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For downtown living its all DTLA. The fact that 60,000 people live in DTLA and growing and only 4000 live in dt Houston says alot. There is no comparison imo.
I do not think the OP believes that both cities compare, if he does he has a screw missing. Metro LA has over 23 million residents while metro Houston has over 6.5 million residents. How on earth are they going to compare?
Downtown Houston has relatively lots to offer. (read my post on pg3) and a lot of people here are happy with that. Now NY and LA has more obviously but there are other factors that some may not like, such as the costs, the cold, or too dry and brown, etc.
The OP must have a reason as to why he came up with Houston as a choice. If he is looking for more he would have chosen to remain in NY or go directly to LA period.
FYI - you're not going to find anything remotely similar to NYC (especially Brooklyn) in Houston OR LA. Not in terms of urbanity, walkability, or pubic transit.
If COL isn't a significant factor, go with LA on sheer amenities alone. DTLA is amazing in 2016. It's not the safest place to be in the city to be honest (it's very sleazy to this day, even in many of the nice parts), but many of the best restaurants and bars in the city are there and it's super hip.
Why do you mention public transit in your post if you're looking to move to a cities known for their sprawl like LA and Houston?
Well you can't go wrong with both cities. LA offers far greater than Houston do to the fact it's a much larger populated city, but LA is no NYC by any means. Houston on the other hand is growing even through and oil bust. Next year downtown Houston will be opening up thousands of new apartments and hotels. So the whole downtown Houston doesn't have any people living there is quite false. OP have you considered any other cities like San Diego, Austin, New Orleans, Dallas or Atlanta?
I am going to say exactly why this is a great post. Neither Downtown LA nor Downtown Houston are the city's main attraction. Houston's downtown is better than most make it seem however, being that neither city really has the best downtown to most city data user standards. But LA takes a slight lead right now, and Houston has been investing a lot more in its downtown. Midtown is lively as people say and its right across the street so that has helped Houston's downtown expand in recent years. A lot more invesments have been made. If you look at Downtown Houston before the 80s and now, a lot of progress has taken place and more in on the way.
I am going to say exactly why this is a great post. Neither Downtown LA nor Downtown Houston are the city's main attraction. Houston's downtown is better than most make it seem however, being that neither city really has the best downtown to most city data user standards. But LA takes a slight lead right now, and Houston has been investing a lot more in its downtown. Midtown is lively as people say and its right across the street so that has helped Houston's downtown expand in recent years. A lot more invesments have been made. If you look at Downtown Houston before the 80s and now, a lot of progress has taken place and more in on the way.
I think you are right in many ways.
That being said. I think the main difference to me are the districts that DTLA has which are very unique. I know for sure that Downtown Houston does not have a pinata district. I don't think Downtown Houston has a fashion district, Flower District, or Jewelry District. This is a decent Map of DTLA. Although, it's not complete. It doesn't even include south park a.k.a LA Live and many other districts for some reason including the aforementioned Pinata district. Not sure why I can't find a map of DTLA inside and outside the loop.
DTLA really is a cool little place. No it is not the focal point of LA but it packs a strong punch for a place that was dead 10 years ago. It's pretty desirable now. To the point it has an argument of being the "coolest" place in LA.
If you ever get a chance to go to the renovated Ace Hotel which opened up around 2-3 years ago, GO!
There are places just like that all along Broadway that were basically abandoned but are seeing new life. It's still pretty damn dingy and tons of homeless. Kinda part of the charm if you have lived there long enough.
Last edited by afropack-man; 09-15-2016 at 11:29 PM..
This is a comparison between downtowns. I like Houston a lot , and think it is a very under-rated city on this site, but downtown L.A. right now is in a different league to downtown Houston. For starters, it is way bigger, and while bad things happened to the historic fabric of downtown L.A. in the sixties and seventies, it was not decimated by highway construction to the extent that downtown Houston was, and downtown Houston was much smaller to start with. In 2016, L.A. can claim to be have a top ten downtown in the U.S., Houston would struggle to make the top 30. Even just in Texas, downtown Austin, San Antonio and Fort Worth are all more populated, lively, dense, and interesting. The tunnels in downtown Houston make for poor street liveliness during the day and at night, with the exception of a few pockets, downtown Houston is deserted. In contrast, right now downtown L.A. buzzes. The residential population is quadruple the size of downtown Houston. There are way more bars, restaurants. clubs etc. Downtown Houston may be cheaper, but you get what you pay for. Coming from NYC, they are both gonna be a disappointing adjustment (except for the weather), but downtown L.A. offers a much much more urban experience than downtown Houston in 2016.
Downtown L.A. got this one over Houston: livelier, bigger, more happening and booming a lot harder. This downtown got some retail action and Houston's downtown has very, very few retail.
I do not think the OP believes that both cities compare, if he does he has a screw missing. Metro LA has over 23 million residents while metro Houston has over 6.5 million residents. How on earth are they going to compare?
Downtown Houston has relatively lots to offer. (read my post on pg3) and a lot of people here are happy with that. Now NY and LA has more obviously but there are other factors that some may not like, such as the costs, the cold, or too dry and brown, etc.
The OP must have a reason as to why he came up with Houston as a choice. If he is looking for more he would have chosen to remain in NY or go directly to LA period.
True. The OP never did expound much on what was wanted.
I'v read every single feedback comment on this thread. I'v made a final decision based on my new knowledge of both cities. I'm going with LA because Houston seems like the more affordable LA lifestyle without the bonus features like weather, mountains, closer proximity to beaches and so on.
This thread was important for me to create to insure any final thoughts on considering Texas
To the person who said i didn't expand enough to clarify what i wanted, i'm just an urbanologist who wants to explore different layouts of massive metro regions. I'v lived in ultra density and now i want to experience intense sprawl with mini urban cores spread out. Houston does a very good job at this, however LA is up there with Tokyo,Paris, London status. I crave the rat race environment. LA looks like it won't disappoint.
NYC and LA will always be the unsurpassable top two mega-o-polis' in the United States.
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