Why do People hate Houston? (rent, theatre, closing)

[newtohouston2]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

So I can imagine a business traveler taking a cab from the airport and being horrified and then wandering around a deserted downtown looking for dinner, and never recovering from that atrocious first impression.

lol, this actually happened to me. a friend from out of town came to visit, i got tix to the alley theater and figured we could find someplace to eat dinner (like at 5pm). we wandered around for a while trying to find a place, ANY PLACE that was open. we eventually found a deserted mall that was about to close and ate in some (bad--i mean bug-in-your-veggies-bad) restaurant there. houston is just not centered around the downtown. had we known ahead of time, we could have eaten at the galleria or someplace.

[JL]

People don't hate Houston, just look at the awful traffic!

[Queen Palm]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

Increasing crime, pollution, congestion, sprawl, endless tearing down of wooded areas and replacing with concrete and Wal-Marts, excessive heat and humidity for half of the year, increasingly slummish neighborhoods, boring flat landscape, haven for mosquitoes and large roaches, fat/slobby couch potato mentality, etc. It's easy to see why Houston sucks. And no, I've lived here for decades, so I'm very familiar with this place. The only reason I'm posting this is for others who live elsewhere and monitor this forum. They deserve to get an accurate picture of what the town is like.

And yeah, TimBomb is exactly right: many here write glowingly about Houston as though they are realtors; often hiding any and all negatives (and fine print).

the negatives aren't hidden. They do get mentioned alot by those of us who love Houston. I'll be the first to tell you that traffic is awful. People here drive insane. The freeway ramps are like helix sections of a rollercoaster.

I will also tell you that Houston needs to get its mass transit situation in order. But things like the climate and bugs and the landscape I don't count against Houston because it is what it is. It's not like the city can up and change the landscape (i.e. grow mountains or drag the coastline closer) or the indigenous insects. Florida is humid too. So is New Orleans, Louisiana. I hear/see far less complaints about the humidity in those areas.

[Queen Palm]

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

I agree. Unless you live here or haven't it's a task getting around because everything is so spread out and the traffic. It's not a very wing it type of city. You do have to know at least in a sense where you're going. And that's because it's not walkable as a whole. You can wing it on foot and freestyle. Being in a car winging it is stressful coupled with the traffic and the sprawl.

annd, you simply can't expect it to look like it did 5 years ago. There is constant construction in and around the city and on the freeways. Houston is constantly changing.

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by newtohouston2

lol, this actually happened to me. a friend from out of town came to visit, i got tix to the alley theater and figured we could find someplace to eat dinner (like at 5pm). we wandered around for a while trying to find a place, ANY PLACE that was open. we eventually found a deserted mall that was about to close and ate in some (bad--i mean bug-in-your-veggies-bad) restaurant there. houston is just not centered around the downtown. had we known ahead of time, we could have eaten at the galleria or someplace.

You didn't mention how long ago this happened -- Birraporetti's in the theater district has specialized in pre-performance dinners for years, and there are other restaurants as well. It's always a good idea to do a little homework when planning an evening out in an unfamiliar area.

[tebor79]

Originally Posted by newtohouston2

lol, this actually happened to me. a friend from out of town came to visit, i got tix to the alley theater and figured we could find someplace to eat dinner (like at 5pm). we wandered around for a while trying to find a place, ANY PLACE that was open. we eventually found a deserted mall that was about to close and ate in some (bad--i mean bug-in-your-veggies-bad) restaurant there. houston is just not centered around the downtown. had we known ahead of time, we could have eaten at the galleria or someplace.

Alley Theater is three blocks from Frank's Pizza.
Cheap slices and 2$ St. Arnolds.
And Cabo is next door to that.
you were 5 blocks from Spaghetti warehouse.
etc.
C'mon man.

[Oildog]

Originally Posted by newtohouston2

lol, this actually happened to me. a friend from out of town came to visit, i got tix to the alley theater and figured we could find someplace to eat dinner (like at 5pm). we wandered around for a while trying to find a place, ANY PLACE that was open. we eventually found a deserted mall that was about to close and ate in some (bad--i mean bug-in-your-veggies-bad) restaurant there. houston is just not centered around the downtown. had we known ahead of time, we could have eaten at the galleria or someplace.

Birraporettis or Longhorn Cafe are around the corner...

[TimBomb]

what kind of idiot complains about the rushhour traffic in houston. you get to listen to 10 songs before you start your day, that is good. And the drivers here are not crazy as many old ladies here describe them to be. A lot of ladies here drive the entry level used german car(or 'equivalent') and they think people are out to get them. Ive seen this too many times. Atleast 2x now the lady in front of me in crawling traffic was literally pulling her hair out and crapping her pants because she thinks being 5ft apart bumper to bumper is too close to her beat up porsche boxster.

[14Bricks]

Originally Posted by newtohouston2

lol, this actually happened to me. a friend from out of town came to visit, i got tix to the alley theater and figured we could find someplace to eat dinner (like at 5pm). we wandered around for a while trying to find a place, ANY PLACE that was open. we eventually found a deserted mall that was about to close and ate in some (bad--i mean bug-in-your-veggies-bad) restaurant there. houston is just not centered around the downtown. had we known ahead of time, we could have eaten at the galleria or someplace.

Ther're tons of good restaurants downtown. Vic and Anthony's, Biraporettis', Don Shula's Steakhouse, Massa's, Irma's, I've herd good things about the Grove in Discovery Green, Guadalajara, The House of Blues. You might have to walk a couple of blocks, but so what, isn't that what you people want? To be able to walk everywhere. People are entitled to their opinions about Houston, but to say they're is no places to eat downtown is just ridiculous.

[testmo]

red pier asian bistro is my favorite late night spot downtown/midtown. perfectly walkable. open till 3am. mmm shrimp rolls

people who can't find a place to eat downtown are not from houston and don't understand the concept of a downtown. i can be in downtown seattle and the only place I see to eat is coffee.