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For all the talk of Southern hospitality, I find the women far less approachable and more b**chy...
The reason for this is quite simple, really.
The women here don't like you.
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Originally Posted by AmericaBravoCharles
...the coworkers far less social and sociable (they’re polite but distant)...
Clearly, these folks don't like you, either, but they are forced into civility by economic circumstance.
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Originally Posted by AmericaBravoCharles
...the people in Meetup groups less engaging...
You should be seeing a clear pattern here. Whatever is wrong with you such that everyone you meet in Houston is immediately overcome with the urge to flee your presence is something you'll need to be working on. You may want to get cracking on that program of self-improvement you've been meaning to tackle for so long.
In conclusion, it's obviously not Houston's fault you can't adjust to Houston.
It's all you.
The foregoing bit of wisdom was courteously provided by Milton Miteybad, who reminds everyone that merely complaining about one's surroundings isn't going to change them.
Here's the thing, I take it your not black. When I would visit those areas with my cousin I would see White people walking around those areas without anyone bothering them. Back when I was in my 20's and I did have dreadlocks I was pressed one time because someone thought I looked familiar(if you know what I mean). If it wasn't for my cousin letting them know i'm not from there, it's no telling what would have transpired. And I grew up in a area where it was middle class and poor in a predominately black area. Traveled to a gang of areas considered the "hood" across the country. Chicago was one of the few cities where it's so territorial and so in embedded in gang culture that I had some issues. Most cities as long as your not involved in any gangs or hanging out in wrong areas you'll be straight. There's generally 2 different experiences for Black and White people in this country, no other major city in America embodies that more than Chicago in my experiences.
I can agree with you on that. Houston has ****ty transportation that does effect your day to day live. It's one of the reasons i'm considering moving myself. Not only the transportation but the amount of accidents that take place in the metro that I think could be avoided if the city had better public transit. And better infrastructure. I still no problem interacting with people in Houston when I go to different events or bars,etc. But the time spent on the road "interacting" with people can effect your view on the people of the city. I really hate Houston when i'm driving but when I get to whatever my destination is than it's all good.
Houston is extremely humid but i'm usually good when it comes to A/C in the winter time.
I grew up in East Texas and moved to Houston in my mid 20's. Even though East Texas is hot, it's not as humid and there's always some sort of shade even when it's scorching due to the pine trees. Houston has trees but it's humid. I would hate taking a shower than immediately sweating once I step out the house. That's Houston for you I won't deny that.
I'm in the process of looking at different apartments and home options now and this is what i'm basing my statements off of. I did notice the 2 years away from Houston that prices have gone up for renters. The city is clearly in demand and even for families to settle in "permanently" so there's definitely exploitation going on with Houston. And I don't disagree that the prices you pay for apartments even in some of the more trendy areas are uncalled considering you don't get a full "urban" experience anywhere in Houston. But my dollar still stretches farther here than in Chicago. Also i'm really not trying to move inside the loop unless I was making a lot of money. But if that was the case I probably wouldn't even live in Houston.
Ok that explains where your coming from. If I was a traveling urban photographer(more of local photographer than traveler due to having a family) I could agree with your points more. Chicago would be more ideal in that sense. I'm coming from a Family Man's perspective looking for a Suburban experience and the best possible situation for my child and family. As far as NYC, I love it and don't mind the constant bumping and pushing. If I had the money, I'd move to Brooklyn in a heartbeat for the experience alone.
So basically you don't like car centric urbanism? Hey if I was in your position I would feel the same way too. Some of my favorite cities to visit in the country are very walk able and if I had the money I would probably live in one of those cities. As far as Atlanta, it's very similar to Houston due to sprawl but because it has stricter zoning laws Atlanta has better infrastructure. It's also more walk-able and atleast has the Marta. Still lots of traffic and is still a car centric metro but you could definitely use public transit in the city to get around more so than Houston. Also there's enough of everybody that ride the Marta so I don't know why people would be scared of public transit. Atlanta does a much better job at that than Houston. The city proper is also experiencing gentrification at an alarming rate. When I would venture off into 4th Ward, Cabbage town, Little 5 Points, Virginia-Highlands, East Atlanta Village, Inman Park and even West End it was never scary to me. Those areas were definitely trendy areas of the city and are more walk-able than the most walk-able areas in Houston.
I can understand that and respect that. Especially as a fellow photographer and filmmaker myself. Houston isn't really the land of milk and honey for that sort of thing.
Personally the reasons i'm considering leaving are due to a couple of factors.
