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OK yes, Houston is the fourth biggest city in the country. But the four metros you just named are larger (in some case significantly larger) metro areas. Of course they get stuff like Top Golf first. We just got it a year or two ago in Nova and lines are STILL ridiculous. People like that kind of stuff all over the country. That's not a Houston thing.
I'm not saying Houston shouldn't be more walkable and bike friendly. However, if the population of Houston really wanted it, they would demand it. Since it hasn't happened quickly, it clearly isn't a priority for that population. Austin is a good example of what happens when you make those things a collective civic priority. Houstonians could do that if they wanted.
The point I'm trying to make is they don't and there is nothing wrong with them making the decision that they might rather, for example, pay less taxes or invest elsewhere. Though those are not your priorities, it doesn't make them lazy or mediocre to choose other places to put their money as opposed to investing in walkable neighborhoods, mass transit, or whatever your priorities happen to be. That makes it a city that has a population that knows what it wants.
Do I personally think Houston should have more walkable neighborhoods? Of course! Would I personally like it if Houston had better parks and more "livable" spaces? Sure! Would I be willing to invest more money (via taxes) in those things? Highly dependent, but probably not. I would rather see Houston spend more money attracting and keeping jobs. There is no money to invest if there's not money coming in. And given Houston's limitations (weather, congestion, terrain, etc.) I'll be the first to admit that new folks coming into the city almost always have a job or are coming to take a job. Taking that away decreases immigration, which decreases potential tax revenue, which decreases the amount of money available to improve. Houston's doing it more or less the correct way. During the recession the cities that focused on bike paths instead of business had it tougher than Texas did. I'm not saying there's causation there, but I would confidently say that my entire lifetime Houston has had a good economy while other cities have risen and fallen.
Houston's changed a lot since I grew up there in the 80s and 90s and will continue to change for the foreseeable future. Those things that you find priorities will come eventually. But this city has been remaking itself for decades. It is one of the best places for opportunity in the country. If you have any sort of drive you can make a decent life for yourself there. It is the #1 metropolitan area for minority/women businesses in the country. These are the things that I would find important for my quality of life. Perhaps that's why I like the city. It is far from a mediocre city unless your definition of progress revolves around building things like bike trails, decorative foliage, dense development, and expensive light rail that no one will use in 25 years anyway.
Houston has gotten A LOT better in my lifetime alone. If it wasn't people wouldn't keep moving there. I know more than a few people (anecdotally) that had job offers other places and chose Houston for reasons independent of COL.
Have you ever been (unlucky enough to have to go) to Hampton Roads? THAT is mediocrity in every way, shape, and form. Houston's quality of life is leaps and bounds above most of the rest of the country in my opinion. And I'm sure what I find to be drivers of my quality of life are not drivers of your quality of life.
Different strokes for different folks but I completely reject that Houston is sitting on its laurels as a city. Look at the strides that have been made in green energy in the last 5 years. Look at the strides in providing citywide recycling services to a place that's culturally and logistically challenging to provide that service to.
Houston may fall short at times, but it is ALWAYS striving for more. It's just not the same goal that other cities are striving for.
Who is "they"? I would argue that this is not true for a lot of people who live IN Houston. Look at all of the improvement projects that have happened and are happening. There is a lot of support for these with residents IN Houston. What do the suburbs have to do with this? People choose to live in the city or in the suburbs for different reasons and at different points in their lives.
Again, Katy isn't Houston. It's Katy. How can Houston control anything outside of its city limits, and why would people in Katy have the same mindset and priorities as people in central Houston?
Where do you live? If you live in one of these suburbs, it sounds like your problem is that you would be much happier living in the city (specifically, in Loop 610) instead.
I'm talking about the Houston Metro area, which includes Katy. Those people call themselves Houstonians and they put Houston Texans stickers on their cars. And they were the ones who voted against rail last election. Those suburbans are the exact same ones that skew statistics to make it look like a cheap city, when in fact a little house in Montrose or West U will cost over $500k. Suburbs are a functional part of the city, and Houston's suburbs are awful (aside from The Woodlands).
I live in Cypress with a Houston address. I can't afford the rent inside the loop.
