny thing is Houston doesn't advertise or feature in much media, so the only way to actually find out whats its like is to be there.

[willthekittensurvive?]

Houston is probably one of the most cosmopolitan cities outside of NYC, .

Texan's bragging about being second? not their style

[Neidhart]

The climate still sucks though.

[grude]

The climate still sucks though.

Oh I'll give you that, I'm guessing its a quirk of the geography but its the only place with humidity I would describe as oppressive.

[Lamar Mundane]

Houston is probably one of the most cosmopolitan cities outside of NYC, the amount of immigrants and immigrant targeted businesses is amazing. You can find Nigerian, Serbian, and Vietnamese restaurants in the same shopping strip. There are parts of the city where the street signs are in Vietnamese, there are Walmart sized Asian groceries, which country do you want imported food from because Houston probably has it. Hell there was a tiny shop on Bellaire serving Paan(betel nut mixed with other stuff) if you're looking for authentic ethnic food from a hole in the wall that caters only to immigrants Houston is crawling with them.



You can find all that shit in Omaha.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I have never been to Houston, but my impression of those who live there is that they are defensive about their city and desperate for others' approval.


mmm

[Cumberdale]

As a former and now just outside Houstonian, I often say that it is a great place to live but I wouldn't want to visit here.

[beowulff]

My cousin lives in Houston. Last time I visited, I was stuck by how poorly maintained the streets were. Doesn't speak well of it's financial viability.

[Jackmannii]

Yeah, it's unfair - the city fathers have been promoting Houston as a mecca for gay pride festivals for, like, forever. But all people hear about is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, or the Texans football team. It's the mainstream media's fault. :(

I miss living in Houston in some ways, except for the petrochemical-laden air, the horrendous traffic and the weather. The latter actually was reassuring when you flew home from someplace, stepped outdoors and was enveloped in that familiar stinky humidity blanket.

[kferr]

I lived in Houston from around 1992 to 1994-5. What gives Houston the positive attributes grude lists is that even though it is Texas there aren't that many Texans there. In my office of 50 or so people maybe 3 were Texan and only one (the receptionist) was Houstonian.

I didn't find the weather too bad and the cost of living was quite cheap but I don't regret leaving.

[Smeghead]

People who have never been to Texas imagine its some kind of redneck mecca where people wearing cowboy hats ride horses to work while their kids learn about god creating the universe in school :)

Wow, I do? I had no idea I was such a close-minded idiot. And here all this time I thought that I thought of Houston as the 4th largest city in the US, along with all that implies. Shows what I know.

[Ravenman]

Houston is probably one of the most cosmopolitan cities outside of NYC, the amount of immigrants and immigrant targeted businesses is amazing. You can find Nigerian, Serbian, and Vietnamese restaurants in the same shopping strip. As someone who has never been to Houston outside of the airport, the point you have made here is totally undermined by having the words "cosmopolitan" and "shopping strip" so close together.

[UFC Is Sux]

I think people who haven't been there have preconceptions about every city.

Chicago - running battles with Tommy guns in the streets on every block
Dallas - scheming oil magnates screwing each other's wives and having each other killed
LA - a rich movie producer behind every street sign, just waiting to "discover" you
San Francisco - where it is mandatory for every citizen to eat Rice-a-Roni at least three times a day
Philadelphia - where they throw snowballs at Santa Claus, even in August
(no wait, that last one actually happened ...)

[grude]

Wow, I do? I had no idea I was such a close-minded idiot. And here all this time I thought that I thought of Houston as the 4th largest city in the US, along with all that implies. Shows what I know.

Well you could take a joke very personally and defensively, or get the stick removed.
:rolleyes:

Many has been the time people refuse, flat refuse to believe I grew up in Houston because I don't "sound like a Texan".

[lieu]

The climate still sucks though.Not all the time though. I mean let's not forget about March.

[NAF1138]

I lived in Houston for about 5 months and really enjoyed my time there. I found that it was very different from most of Texas as I had experienced it, and in a lot of ways it reminded me of Los Angeles (my hometown). It was big georgraphically, diverse economically and socially, and there was a ton of stuff to do if you knew where to look. Unfortunately, like LA, if you didn't know where to look it was so big it seemed like there was nothing going on. But there was a rockin Zydeco bar in the neighborhood I was staying in, and a whole bunch of cool places downtown near the theater where I worked, a hopping little art scene and slightly less hopping music scene. Also, it has Whataburger which, at the time, was a mind blowing fast food experience that was open late enough that I could eat dinner after I got out of work at 2am.

