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In four years here, Ive never felt anything I would call a sea breeze in Houston. In Galveston yes, Houston no. Yes, the temperatures are technically warmer in Dallas, but its certainly a good deal less humid. It is more cloudy in Houston in summer time but that doesnt help with the humidity or heat index at all.
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Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92
Dallas is humid, for hot hot it gets, but Houston is a good bit more humid, so on the heat index, it feels even hotter.
Actually, average heat indices in Dallas are about the same as Houston's, more or less. The lesser humidity in Dallas is counteracted by the markedly hotter temps, allowing the values to be similar...
However, heat index does not account for cooling sea-breeze/rainfall (which Houston has more of) and hotter solar radiation (which Dallas has more of). Hence the comfort factor of Houston in summer compared to Dallas.
It's an opinion, but a widely held one. Beauty is pretty subjective, but when a majority hold an opinion it means something.
And an opinion is not truth, no matter how widely held it is.
Plus, make sure also that you're not conflating your own bias with what people truly believe.
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The particulars would be: The flatness, sprawl, the massive parking lots and frontage roads, with pavement all along them, run down buildings mixed in throughout the city rather then relegated to run down areas. Oh and on top of that the ditches along roads which look trashy and often have trash in them.
Basically Houston takes very little advantage of the natural beauty it does have which isn't "Striking" to begin with. A place like Phoenix can get away with pretty uninspiring architecture and still have a beautiful mountain backdrop, but Houston's attractive natural quality (which is basically just the green) needs to be tended and structured and for the most part, is not.
For the record, Id be the first to say Dallas isn't a whole lot better, it it a little hillyer and a little less green, but all in all isn't that pretty either.
But yeah, you might not believe it, but I can hold all the above opinions and still really like Houston and enjoy visiting fairly frequently.
Again, nothing you've said is really compelling in the context of your argument ("that Houston is ugliest city of any size in Texas"). You're free to your belief, and I'm free to expose any faultiness behind it.
Last edited by kemahkami; 11-04-2018 at 11:20 AM..
but Dallas has a more memorable skyline. A tourist is more likely to buy a postcard of the Dallas skyline given a choice.
Which is nothing that can be said for certain. And even if it could, the factors would largely be extrinsic rather than intrinsic (i.e. greater exposure on media vs actual architectural quality).
Scrappy, can't give you rep again, I gotta spread the "joy", I mean the reps around first. You're new here, but you should really accumulate the reps if you become a regular.
-I never appreciated DFW airport enough. Its so much more user friendly than Bush is. DFW also served about 30 more destinations than Bush does. Bush does have more international carriers but that isnt enough to make up the difference for me.
IAH has a simpler and more logical set-up though. There are 5 (really 3) terminals neatly set up in a row. You can go between the terminals pre- and post-security and both trains loop around the terminals. The gates are spaced closer together (shorter walks) in terminals A, B, C and D. Terminal E is the newest and very sprawly (longer walk) to accommodate the larger jumbo jets.
DFW is a poor connecting airport, but a good origin & destination airport with an exit in front of each gate (Good luck coming back if you accidentally exit the sterile area--and your layover is pretty short and the security line is long!). The gates are a much longer walk between each other and there are more terminals with consecutive gate numbers.
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-The way each city views the other is different. People in Houston view Dallas a city with only white people and people in Dallas view Houston as a strictly blue collar city. The stereotypes are worn and tired.
DFW northern and southern halves is more like Chicago's white northern city proper and the neighboring north and west suburbs and the black South Side and blue collar south suburbs. Most of the population is north of I-30 and I-20 is almost rural. Historically white people lived north of Downtown Dallas, while blacks cluster around Redbird and surrounding cities.
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-When people in Dallas complain about Houston, they mainly seem to complain about the humidity and ugliness of the industrial side of the city but I never heard people in Dallas complain about the people. When people in Houston complain about Dallas, they only seem to complain about the people. This makes me quite annoyed with Houstonians who do that.
Your first comment about political polarization and this subsequent comments answer this question:
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-People in Houston place a greater emphasis on their culinary and fine arts scene. People in Dallas place a greater emphasis on shopping and nightlife.
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-Dallas has a far more consumerist mindset. People in Houston are far more laid back.
(Dallasites are users?). The MFAH is the best art museum in Texas hands down. Dallas is more infatuated with statuary though with the Nasher and the various statuary outdoor public art around there. I will give compliments to NorthPark with its innovative fusion of Modern/Contemporary art museum and mall. The Theater District in Downtown Houston was a big draw when I passed through Downtown last night, even though the Holidays have not started yet.
