With or Against Development (Houston, Katy: house, neighborhood, movies)

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

I bet if you search hard enough you'll find some Mexican, maybe indian move filmed in Houston. try that. we're a pretty cool city in Mexico ya know

........lame

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by EEstudent

Well "elite" cities might be known as having some of these things; they still have their perks that Houston lacks; When was the last time a movie was made in Houston? Has Houston ever had a parade nationally televised? I just believe that Houston is worlds away from Chicago; L.A. ; New York; Boston; Philadelphia; etc.

But Houston is not bad at all; when compared to the sunbelt cities. Houston is tops when you put it to that standard

...and Houston has perks that those cities lack...greater racial harmony, fewer folks on federal subsidies (at least for now), more persons who own homes, jobs, lower cost of living, etc.

[texas7]

[quote=EEstudent;6665358]Thats exactly the loop of this whole city; Why would I live in an apartment that costs 1000 a month where i can move somewhere that would cost me 600/mo. Because that first apartment is in midtown?
I dont know about you but it would be eating at me the whole time if i knew that I could be living for half as much somewhere not too far from the current establishment.


That's just it - it's pretty easy you pay more to live closer to certain amenities - more nightlife, quirky restaurants, etc., if you work in town - closer to employment centers. If you have a family - then you choose to live toward subarbs that cater to that lifestyle such as Sugarland, Pearland, Woodlands, and so on. You have a farther commute in thus the cheaper rent.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by EEstudent

Thats exactly the loop of this whole city; Why would I live in an apartment that costs 1000 a month where i can move somewhere that would cost me 600/mo. Because that first apartment is in midtown?
I dont know about you but it would be eating at me the whole time if i knew that I could be living for half as much somewhere not too far from the current establishment.

Remind me again what your point is and what you want to see? The closer you get to downtown the more expensive land gets. That's typically true in any city. Supply and demand ratio, and the supply is very limited. If you're calling for more urban development that's only going to exacerbate the imbalance. If it would eat at you now to pay double over a suburban apartment how are you going to handle paying triple?

Originally Posted by EEstudent

Well "elite" cities might be known as having some of these things; they still have their perks that Houston lacks; When was the last time a movie was made in Houston? Has Houston ever had a parade nationally televised?

Who cares? How does it tangibly affect my life if a movie gets made here or a parade gets televised? Am I going to get a royalty or a dividend? Bragging rights are for college kids who don't have a mortgage and a family to support.

[studiobtm]

Originally Posted by EEstudent

What would you consider an "elite" city?

Im not saying that you must have these things to be "elite"

but there is a large amount of press that elite cities have that Houston does not.

I despise the concept of "elite" - a concept that is becoming dangerously popular. I despise the "dinosaur media" the pushes the concept.

I live in the suburbs in a big house with a pool. Where I am at in my life I love it. If I was in a different place I might want to live downtown in an apartment. These are just preferences - one has no moral superiority over another regardless of the neo-fascist, social engineering "elite" subculture that tries to self-servingly define what is "cool" or politically correct, or green.

Do I think Houston could be improved? Yes - I have my opinions on the subject.
Downtown need to be pressure washed. It's just dirty.

There is too much empty office space. That might be a tax issue, it might be overbuilt, there could be transportation issues or it could be a combination.

I would love to see restrictive sign laws and power lines moved underground. I know the expense of moving lines underground as I used to work for a power company, so, it would be a long term project.

Better, but not unreasonable, zoning.

Transportation is an issue - gridlock. But I'm not willing to stupidly throw money at the issue like I think we have done with the light rail - just to raise the city's "coolness" factor. Even though I used the light rail for several months during my last contract.

All that said, I have lived all over the world and there are few places and very few large cities that I prefer over Houston.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by studiobtm

I despise the concept of "elite" - a concept that is becoming dangerously popular. I despise the "dinosaur media" the pushes the concept.

I live in the suburbs in a big house with a pool. Where I am at in my life I love it. If I was in a different place I might want to live downtown in an apartment. These are just preferences - one has no moral superiority over another regardless of the neo-fascist, social engineering "elite" subculture that tries to self-servingly define what is "cool" or politically correct, or green.