I agree with Cumberdale, it was a fun place to live but it would be a terrible place to visit.

[grude]

As someone who has never been to Houston outside of the airport, the point you have made here is totally undermined by having the words "cosmopolitan" and "shopping strip" so close together.

Why would they be mutually exclusive? I was using cosmopolitan in the sense of multicultural or composed of people from around the world.

[salinqmind]

What's it like being a POOR person in Houston? Every time I read about some fabulous city full of skyscrapers, glitzy nightlife, high fashion stores, and scads of diverse little eateries and shops, I think "if you have money, ANY city is 'fabulous' - what about the other 99%".

[grude]

What's it like being a POOR person in Houston? Every time I read about some fabulous city full of skyscrapers, glitzy nightlife, high fashion stores, and scads of diverse little eateries and shops, I think "if you have money, ANY city is 'fabulous' - what about the other 99%".

Houston is VERY poor friendly, rent and cost of living is low although for most of the city a car is required. Thats not to say you couldn't find ways to spend money, but as a working stiff its a very reasonable city.

[UFC Is Sux]

Poor people/subsistence workers would probably find things that suck about any large city. With the exception of their mass transit which is a joke, I can't imagine Houston has any built-in disadvantage when it comes to that.

[purplehorseshoe]

Well, now, to be fair, NO city in Texas has non-joke mass transit, with the possible exception of Austin, which is a smallish college town (and thus, shorter distances to transport more drunk kids) and is full of dirty hippies anyway.

Disclaimer: I live in Dallas now but would move back to Austin in a half a heartbeat. The above is as much of a joke as Houston's mass transit. No dirty hippies were harmed in the making of this legal disclaimer.

[Hello Again]

Speaking as someone who REALLY wanted to go to Rice and thus planned to live there, Houston is ugly as shit, has a horrible climate and has soul-crushing traffic.

[Ravenman]

Why would they be mutually exclusive? I was using cosmopolitan in the sense of multicultural or composed of people from around the world.
Eh, I guess you're right. I think of cosmopolitan cities as not only being diverse, but also having that je ne sais quoi that gives a city standing.

I hear shopping strips, and I think parley voo fransay, not joie de vivre.

[Sam Lowry]

Speaking as someone who REALLY wanted to go to Rice and thus planned to live there, Houston is ugly as shit, has a horrible climate and has soul-crushing traffic.

The weather and the traffic are the things I've heard people gripe about the most. The weather I grant is not optimal for many people, but is the traffic really that bad for a big city? Rush hour traffic definitely isn't great, but I don't know if it's really worse than what I've seen in Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and other big cities. I understand why my dad who lives in a city of 100,000 people complains about being stuck in traffic here, since there is so little traffic back home for him, but I don't understand when I hear people from other big cities saying how the traffic here is bad.

I've lived in Houston for five years now and absolutely love it. I could move somewhere else if I had a compelling reason to do so, but I could also see myself spending the rest of my life here. I'm not upset when I hear that people don't like Houston, I'm just sometimes confused when their reasons for not liking it don't make sense to me.

[Martin Hyde]

I don't know that Houston is misunderstood. If anything Texas as a whole is conceptualized in a very different way than it really is.

However, as a non-Texan I've always known that Houston (and also Austin) were Texan cities that were very much "non-Texan" and "worldly" cities.

When I've visited Houston the thing that I always scratched my head about, was just about everyone I know down there actually live in places like Sugarland, which is what, like a 90 minute commuter? I don't get people who willingly drive that much every single day.

[Clothahump]

Native Houstonian here. I've lived in several different foreign countries: Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, The People's Republic of Austin - but I kept coming back to Houston because Houston is a great place. Yeah, we're not perfect, but we're good. We're the 4th largest city in the country and right now, our economy is picking back up and it looks like we're starting another boom cycle.

As far as the comments about the humidity: if you think Houston is bad, try New Orleans. Houston is where New Orleanians come to dry off.

[chela]

Jim moved from houston suburb to city, because he said, in houston there are no watering restrictions. Has to keep his truck clean ya know.