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-Both cities are more religious than your average city (Dallas ever so slightly moreso), but I never once in either city had anyone ask me about my beliefs, where I went to church, or anything else on topic. I never understood the need to paint either place as overly religious. Agnostics like myself can exist either place and never have to be caught up in religious culture.
Even though the Evangelical Christian scene is big in Texas (more so in DFW than in Houston), I'll limit my comments to Rome and Canterbury:
The Houston Catholic diocese has been elevated to an Archdiocese and has been headed by a cardinal so far (also embellishing the city's national and global importance to Rome) who currently happens to be the President of the U.S. bishop's conference (and the most powerful man in American Catholicism currently). Ironically his predecessor held the same position.
The Anglican Ordinariates are a concession for former Anglcians/Episcopalians to become Catholic, while retaining Canterburian sensibilities that are not in conflict with Catholic teaching. The North American (U.S. and Canada) division is located in the Spring Branch neighborhood of Houston. Oddly enough, I would say that most of the past and current clergy at the cathedral hail from Fort Worth.
Both Catholic and Episcopalian Texas diocesan structures originate as subdivisions from the Galveston/Houston diocese. The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is a nod to the history of the Christian message originating from the Gulf Coast.
In the Episcopal Church, it's been said that the DFW area leans Anglo-Catholic, more high church (closer to Roman Catholicism in ceremony) than the Houston area. The Houston area is said to lean broad church (halfway between Catholicism and Puritan Protestantism) to low-church (Calvinist-leaning Evangelical). The Fort Worth diocese left for a right-wing, schismatic African-based denomination and according to Wikipedia, the Dallas diocese will leave if the national Episcopal Church leaves the global Anglican Communion.
It's really hard to find a high church, Anglo-Catholic Eucharist in Houston, but the dominant broad church movement models itself on neighboring post-Vatican 2 suburban Catholic parishes with varying degrees of solemnity. The high church services, architecture, and vestments that are more common on the East Coast (and to a limited extent in California) are rarely found in Houston.
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-Fort Worth is the unsung hero of the Metroplex. What I did enjoy about living in Dallas was being able to go to Fort Worth and get a completely different flavor. Dallas and Fort Worth truly complement each other very well despite the rivalry. Part of the selling point of living in Dallas was Fort Worth. Houston really doesnt have an equivalent. Ive heard the arguement made for Galveston but its simply not the same. Its further and is more culturally isolated from Houston. The two just dont interact as much.
Besides Galveston, The Woodlands/Conroe also qualifies. Houston has various scenery that would be perfect for movie production.
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-I miss being able to drive to the foothills of the Ozarks which was only 3-3.5 hours from Dallas. That said, there are things Id miss about Houston's proximity too. I like being able to go the beaches in South Texas or drive to New Orleans and that was a plane trip from Dallas.
The setting on the edge of the Piney Woods is gives an East Texas feel and Lakes Conroe and Houston is a nod to the various lakes around DFW. Both give a feel of the Ozarks (with very slight hills).
The city and suburbs make up the second layer of the cake, while the coastal area makes up the bottom layer. Like L.A., you can go from the forest and the beach in one day!
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-Im not gay but my wife and I love going to gay clubs. The gay scene in Dallas is HUGE. Houston has nothing that comes close to Dallas on the level of gay nightlife.
They do blend in with everyone else. It wasn't an issue during former mayor, Anise Parker, 3 campaigns. The first inauguration was the first time that it became widely known about her sexual preferences with her partner and adopted child in the audience.
The only time it became an issue was the Equal Rights Ordinance at the end of her last term. It had been passed quietly in Austin, Dallas, and a few DFW suburbs, but any law would become a big deal in Texas politics if it reached the spotlight in Houston. It's also been said that the Mayor of Houston is the second most powerful politician in Texas, next to the Governor (really the Lieutenant Governor due to TX Constitutional peculiarities).
The cell phone ordinance was the last issue in the spotlight but it had bypassed Houston through state-level legislation. An evangelical, non-denominational church barely in the city limits drew up a referendum petition. The state GOP did the rest of the marketing with the "Bathroom Bill". And the rest is history.
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So based on all of this, do I have a preference? I do have a slight preference for Houston for two reasons:
1) the people are genuinely more laid back
2) the culinary scene is objectively better. There are some aspects of the food scene that are better in Dallas (the Korean and Japanese food leap to mind), but overall Houston does win out there.
The Houston restaurant industry is very competitive. Restaurants come and go, but many stick around for the long-term. It's dominated by mom-and-pop entrepreneurial startups, which can give newly transplanted out-of-town chains a run-for-their-money. That's one reason that In-n-Out delayed expansion to Houston.
