How active is downtown houston? (Atlanta, West: 2013, hotels, college)

[yaya97]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

No idea what the op is talking about. Dti is pretty lively esp. In the wholesale district (south meridian, circle center) and mass ave.

When were you there the last time? Mass ave has some good bars and yes there is Broad Ripple ( again bars and college people) but the circle?? Go on a nice wek end and it has 30 people. I go often

[GeorgiatoChina]

Anal Utbanist?


You guys are worse the OTP people in the Atlanta forum.

The lifestyle of driving everywhere is not appealing to growing number of people.

Urban living offers a much better experience when you go out.

[GeorgiatoChina]

Originally Posted by Truth713

Thats my point I listen to all these cutlural experts about this and that. So when I ask what do you in city X its the same crap they do in Houston..lol

Bar
Club
Movie
Parks

clap ,clap how mind blowing

The difference is you aren't driving through a sea of parking lots or huge house to get to this stuff. You are walking to it while interacting and sharing energy with the other people and what's around you.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by GeorgiatoChina

The difference is you aren't driving through a sea of parking lots or huge house to get to this stuff. You are walking to it while interacting and sharing energy with the other people and what's around you.

Couldn't agree more. After well over 20 years of living in Montrose, I moved to a city that affords me things I could not experience in Houston. One of the biggest is to live comfortably and quite well without a car. Within a few blocks of my front door are five performing arts theaters, museums, shopping (ranging from Brooks Brothers and Tiffany's to dollar stores), first rate restaurants, night spots, parks, movie screens and an amazing farmers market in a restored train terminal. In addition, there are grocery stores, a post office, dry cleaners, drug stores, banks, doctors offices, hospitals and office towers, plus two major universities, to name but a few things.

Yes, Houston offers all these things. But they are spread hither and yon and most Houstonians must brave increasing traffic to take care of their necessities and enjoy the first rate amenities Houston is rightly proud of. And yes, it is possible to take in all Houston has to offer via mass transit. But honestly, don't kid me. It is far from practical and it is the rare Houstonian indeed who relies solely on mass transit. But if you are out here, I offer kudos for your commitment to a green lifestyle!

If Houston's style of urbanity appeals to anyone, I have no issue with it. I was never bored there - I just wanted something different. Further, I recognize that the type of city I like is not appealing to many folks: Not everyone wants to live in a dense downtown with a population of 57,000 souls sharing space in historic brick row homes and residential towers with hustle, bustle and life just steps away. If people want to get their knickers in a twist over my idea of what constitutes a vibrant downtown and what constitutes a slumbering one, however, that's on them.

[Spade]

Originally Posted by foo cities

Plain and simple! It's dead as a door knob! It's an event type of downtown, not a vibrant downtown. There are only less than a thousand housing units there. It's needs an all out housing construction boom of all types of apartments and condos, especially high-rises. One or two more will not do justice!

I agree here. They do build highrise condos and apartments in Houston. They just don't go downtown. They are either in the galleria (which is cool if only it wasn't so suburban) or spread out in various parts of the Western side of the loop. I guess those downtown parking lots make it extremely expensive to build residential units downtown. But that's what missing. Get the residents and the other amenities will follow in droves to create a neighborhood.

BTW, even DC has this problem so Houston is not alone.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by Spade

I agree here. They do build highrise condos and apartments in Houston. They just don't go downtown. They are either in the galleria (which is cool if only it wasn't so suburban) or spread out in various parts of the Western side of the loop. I guess those downtown parking lots make it extremely expensive to build residential units downtown. But that's what missing. Get the residents and the other amenities will follow in droves to create a neighborhood.

BTW, even DC has this problem so Houston is not alone.

The problem is people don't want to live downtown so the risk of building an empty high rise is high. Downtown should stay offices and the developers and residents need to focus on neighborhoods like EaDo, 5th ward, 3rd ward, etc.

[worldlyman]

Originally Posted by GeorgiatoChina

Anal Utbanist?


You guys are worse the OTP people in the Atlanta forum.

The lifestyle of driving everywhere is not appealing to growing number of people.

Urban living offers a much better experience when you go out.

I have nothing against urban living. I hope the Montrose and Midtown Houston could fill in properly in the appropriate open lots. I hope more action returns to Main St.

But I, and others, still appreciate different formats that don't always fit in with the block-head dimensions specified by the Elite Anal Urbanists. These types always seem to have an either-or mindset. So closed minded.

Houston is the ultimate place that is a funky urban-suburban hybrid.