[StusBlues]

Is there a single US city with a image in the popular imagination as at odds with reality as Houston? People who have never been to Texas imagine its some kind of redneck mecca where people wearing cowboy hats ride horses to work while their kids learn about god creating the universe in school :)

Houston is probably one of the most cosmopolitan cities outside of NYC, the amount of immigrants and immigrant targeted businesses is amazing. You can find Nigerian, Serbian, and Vietnamese restaurants in the same shopping strip. There are parts of the city where the street signs are in Vietnamese, there are Walmart sized Asian groceries, which country do you want imported food from because Houston probably has it. Hell there was a tiny shop on Bellaire serving Paan(betel nut mixed with other stuff) if you're looking for authentic ethnic food from a hole in the wall that caters only to immigrants Houston is crawling with them.

Then there is the Montrose area which had a concentration of gay and lesbian themed bars and businesses, I mean in Texas you'd never see that right? The community is getting less concentrated but for a long time Montrose was known for its gay and lesbian community.

The funny thing is Houston doesn't advertise or feature in much media, so the only way to actually find out whats its like is to be there.

You can find all that shit in Omaha.

Lamar, do you live in Omaha? I certainly don't know of any Serbian restaurants here, let alone full-on Asian supermarkets. I'm usually trumpeting our fair city's virtues, but I wouldn't describe it as grude describes Houston. (For the record, this is the sort of thing I would expect to hear about Austin, not Houston.)

If I'm missing something, please let me know where it is.

[joebuck20]

Yeah, it's unfair - the city fathers have been promoting Houston as a mecca for gay pride festivals for, like, forever. But all people hear about is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, or the Texans football team. It's the mainstream media's fault. :(



It doesn't help that Houston's signature movie is "Urban Cowboy." :p

Anyway I largely agree with the OP. But the problem with Houston is that it doesn't really conjure up much of anything in the popular imagination, aside from perhaps the Stetson-wearing oilman archetype. If you're a space buff, you probably know it for NASA. But other than that, the city doesn't really have an image, good or bad. I can tell you that when I moved there after college I didn't really have much idea what to expect, only that I was going to be living in a big ass city.

It's soul is not one that's easy to define. And in spite of having lived there, even I have trouble describing its attributes, other than evoking a general sense of it being a cosmopolitan and bustling place, much like what the OP did.

Still, I'd move back there in a heartbeat if the right opportunity presented itself.

[KneadToKnow]

Many has been the time people refuse, flat refuse to believe I grew up in Houston because I don't "sound like a Texan".

In the process of auditioning for a summer theater program, I was grilled by an expert in voice and dialect (http://theatre.psu.edu/people/faculty/kur) as to where my parents were from because I didn't sound like a native South Carolinian.

[Lamar Mundane]

Lamar, do you live in Omaha? I certainly don't know of any Serbian restaurants here, let alone full-on Asian supermarkets. I'm usually trumpeting our fair city's virtues, but I wouldn't describe it as grude describes Houston. (For the record, this is the sort of thing I would expect to hear about Austin, not Houston.)

If I'm missing something, please let me know where it is.

http://maps.google.com/maps?num=10&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=899&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=larimer+square&fb=1&gl=us&hq=larimer+square&hnear=0x876bf36c78a8c2c3:0x775e73acfeadd604,Lafayette,+CO&cid=0,0,6916715823652257419&ei=JQf-Tp6kHKmviQLo4dXQDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CBMQ_BI

[StusBlues]

http://maps.google.com/maps?num=10&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1280&bih=899&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=larimer+square&fb=1&gl=us&hq=larimer+square&hnear=0x876bf36c78a8c2c3:0x775e73acfeadd604,Lafayette,+CO&cid=0,0,6916715823652257419&ei=JQf-Tp6kHKmviQLo4dXQDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&ved=0CBMQ_BI

That's Denver, sir.

[Derleth]

Eh, I guess you're right. I think of cosmopolitan cities as not only being diverse, but also having that je ne sais quoi that gives a city standing.

I hear shopping strips, and I think parley voo fransay, not joie de vivre.Every city has shopping, downmarket areas, and, you know, shitters and drunk tanks. Paris, for example, is one of the worst cities for immigrants judging by their rioting.

There is no perfect city.

[Lamar Mundane]

That's Denver, sir.

