3 Best/Worst Things About Houston? (Galveston, Highland Village: cheap house, per square foot, income)

[EasilyAmused]

Best
*Small town feel you can get in the heart of the city.
*Independant Spirit
*Still very Texan in the heart of the city.
*Food.
*Everything you need for an awesome quality of life within a mile of your house.


Worst
*Freeway and Road Construction
*Sprawl which caused the need for the Freeway construction
*Lack of Seasons. We have two weeks of winter, then mild, then hot, then GAWD
DAMN!
*Lack of proximity to mountains and real beaches.
* Rising crime due to Katrina, growing Mexican gangs and Inter-Racial gang tension. And the lack of cops due to an early pension retirement program. Dumarse Major Brown.
* And a new one for me :Yanks and Californians that start biotching the second they get here, after beating the door down to buy real estate for the sole purpose of it being cheaper than "their perfect place."

[jm31828]

Originally Posted by houstoner

I definitely agree with these worsts! How could I forget the billboards?!!! It gets tiresome defending Houston from its detractors... unless your name is mpope409 or Guerilla I blame it all on Dallasites and Austinites and their neverending crusade for everyone to view their cities as UTOPIA, TEXAS Austin is somewhat understandable, they've at least got the scenery other major cities lack, but Dallas absolutely mystifies. Have you visited their forum? That is one heck of a positive spin they put on things, and I mean just about everything, over there! For example, they're right there with Houston on having bad traffic and pollution, but you'd never know it from visiting their forum! LOL Reminds me of an Outkast song... On the other hand, Houstonians could take a page out of their books. Some of y'all sure could use a lesson in civic pride!

I apparently live in la-la land on the crime front. I guess having an active neighborhood watch and NOT having a TV helps.

Actually, every city/region I've been to has billboards- a place NOT having them would be different/odd/unique to me, so I wouldn't list that as a negative of Houston.

[jm31828]

Originally Posted by knowledgedropper

Houston is not close to the beach. It's the equivalent of saying Palmdale,Ca or Riverside,Ca are close to the beaches in Socal--they're not!!! just like Houston isn't close to the Gulf.

Question of the day, why are Houstonians always seemingly worried about Hurricanes?? I would think that having a 50-60mile buffer from the gulf would be a sufficient barrier. Why doesn't Houston attempt to fix it's drainage system, it seems to flood there constantly--induced by the slightest bit of rain.

Finally, STOP acting as if Houston were a coastal town. It's a flat inland city--always wishing it were Galveston! LOL

I think those of us outside of Houston consider it "close to the beach" because that word "close" is relative. If I only have to drive an hour to get to the beach, to me that is close (compared to having to drive 2+ days to get to it as I do from Nebraska! ) And as far as being considered a coastal city, again that's relative- Philadelphia is considered an "east coast city" and that also is not right on the coast. Considering that suburbs of Houston do reach all the way to Galveston, I guess calling it a coastal metro area is a better term to use.

[jfre81]

Houston is no less "coastal" than Los Angeles, even if both of the cities proper are inland.

[flo2900]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

Best
*Small town feel you can get in the heart of the city.
*Independant Spirit
*Still very Texan in the heart of the city.
*Food.
*Everything you need for an awesome quality of life within a mile of your house.


Worst
*Freeway and Road Construction
*Sprawl which caused the need for the Freeway construction
*Lack of Seasons. We have two weeks of winter, then mild, then hot, then GAWD
DAMN!
*Lack of proximity to mountains and real beaches.
* Rising crime due to Katrina, growing Mexican gangs and Inter-Racial gang tension. And the lack of cops due to an early pension retirement program. Dumarse Major Brown.
* And a new one for me :Yanks and Californians that start biotching the second they get here, after beating the door down to buy real estate for the sole purpose of it being cheaper than "their perfect place."

The story about Yanks and Californians is funny and true!