Do I think Houston could be improved? Yes - I have my opinions on the subject.
Downtown need to be pressure washed. It's just dirty.

There is too much empty office space. That might be a tax issue, it might be overbuilt, there could be transportation issues or it could be a combination.

I would love to see restrictive sign laws and power lines moved underground. I know the expense of moving lines underground as I used to work for a power company, so, it would be a long term project.

Better, but not unreasonable, zoning.

Transportation is an issue - gridlock. But I'm not willing to stupidly throw money at the issue like I think we have done with the light rail - just to raise the city's "coolness" factor. Even though I used the light rail for several months during my last contract.

All that said, I have lived all over the world and there are few places and very few large cities that I prefer over Houston.

I agree that the media pushes what is elite and what is not; I also despise the fact that people have created a subculture of starbucks and lexus. Of course there are places like that in houston full of these kinds of people Rice Village; Montrose; Uptown etc. I feel like running them over when they are sitting out in the patio of a Starbucks!

But to you the "coolness" factor might not make a difference; however for the folks that make up the next generation (i.e. the 20-30 age group) the "coolness" factor is something that weighs heavily on their mind(granted every youngster has a different perception of whats cool and whats not);
The city of Houston should invest in more centralized zoning; better infastructure and roadways; lure more and more offices into downtown.

IMO; one of the most blatent lack of zoning is...
Reliant arena, why in the world did they stick that thing in on the edge of the Medical Center!?!

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by DiverTodd62

Remind me again what your point is and what you want to see? The closer you get to downtown the more expensive land gets. That's typically true in any city. Supply and demand ratio, and the supply is very limited. If you're calling for more urban development that's only going to exacerbate the imbalance. If it would eat at you now to pay double over a suburban apartment how are you going to handle paying triple?

Who cares? How does it tangibly affect my life if a movie gets made here or a parade gets televised? Am I going to get a royalty or a dividend? Bragging rights are for college kids who don't have a mortgage and a family to support.

Well, you do have a valid point; however if I rented an apartment in a large city; I could have some peace because I know that the guy that lives 3-4 mi. away is paying about the same as me. But here in Houston you move around 3-4 mi. in a certain direction and the rent is significantly decreased.

And for the second part...
Yes you have kids; you live in a suburbia lifestyle; bur for the next generation there are other things that matter. College kids are supposed to be having the time of their lives and if they live in a city that largely caters to the married suburbia lifestyle then the youth is put at a disadvantage

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by EEstudent

Well, you do have a valid point; however if I rented an apartment in a large city; I could have some peace because I know that the guy that lives 3-4 mi. away is paying about the same as me. But here in Houston you move around 3-4 mi. in a certain direction and the rent is significantly decreased.

And for the second part...
Yes you have kids; you live in a suburbia lifestyle; bur for the next generation there are other things that matter. College kids are supposed to be having the time of their lives and if they live in a city that largely caters to the married suburbia lifestyle then the youth is put at a disadvantage

I think you're NEVER going to have equality in pricing in this or any other city, EVER. Calling for more offices and zoning is only going to increase that disparity. I don't think you realize the consequences of what you think you want.

As for "coolness", youth in any generation typically places greater value on this but then they grow up. Cool is "cool" just don't expect me to agree to higher taxes so college kids can have the time of their lives.

[jd2008]

Rushmore and Reality Bites were filmed in Houston.

But to be fair, the former never overtly pointed out that the movie was in Houston. If anything, it attempted to portray (what I would argue is) a very "un-Houston" image given that Houston is so dominated by the burbs. The later...well, the entire movie was about how horrible reality was to the main characters and that reality was (among other things)...Houston.

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by jd2008

Rushmore and Reality Bites were filmed in Houston.

But to be fair, the former never overtly pointed out that the movie was in Houston. If anything, it attempted to portray (what I would argue is) a very "un-Houston" image given that Houston is so dominated by the burbs. The later...well, the entire movie was about how horrible reality was to the main characters and that reality was (among other things)...Houston.

really sad