How the hell dis that happen?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=omaha+asian+market&hl=en&sll=39.747738,-104.999287&sspn=0.013182,0.01929&vpsrc=0&gl=us&hq=asian+market&hnear=Omaha,+Douglas,+Nebraska&t=m&z=12

[mariposalabrown]

Born and raised in Houston inside the loop, moved toAustin as soon as college came, and boy did I finally feel alive once I left. Houston is great for young families, cheap housing, jobs, but all my friends did was drink at bars in Montrose and drive home like it was legal, since Houston is so big and such a car city. I hated that. Now call Denver home, never want to live anywhere else, and almost dread trips back to Houston now. Best hole in the walls and Tex-Mex ever, though. At least it's not Dallas, though! :)

[StusBlues]

How the hell dis that happen?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=omaha+asian+market&hl=en&sll=39.747738,-104.999287&sspn=0.013182,0.01929&vpsrc=0&gl=us&hq=asian+market&hnear=Omaha,+Douglas,+Nebraska&t=m&z=12

Are you referring to the "New Asian Supermarket" in South Omaha? That's off All Races Square, I believe (which is kind of a neat little area in its own right). I meet with a foundation headquartered down there, and I don't recall seeing it, or at least not being terribly impressed. Perhaps I gave it short shrift.

Now how about the Serb restaurant? You can get a good South Slavic meal at the Croatian Society during a special event, but I'm not aware of any good Slavic restaurants in town.

[Lamar Mundane]

Are you referring to the "New Asian Supermarket" in South Omaha? That's off All Races Square, I believe (which is kind of a neat little area in its own right). I meet with a foundation headquartered down there, and I don't recall seeing it, or at least not being terribly impressed. Perhaps I gave it short shrift.

Now how about the Serb restaurant? You can get a good South Slavic meal at the Croatian Society during a special event, but I'm not aware of any good Slavic restaurants in town.

Did you look at the map? There's a dozen of them. No, I don't live in Omaha. I also don't know how to Google for a Serbian restaurant, unless there's a restaurant called "Serbian restaurant." I was just making the point that the OP's idea of cosmopolitan isn't any different from a small city anywhere in the country. Vietnamese restaurants? A gay community? C'mon.

[Rhythmdvl]

People of planet Houston ...

Kneel before Zod!

[Ravenman]

Every city has shopping, downmarket areas, and, you know, shitters and drunk tanks. Paris, for example, is one of the worst cities for immigrants judging by their rioting.

There is no perfect city.I'm not saying that the great cosmopolitan cities are perfect. London has some pretty bad neighborhoods, but if you'd ask me what makes London so cosmopolitan, the first thing that would spring to mind would be things like the British Museum, the single most amazing museum in the world; or the posh stores in Bond Street are thereabouts where wealthy people from around the world come to shop.

Having lots diverse markets and food in strip malls isn't the first argument I'd trot out. By this measure, even Falls Church, Virginia, is a crossroads of the world.

[Dolomite]

The best places in Texas are the ones with the fewest people.

[lavenderviolet]

I don't really picture Houston being particularly redneckish. I know people from Austin so I know not all of TX is "like that". However, when I think of Houston, the main mental association I have is that I remember hearing it is one of the nation's fattest cities.
So if asked to think about Houston, I picture that file footage of obese people filmed from the neck down that news shows will always run when they're doing some story about obesity. And, also, they're sweaty, because I also imagine Houston being very warm and muggy.
I'm not trying to be insulting or anything. That is just my honest mental image of Houston.

[kunilou]

We're the 4th largest city in the country and right now, our economy is picking back up and it looks like we're starting another boom cycle.

It's going to need more than that. Here are some previous "4th largest cities in the country."

Philadelphia
Los Angeles
Detroit
St. Louis
Brooklyn
Chicago
Baltimore

But the problem with Houston is that it doesn't really conjure up much of anything in the popular imagination, aside from perhaps the Stetson-wearing oilman archetype.

Even Dallas got the Stetson-wearing oilman archetype first. Houston simply doesn't have a personality.

[StusBlues]

Did you look at the map? There's a dozen of them. No, I don't live in Omaha. I also don't know how to Google for a Serbian restaurant, unless there's a restaurant called "Serbian restaurant." I was just making the point that the OP's idea of cosmopolitan isn't any different from a small city anywhere in the country. Vietnamese restaurants? A gay community? C'mon.

The Asian markets in your link are, to the best of my knowledge, little stores about one bay across in strip malls. That doesn't quite foot with what the OP said about Houston.

