If Texas is soo great, why is it so cheap? (Houston: mcmansions, apartments)

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by newportbeachsmostwanted

Sooo to sum it up:


LARGE supply.
LOW demand.

=cheap Texas. ??????????

No. Large supply, and a healthy demand. If there was no demand, then Texas would not have grown by 580,000 (from 2005-2006). Also, who says Texas doesn't have jobs? There are plenty. In fact, Houston added over 100,000 jobs last year alone.

[Aggie01]

Originally Posted by mpope409

I was mostly referring to her comment about liberalism and "unwanted land," but Houston is not that sprawled out. It goes up in many places all over the metro area and several parts of it are walking areas. If Houston sucked in urban planning, then everybody would have to drive 90% of all the places they went in the city, and that's not the case.

Yes Houston is indeed spread out, but I'm sick and tired of people looking at that as a flaw. I get the idea that people want Houston to copy-cat and adopt the east coast lifestyle and that just isn't necessary.

I love Houston dearly, but it *is* sprawled...as are most other "newer" cities in the South and West U.S. That's just the nature of the beast. Southern California is sprawl, Phoenix is incredible sprawl, Atlanta, and most cities in Texas too (San Antonio and Austin are going the way of Houston) Dallas has a little density going for it, but it's still a southern town and will never be as tightly compact as the cities of the North and Midwest.

Houston is not *that* walkable. You want walkable cities? Visit NYC, Chicago, Boston.

There's no need for cities to be compact and walkable anymore. Most people are fully dependent on cars. Sad, but true. Texas seems to be one of the worst offenders in this respect.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by Aggie01

I love Houston dearly, but it *is* sprawled...as are most other "newer" cities in the South and West U.S. That's just the nature of the beast. Southern California is sprawl, Phoenix is incredible sprawl, Atlanta, and most cities in Texas too (San Antonio and Austin are going the way of Houston) Dallas has a little density going for it, but it's still a southern town and will never be as tightly compact as the cities of the North and Midwest.

Houston is not *that* walkable. You want walkable cities? Visit NYC, Chicago, Boston.

There's no need for cities to be compact and walkable anymore. Most people are fully dependent on cars. Sad, but true. Texas seems to be one of the worst offenders in this respect.

I never implied that it was that walkable, but several parts of it are that way. Just ask people who have visited and were very surprised to see a lot of people walking about. And actually there is a demand for walking communities which is why Houston is now undergoing these changes to make commute more convenient for those who want it. For this reason, Houston cannot be compared to any other city in this country for its 21st century options. It's not just another southern city. It is its own place.

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by Aggie01

I love Houston dearly, but it *is* sprawled...as are most other "newer" cities in the South and West U.S. That's just the nature of the beast. Southern California is sprawl, Phoenix is incredible sprawl, Atlanta, and most cities in Texas too (San Antonio and Austin are going the way of Houston) Dallas has a little density going for it, but it's still a southern town and will never be as tightly compact as the cities of the North and Midwest.

Houston is not *that* walkable. You want walkable cities? Visit NYC, Chicago, Boston.

There's no need for cities to be compact and walkable anymore. Most people are fully dependent on cars. Sad, but true. Texas seems to be one of the worst offenders in this respect.

How can you say Dallas has a little density going for it? Houston has more. Within the same radius from both cities Downtown's, Houston has more multi-family units going up than Dallas.

[mpope409]

And see, people will always have their opinions about how "suburban" and spread out Houston is, but whenever I'm out on the town I always feel smothered and like I'm right on top of people lol. Yeah, it's wide but most of it is also pretty smushy.

[Trainwreck20]

Houston is sprawled, and has no zoning, so I guess you could call that unplanned. I actually think that Houston is one of the few sprawled cities that seem to make some sense. There is little in the way of terrain to affect planning, so Houston has a very sensible road system - concentric loops with spokes. Also, although Houston has only a small rail system, there is so much potential due to the density of downtown and the concentration of industry in specific areas.

As far as Houston being walkable, I only see pedestrians downtown. Further out, almost everyone drives anywhere. Personally, I think that has to do with the heat/humidity. Who wants to sweat going to lunch and then go back to work .

[JJG]

Originally Posted by newportbeachsmostwanted

Here's a question for you Texans:
If Texas is so great then why is it so cheap?

Well there you go. You just answered your own question.

Texas is great because you don't have to be a millionare to live here. So, so, soooooooooooooo many Californians move out here (for other reasons, but also...) because of the price of living here. You don't have to worry about earthquakes and blizzards as much, either.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Houston is sprawled, and has no zoning, so I guess you could call that unplanned. I actually think that Houston is one of the few sprawled cities that seem to make some sense. There is little in the way of terrain to affect planning, so Houston has a very sensible road system - concentric loops with spokes. Also, although Houston has only a small rail system, there is so much potential due to the density of downtown and the concentration of industry in specific areas.

As far as Houston being walkable, I only see pedestrians downtown. Further out, almost everyone drives anywhere. Personally, I think that has to do with the heat/humidity. Who wants to sweat going to lunch and then go back to work .

Right now it is sprawled, but in the years to come, it's just going to be BIG with a wide land area as developers are making more and more high reaching buildings. More options for living amongst business areas making commute more convenient and walking even more feasible than it is now for some.

[monarox]

Actually Not High Crime, Killer 2021.

I Agree W/ Scholar.

[Midway_FUBAR]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Houston is sprawled, and has no zoning, so I guess you could call that unplanned.

Agreed, the lack of zoning in Houston is just plain silly. Why would I spend a ton of money developing something in the city just to have another neighborhood dive bar pop up next door or worse yet another porn shop...

I wouldn't spend a penny to develop inside the city of Houston. The outlying communities of Katy or Sugarland however provide the kind of protection that builders really need and that drives the sprawl as much as anything else.

What I'm seeing at the moment is master planned communities that are zoned and protected and in essence are mini-cities with their own infrastructure of commercial zoned area supporting groups of 2k-3k homes. That is the future of this area IMHO...

As to the original poster's question, same answer that has been given repeatedly, lots of land and people willing to drive further to save more on their home.