[jd2008]

Best Things About Houston
- Economy: The strength of the economy and pay is actually pretty amazing, especially in the current downturn. This is the biggest advantage of Houston.
- People: Most people in Houston seem to be very down-to-earth and friendly. In the Inner Loop there are a lot of very highly educated, driven people but unlike some other cities the negative, arrogant vibe is not as apparent. Really the most unfriendly types are the stereotypical angry white guy in the burbs. Although I grew up in Texas and knew people were nice, living in other big cities for awhile and then coming back this was one of the first things I noticed.
- Cheap Real Estate: For a major US city, the price of real estate is extremely cheap. I was a little reluctant to list this as an advantage because I think part of the reason it is so cheap is because of some of the disadvantages below. But, given it seems to be a big reason people move to Houston, I thought I would throw it out there.

Worst Things About Houston
- Sprawl/Car Dependence: The sprawl in Houston really has gotten out of control. It really is the worst things about Houston. I personally hate driving and If I could live without my car I would do it. But the sprawl in Houston makes it impossible. Sprawl adds to so many of the cities problems (pollution, car dependence, traffic, negative image, etc) yet it seems that the city and state care little to stem the tide. Sad actually.
- Heat: I was reluctant to list this one as well. Weather is such a subjective thing and really apart from some parts of California, every city has their good weather times and their bad weather times. Pick your poison. But, I thought about it and figured if I was listing the negatives about Boston I would list the winter cold. So, there you go...the heat in Houston during the summer.
- Aesthetics of the City: This is a generalization but on the whole, Houston is really not a very attractive city. Some things aren't the city's fault. Houston can never have the mountains and water of Seattle for example. But I also think the whole ""no zoning" thing, along with the sprawl and all the huge elevated highways make the city a rather ugly duckling. I realize that many residents seem to take a strange pride in this distinction. But for most, it is a rather significant negative. It really hurts the city's image; I know many people that don't even consider living in Houston because of the negative connotations about the city (fair or not).

[jfre81]

Zoning isn't going to form mountains or water, and would serve no purpose in today's mostly built-out Houston...does it really have that much of an impact on how things look?

What about all these "pretty" cities? What about Miami? Not Miami Beach. Miami proper. That's not what you see on postcards, is it?

[jd2008]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Zoning isn't going to form mountains or water, and would serve no purpose in today's mostly built-out Houston...does it really have that much of an impact on how things look?

What about all these "pretty" cities? What about Miami? Not Miami Beach. Miami proper. That's not what you see on postcards, is it?

Zoning would require density whereas the laws in Houston currently discourage such development. For example, in no other city with zoning would that CVS be built in midtown. Doesn't fit with the neighborhood. Zoning (and other regulations frankly) won't create mountains or water but it can create a better cohesion without the city, especially within the inner loop.

And there are plenty of "pretty" cites. Boston is a very nice city with great architecture. Seattle is a great combination of physical beauty with great architecture. San Francisco is of course a wonderful place. Chicago is impressive. New York is well....New York. Washington DC has a wonderful European feel to it. San Diego is extremely picturesque.

All these cities have sprawl that varies in beauty. Some places do burbs better than others. But these cities have inner city parts that shine. Houston, sadly, doesn't have this. Traditionally the city has been a donut and the very laws have encouraged this. This is changing of course but is still a severe weakness of the city.

Now...on Miami...not my kind of style particularly. Looks like a Latin dump in many parts. Los Angeles...reminds me of Houston actually.

[basketcase33]

I actually kinda like the whole no zoning thing. It's pretty unique to Houston as you have just mentioned. It does ease the sprawl just a bit, because for example, you don't have to drive to the pharmacy district to go to CVS. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I don't feel like seeing/going to the nudie bar next door. LOL

[Texas Mack]

See that's very interesting. I find the architecture and the super density of cities like Boston, Philadelphia and New York unattractive (and to be honest, I'm one of the few people that find the built landscape of San Francisco unattractive, for the most part), mainly because there's a lack of distinction in the built landscape. Visually, it looks confining.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that these are all just opinions, and I respect yours (not at all being defensive about it), and I do find the diversity of opinions quite interesting.