Is Houston For Me? (important life decision -- please help!) (Dallas: neighborhood, construction)

[Malvie]

Originally Posted by dper11

If you are looking for a more cosmopolitan city try Dallas. If you want a younger and hip scene try Austin.

Disagree about Dallas being more "cosmo". I've lived in both cities. Houston is much less "East Texas" and more "World City" than Dallas.

[CanTex]

Originally Posted by Malvie

Disagree about Dallas being more "cosmo". I've lived in both cities. Houston is much less "East Texas" and more "World City" than Dallas.

Absolutely agree. Houston definitely has a more worldly feel to it... after all, why are so many more foreign consulates located here? Look at the airlines IAH has been attracting vs. DFW.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by worldlyman

cebu,

(Are you of Filipino decent also? I am.)...

Houston has had an independent, liberal-type female mayor, black mayor and black police chiefs in recent times. Not so in "Sun Diego." San Diego has typically been mayored by vehement white conservatives. (Roger Hedgecock was one right wing mayor and became a more vicious reactionary San Diego talk show host!)

But perhaps give San Diego a try. Maybe it is for you but always have your driver's license on hand when you drive. The various police agencies out there practice Soviet era roadblocks out there and check your papers even if there's no probable cause on your vehicle. And I'm not speaking of the usual Border Patrol stations. We're talking city police that check your papers Soviet-style...everybody lined up like its a foreign country or something.

California in general is not in good sorts...with its budget black holes and all...

In other words, the world would be such a happy, shiny place without all those dang annoying white people!

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by CanTex

Absolutely agree. Houston definitely has a more worldly feel to it... after all, why are so many more foreign consulates located here? Look at the airlines IAH has been attracting vs. DFW.

Having lived in both cities (and one who loves both of them) I would say Dallas has a more "upscale" type of cosmopolitan feel to it, while Houston has a more easygoing "international" cosmopolitan vibe.

[EEstudent]

Originally Posted by worldlyman

cebu,

(Are you of Filipino decent also? I am.)

I'm a person of left-leaning persuasion, who'd lived in San Diego for four years. San Diego is not really for people who are "deep thinking" or "eccentric." But for people whose sense of life perception is just sunshine, sunshine in "Sun Diego" and not much else, SD is perfect for them.

My wife and I left in Houston to go to San Diego in 2002 in order for her to gain her nursing reciprocity in California. We were of course excited. But for me, I saw how colonialist, repressive and socially divided San Diego is. I also saw what a bland place it is once the tourist packaging gets old in a month. I started to miss Houston and its wacky "do it yourself" appeal only after a few months.

I don't believe ultimately that down the road, SoCal is all that livable. I felt uneasy in 2006, left early (to Florida first) before coming back to Houston. I encouraged my wife to get the heck out of Dodge and she finally came back in 2007.

Houston's wide open spectrum of people, food and culture...San Diego just doesn't compare. Houston's a true big city in comparison...and it's a sense of place that is evolving ever so often, and that is its appeal to me. Chicago and such other fully-evolved cities cannot say that. They are finished fine products for the "urban" anally retentive but I prefer the tremendous laboratory or work-in-progress that is called Houston. San Diego is also a finished product, by the way.

San Diego's entertainment areas from Gas Lamp to Pacific Beach to La Jolla are repositories of basically white folks (tourists to military frat boys) congregating. Downtown Houston is at least a mix where throngs of Latinos, African-Americans and whites congregate even if they don't always go to the same establishments. Downtown Houston, an entertainment area of cultural Theater District sophistication juxtaposed with hip-hop culture and ale culture. What other Sun Belt city offers that?

Certain posters here that belittle Houston don't get out much. Last week I took a break from my late night work here in the Texas Med Center, took the rail to downtown on a Saturday night...and voila, there's a big city nightlife scene that looked just liked that of Chicago or L.A....but more integrated! Sidewalks full of people, bars and clubs in every corner...and some good slices of Frank's Pizza.

Of course, there are other vibrant nightlife areas spread out like Midtown, Washington Ave, Montrose, Rice Village...not to mention the well-laced corners down the Richmond and Westheimer corridors...

There's a New Chinatown area that rivals that of L.A.'s San Gabriel area already.

Houston's young and imperfect, yes, but don't let the Houston Haters deceive saying that it's not comparable to "other big cities." Especially when ex-denizens of "other big cities" have made their way en masse to Houston over the past decades.

Don't let the Houston Haters that seem to want the fun to come to them or have post card environments placed in front of their faces ruin what really is a great treasure in the Greater Houston area.

Houston's access to the large expanse of water is fairly good if not perfect...this coming from an ex-Florida guy. Galveston does not have the prettiest beach...but the MIXED Victorian funk, Gulf mystique and overall entertainment factor is more endearing than a lot of California and Florida beach towns that I've lived in or visited! Fishing at Sea Wolf park, eating awesome Italian food at Luigi's, soaking in the ghostly vibe of the nocturnal Strand, walking along the Sea Wall (it's a format that not many beach towns have) while people-watching in the summer or reflecting in the winter...it's hard to find an eccentric beach town like that (and while Venice in L.A. has the eccentrics not so much the genuine eccentric mystique of Galveston).

Apart from a beach environment, there's the touristy kitsch of Kemah, bifurcated into the cheesy but fun Kemah Boardwalk and the bawdier, mom-n-pop of the Kemah Lighthouse District.

The Gulf Coast access, Houston has it in a mere 24 to 50 minutes, depending on your location and destination. Other cities such as Las Vegas, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and so on...do not have this type of access. So it's all relative.

Oh yes, Houston also has a burgeoning forest-oriented entertainment district in its northern region...as a nice contrast to the Gulf attractions.

