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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 …)
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.
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.
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.
