A poster on Houston forum is bashing Chicago (Peru: apartment, how much)

[AK123]

Originally Posted by raleightransplant

Kudos to the Chicagoans who aren't taking this seriously. Anyone who has seen both has to know this is a ridiculous comparison. Houston of all places... to Chicago?? As in Chicago with the beautiful lakefront, huge/dense/walkable/energetic downtown, thriving theatre scene, amazing cultural diversity, effective mass transit and architectural splendor? This has to be some kind of joke.

As someone who is considering moving to Chicago, and lives in another part of the country, I can honestly say Chicago is viewed by outsiders as a prime time multicultural and dynamic city. Houston is viewed by the rest of the country as...well Texas.

That view is the "rest of the country's" problem... not Houston's/Texas. I think most people know Houston is a large, international city, not some backwater like it's often portrayed.

Come on people -- it's 2008, not 1958. Bragging about the "rest of the county's" stereotyped view doesn't make you look too smart.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Austin is cool. I'd live there.

Figures.

(Wonders why all the complaints about Houston's "lack of culture" compared to Chicago... but then Austin is fine!)

I've lived in both Austin and Houston. Houston is much more similar to Chicago than Austin is. Remember, Austin is in Texas (gasp!) too. In my experience, Austin was much more provencial and "hickish" than Houston. Please remember Houston is the 4th largest city and, despite what you think, offers most of the big-city amenities that come along with that. No, it's not NYC or Chicago, but it's not as far behind as you think. Austin on the other hand, is a much smaller city - the restaurants scene was lame, the so-called cultural amenities relvolved around the college scene, as did most the nightlife. And these days, the traffic and sprawl are about as bad as in Houston. I'm not trying to brag... just sharing my perspective from living in both places.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by linicx

Houston has hurricanes and sometimes tornados.. I don't believe it is a major shipping port. It accepted too many displaced persons after Katrina. ....

- Last major hurricane was in 1986
- The port is very major... one of the largest in the world and 1st in the nation in foreign tonnage
- Most of the Katrina folk you speak of have since left or are in the Harris County Jail... remember that was 3 years ago

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

The only thing this guy got correct was the number of Fortune 500 companies with headquarters in Houston vs. Chicago FORTUNE 500 2006: Cities And I'll give him winter weather. I don't share Steve-O's love of Chicago winters, though the weather only truly bothers me a few days of the year.

However, Chicago's theater district far surpasses Houston's and is MUCH larger. And Chicago has a critically-acclaimed theater SCENE that exists separately from the larger corporate theater district, including the venerable Stepenwolf Theater. And then there's our Improve scene, which is second to none in the world. Houston has no significant theater scene to speak of, though I'm sure some high-school drama club types have stars in their eyes. Chicago is much more of a foodie town than Houston could ever hope to be. Our art museums have collections that are only surpased by New York in the U.S. And Chicago's economy is still much larger, in spite of the number of Fortune 500 headquarters in the respective metro areas.

Houston may come to surpass Chicago in population and economic output in the coming decades, but it will still suck as a place to live. Houston is a city with little character, no culture, and no charm.

Could you at least do your research first?

Houston's Theatre District is 2nd in size (measured by number of seats) only to NYC's Broadway. Look it up. And it's not exactly unacclaimed either. People could argue all day which had better "quality", but that's a little subjective and doesn't matter anyway, because you said Houston has "no culture."

Several publications have ranked Houston as the 4th best restaurant city in the nation.

Houston ranks 3rd in fine arts museum space, and often attracts overseas exhibits that come to only a handful of US cities. The natural science museum is one of the most visited in the country, and the Menil Collection is considered one of the finest private collections in the world.

Again... not trying to brag, just trying to correct you on your insane ignorance. And I do take offense with you saying it "sucks" as a place to live, especially when you seem to know so little about it. I love it, I think it's underrated, and I think a lot of you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry.

[coog78]

Originally Posted by JJP

Could you at least do your research first?

Houston's Theatre District is 2nd in size (measured by number of seats) only to NYC's Broadway. Look it up. And it's not exactly unacclaimed either. People could argue all day which had better "quality", but that's a little subjective and doesn't matter anyway, because you said Houston has "no culture."

Several publications have ranked Houston as the 4th best restaurant city in the nation.

Houston ranks 3rd in fine arts museum space, and often attracts overseas exhibits that come to only a handful of US cities. The natural science museum is one of the most visited in the country, and the Menil Collection is considered one of the finest private collections in the world.

