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For real beach access you'd need to go to Galveston island which is what a 1-2 hour drive from the Houston metro depending on where you are in that. I mean that's a bit like saying Philly has beach access because you can drive to Atlantic City. It's not technically false, but it could also mislead you regarding the character of the city.
It depends on where you live in Houston. The Woodlands? Yes, more than an hour but it says more about Houston’s massive size than the proximity to the coast. (Houston is bigger than the entire state of NJ.)
If you’re coming from somewhere say Pearland or League City, less than half an hour. (Or even shorter.) And you do have very Florida-like beach community, flora and all, water sports and activity the closer you’re to the Gulf including Clearlake near NASA.
My friend lives in Sparta NJ, a Northwestern Jersey mountain-y bear country, some might even call “in the sticks”. She would have to drive almost 2 hrs (depends on traffic, NJ traffic is not easy breezy either.) to the Jersey shore. It’s known that NJ is “coastal” but she in NJ still has to drive up to 2 hrs to the shore. And she does it all summer long. Fyi NJ is even smaller than Houston.
Re. Houston is more affordable because it offers less amenities part in your previous post: so everywhere in Los Angeles county is pretty much built out. You have fairly low housing inventory. I overheard a realtor on the phone with his client when I was in L.A last week, he was telling the client to make an offer in 3 houses she was interested in as with high interest rate many people hold off selling which makes inventory even tighter yet for L.A market there are still many people on the market to buy.-my old neighborhood in South Pasadena CA will forever be expensive because the city wouldn’t allow any new builds, with an excellent school district it’s a recipe for desirability/high price.
Meanwhile I know a realtor friend specialized in Inland Empire, where we Angelenos used to think “in the sticks”, sold brand new builds in cities like Chino Hills, Redland, Chino like weeds, you can still get brand new, 3b/2.5bath, 2500 sqf in those areas for under 1 mm in the Greater Los Angeles area.-it’s because the land is new, the land is abundant. It’s booming like mad according to my realtor friend, Ontario airport has been adding more and more direct flights.-compared to L.A proper the whole area is still less than prime location but with L.A completely built out and with its proximity to the O.C and its newness, it’s getting more and more desirable. (Especially for the demographic who prefers new houses and many amenities.)
I see Dallas and Houston housing prices able to remain fairly affordable because of the massive land in Texas and many, many new houses. When the inventory supply is high(er) the prices remain low(er).
A family living in River Oaks in Houston probably has more in common with a family in Beverly Hills CA than with a family in Downey CA (and vice versa). Houston is a relatively young city, full of possibilities and young energy. I also don’t think it’s all that “regional” but your mileage may vary.
L.A. is known for a ton of things because it's a world city. Houston is a regional city with limited appeal beyond other than the fact it's reasonably warm in winter, there's jobs in some industries and cost of living is reasonable for such a big metro (and of course it is reasonable precisely because it has such limited appeal).
Agreed. Comparing Houston to LA is insanity. Houston is cool but it’s your typical southern Texas city. It’s not bad but it’s definitely in no way similar to LA. I honestly thought people were joking when they were comparing them but apparently they were serious. Those are two completely different worlds. How one can even attempt to say they’re similar is beyond my understanding.
Agreed. Comparing Houston to LA is insanity. Houston is cool but it’s your typical southern Texas city. It’s not bad but it’s definitely in no way similar to LA. I honestly thought people were joking when they were comparing them but apparently they were serious. Those are two completely different worlds. How one can even attempt to say they’re similar is beyond my understanding.
It’s funny because I live in both. L.A for 10 yrs and Houston for almost 2. This is not a thread of L.A vs Houston, this is to discuss any city similar to L.A. You don’t need to understand but have some respect for people who actually live here and have something substantial to share. You don’t like the discussion feel free to step aside. Or ignore.
These Houston-related comments would not have been increased had some posters with extremely sunny disposition not made less than fair remarks, expect people to have opinions if you’re being disheartening.
Let’s have a thread comparing NYC to NoVA. Or London to NoVA. Let’s see how you fare.
Disclaimer: no one will argue Houston is more global than LA so bear that in mind when I type the below.
But you are going to have to define what a Global City is vs. a Regional one. Most of your posts seem to be highlighting name recognition and tourism value. I agree that Houston isn't exactly a trailblazer on those fronts. But Houston is the global center of an industry that defines many aspects of peoples lives around the world and from a population perspective its the 3rd largest gateway for immigrants after NYC and Miami per the ACS numbers.