I'm talking about the Houston Metro area, which includes Katy. Those people call themselves Houstonians and they put Houston Texans stickers on their cars. And they were the ones who voted against rail last election. Those suburbans are the exact same ones that skew statistics to make it look like a cheap city, when in fact a little house in Montrose or West U will cost over $500k. Suburbs are a functional part of the city, and Houston's suburbs are awful (aside from The Woodlands).
I live in Cypress with a Houston address. I can't afford the rent inside the loop.
Uhh.. of course they're going to have Houston Texans stickers. Most suburbs have the local CITY teams that they support!
Houston suburbs are awful in the sense that they are all the same. I honestly can drive in Katy and see no difference than driving around in Sugar Land. And notice I mentioned drive, because god forbid you dont have a car for a few days!
Suburbs in Houston are all about having developers litter the highways with chain restaurants, slap in a town center for the families to bring the kiddos and throw their money away, and in the woodlands case put in a facade of a lake and you've got the typical Houston suburb.
Last edited by OducksFTW!; 05-10-2013 at 03:17 PM..
OK yes, Houston is the fourth biggest city in the country. But the four metros you just named are larger (in some case significantly larger) metro areas. Of course they get stuff like Top Golf first. We just got it a year or two ago in Nova and lines are STILL ridiculous. People like that kind of stuff all over the country. That's not a Houston thing.
I'm not saying Houston shouldn't be more walkable and bike friendly. However, if the population of Houston really wanted it, they would demand it. Since it hasn't happened quickly, it clearly isn't a priority for that population. Austin is a good example of what happens when you make those things a collective civic priority. Houstonians could do that if they wanted.
The point I'm trying to make is they don't and there is nothing wrong with them making the decision that they might rather, for example, pay less taxes or invest elsewhere. Though those are not your priorities, it doesn't make them lazy or mediocre to choose other places to put their money as opposed to investing in walkable neighborhoods, mass transit, or whatever your priorities happen to be. That makes it a city that has a population that knows what it wants.
Do I personally think Houston should have more walkable neighborhoods? Of course! Would I personally like it if Houston had better parks and more "livable" spaces? Sure! Would I be willing to invest more money (via taxes) in those things? Highly dependent, but probably not. I would rather see Houston spend more money attracting and keeping jobs. There is no money to invest if there's not money coming in. And given Houston's limitations (weather, congestion, terrain, etc.) I'll be the first to admit that new folks coming into the city almost always have a job or are coming to take a job. Taking that away decreases immigration, which decreases potential tax revenue, which decreases the amount of money available to improve. Houston's doing it more or less the correct way. During the recession the cities that focused on bike paths instead of business had it tougher than Texas did. I'm not saying there's causation there, but I would confidently say that my entire lifetime Houston has had a good economy while other cities have risen and fallen.
Houston's changed a lot since I grew up there in the 80s and 90s and will continue to change for the foreseeable future. Those things that you find priorities will come eventually. But this city has been remaking itself for decades. It is one of the best places for opportunity in the country. If you have any sort of drive you can make a decent life for yourself there. It is the #1 metropolitan area for minority/women businesses in the country. These are the things that I would find important for my quality of life. Perhaps that's why I like the city. It is far from a mediocre city unless your definition of progress revolves around building things like bike trails, decorative foliage, dense development, and expensive light rail that no one will use in 25 years anyway.
Houston has gotten A LOT better in my lifetime alone. If it wasn't people wouldn't keep moving there. I know more than a few people (anecdotally) that had job offers other places and chose Houston for reasons independent of COL.
Have you ever been (unlucky enough to have to go) to Hampton Roads? THAT is mediocrity in every way, shape, and form. Houston's quality of life is leaps and bounds above most of the rest of the country in my opinion. And I'm sure what I find to be drivers of my quality of life are not drivers of your quality of life.
Different strokes for different folks but I completely reject that Houston is sitting on its laurels as a city. Look at the strides that have been made in green energy in the last 5 years. Look at the strides in providing citywide recycling services to a place that's culturally and logistically challenging to provide that service to.