-Flooding(when I first moved here I always knew it would flood in Houston more so than other cities but after Harvey and just other random moments of flooding it's starting to become bothersome to me)
-Public education in desirable locations (Some of the best school districts in the city happen to be in areas I desire not to live in. Friendswood/Humble/League City/Pearland, etc. I'm more of a fan of suburbs in west Houston and Northwest Houston( Tomball,Klein, some parts of Cypress)not the actual Northwest Houston.
-Traffic,Infrastructure (Seems to have gotten worst since we moved back to Houston. Atlanta had it's issues and was no walk in the park but the stress levels are heightened here in Houston. Plus the amount of accidents that happen in the area.)
I can also understand that. I've seen Houston make some serious strides in a better direction since I moved in 2009 to now. I enjoy Houston and definitely wouldn't mind making it a permanent home if the situation is right. However there's enough cons for me as well to make me reconsider other cities to live.
Hopefully this CHICAGO BASHING MODE IS OVER. Gets tiresome as the best defense for a Houston is to lessen Chicago vs it. At least your not bashing its core.
From a previous post you replied in my saying Houston has plenty nice HOA fees as Northern cities today too. THIS IS TRUTH. The booming Greater Heights or Shady Acres where the old ranch homes r bungalow-types get bought and leveled for many times .... GOOD OLE APARTMENT BUILDINGS. Thatvis a NO in good old fashion NO HOA FEES. That was my point in that post. They are not cheaper and the taxes still high. other taxes yes lower or none existent.
No one argued decent middle-class housing squeezed less then a Chicago currently. Just a lot of anger to baggage in defending Houston. Then keep saying you love NYC better..... Great family raising Brooklyn.
Well i like Chicago better. Like the housing better, street-grid, L food, core and don't hate NYC or Houston. But do hate the Chicago bashing brought in to boast for Houston.
But i can understand if from a African-American perspective .... Houston is a better choice if not higher-educated and the salary to go with it. I lived in Chicago in the 80s. So I know the perspective then by being White.
I guess the whole point is Chicago isn't great for African-Americans vs Houston. No one says Chicago is cheaper overall either. Chicago is evolving into whatever it will be as is Houston.
But in choices over the decades and 20th century especial in development. Street-grid to housing with zoning. That city made great choices from rebuilding its lakefront to utilizing its standard alleys for its power-grid that frees fronts of their ugliness.
I still think it is ridiculas to keep then in fronts of new housing and multi-residential complexes. If on in front ..... it better be darn cheaper to me.
jfre it was just a couple of years ago that apartments were begging for renters with exorbitant incentives of free rent on apartments all over this city. This is not wishful thinking, apartments are being constructed and once put on the market will moderate rents.
Nobody is getting any younger, but something tells me you will be posting similar complaints, if not about rents, then about mortgage rates, or transportation, or humidity in Houston for several more decades to come...
It is true that adding apartment supply will prevent further excessive rent increases (you might still have some increases because of rising operating costs). I fully advocate allowing more multifamily development.
However, new MF is all Class A (except for publicly subsidized development), because that's all that's financially feasible, given development costs. And Class A rents are much much higher in Houston than they were 10 years ago, and aren't likely to come down unless the whole metro has a 1980s-style economic meltdown.
It is true that adding apartment supply will prevent further excessive rent increases (you might still have some increases because of rising operating costs). I fully advocate allowing more multifamily development.
However, new MF is all Class A (except for publicly subsidized development), because that's all that's financially feasible, given development costs. And Class A rents are much much higher in Houston than they were 10 years ago, and aren't likely to come down unless the whole metro has a 1980s-style economic meltdown.
At this point it's probably more of a question of how fast rents are rising in comparison to other attractive MSA's. If rents in Greater Houston rise 5% while other metro's have 7% increases, then Houston's affordability is actually enhanced even though rents are still increasing.
I understand that at this time Houston rents are escalating far above the national norm, but in the future this will moderate with new supply hitting the market.
Last edited by Jack Lance; 01-21-2019 at 02:16 PM..
This right here could have become the focal point of downtown and the entire city, especially now that this scene now contains the point of convergence for two(!) light rail lines. What's in the middle of that frame? A gigantic parking garage. Office buildings that offer nothing at street level.
I bet you put on a heavy jacket when it gets below 50 degrees.
Just curious, where would there be "excessive" humidity, in your estimation? The Amazon rainforest, perhaps?
Did you really just post a picture of a parking garage with multiple street-level shops to make your point? Lmao! Bewsflash: Houston is not the only city in America with parking garages that have ground level retail. NYC, SF, Chicago, etc. all do! Now Houston doesn't have the Chicago built form. It was not destroyed by a fire and rebuilt with careful planning, but it is still well on it's way to having a more liveable urban core. It's come a long way since 2000 alone, and even further along this decade. Chicago is definitely one of the better value cities in this country if you're looking for urban living. But there's a reason why there's so much "value" in Chicago...