[Lamar Mundane]

The Asian markets in your link are, to the best of my knowledge, little stores about one bay across in strip malls. That doesn't quite foot with what the OP said about Houston.

And Houston is ten times bigger than Omaha. Do you also wonder why Omaha doesn't have an airport the size of Houston's?

[Little Nemo]

My personal feeling is that Houston has a complicated relationship with the rest of Texas. On the one hand, Houston is the biggest city in Texas so it could go for being the First City of Texas. But Houston also wants to be recognized as a major American and World City and when it's in that mood, it feels being seen as just a Texan city is holding it back.

Look at cities like New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. They basically don't care about the states they're in - they've formed their own independent identity as cities. But Houston still wants to be a part of Texas while also wanting to be bigger than Texas.

[Ca3799]

I've lived in Houston almost all my life and I like it here.

I work in the Texas Medical Center: "All of the institutions of the Texas Medical Center are not-for-profit, and are dedicated to the highest standards of patient care, research, and education. These institutions include 14 renowned hospitals and two specialty institutions, three medical schools, six nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and virtually all health-related careers. It is where one of the first, and still the largest, air ambulance service was created; a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was developed; and more heart surgeries are performed than anywhere else in the world.".........which is totally awesome. In my specialty medical field, we do more cutting edge, life saving and just plain interesting things in a day than some places do in a year.

On any given day at work, I work with people from all over the world- yesterday, my coworkers were from Nigeria, the Philippines, Persia (that's how she likes to style it), the Czeck Republic, Israel, South Africa, Italy, India, Peru, Mexico... etc.

I live on the extreme south side and sometimes, when I'm traveling and trying to get out of town, it can take an hour and a half to drive across this city from the south to the north or west sides. That's not necessarily because of bad traffic, it's just because this city is huge. I don't consider this a disadvantage at all, just something that needs to be accommodated when making travel plans.

If there is anything in the world you could think of that you wanted, chances are you could drive to some place in Houston and find that thing today.

[cerodragon]

see i live in Houston its one of the safest place to be in the world because anywhere in the world got natural disasters that can hit at any moment while we got hurricanes that we know well into the future is coming and the hot and cold weathers alow us to dress both winter fresh or summer cool. :) just saying

[Jackmannii]

see i live in Houston its one of the safest place to be in the world because anywhere in the world got natural disasters that can hit at any moment while we got hurricanes that we know well into the future is comingMatter of preference, I guess. I wasn't too fond of a week or more of having the National Hurricane Center and local panic-spreading forecasters map out hurricanes and tropical storms and speculate about whether they would or would not hit the area (there were several tropical storms, including one doozy that nearly flooded us out during the time I lived there).

One critical factor that must be taken into account when rating any metro area (at least for me) is suitability for gardening. On the plus side Houston doesn't get much frost (especially in the urban heat core). On the negative side the soil is some of the worst in the world (think gumbo clay) and the heat and humidity batter down many desirable plants. There is also no dependable "average" climate to plan on. For instance, you typically end up with either horrendous droughts or incredible flooding rains (no dependable moisture). There is basically no such thing in Houston as "rain showers", just frog-strangling downpours.

[Little Nemo]

see i live in Houston its one of the safest place to be in the world because anywhere in the world got natural disasters that can hit at any moment while we got hurricanes that we know well into the future is coming and the hot and cold weathers alow us to dress both winter fresh or summer cool. :) just sayingSilly Houstonians. Thinking that thing they have in February is winter.

As my native Houstonian brother-in-law once said, "Hell, we have winters down here too. We even get snow most years." So we invited him to come up and visit northern New England in December.

[StusBlues]

And Houston is ten times bigger than Omaha. Do you also wonder why Omaha doesn't have an airport the size of Houston's?

Dude, you said above that you could find everything in Omaha that you could in Houston. That's just not true. Get off it.

ETA: Surprised the thread has gotten this far without a mention of Houston's Lesbian mayor.

[brocks]

People who have never been to Texas imagine its some kind of redneck mecca where people wearing cowboy hats ride horses to work while their kids learn about god creating the universe in school

I did a contract job there in 2008. Had no real expectations; I figured since it was a city of several million people, it would be OK.

I guess my final impression was, Typical for Texas. My nominal boss there was a great guy, seemed perfectly normal, got along well with people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Then one day we were standing at adjoining urinals, and he asked me who I liked for President (this was a few weeks before the conventions). I said I thought Obama was probably the best of a sorry lot. He laughed heartily, and then when he realized I wasn't joking, said, "You wouldn't really vote for a nigger, would you?"