So there definitely needs to be further clarification.
I specifically avoided the term "global city" because it's become a buzzword that tons of consultancies, think tanks, research institutes, media sources are using to publish city rankings of various types. Some of those will consider Houston a 3rd tier global city, some of them won't. If they do, it's on the back of the economic performance.
But my focus here is much more on cultural and social relevance as well as desirability as I believe Houston falls into the classic category of an 'aspirational' boom town, which craves social and cultural prestige in addition to its economic power. It's like a current day Chicago, which boomed in the late 19th century, yet was still considered a cow town by many and jealously eyed New York's glamor and fame (and perhaps still does as well).
Like Chicago was then, Houston is hamstrung by the fact that its money comes from a 'dirty' source. Oil and gas aren't sexy, and there's a disconnect between the interests and values of the current day global elites and those industries. It's a 'hard hat' industry and one associated with environmental destruction at that.
It’s funny because I live in both. L.A for 10 yrs and Houston for almost 2. This is not a thread of L.A vs Houston, this is to discuss any city similar to L.A. You don’t need to understand but have some respect for people who actually live here and have something substantial to share. You don’t like the discussion feel free to step aside. Or ignore.
These Houston-related comments would not have been increased had some posters with extremely sunny disposition not made less than fair remarks, expect people to have opinions if you’re being disheartening.
Let’s have a thread comparing NYC to NoVA. Or London to NoVA. Let’s see how you fare.
Oh, sorry. I genuinely didn't mean to offend, I just was caught off guard. Also, to be clear I like Houston (and Dallas). Austin is OK but a bit overrated, I like Dallas and Houston far more. But having been to both, I just don't see much overlap. Houston is laid back, reasonable cost-of-living, in a lot of ways it reminded me of Atlanta. LA is a rat race, expensive, extreme wealth inequality and it's just the kind of place that attracts very Type A people. I didn't get that vibe in Houston, I found the people to be pretty friendly and easygoing unlike LA where people were a bit snobbish and self-important. I don't really see many similarities between them especially culturally.
It depends on where you live in Houston. The Woodlands? Yes, more than an hour but it says more about Houston’s massive size than the proximity to the coast. (Houston is bigger than the entire state of NJ.)
If you’re coming from somewhere say Pearland or League City, less than half an hour. (Or even shorter.) And you do have very Florida-like beach community, flora and all, water sports and activity the closer you’re to the Gulf including Clearlake near NASA.
My friend lives in Sparta NJ, a Northwestern Jersey mountain-y bear country, some might even call “in the sticks”. She would have to drive almost 2 hrs (depends on traffic, NJ traffic is not easy breezy either.) to the Jersey shore. It’s known that NJ is “coastal” but she in NJ still has to drive up to 2 hrs to the shore. And she does it all summer long. Fyi NJ is even smaller than Houston.
Re. Houston is more affordable because it offers less amenities part in your previous post: so everywhere in Los Angeles county is pretty much built out. You have fairly low housing inventory. I overheard a realtor on the phone with his client when I was in L.A last week, he was telling the client to make an offer in 3 houses she was interested in as with high interest rate many people hold off selling which makes inventory even tighter yet for L.A market there are still many people on the market to buy.-my old neighborhood in South Pasadena CA will forever be expensive because the city wouldn’t allow any new builds, with an excellent school district it’s a recipe for desirability/high price.
Meanwhile I know a realtor friend specialized in Inland Empire, where we Angelenos used to think “in the sticks”, sold brand new builds in cities like Chino Hills, Redland, Chino like weeds, you can still get brand new, 3b/2.5bath, 2500 sqf in those areas for under 1 mm in the Greater Los Angeles area.-it’s because the land is new, the land is abundant. It’s booming like mad according to my realtor friend, Ontario airport has been adding more and more direct flights.-compared to L.A proper the whole area is still less than prime location but with L.A completely built out and with its proximity to the O.C and its newness, it’s getting more and more desirable. (Especially for the demographic who prefers new houses and many amenities.)
I see Dallas and Houston housing prices able to remain fairly affordable because of the massive land in Texas and many, many new houses. When the inventory supply is high(er) the prices remain low(er).