Did you really just post a picture of a parking garage with multiple street-level shops to make your point? Lmao!
An AT&T phone store and an entrance to the tunnel system that is part of the reason why street level is dead. Whoopty-freakin'-do.
Another example. Montrose at Westheimer. Should be the focal point of Montrose. Last time I went through there, there was still a dead Blockbuster Video, a gas station and a Smoothie King.
You wouldn't understand if you've never been anywhere else.
An AT&T phone store and an entrance to the tunnel system that is part of the reason why street level is dead. Whoopty-freakin'-do.
Another example. Montrose at Westheimer. Should be the focal point of Montrose. Last time I went through there, there was still a dead Blockbuster Video, a gas station and a Smoothie King.
You wouldn't understand if you've never been anywhere else.
So now you want to gripe about one of the types of stores that's there? Are all businesses on this block supposed to be 24/7 or something? Luckily I've been many other places and can see that was just a bad example on your part.
Is Houston the only city with a phone store in its Downtown? For the pedestrian and walkability, going past that parking garage is not too bad on the eyes since there are multiple doorways and storefronts along the way.
Did you really just post a picture of a parking garage with multiple street-level shops to make your point? Lmao! Bewsflash: Houston is not the only city in America with parking garages that have ground level retail. NYC, SF, Chicago, etc. all do! Now Houston doesn't have the Chicago built form. It was not destroyed by a fire and rebuilt with careful planning, but it is still well on it's way to having a more liveable urban core. It's come a long way since 2000 alone, and even further along this decade. Chicago is definitely one of the better value cities in this country if you're looking for urban living. But there's a reason why there's so much "value" in Chicago...
The main reason Chicago is so much more affordable is because of the following reasons IMO:
1) It doesnt have desirable weather based on the preferences of most.
2) Its not short on space like NYC, LA, SF, DC, or Boston. This still plenty of space North and Northwest of the city.
3) It doesnt have a lot of appeal to an outdoors loving lifestyle. The lake is nice but thats about it. Though I must admit I loved driving to Wisconsin for the weekend when I lived there. Lots of great hiking and outdoor things to do there.
Still, Chicago is the best bang for your buck city in the country if you can deal with the weather. Its super segregated and corrupt, but those are things that wouldnt necessarily deter me per se.
But there's a reason why there's so much "value" in Chicago...
Do tell.
You get a reliable transit system where, for the most part, you don't even need to look at schedules and pretty much assume that you'll wait no more than 15 minutes for the next bus, and this says nothing of the El or Metra. I wouldn't need a car, and wouldn't want one. Here, you're a loser and barely employable without one.
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Now Houston doesn't have the Chicago built form. It was not destroyed by a fire and rebuilt with careful planning
The main difference between Houston and Chicago is the public transit, and what developed in Chicago was built around that. We're built around freeways, and the more we build and the more we expand, the more we sprawl and the more we drive. That was OK when rent wasn't approaching Chicago's level, but we've passed that point.
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but it is still well on it's way to having a more liveable urban core. It's come a long way since 2000 alone, and even further along this decade.
I know, I know, it's a work in progress. But you're paying finished product prices for an unfinished beta. My expectations go up the higher my rent is. Yours should too.
You get a reliable transit system where, for the most part, you don't even need to look at schedules and pretty much assume that you'll wait no more than 15 minutes for the next bus, and this says nothing of the El or Metra. I wouldn't need a car, and wouldn't want one. Here, you're a loser and barely employable without one.
It was spelled out in an above post.
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The main difference between Houston and Chicago is the public transit, and what developed in Chicago was built around that. We're built around freeways, and the more we build and the more we expand, the more we sprawl and the more we drive. That was OK when rent wasn't approaching Chicago's level, but we've passed that point.
But our rent is not at Chicago level if you compare similar neighborhoods. Why do you keep saying this? Also keep in mind, that Chicago has even higher property taxes and HOA fees. Many unions up there that raise the prices on a few things and those doormen gotta get paid too...
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I know, I know, it's a work in progress. But you're paying finished product prices for an unfinished beta. My expectations go up the higher my rent is. Yours should too.
You keep saying this about prices but it's not true. Houston prices are very comparable for other metro areas of its size. In fact, it's cheaper in many cases. Which areas are you exactly comparing Houston to in order to come up with this conclusion?
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Thatvis a NO in good old fashion NO HOA FEES. That was my point in that post. They are not cheaper and the taxes still high. other taxes yes lower or none existent. 