I know, anecdotal, but that was my experience.

I *will* defend its weather. I visited Indiana for a wedding, and the humidity there was much worse than anything I encountered during a summer in Houston.

[Ca3799]

ETA: Surprised the thread has gotten this far without a mention of Houston's Lesbian mayor.

I met and talked to her a couple of months ago. She's one sharp cookie!

When she was running for her for both her first and second terms as Mayor, certain groups really tried to play up the fact that she's gay, but it didn't work because most folks just don't care about that.

She's a native Houstonian, a product of our public schools, worked her way through one of our great local colleges (Rice), worked in the Energy sector for a long time, then served in City Council since forever and was Comptroller for a while, too, before getting elector Mayor.

She's also been with her partner for more that 20 years and has raised a couple-three kids. She's mostly a boring, hard-working accountant type, but also very, very good.

[madmonk28]

I've never been to Houston, but my impression is that it is a city with a lot of sprawl and is not very walkable. A friend from there described it as a bunch of strip malls and housing developments they decided to call a city. Is that unfair?

[neuroman]

I've never been to Houston, but my impression is that it is a city with a lot of sprawl and is not very walkable. A friend from there described it as a bunch of strip malls and housing developments they decided to call a city. Is that unfair?

Not really. There is an inner core that is somewhat walkable/bikeable in a few places, but the vast majority of the city (including absolutely everything beyond the 610 "inner loop") is a complete sprawl.

[mo50]

Too close to New Orleans (sorry). ;)

[Jackknifed Juggernaut]

I lived there for 2 years while attending Rice U from '96 to '98. Being from the NYC-area, I didn't expect much. But after a couple months, I fell in love with the city. I don't know if I would have felt the same if I didn't have an air-conditioned car.

[Jackmannii]

As my native Houstonian brother-in-law once said, "Hell, we have winters down here too. We even get snow most years." I visited Indiana for a wedding, and the humidity there was much worse than anything I encountered during a summer in Houston.:dubious::D

[Lamar Mundane]

Dude, you said above that you could find everything in Omaha that you could in Houston. That's just not true. Get off it.



Ah, I see. You were being literal. Since there's no Astrodome in Omaha, Omaha doesn't have the same things as Houston. I get it.

[BigT]

Ah, I see. You were being literal. Since there's no Astrodome in Omaha, Omaha doesn't have the same things as Houston. I get it.

No, the claim is that, since the <insert nationality> presence is smaller, Omaha isn't as cosmopolitan as Houston. A place with a big Asian market place is more cosmopolitan than a place that has a few one room shops scattered around.

[Lamar Mundane]

No, the claim is that, since the <insert nationality> presence is smaller, Omaha isn't as cosmopolitan as Houston. A place with a big Asian market place is more cosmopolitan than a place that has a few one room shops scattered around.

No, it's just bigger.

[Cumberdale]

I've never been to Houston, but my impression is that it is a city with a lot of sprawl and is not very walkable. A friend from there described it as a bunch of strip malls and housing developments they decided to call a city. Is that unfair?

No, that is completely fair. Not only is it not very walkable, Houston is anti anything that is not a car. Several years ago they were on the right path and began putting in bike lanes, however, the ones they put in didn't go anywhere. You had to weave and go far out of your way just to get from the Astrodome area to downtown. Then a few months later the city removed the lanes promising to replace them. Years later, no bike lanes.

I do like living here and enjoy the climate much more than I would somewhere like Michigan, but this whole area has a long way to go to before it becomes a world class city.

[Little Nemo]

I don't see walkability as being a useful standard. Any city is going to expand outward as it grows unless there is some geographic situation (like in Manhattan, Boston, or Montreal) which limits its expansion.

[Jackmannii]

I don't see walkability as being a useful standard. Any city is going to expand outward as it grows unless there is some geographic situation (like in Manhattan, Boston, or Montreal) which limits its expansion.Being able to get around on foot is a big plus if you can avoid traffic hassles, and there are neighborhoods in Houston (Rice Village comes to mind) where there's a lot to offer and you could conceivably do without a car for much of your needs.