Houston may fall short at times, but it is ALWAYS striving for more. It's just not the same goal that other cities are striving for.
I love how you're comparing Northern Virginia to again the FOURTH LARGEST CITY in the country. Besides the weather, topography and natural scenary of that part of the country is quite nice, especially compared to the humid, flat swamp it is down here. So there are many positives in DC.
You mention remaking Houston in several ways, but the only one that seems to come up is economical related. Which underlies another major mentality of Houstonians, business comes first and society comes second.
Yes Houston is better than most parts of the country, but a city of this size is SUPPOSED TO, but heck there are many MAJOR cities that people consider to be better. I know friends that moved to SF, NYC, Chicago, Boston because they felt those were more progressive and exciting cities, AND MOST OF THEM TOOK PAY CUTS AND EXPENSES TO MOVE! And speak to most transplants, they moved here for a job, not because this city is "remaking itself". Its all about the money for them, and many just want to make money and get the hell out. Anytime someone mentions moving here on this site, the posts are always encouraging them to have an open mind and not compare it to the major city that they moved from BECAUSE MORE THAN LIKELY IT WILL PALE IN COMPARISON!
Of course there are the folks that move here with an open mind and enjoy it here, but those folks are predisposed to liking anywhere they move, because that is now their living situation and how many times have you heard of transplants "Making the best of it", plenty on my end.
Try comparing Houston to something its scale, which is not many parts of the US, but the ones that are, tend to falter to Houston, except for one thing Economics, like I mentioned.
And if the city is collecting so much tax revenue, where are the project works that should have been here. We're a rich city right? Then how is it that we didn't have a decent park til Discovery green? (part of memorial park is a swamp, it really needs some work). How come it doesn't have light rail that isn't pitiful? Where are the bike lanes and walkways? Heck City Centre and Discovery Green we're spurned on by big name developers looking to make a profit, oh wait that goes back to the business thing.
But alas, for many Houstonians a good job and a big house is all that matters, and so there isn't a major motivation for much else.
I love how you're comparing Northern Virginia to again the FOURTH LARGEST CITY in the country. Besides the weather, topography and natural scenary of that part of the country is quite nice, especially compared to the humid, flat swamp it is down here. So there are many positives in DC.
You mention remaking Houston in several ways, but the only one that seems to come up is economical related. Which underlies another major mentality of Houstonians, business comes first and society comes second.
Yes Houston is better than most parts of the country, but a city of this size is SUPPOSED TO, but heck there are many MAJOR cities that people consider to be better. I know friends that moved to SF, NYC, Chicago, Boston because they felt those were more progressive and exciting cities, AND MOST OF THEM TOOK PAY CUTS AND EXPENSES TO MOVE! And speak to most transplants, they moved here for a job, not because this city is "remaking itself". Its all about the money for them, and many just want to make money and get the hell out. Anytime someone mentions moving here on this site, the posts are always encouraging them to have an open mind and not compare it to the major city that they moved from BECAUSE MORE THAN LIKELY IT WILL PALE IN COMPARISON!
Of course there are the folks that move here with an open mind and enjoy it here, but those folks are predisposed to liking anywhere they move, because that is now their living situation and how many times have you heard of transplants "Making the best of it", plenty on my end.
Try comparing Houston to something its scale, which is not many parts of the US, but the ones that are, tend to falter to Houston, except for one thing Economics, like I mentioned.
And if the city is collecting so much tax revenue, where are the project works that should have been here. We're a rich city right? Then how is it that we didn't have a decent park til Discovery green? (part of memorial park is a swamp, it really needs some work). How come it doesn't have light rail that isn't pitiful? Where are the bike lanes and walkways? Heck City Centre and Discovery Green we're spurned on by big name developers looking to make a profit, oh wait that goes back to the business thing.
But alas, for many Houstonians a good job and a big house is all that matters, and so there isn't a major motivation for much else.