Despite owning a car, I use public transportation for work here in Houston successfully (I have my Q Card and I save 40 bucks in gas per work week using METRO), have urban experiences in the Med Center where I work, can do urban amenities in the Loop...yet I live in a "suburban" area and have great nearby amenities like New Chinatown, City Centre, Memorial City, Little Korea, Mahatma Ghandi District and others outside the Loop where I use my beloved Mitsubishi.

Ah, there are tons of people in NY, Chicago, SF and wherever that get tired of being rained on or panhandled for blocks on end while doing errands and would love to have the spacious living of Houston.

Houston is not going to give these things to you. You want public transportation to work here, you have to plan accordingly, like I did. This is 600 plus square miles here. It is not going to be spoon fed to you like in physically smaller, centralized cities.

You want "urban" living? Have you ever been to the ultimate RAW and unfiltered urban city? Manila? That place makes New York City TAME in comparison. In terms of total wild visceral packed street life...NY, SF, Chicago are boring compared to that city.

So I do appreciate Houston life, thank you. "Urban" is not always better when we really look at the whole picture, and from different perspectives.

[marcopolo2000]

Originally Posted by worldlyman

I have nothing against urban living. I hope the Montrose and Midtown Houston could fill in properly in the appropriate open lots. I hope more action returns to Main St.

But I, and others, still appreciate different formats that don't always fit in with the block-head dimensions specified by the Elite Anal Urbanists. These types always seem to have an either-or mindset. So closed minded.

Houston is the ultimate place that is a funky urban-suburban hybrid.

Despite owning a car, I use public transportation for work here in Houston successfully (I have my Q Card and I save 40 bucks in gas per work week using METRO), have urban experiences in the Med Center where I work, can do urban amenities in the Loop...yet I live in a "suburban" area and have great nearby amenities like New Chinatown, City Centre, Memorial City, Little Korea, Mahatma Ghandi District and others outside the Loop where I use my beloved Mitsubishi.

Ah, there are tons of people in NY, Chicago, SF and wherever that get tired of being rained on or panhandled for blocks on end while doing errands and would love to have the spacious living of Houston.

Houston is not going to give these things to you. You want public transportation to work here, you have to plan accordingly, like I did. This is 600 plus square miles here. It is not going to be spoon fed to you like in physically smaller, centralized cities.

You want "urban" living? Have you ever been to the ultimate RAW and unfiltered urban city? Manila? That place makes New York City TAME in comparison. In terms of total wild visceral packed street life...NY, SF, Chicago are boring compared to that city.

So I do appreciate Houston life, thank you. "Urban" is not always better when we really look at the whole picture, and from different perspectives.

Well clearly the OP thinks otherwise; thats why they are inquiring about Houston's downtown. I'm not sure why you and a couple of others are taking offense to the fact that Houston probably isn't what the OP is looking for when it comes to urban living downtown.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by yaya97

Dear All,

Not very happy with my professional life in Indianapolis we are considering moving to a different city. I will be honest, Houston was not on the the list but every time I see a job offer where my skills match the needs, 5 out of 10 times its in Houston.

I have nothing aginst Indy but it is a very slow city without any place where people just go to hang out ( except when there is a sports event) . Sure there are nice places such as the canal district but on the week end, on a good day, you might find 20 people... People in Indy just like to stay home and I respect that.Its just not me.
What about Houston? I understand its not Chicago or DC, but is it a dynamic city? Do people actually live Downtown ( we are city lovers and wish to avoid the burbs)?

Are there places ( parks....) that are rather crowded when the weather permits and people just walk around? we have 2 kids (15 and 4) and again are looking for a busy place. Could Houston be for us??

Thanks for the comments!

You won't find the crowds of round-the-clock foot traffic like you would in NYC or San Francisco. Quite frankly, I never saw the appeal of that anyway. I guess I simply define "vibrant" in a different way than most seem to. Only a handful of cities seem to fit that description, and I'd put New Orleans at the top of the list.

Contrary to popular belief, though, Houston offers so much more than humdrum suburbia, and if you're looking for active, character filled neighborhoods where people walk and bike, then you can certainly find it inside the loop. It just won't be in Downtown proper.

[Truth713]

Originally Posted by GeorgiatoChina

The difference is you aren't driving through a sea of parking lots or huge house to get to this stuff. You are walking to it while interacting and sharing energy with the other people and what's around you.

Dude I have a car and I can leave it home 70% of the time


I have visted dense downtown from hong kong to new york and , it no real difference in what people do than Houston.

A group of people walking around looking for something to do.. I get that energy actually going into places than just wondering the street.

Maybe it a mindset but I am well past being impressed by large groups of people walking around. When I go some where I want something to actually do.