Doing much walking in Houston during the hot season can be hazardous, though. I remember a medical resident who told me of going out for a walk with his family one fine July day (he was from Bangladesh, so the heat was nothing unusual for him), and having the police stop and ask if they were alright (the implication being that no one in their right mind would be out strolling in the sunshine in July and maybe their car had broken down or something).

[madmonk28]

I don't see walkability as being a useful standard. Any city is going to expand outward as it grows unless there is some geographic situation (like in Manhattan, Boston, or Montreal) which limits its expansion. Walkability is what makes a city a city. If you have to drive everywhere, you're not really in a city, you're in a suburb that is dressed up like a city.

[astro]

I thought Austin was the coolest Texas city?

[Little Nemo]

Walkability is what makes a city a city. If you have to drive everywhere, you're not really in a city, you're in a suburb that is dressed up like a city.I'd argue the opposite. If you can walk around the community you live in, it's just a town. A city is a community that's too big for you to walk everywhere.

[Cumberdale]

I'd argue the opposite. If you can walk around the community you live in, it's just a town. A city is a community that's too big for you to walk everywhere.

But just because a city is large doesn't mean there can't be places to walk to. I think the worst thing to happen to cities was the idea of zoning. I realize Houston has no zoning, but the mindset is still the same. You have residential areas, business areas, shopping areas and nothing that connects them. It's the way the city is designed that is the problem, not the fact that it covers a large area.

[Clothahump]

I thought Austin was the coolest Texas city?

Not by a long shot. I've lived in both cities and Houston beats Austin like a big drum.

[madmonk28]

I'd argue the opposite. If you can walk around the community you live in, it's just a town. A city is a community that's too big for you to walk everywhere. and that is why you never see anyone walking lin London, Moscow, or New York.

[Ca3799]

I've never been to Houston, but my impression is that it is a city with a lot of sprawl and is not very walkable. A friend from there described it as a bunch of strip malls and housing developments they decided to call a city. Is that unfair?

Yes and no. We have it all.

Like a lot of other cities, you might drive to an area and walk around that area of interest. In Seattle, you would drive (or take a bus, etc) to the Pike Street market and walk around there. We don't have anything quite as awesome as a Pike Street Marketplace, but we do have plenty of areas worthy of getting there and walking around in them.

There are also plenty of areas that are totally not interesting- huge blocks of apartments or neighborhoods full of houses (bedroom communities) with very little else going on in them besides the occasional grocery store and a couple of school/park combo properties.

Then there are areas like mine that are very comfortable. I can walk or bike to 2 grocery stores, many shops and restaurants, two gyms, the library, a couple of parks. I'm only 3 blocks from the elementary school, etc. My neighborhood does have bike lanes, and I see more people walking around here than in other areas of town, for sure. These things influenced my decision to move to this particular area.

Houston can be pretty ugly, though. The freeways are lined with businesses and giant billboards. Some cities hide their business districts from the roads behind a wall of trees or green space. We did not do that in the past, but many of the newer areas seem to be including that kind of thing.

[madmonk28]

I just want to be clear that I'm not in any way bashing Houston, I've never been there and I always think it is healthy for people to have civic pride about where they live. I love cities and I hate it when people who don't live in DC dump on it (but dumping on the city is a perfectly acceptable hobby for residents of the city, it's our right).

I imagine that a big factor in Houston is the heat, in the summer it probably really dictates what you can and can't do outside.

[levdrakon]

Never been to Houston. In terms of gay community/nightlife, I've heard Dallas, Austin and Houston are it with the addition: "Houston is actually a lot cooler than people think!"

I dunno, whoever told me that probably got well laid while visiting Houston. :)

I've been to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and was stationed in San Angelo for a little while. If I had to relocate to Texas, I'd probably go for Dallas, but definitely visit Houston and give it a good looking over based on what I've heard.

I don't think of Houston as being redneck Texan. I tend to imagine it a bit like south Los Angeles.

[DrumBum]

I have been there a few times for meetings - Downtown and the Woodlands - but did not get out much. The colleagues I know that have been transferred there could not wait to leave. A few from California have made note of the high cost to live in Houston, which surprised me since my preception was the opposite.

[phreesh]

I've travelled there on business a number of times and my primary impression is that the city sucks.

It sprawls out forever, it takes a half an hour to get anywhere, it's actively anti-pedestrian, it's literally dangerously hot during the summer and it doesn't have any cultural identity.

It has awesome Mexican food, it's got a great pro-business attitude and it promotes freedom more than most places, but that all doesn't make up for its overall awfulness.