This post is depressing. I am a Houston transplant. My husband, baby son, and I came here 9 yrs ago. Yes, for the job. My husband had just graduated with his PhD, got a job with an oil major, and so we came from Columbus, Ohio. We were super excited to come here. Yes, part of it was to not live on a grad student salary anymore, but we were so excited to explore somewhere new. We had lived in various states before coming to Texas, including Ohio, NJ, and Pa, traveled this fine country of ours quite a bit, and I am from Baltimore, Md. You could not pay us enough to move us back to Baltimore or to the DC area for that matter. Houston blows Baltimore, Jersey, and Columbus out of the water. It is better than all of them. Say what you will. Yeah, the humidity sucks. It sucks in Baltimore too. You get used to it. But we truly like living here. And it isn't solely because of our nice house or my husband's nice paycheck. There is more to life than that. Much more. And Houston provides it for us.
We had a chance to move out of Houston for another job three years ago, and we chose to stay. Hear that? We actually chose to stay here. Of all places. Go figure. This is our home. We don't want to leave here.
Not everyone is itching to get out of dodge. Not everyone is waiting for that moment to flee back to their home state. Some of us actually enjoy being here.
This post is depressing. I am a Houston transplant. My husband, baby son, and I came here 9 yrs ago. Yes, for the job. My husband had just graduated with his PhD, got a job with an oil major, and so we came from Columbus, Ohio. We were super excited to come here. Yes, part of it was to not live on a grad student salary anymore, but we were so excited to explore somewhere new. We had lived in various states before coming to Texas, including Ohio, NJ, and Pa, traveled this fine country of ours quite a bit, and I am from Baltimore, Md. You could not pay us enough to move us back to Baltimore or to the DC area for that matter. Houston blows Baltimore, Jersey, and Columbus out of the water. It is better than all of them. Say what you will. Yeah, the humidity sucks. It sucks in Baltimore too. You get used to it. But we truly like living here. And it isn't solely because of our nice house or my husband's nice paycheck. There is more to life than that. Much more. And Houston provides it for us.
We had a chance to move out of Houston for another job three years ago, and we chose to stay. Hear that? We actually chose to stay here. Of all places. Go figure. This is our home. We don't want to leave here.
Not everyone is itching to get out of dodge. Not everyone is waiting for that moment to flee back to their home state. Some of us actually enjoy being here.
Hmm, how does Houston blow DC/Baltimore out of the water? I've visited DC, it seemed quite nice, albeit a little too touristy, but nice. DuPont circle was fun,many great clubs and bars, had a blast riding a bike through town, China Town had some good eats, used the public transportation to get anywhere I needed to go, and dont get me started about how awesome Georgetown is, Rice U pales in comparison on that one for sure! I have heard bad things and good things about Baltimore, its pretty run down but has a gorgeous harbor, many great neighborhoods, an amazing harbor, etc. etc. so perhaps you may need to specify what you're actually referring to.
But perhaps you could give me more insight, aside from "its my home now", something more objective, to prove that Houston blows DC/Baltimore out of the water. And try not to use economics; like you said there are more things in life than that.
This post is depressing. I am a Houston transplant. My husband, baby son, and I came here 9 yrs ago. Yes, for the job. My husband had just graduated with his PhD, got a job with an oil major, and so we came from Columbus, Ohio. We were super excited to come here. Yes, part of it was to not live on a grad student salary anymore, but we were so excited to explore somewhere new. We had lived in various states before coming to Texas, including Ohio, NJ, and Pa, traveled this fine country of ours quite a bit, and I am from Baltimore, Md. You could not pay us enough to move us back to Baltimore or to the DC area for that matter. Houston blows Baltimore, Jersey, and Columbus out of the water. It is better than all of them. Say what you will. Yeah, the humidity sucks. It sucks in Baltimore too. You get used to it. But we truly like living here. And it isn't solely because of our nice house or my husband's nice paycheck. There is more to life than that. Much more. And Houston provides it for us.
We had a chance to move out of Houston for another job three years ago, and we chose to stay. Hear that? We actually chose to stay here. Of all places. Go figure. This is our home. We don't want to leave here.
Not everyone is itching to get out of dodge. Not everyone is waiting for that moment to flee back to their home state. Some of us actually enjoy being here.
Three paragraphs and not one example of the pros besides a nice home and the Husband's paycheck.... I must say that if I came from Ohio/B-more, I also would also be easily impressed lol
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