In-N-Out Burger coming to Houston in 2013 (Dallas, Austin: high school, college, income)

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by mega man

Why on Earth is this such a popular topic? If there's one thing Houston doesn't need more of it's a burger joint.

So what is this really about?

I think this is about some perceived "cool" factor that In and Out seems to represent to some people. They choose to see this supposed snub of Houston as another indication that Houston is perceived as uncool and therefore not worthy to receive this validation from a fast food chain that is seen in their minds as the essence of West Coast cool

I was once told on CD that Houston has an inferiority complex and I scoffed at this as being ridicules, but this thread has made me think that there is indeed a undercurrent of inferiority in Houston that is manifesting itself in a very peculiar way in this thread. It's really sad..

[rrsltx]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I think this is about some perceived "cool" factor that In and Out seems to represent to some people. They choose to see this supposed snub of Houston as another indication that Houston is perceived as uncool and therefore not worthy to receive this validation from a fast food chain that is seen in their minds as the essence of West Coast cool

I was once told on CD that Houston has an inferiority complex and I scoffed at this as being ridicules, but this thread has made me think that there is indeed a undercurrent of inferiority in Houston that is manifesting itself in a very peculiar way in this thread. It's really sad..

Actually, Houston does have an inferiority complex, and understandably so. Houston is always being targeted in the media as the ugliest (THE TOP 10 UGLIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD), most boring (World's Most Boring Cities to Visit), fattest (Houston is), etc. Like I keep saying, we are better than many places that the media adores. The only thing really bad about Houston is our wretchedly hot and humid summers, but most cities have at least one awful season. Our city must do a better job of promoting itself.

[majicdonjuan]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I think this is about some perceived "cool" factor that In and Out seems to represent to some people. They choose to see this supposed snub of Houston as another indication that Houston is perceived as uncool and therefore not worthy to receive this validation from a fast food chain that is seen in their minds as the essence of West Coast cool

I was once told on CD that Houston has an inferiority complex and I scoffed at this as being ridicules, but this thread has made me think that there is indeed a undercurrent of inferiority in Houston that is manifesting itself in a very peculiar way in this thread. It's really sad..

I used to scoff at that idea too but I see the same thing you do in this thread. It's silly. It seems like people take this type of stuff (like the In and Out situation) personally instead of realizing it's just simple business and logistics. It's going to happen at some point and I don't see why it's a big deal it hasn't happened yet. As many others have noted there's no shortage of good burgers in the area. Who cares if Dallas/Austin/California/wherever already has it? Houston offers plenty that you cannot find in any of those places. Is In and Out more important than the fact that living in Houston folks have the greatest choice and variety of cuisine in the state, as well as an advantage over nearly anywhere else in the country?

I have never understood the "chip on the shoulder" mentality of many Houstonians, but it's certainly reasonable to assume the media's treatment has *something* to do with it. I still don't quite get it though in all honesty. I know people that hate Houston for various reasons and it kind of is what it is. I also know two of my closest friends are in the middle of trying to relocate to Houston (from Irving and North Dallas) because they love the city.

Different strokes, but I do agree that Houston gets more than its fair share of negative publicity via the media. Perhaps it's the fact it's in Texas (people outside of Texas LOVE to hate Texas, regardless of whether they've ever been there) and the fact that Dallas and Austin do a much better job promoting themselves...

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by rrsltx

Actually, Houston does have an inferiority complex, and understandably so. Houston is always being targeted in the media as the ugliest (THE TOP 10 UGLIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD), most boring (World's Most Boring Cities to Visit), fattest (Houston is), etc. Like I keep saying, we are better than many places that the media adores. The only thing really bad about Houston is our wretchedly hot and humid summers, but most cities have at least one awful season. Our city must do a better job of promoting itself.

I'll agree that Houston does get beat up a lot, especially on internet forums, but mainstream Houston does not have an inferiority complex, there maybe somewhat of a Siege mentality developing but not inferiority.

The only way we are going to be able to counter this media bias is to develop our own indigenous media that is secular and independent of those other media sources that are bashing Houston relentlessly. This is off-topic but hopefully will bring this marathon thread to a constructive conclusion...!