Sorry Houston.

[Hippy Hollow]

I'm an Austinite who lived in Houston for two years in the mid-90s. Can I first say that we also have shitty public transportation in Austin? Actually, there is a bad-ass two-car light rail line that travels from the northwest 'burbs to downtown, but you're SOL if you don't live near the single line. We don't have bus lanes, so public transport just means you get to sit in traffic with your B.O. laden buddies. It doesn't get you anywhere quicker, which I thought was a major selling point of public transportation.

Houston was an incredibly affordable place to live. I lived in a non-suspect apartment on San Felipe, just inside 610, near the Galleria, and paid next to nothing for a two-bedroom. I was a teacher in HISD and got paid less that $30K, and was able to live decently. I later moved to West Main, and then Richmond & Alabama, so very close to the Menil and other cultural centers like Montrose.

That said, Houston's traffic, weather, and pollution absolutely suck, and the strip-mall-itis evident when you travel on 59 south of downtown depressed the hell out of me. The surface roads were shitty back then too, no doubt because of the ridiculous rainfall/humidity/scorching heat.

I haven't been back to Houston for more than a day since returning to Austin. I think it's fine for a visit but I wouldn't want to live there again, unless I could live in Rice Village, or near the Menil, or the Heights. And God willing, be within walking distance of my workplace.

[neuroman]

A few from California have made note of the high cost to live in Houston, which surprised me since my preception was the opposite.
Your colleagues our oughtta their ever-loving minds. One thing that Houston really does have going is that it is cheap. I guess if your friends were from Bakersfield or some super rural, depressed part of California, maybe they could have a point. Compared to places like LA and the Bay, Houston is insanely cheap. $1200 would get you a nice, reasonably central 2/2 apartment. Would $1200 even buy half that in San Francisco?

[Ca3799]

It's true that the summers are rough, very hot and very humid with lots of mosquitoes (except last summer when it was hot and dry, so most of the mosquitoes were gone) but today it's 75 degrees with low humidity and a clear, blue sky. Couldn't be nicer!

[Little Nemo]

Your colleagues our oughtta their ever-loving minds. One thing that Houston really does have going is that it is cheap. I guess if your friends were from Bakersfield or some super rural, depressed part of California, maybe they could have a point. Compared to places like LA and the Bay, Houston is insanely cheap. $1200 would get you a nice, reasonably central 2/2 apartment. Would $1200 even buy half that in San Francisco?I'd say $1200 is high. You should be able to find a good two-bedroom apartment in Houston for under a thousand.

[DrumBum]

Your colleagues our oughtta their ever-loving minds. One thing that Houston really does have going is that it is cheap. I guess if your friends were from Bakersfield or some super rural, depressed part of California, maybe they could have a point. Compared to places like LA and the Bay, Houston is insanely cheap. $1200 would get you a nice, reasonably central 2/2 apartment. Would $1200 even buy half that in San Francisco?

As I recall, the surprise was the property taxes and utility bills. The families that moved to Houston - from central Contra Costa county - elected to buy homes rather than rent. They bought homes of comparable size to their CA residencies that were near downtown, and had a yearly property tax bill of around $ 23,000 and utility bills that averaged around $300 a month. The property taxes in their CA houses were more like $5000 a year and utility bills were perhaps $50 a month.

There were other things - schools, gas, etc. - that were also surprises but when they added everything up on a monthly basis, they did not see significant cost differences between Houston and the Bay area and were happy to transfer out.

[beowulff]

As I recall, the surprise was the property taxes and utility bills. The families that moved to Houston - from central Contra Costa county - elected to buy homes rather than rent. They bought homes of comparable size to their CA residencies that were near downtown, and had a yearly property tax bill of around $ 23,000 and utility bills that averaged around $300 a month. The property taxes in their CA houses were more like $5000 a year and utility bills were perhaps $50 a month.

There were other things - schools, gas, etc. - that were also surprises but when they added everything up on a monthly basis, they did not see significant cost differences between Houston and the Bay area and were happy to transfer out.

Were these multi-million dollar homes?
Because, $23,000/year is more that 10x what I pay in Phoenix.

[DrumBum]

Were these multi-million dollar homes?
Because, $23,000/year is more that 10x what I pay in Phoenix.

They told me that tax rate is ~ 4% so I guess the homes are around $500,000.