Again... not trying to brag, just trying to correct you on your insane ignorance. And I do take offense with you saying it "sucks" as a place to live, especially when you seem to know so little about it. I love it, I think it's underrated, and I think a lot of you don't know what you're talking about. Sorry.

And that pretty much summarizes the facts. Additionally, as far as a foodie city goes, there is no ethnic or other food Chicago has that is not readily available in Houston. Could you tell me where I can find southern cooking, cajun/creole food, tex-mex/a decent margarita, Central American cuisine in Chicago? The "wonderful Chicago economy" has sent many packing to cities with economic success such as Houston. A city "sucking" to live in is completely subjective. I think Chicago has much less bang for the buck than Houston. Others may enjoy paying state income tax and not being able to exercise outside 365 days a year. We all have different tastes, that's what makes this a great nation. Variety is the spice of life. Houston will surpass Chicago in population in my lifetime and culturally as well.

[NearWestSider]

Personally, I like Corpus Christi better than Houston OR Austin.

[Ramo Nash]

Originally Posted by coog78

Could you tell me where I can find cajun/creole food, tex-mex/a decent margarita, Central American cuisine in Chicago?

You're right about tex-mex, but you can find central american, south american, mexican, and caribbean (especially puerto rican) cuisine in chicago. It's really a stupid argument though, every city has a different makeup--how many eastern european restaurants are there in houston? Where can you find authentic deep dish pizza in houston? Besides, both cities pale objectively when it comes to NYC.

[coog78]

Originally Posted by Ramo Nash

You're right about tex-mex, but you can find central american, south american, mexican, and caribbean (especially puerto rican) cuisine in chicago. It's really a stupid argument though, every city has a different makeup--how many eastern european restaurants are there in houston? Where can you find authentic deep dish pizza in houston? Besides, both cities pale objectively when it comes to NYC.

I'll keep the puerto rican restaurants in mind next time I'm in Chicago. To your credit, the deep dish Chicago restaurants we have in Houston are all owned by people that moved to Houston from Chicago. It's pretty authentic, but not quite as good as in Chicago. Well, eastern european restaurants are a breeze to find in Houston, especially southwest around Hillcroft and 59 as well as the Bellaire area and Rice Village, Montrose also.

I also agree that NYC is the city of cities for the States, but what I like about Chicago and Houston is that the greenery is not limited to a centrally located park. Also, in Chicago and Houston I can go out and get very liquored up without wondering what happened to my bank account the next morning. And frankly, people in Chicago and Houston are more friendly than those in NYC.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by JJP

Could you at least do your research first?

Houston's Theatre District is 2nd in size (measured by number of seats) only to NYC's Broadway.

Houston ranks 3rd in fine arts museum space, and often attracts overseas exhibits that come to only a handful of US cities.

Number of seats measures the size of your district? How about number and variety of theaters? You could build one arena-sized theater and have more seats, but that doesn't make a "district". This is just Chamber of Commerce-style spin. If you ask any theater expert where the strongest theater scenes are, Houston wouldn't be in the top ten.

Once again, square footage of museum space means very little. By that measure, Okalhoma City is bigger than New York City. Ridiculous boosterism light on facts.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by coog78

And that pretty much summarizes the facts. Additionally, as far as a foodie city goes, there is no ethnic or other food Chicago has that is not readily available in Houston. Could you tell me where I can find southern cooking, cajun/creole food, tex-mex/a decent margarita, Central American cuisine in Chicago? The "wonderful Chicago economy" has sent many packing to cities with economic success such as Houston. A city "sucking" to live in is completely subjective. I think Chicago has much less bang for the buck than Houston. Others may enjoy paying state income tax and not being able to exercise outside 365 days a year. We all have different tastes, that's what makes this a great nation. Variety is the spice of life. Houston will surpass Chicago in population in my lifetime and culturally as well.

Could you find Ethiopian, Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, Togo, etc, in Houston? Chicago is far more diverse than Houston, and will therefore have more ethnic cuisine, naturally. And BTW, Chicago is home to the nation's 2nd largest Hispanic population, so please dont ask if we can find Central American cuisine here, thats like asking if you can find McDonalds in Houston.

And the economy in Chicago is VERY strong, still leading the nation (by far, too I might add) in corporate relocation and expansion projects. The only reason people leave here to go to places like Houston is because its cheaper there. I wouldnt be too happy knowing that Houston is like the Dollar General Store of the country. You get what you pay for here, and you get what you pay for there, we'll leave it at that.