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Originally Posted by Johnhw2
One of the bigger surprises me to living in Houston was Harris County Jury Duty. The instructions are in three languages. English, Spanish and......Vietnamese. Really, it shocked me.
I looked at the sample ballots on the county website for a friend and was astonished that those three languages, along with Chinese, are on the ballot. (Also note the length of the ballot for the 3rd most populous county in the U.S.A.) Fort Bend County only offers English and Spanish on the eSlate.
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I also noticed if you go to an area some call Asia town, the signs have english and Vietnamese on them.
It's called Alief!
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Ive been told the Chinese like the no zoning and live and let live nature of Houston, as they tend to be suspicious of big government run processes.
I lived in the energy cooridor area where Russia Grocery stores and a club/restaurant called the Russia Bear.
Well you named two totalitarian countries in a row!
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Something like 80 plus foreign consulates and embassies in Houston too, well above most US cities driven by the energy business I think
Speaking of Russia, the NYC and Houston consulates are the only ones operating for now due to Trump's expulsions. There have been a lot of Russians flying into town for the Galleria-area consulate lately for routine consular stuff that would have been done in their region of the U.S.A. if not for the closures.
The only countries that has a consular-general presence in Texas, but not in Houston, is Canada and Ireland.
Also note, the Philippine consulate is now (re-)open!
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Originally Posted by kwr
I would add that Houston visibly has more trees than Dallas. One of the things I missed living in Dallas was not seeing mature trees. Maybe it was because I relocated from Atlanta to Dallas, and trees were in an abundance in Atlanta.
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Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92
The truth is that Houston is the least physically attractive city of any size in Texas.
It's more of the fact that Texas is ugly and Texans aren't big on aesthetics. An example: Los Angeles is definitely an aesthetic city when it comes to architecture, (modern/contemporary) art, fitness, beach/mountain scenery. Chicago when it comes to building downtowns and lakefront parks. It spawned the namesake Chicago School at the dawn of the 20th Century. Many cities around the world have been influenced by Chicago's architects and engineers.
Texans aren't big on aesthetics. An example: Los Angeles is definitely an aesthetic city when it comes to architecture, (modern/contemporary) art, fitness, beach/mountain scenery. Chicago when it comes to building downtowns and lakefront parks. It spawned the namesake Chicago School at the dawn of the 20th Century. Many around the world have been influenced by Chicago's architects and engineers.
But this I can somewhat agree with. A large part of the aesthetics of those cities come from creative mindset, which seems better fostered in those areas than in much of Texas.
Actually, average heat indices in Dallas are about the same as Houston's, more or less. The lesser humidity in Dallas is counteracted by the markedly hotter temps, allowing the values to be similar...
However, heat index does not account for cooling sea-breeze/rainfall (which Houston has more of) and hotter solar radiation (which Dallas has more of). Hence the comfort factor of Houston in summer compared to Dallas.
Um, but most people I've met consider Houston more uncomfortable. I'm a pretty active person, grew up in DFW, and I walk a lot during the summer, including during the day. I went on walks every night one autumn while I attended UH and I would return to my dorm covered in sweat. The humidity makes it worse because the sweat in Houston won't evaporate.
Actually, average heat indices in Dallas are about the same as Houston's, more or less. The lesser humidity in Dallas is counteracted by the markedly hotter temps, allowing the values to be similar...
However, heat index does not account for cooling sea-breeze/rainfall (which Houston has more of) and hotter solar radiation (which Dallas has more of). Hence the comfort factor of Houston in summer compared to Dallas.
You didn’t contradict anything I said. The daytime is unpleasant in both Dallas and Houston in the summer. I said the night time is much more pleasant in Dallas during the summer because the humidity traps the heat in all hours of the day here. Dallas isn’t that humid so the heat fades when the sun goes down.
Dallas isn’t that humid so the heat fades when the sun goes down.
What? No it doesn't. Dallas is regularly past 100F heat index at 10:00pm in the summer. Dallas low hot of summer temperature is typically around 6:00am at the mid 70s. Dallas is not as humid as Houston or most of the rest of the south, but is still one of the most humid places in the US.
What? No it doesn't. Dallas is regularly past 100F heat index at 10:00pm in the summer. Dallas low hot of summer temperature is typically around 6:00am at the mid 70s. Dallas is not as humid as Houston or most of the rest of the south, but is still one of the most humid places in the US.
Compared to Houston it absolutely does.
Remember the point of the thread is only to compare the two. Dallas summers are brutal, they arent as brutal as Houston summers IMO because at night time in Dallas the weather does cool down some. In Houston, it doesnt. It is just as muggy.
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