[rrsltx]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I'll agree that Houston does get beat up a lot, especially on internet forums, but mainstream Houston does not have an inferiority complex, there maybe somewhat of a Siege mentality developing but not inferiority.

The only way we are going to be able to counter this media bias is to develop our own indigenous media that is secular and independent of those other media sources that are bashing Houston relentlessly. This is off-topic but hopefully will bring this marathon thread to a constructive conclusion...!

Agree. We need to do as you say on the "Double-Double"

[swopoe]

The bias against Houston is frustrating though. I was on another forum last week, and one of the posters was talking about moving to another city and gave a list of things she was looking for for her family. I felt like Houston was a good fit, so I suggested it. Amongst other places suggested, someone suggested Kansas. Then, in comes someone from Miami saying "I don't understand why anyone would want to live in Houston." Seriously, bust on Houston over Kansas?? Give me a break. I wanted to bang my head into a wall.

[majicdonjuan]

Originally Posted by swopoe

The bias against Houston is frustrating though. I was on another forum last week, and one of the posters was talking about moving to another city and gave a list of things she was looking for for her family. I felt like Houston was a good fit, so I suggested it. Amongst other places suggested, someone suggested Kansas. Then, in comes someone from Miami saying "I don't understand why anyone would want to live in Houston." Seriously, bust on Houston over Kansas?? Give me a break. I wanted to bang my head into a wall.

I agree, and I think I was more oblivious to it when I lived in Houston. I expected the bashing when I lived in Austin and Dallas so I didn't think anything of it.

I really realized that the bias against Houston was real when I moved to the West Coast. Southern Californians seemed to only respect Austin when I was there(regardless of whether or not they had been there, or to any other part of Texas). Houston was seen as a dirty oil city (which I found funny considering the amount of refining and exploration that goes on in the LA basin), DFW was seen as a place trying too hard to be like LA, and the rest of TX was seen as irrelevant. (Keep in mind I'm generalizing here.) Of course, this was pre-recession and before Rick Perry started recruiting companies out there, so I'm sure the salt is even worse out there these days.

The bias seems even worse on the East Coast. I have friends at the ExxonMobil campus in Fairfax and you should have seen the reactions when they first found out about the consolidation in the Woodlands. I've never seen so much ignorance spouted off by such intelligent people, especially intelligent people that I respect. And a lot of it was purely based on negatives that the media loves to play up.

It is frustrating that the bashers seem to get the most air time though. I never cared about Houston trying to market itself when I lived there, but I tend to think that at some level (perhaps minor) its damaging to the future business prospects of the city when a sizable part of the country wrongly thinks the city is nothing but a hole. Perhaps that's what's pushing this new "City with No Limits" thing.

[ek47]

Seriously, who gives a crap what people outside of Houston think of Houston? I really want to know.

Do some people nourish themselves on the accolades of outsiders? Do some people need to be reassured that they matter and that people recognize/respect/admire them?

Of all places to seek validation from, Commiefornia sure as hell would be close to the bottom of the list, along with all the other democrap controlled soviet wastelands. No inferiority complex, no chip on the shoulder. Just honestly don't give a crap what anyone outside Houston thinks.

And they can keep their "cool" burger chains, and we can keep our booming economy and can-do spirit.

[hbcu]

Cali people are weird seeing most of them are transplants from the South and they seem to forget about it....they've been trained to pay higher prices for everything..I watch Househunters and laugh when they'll pay a million dollars for a 1,500 square foot house that needs more renovations

Hollywood has glorified Cali to the point where they think they're better than everyone

In-and-Out is average

[gsupstate]

Originally Posted by haudi

Uh, what companies exactly are making their business decisions based on stereotypes and perceptions instead of concrete facts and figures?

Companies do go by solid facts and figures and demographics. Perhaps In-N-Out has not opened in the Houston metro yet, due to the fact the Houston metro trails both DFW and Austin metros in median income and per capita income?
Highest-income metropolitan statistical areas in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Picky thing here as well, but the chain is In-N-Out, not In And Out.