Would like to hear from anyone who has moved from Seattle to Houston and is loving it (Dallas: to live in, moving)

[testmo]

When I want to look at natural beauty I take a drive off the highways in any state

yes the de-regulation stranglehold of our politicians have made the state's air and water not very good. the cities and people are fairly liberal but our government is iron fist conservative. there are a few to "thank" for that. that is a negative thing about moving from the PNW to Houston/TX. the rest of the positives and criticisms I mostly agree with

[worldlyman]

Originally Posted by jpimus

AK123, okay, keep on telling yourself Houston is scenic. Have you ever driven on 45??? The highway is lined with seedy businesses for miles and south of downtown is just awful. 10 East?? Yuck. Westpark is a pretty ugly drive as well. It just looks dirty. The Houston area is also the most polluted area of Texas. Take a drive down 288, 45 and the southeast side of 610. it is just endless petro-chemical plants. All blowing crap into the air. God only knows what people are breathing in down there. It's no wonder why I and others I knew always felt tired in Houston. It's those particles and crap into to our lungs.

Here is a link for the American Lung Association. Most Polluted Cities: State of the Air 2011 - American Lung Association

Again, you're only mentioning the worst areas of Houston. Like there are no rundown mass eyesores in other big cities...(NY, Chicago, LA, etc.)

The thing is, when it comes to Houston, it seems everything is in absolutes. If it doesn't have the Puget Sound, then Houston must be some sort of really ugly place.

I've been to Seattle three times, visiting my brother who lives there. It's beautiful and nicely constructed, but I like Houston's sunshine, diversity and outright straightforwardness better. The variety of people in Houston puts Seattle to shame. (I once stood in Rainier Square for a good while, man, thought to myself, "where's the spiciness in this burg?")

No one is really saying Houston is the prettiest and scenic place in the world...but "ugly?"

For what it is, there is a lot of pleasant prettiness in Houston.

Memorial Drive.

Hershey Park is one very pretty place to walk around. When I'm there, lost in the lush vegetation, I don't believe I am in the 4th largest city.

In a busy commercial area, it is a great freebie and neat walkaround at Arthur Storey Park in New Chinatown. Great duck pond. The layout is very nice...a nice set-up next to busy Bellaire Blvd. One of my favorite parts of Houston. (But no, I guess we can't give Houston credit for something like that since Arthur Storey Park is not the Puget Sound or the San Fran views.)

I love the Bayou Walks around Allen Parkway.

I enjoy the concrete trails in the Heights off White Oak. I love White Oak!

Hermann Park (Bob Hope once said the view from his hotel room was the most beautiful he'd ever seen.)

I have no "energy" problems here in Houston as long as I get 7 hours of sleep, power walk in the Med Center at night, eat antioxidant fruits and limit my stress. That "tiredness" must be a personal problem, not to slight the health issues of the marginalized folks who actually live right by the refineries in the East.

(And I guess all those stereotypically "fit" people probably have don't have "energy" problems in Los Angeles breathing in that Pacific/mountain-trapped soup out there...at least Houston's storm gusts blow out the pollution periodically out of the flatness.)

Houston is the city where I recovered from childhood asthma (thank you, Chicagoland...Gary, IN) once I was fortunate to get the inflammation under control.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by jpimus

AK123, okay, keep on telling yourself Houston is scenic. Have you ever driven on 45??? The highway is lined with seedy businesses for miles and south of downtown is just awful. 10 East?? Yuck. Westpark is a pretty ugly drive as well. It just looks dirty.

Freeways? Really? I've said before those are the worst views because of the billboards and other things you mention. Why do we judge an entire place by the way the freeways look though? Maybe you're on them constantly, in which case I feel sorry for you, but I'm not. I'm down in the neighborhoods and there are plenty of nice scenic ones. I don't need to tell myself anything, obviously I have a different point of view, not to mention you are cherry-picking the worst of the worst with your examples.

Originally Posted by jpimus

Here is a link for the American Lung Association. Most Polluted Cities: State of the Air 2011 - American Lung Association

Not sure what that has to do with scenery.
But as I've said before, the refineries are mostly limited to the east/southeast sides of town, not randomly spread all over.

[Sunderpig2]

Originally Posted by jpimus

There are some aspects I do not like about Houston and for these reasons my wife and I decided to move back to Connecticut later this year.

1) The weather. IF YOU ARE A COOL WEATHER PERSON LIKE ME, DO NOT MOVE TO HOUSTON. The place is ungodly hot and humid from the end of March until November. Last summer (and when I say summer I mean nine months of the year) we hardly ever had a day below 100 degrees on top of soup like humidity. "Winter" in Houston is close to your summer in Seattle. Just to be cruel it will get cold for a week or two in January just to kill your garden and then right back to 85 the next week.

