Do you consider Houston a part of East Texas? (Dallas: restaurant, oil)

[Watchful]

If you went purely by compass points, Amarillo might be North Texas, but if you ask Amarillo folks I think they would say they live in West Texas.

It would be rare that you would hear a Houstonian say "It is so wonderful living here in East Texas."

They might say "I'll be heading up to East Texas for the weekend."

[texas7]

Well hello 2010

[tstone]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

Houston's Creole and Cajun influences are not "quite" watered down. That's a stretch.

Hmm... I've lived in the Houston area nearly all my life, but spent 4 years in "Cajun Texas" and I fully agree with the "quite watered down" comment. East Chambers County is where that region truly starts. There are some great people out there in that corner of Texas but it is quite a "different" place to say the least.

[Gunion Powder]

Originally Posted by detachable arm

Houston is the only big city in Texas with a Cajun/Creole influence, however it is quite watered down. There is only one part of Texas that may as well be in Louisiana and that is the Golden Triangle, where Cajun French can actually be found.

As far as the eastern parts of Houston being more like east Texas, that whole area is predominantly Hispanic (Mexican) from the east end out to Baytown. It also has plenty of folks from all over the US like Katy, except it is blue collar. I would say the far northeast beyond Kingwood is where East Texas begins, such as Cleveland.

Look at the demographics of all of Texas and then compare to the Houston metro, DFW, Austin, etc. The Houston area resembles the whole of Texas most closely.

Not sure about this whole "southeastern city" thing as Austin was 1/3rd black slave in the 1800s just like Houston. And climatically we are obviously more southeastern than southwestern, but so is San Antonio and Corpus.

I say a good part of Houston is "south of the south". San Antonio, Cajun swamp country, New Orleans and most of Florida also qualify.

BTW these debates happen because Houston has no real identity.

Many parts of Northeast Houston are still predominantly black or have a black plurality. You can find this from the Fifth Ward all the way to Atascocita. This is the part of town that bears many parallels to East Texas/the Deep South in both culture and terrain.

Houston sits as far east as Tyler, so I see no valid reason it couldn't be included as part of "greater East Texas".

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205

Houston's Creole and Cajun influences are not "quite" watered down. That's a stretch.

Houston's Cajun & creole influences are extremely and I mean extremely watered down. I've lived in both Houston and Louisiana, trust me they don't compare at all. The more creole areas in the Houston area which are the third Ward and fifth Ward and then some of the nearby areas of Galveston. The Cajun influence of Houston is so watered down, I don't even understand why this is a debate.

Now if you ask is there Cajun influence in the Greater Houston area, yes there is. But it is not in any way, shape or form anything similar to the culture. Chicago has a high Cajun population which gives its influence (obviously to a lesser degree) and it's not anything like yes.

Not only is the Cajun influence in Houston watered down, but it is also overshadowed by all the other cultures. Which include Tex-Mex, Latin culture with all its subcategories, the Asian culture. List goes on.

Now like I said, compared to other cities throughout the USA, yes Houston has more Cajun culture than them. But it's like adding a few grains of sugar in a water cup and saying that Sugar isn't watered down compared to Louisiana's Cajun culture.

[SouthernBoy205]

You're over-exaggerating.

[SouthernBoy205]

Most of Houston's southern food is very Creole and Cajun influenced, for starters. Look at Houston's history and look at how Creole and Cajun people have built communities and have added to the cultural fabric of the city.

Yes, Houston is very large and diverse to be considered Creole and Cajun like Louisiana (and Mississippi and Alabama along the coast) or even the Golden Triangle, but it's definitely not EXTREMELY watered down.

[annie_himself]

Houston's is watered down compared to Louisiana but is noticeable compared to other cities outside of Louisiana.

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

Houston's is watered down compared to Louisiana but is noticeable compared to other cities outside of Louisiana.

Watered down and EXTREMELY watered down are two extremes. lol

You didn't over-exaggerate. I was getting at the over-exaggeration.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

Houston's is watered down compared to Louisiana but is noticeable compared to other cities outside of Louisiana.

Oh yeah that's exactly what I said