"I love Houstonians, but Houston... (Dallas, San Antonio: houses, theater, gated)

[Nairobi]

...sucks." That's the way a friend of mine who recently visited me from D.C. summed up our city. It's a sentiment that I've heard several times before: a flat, banal, corporate town oddly houses some of the most dynamic, peculiar, kind, and surprisingly attractive people you'll see in the country.

They rave about the arts and the food, but a common complaint about the latter is the lack of a real creative foodie culture.

Do most of you feel the same? Are the locals and our own personal talents in art and cuisine all this city has?

[Schumacher713]

That is probably true about 10 years ago. But, Houston has become a big foodie city. In the past few years food critics have raved about Houston's food. I doubt DC food is any better.

[testmo]

a lack of a real creative foodie culture? DC is not any better. maybe your friends just don't know what they are talking about

corporate town. as opposed to DC or any large city. is Chicago a gem of anti capitalism?

[Spade]

If he is from DC talking about food culture than he needs not to talk. Because DC is not better than Houston. I can understand that coming from a Chicagoan, New Yorker, and even New Orleanian. But not someone from DC.

[GTRdad]

Big YES. It's too hot to stay outdoors, things are segregated(or too 'scary' to visit), too many old people running things and taking money from bored patrons is too blatant around here, nevermind quality

[dalparadise]

I don't think Houston sucks, but to me it lacks the energy and cosmopolitan spirit of many other cities. I think street life is lacking and experiencing the city as most visitors do, largely indoors (malls, stadiums, cars, restaurants) doesn't do it any favors. It doesn't seem to have a "sense of place" inherent in its civic makeup, other than the perplexing boasts of size of parades, height of buildings and the most perplexing of all, the number of seats available for watching performances.

The difference is that Houston seems to be a city that seeks validation in skyscrapers, freeway lanes or hamburger restaurants opening, and too often it's as those things relate to Dallas. When the magazines started ranking Oxheart and Underbelly as among the top new restaurants in the country, the response from the Houston Chronicle and posters here on CD was not to delve into the story of These restaurants or their philosophy, or even to discuss if the restaurants offered a good representation of Houston's local cuisine or the direction it might take. Instead, the headlines were more like, "Move over Dallas, Houston ranks with San Francisco and New York!"

There was not an interest expressed in the changing culinary scene, only in establishing some kind of pecking order for self promotion. In my opinion, that's the difference between a "food city," (and Houston is a great one with many ethnic varieties and skilled chefs) and a "food culture" like you find in places like New Orleans, SF, NYC, and Chicago. It's not just about variety or even quality, its about expressing the critical regionalism, pushing the boundaries of creativity, promoting the city's culture and attracting people to visit for a taste of the city that can't be replicated elsewhere. There are plenty of places in Houston that make world-class meals, but honestly, San Antonio and Austin have a better sense of themselves with regard to their regionalism in cooking, despite being much lower, in my opinion, on the chart in terms of world-class cuisine.

I believe this thinking can be transposed to other aspects of Houston's perception among visitors. The theater seats, for instance--does Houston offer more live performances than other cities? Does it have a larger community of active playwrites?is it a national theater center in league with Chicago or NYC? No, but someone over at the CVB concocted this stat about number of seats in a "concentrated area" so people are going with that. The relentless boasting and claims of world class supported by odd CVB sound bites makes Houston seem like a really insecure and backward place.

The people are kind, smart, open and friendly. I think a lot of it comes from the relative ease of making a living there. It puts people more at ease. Of that, I'm sure they are proud. I was always proud of Houston's growth and success. The city was always good to me. I hated the weather and eventually outgrew the lifestyle, though. It just didn't agree with me. I know plenty who wouldn't trade it for anything, though, so Houston must be doing something right.

I do believe it has a long way to go before it starts showing up on most people's radar as a relocation destination based on merits other than jobs and COL. There's no denying its power to hold people there, living comfortably and enjoying it, once they have taken the plunge and moved, though. That's another indication that there's more to Houston than meets the eye...which is good, since it's not the prettiest city in the country.

[jerbear30]

I didn't fully understand what Gertrude Stein meant when she wrote, "There's no 'there' there" until I moved to Houston. The people are great, no doubt, but the sense of what Dalparadise calls a "civic makeup" is almost totally lacking. Even in the coolest areas, like Montrose, I get the sense of a facade of a cool downtown--an area intended to satisfy the city's own desire to feel like a city; like "look, we have Montrose." The very fact that people point to Houston's cost of living as its great selling point should tell you something. But again, despite all this, I do tend to agree that Houstonians as people are pretty much awesome.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

...sucks."

...They rave about the arts and the food

What's so sucky, exactly, they say? Is it the flatness? Oh well, lots of cities are flat, and "corporate."
Guessing this person was likely on the freeways most of the time... too bad. Yet they managed to find great arts and food somehow. Even so, it's still sucky to them. Mmmkay.

[statisticsnerd]

Originally Posted by GTRdad

Big YES. It's too hot to stay outdoors,

I definitely agree with you there. I enjoy outdoor activities, but it is way too hot and humid to do anything outside. People just stay indoors all the time during summer. No wonder there are so many fat people here.

Originally Posted by Nairobi

It's a sentiment that I've heard several times before: a flat, banal, corporate town oddly houses some of the most dynamic, peculiar, kind, and surprisingly attractive people you'll see in the country.

It's a concrete jungle that was built on pancake-flat, ugly land. The city has no character. Sure, we have the Museum District which is kind of nice, but other than it's just urban sprawl 50 miles across in every direction.

As far as the people, I've dealt with my fair share of jackasses in Houston over the past three decades. Everyone seems to be in a hurry here and folks get pissed off very easily over little things. There are plenty of places in the U.S. with friendlier people. Tennessee and Arkansas come to mind. I have family located in both of those states, and the people are much warmer and more laid back than people in Houston.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by Nairobi

...sucks." That's the way a friend of mine who recently visited me from D.C. summed up our city. It's a sentiment that I've heard several times before: a flat, banal, corporate town oddly houses some of the most dynamic, peculiar, kind, and surprisingly attractive people you'll see in the country.

They rave about the arts and the food, but a common complaint about the latter is the lack of a real creative foodie culture.

Do most of you feel the same? Are the locals and our own personal talents in art and cuisine all this city has?

Well for a city that "sucks" people are snapping up available homes within 24 hours, so must not "suck" to everyone.