2) Crime. Houston has a lot of bad areas and a ton of crime. How do I know? I am Houston Police Officer. I lived in NYC for 6 years and my brother has for 12. Neither one of us were ever a victim of any crime. Within my first 18 months in Houston, both my car and my wife's car were broken into and our apartment was burglarized. Part of the issue in Houston is unlike most cites, the bad area crime spills into the good areas. In NYC the crime mostly stays in the bad areas, but in Houston, a million dollar mansion has just as a high chance of being burglarized as a $400 a month apartment in the hood. Houston Police is beyond undermanned, so proactive policing is rare.

3) The scenary. Houston, geograpically speaking is in the ugliest part of the country. It is surrounded by oil and chemical plants. The gulf is radioactive and there are no hills, mountains, rivers or even decent looking vegetation besides the royal oak trees. It is the most non scenic place you could imagine.

I didn't sugarcoat anything nor did I just mention the negatives. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Very accurate comments jpimus! That's for balancing out the blind "Houston worshippers" comments with some healthy accurate truths!

[mod cut: off topic/personal]

The OP's check for someone previously from Seattle, and now in Houston and "loving it", still hasn't panned out

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

No one previously from Seattle (and now in Houston) has still responded back about concerning the OP's check about "loving it in Houston".

[mod cut: personal/off topic]
I put a very easy to understand chart up that showed a decrease in air pollution days, and stats showing crime has dropped significantly from years and decades ago, after you kept claiming the opposite. Yet you go on and on and say we are the ones who are wrong despite these facts. Not to mention that when anyone has an opinion other than yours, they are a "blind Houston lover" or "Houston worshipper." Please...

[Sunderpig2]

"Blind Houston lovers / worshippers" are those who would never say a negative or constructively critical thing about Houston, even if their life depended on it. If a gun was pointed at their head, and they had to say something that about Houston that was a negative aspect to stay alive, they'd be dead on the ground.

I've at least made comments covering every angle (including positive and neutral comments when warranted), but mostly am compelled to point out negatives on this forum to keep it balanced, and to warn others who live elsewhere from getting a skewed image from all the Houston worshippers. Until people posting from Houston start being more balanced and honest, I won't be silent.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

"Blind Houston lovers / worshippers" are those who would never say a negative or constructively critical thing about Houston, even if their life depended on it. If a gun was pointed at their head, and they had to say something that about Houston that was a negative aspect to stay alive, they'd be dead on the ground.

And where are these people within the thread in question? You jumped into the thread as the first reply, with your usual negativity when it was just about an hour old before anyone else could say anything.

[mod cut: personal]

Originally Posted by Sunderpig

I've at least made comments covering every angle (including positive and neutral comments when warranted), but mostly am compelled to point out negatives on this forum to keep it balanced, and to warn others who live elsewhere from getting a skewed image from all the Houston worshippers. Until people posting from Houston start being more balanced and honest, I won't be silent.

[mod cut: personal]

[David Dollar]

Originally Posted by AK123

And where are these people within the thread in question? You jumped into the thread as the first reply, with your usual negativity when it was just about an hour old before anyone else could say anything.

I think you are imagining this so-called "problem."




Very little you say ever seems balanced or honest. It is all very one-dimensional, beyond negative, and sometimes even untrue. Several have called you out on this, not just me. Most others here are reasonably balanced and honest, giving their real experiences of actually living in multiple places, unlike you. Read the thread again, the only posts I see sticking out in this thread as being unhelpful to the OP are yours. In just this thread you were called out by three other people. Now that we know your motive, it seems more obvious you just have this idea that you are right and everyone else is wrong.

I completely understand where he is coming from. The Houston Homies team up on anybody who says anthing negative about Houston ever. I have the reputation for being negative even though 3 out of every 4 things I say about Houston is positive. But the Homies go crazy if you don't give unrealistic, false, and misleading posts about Houston being the greatest place on earth. I get messages from people thanking me for my honesty and standing up the bullies.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by David Dollar

I completely understand where he is coming from. The Houston Homies team up on anybody who says anthing negative about Houston ever. I have the reputation for being negative even though 3 out of every 4 things I say about Houston is positive. But the Homies go crazy if you don't give unrealistic, false, and misleading posts about Houston being the greatest place on earth. I get messages from people thanking me for my honesty and standing up the bullies.

Just FYI, sunderpig does it in the other forum too.

I don't witness these homie bullies you speak of. If they even exist (questionable) you and he need to take your issues up with them privately. And FYI, someone correcting his/your lies/exaggerations is not the definition of bullying. And y'all thinking someone is bullying is no excuse for the ongoing trolling that annoys everyone else not involved.

[David Dollar]

Originally Posted by sxrckr

Just FYI, sunderpig does it in the other forum too.

I don't witness these homie bullies you speak of. If they even exist (questionable) you and he need to take your issues up with them privately. And FYI, someone correcting his/your lies/exaggerations is not the definition of bullying. And y'all thinking someone is bullying is no excuse for the ongoing trolling that annoys everyone else not involved.

There are 4 particular posters that are unrealistic. It is the same thing if someone exaggerates or lies about how great Houston is. I don't troll. I give my honest opinion that usually backed by data. It just happens to be unpopular sometimes with the Homies. However, people who come here looking for answers need answers.