A family living in River Oaks in Houston probably has more in common with a family in Beverly Hills CA than with a family in Downey CA (and vice versa). Houston is a relatively young city, full of possibilities and young energy. I also don’t think it’s all that “regional” but your mileage may vary.
Lots of cities are within driving distance of the coast. Even in D.C. you can drive an hour and you're on a beach at the Bay shore yet hardly anyone would say beach access is some kind of perk that would get people to move here. People don't move to D.C. for beaches, and they don't move to Houston, or Northern New Jersey for that matter, for the beaches either.
I wouldn't consider the Inland Empire to be especially relevant for this conversation. Technically that's not even the L.A. metro really. Those areas are also subordinate in terms of their status, they're bedroom communities or peripheral economic clusters of secondary stature. The things that make L.A. notable occur within 20-25 miles of DTLA.
Agreed. Comparing Houston to LA is insanity. Houston is cool but it’s your typical southern Texas city. It’s not bad but it’s definitely in no way similar to LA. I honestly thought people were joking when they were comparing them but apparently they were serious. Those are two completely different worlds. How one can even attempt to say they’re similar is beyond my understanding.
On paper the two cities do share many things in common so it's not insane to compare them. Both are car centric, spread out, diverse and coastal. That's not to say the experience of living in the two are similar however. Among people who lived in both the group that likes one and hates the other would likely greatly outnumber those who like both.
As for beach access you will see a lot more people go to Venice Beach or Santa Monica after work than Galveston so there is definitely a noticeable difference.
On paper the two cities do share many things in common so it's not insane to compare them. Both are car centric, spread out, diverse and coastal. That's not to say the experience of living in the two are similar however. Among people who lived in both the group that likes one and hates the other would likely greatly outnumber those who like both.
As for beach access you will see a lot more people go to Venice Beach or Santa Monica after work than Galveston so there is definitely a noticeable difference.
Of course you can’t compare Galveston to Santa Monica. Venice Beach, however, is pretty dingy. My friends who owned a little bungalow on Venice Beach shared spotting so many needles on the beach, unreported crimes and eventually sold, took off to Amsterdam.
I am in the minority (the story of my life) I happened to like both Houston and L.A. A different degree of affection of course, but Houston has been kind to me. My biggest problem with it is the heat and humidity (as demonstrated in this past summer with my daughter’s allergy and health-related issues caused by humidity.) and she misses L.A so we are moving back to L.A.
I’ll always like Houston the most among the Texan cities though.
I wouldn't consider the Inland Empire to be especially relevant for this conversation. Technically that's not even the L.A. metro really. Those areas are also subordinate in terms of their status, they're bedroom communities or peripheral economic clusters of secondary stature. The things that make L.A. notable occur within 20-25 miles of DTLA.
Say that to the wealthy gays and architecture buffs in Palm Springs.
Most people i know who live in Inland Empire consider themselves “living in L.A”. My husband’s best friend grew up in Claremont, the very far edge of L.A county, he considered himself “from L.A.”. Hack I know people who grew up in Long Island or NJ but call themselves “from NY”. So it’s all semantics.
(Though I personally agree with you and will never live in Inland Empire but it’s fun to debate. )
Last edited by achtung baby; 08-31-2023 at 01:34 PM..
Reason: Spelling
Oh, sorry. I genuinely didn't mean to offend, I just was caught off guard. Also, to be clear I like Houston (and Dallas). Austin is OK but a bit overrated, I like Dallas and Houston far more. But having been to both, I just don't see much overlap. Houston is laid back, reasonable cost-of-living, in a lot of ways it reminded me of Atlanta. LA is a rat race, expensive, extreme wealth inequality and it's just the kind of place that attracts very Type A people. I didn't get that vibe in Houston, I found the people to be pretty friendly and easygoing unlike LA where people were a bit snobbish and self-important. I don't really see many similarities between them especially culturally.
No offense taken. I just like to be fair.
Depends on where you live in L.A, most people in L.A are pretty chill. I remember I was selling my apartment in Manhattan and buying a house in L.A.-you really see the huge differences in both cities. The realtor in NYC was like chop chop chop let’s get it done, whereas L.A realtor was taking their time not returning phone calls in time.
The native Angelenos are very down-to-earth and sweet though.
All kinds of people exist in all cities.
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