Weather here in Houston is actually pleasant 7 months out of the year. Many places around the world are hot year round. We get San Diego type variety weather for about 7 months, not bad. Plus the humidity balance has been better for my skin since returning to the Gulf Coast...my skin got chalky from San Diego's relative dryness. There's a price to pay for wanting no humidity at all.

Believe me, when you get a few miles away from the Pacific, it can get hot in San Diego come August and September...consider the urban heat factors, the indoor appliances and NOT MUCH a/c in those dwellings unless you live in the more expensive ones. I had to find ways to cool down living in Paradise Valley after a day at work! The weather down in Imperial Beach was great...but the neighborhood wasn't.

Segregation? San Diego has more so than Houston. Latino, African-American and even Asian-American cultural expression seems more vibrant here. In San Diego, they ignore the cultural and historic significance of something like Chicano Park. Here in Houston, something like Project Row evokes much greater pride in the information sheets.

Say you're from South Bay (western Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro, Imperial Beach...) and your buddies from around Rancho Bernardo and such will mentally pin you as someone not as materially blessed. There's definitely not that kind of societal mindset here in checkerboard Houston where there aren't really the insular ethnic neighborhoods of Chicago. People mix better here in the Space City.

There are many mosques here in Houston. Not so much in whitebread, militarist San Diego. It's great to have access to halal food here in H-town. There are Chinese and Vietnamese street signs in sectors of SW Houston and Midtown Houston, respectively...not so anywhere that I know of in San Diego.

You have greater access to wonderful things like Pakistani, Colombian and El Salvadoran food in Houston. In San Diego? Go to Los Angeles (and you're hard put to find Pakistani style food there). Only Filipino food and traditional Mexican food have greater variety in San Diego...but the rest of the gastronomic world is in Houston relatively.

Houston regularly has "Best Vietnamese" cafe in local rags, paying notice to its largest Asian group. When has San Diego ever had "Best Filipino" cafe in The Reader or any of those local mags, ignoring its largest Asian group? (Houston Press even had a category for "Best Filipino" cafe once.) NY food critic John Mariani said back in 1993 or so along the lines,that Houston "put Vietnamese food on the US culinary map."

Houston has had an independent, liberal-type female mayor, black mayor and black police chiefs in recent times. Not so in "Sun Diego." San Diego has typically been mayored by vehement white conservatives. (Roger Hedgecock was one right wing mayor and became a more vicious reactionary San Diego talk show host!)

This esssay is coming from a "Worldly Man" who was up at 1AM on a Saturday night doing this I tease I tease.... lol

But i did read your long and thought out response and although most of the response is comparing how crappy San Diego and LA are compared to Houston; for the most part I cannot say that your points are either true or false.

I can say this... although to you Houston might be happening and hip it still pales in comparison to the Nightlife in Chicago, NYC, L.A.
In Chicago on a Saturday night at around 11PM ALL OF DOWNTOWN IS PACKED... soo many people walking around.. so many cars and Taxi's... i mean it just comes alive! are you really going to say that about Houston?

And I think there is a general understanding that the people that move to Houston "en masse" are those who want to stretch their money, not because of it's "night life" or its "plethora of different cultures".

I have heard of Chicago being a less integrated as compared to Houston... but you cannot claim that Houston is so well mixed; I still see Indian people hanging out with Indian people, White Folks with the White Folks, Asians with the Asians... and so forth.

But you do have a point, about how Houston is an up and coming city; there are new areas being developed daily, and construction seems to be going on in every direction...
However, instead of the general public guiding and leading the change and upgrades to the city
URBAN PLANNERS and DEVELOPERS have a strangle-hold on what goes where, and what everything should look like; there is nothing organic or spontaneous growth about it. this is excluding Rice Village and Montrose my hats go off to those neighborhoods who have kept their looks and way of life even though the whole city is haphazardly building around them.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

while Houston has a more easygoing "international" cosmopolitan vibe.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Upscale" is typically shorthand for "douchebag magnet" where I stand.

[Big Dirty]

I agree with most of what people are saying here. However, Houston is extremely racist. White and Black people here get along very well. Also, you won't have any problem here with anyone except for Mexicans. Many Mexicans will ignore you. They will not speak to you in businesses and restaurants many times. Middle and upper class Mexicans are very friendly, but those people are few and far between. Houston is like a big Mexican ghetto in many aspects. You would have to be prepared for that when you come here. I speak Spanish fluently, but people pretend not to understand me. This can be frustrating. Just something to consider.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Big Dirty

I agree with most of what people are saying here. However, Houston is extremely racist. White and Black people here get along very well. Also, you won't have any problem here with anyone except for Mexicans. Many Mexicans will ignore you. They will not speak to you in businesses and restaurants many times. Middle and upper class Mexicans are very friendly, but those people are few and far between. Houston is like a big Mexican ghetto in many aspects. You would have to be prepared for that when you come here. I speak Spanish fluently, but people pretend not to understand me. This can be frustrating. Just something to consider.

So what you're saying is that most Mexicans are racist. Even if true, I don't see how that equates to Houston being racist.

[Big Dirty]

That is exactly what I am saying. Considering roughly half of Houston is Mexican that would make Houston a racist town. When you can go into Mexican businesses and feel unwanted, I say that makes a pretty big impact on the city. I have live in South and Central America and never felt the blatant racism like I do here in Houston. My wife is Colombian and can even tell that the people treat me differently even when I am with her and our Hispanic friends speaking Spanish.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Big Dirty

Considering roughly half of Houston is Mexican that would make Houston a racist town.

According to the last Census, 41.7% are Hispanic, not necessarily Mexican.

Nice try though.