Why is Houston so ghetto? (Dallas, Austin: homes, established neighborhood, landlord)

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by txdemo

Depends on whether you're within the west (good) or east (bad) side of loop.

I can totally get dumply, older but trashy really? As in literal piles of trash in the streets? For the most part the city is relatively clean for it's size. The ungentrified areas don't look nearly as skid row-ish as people think. I couldn't imagine the OP spent any time in the "trashiest" areas anyways. Why would she be there?

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

I can totally get dumply, older but trashy really? As in literal piles of trash in the streets? For the most part the city is relatively clean for it's size. The ungentrified areas don't nearly as skid row-ish as people think. I couldn't imagine the OP spent any time in the "trashiest" areas anyways. Why would she be there?

Yes, literally piles of trash in the streets. Parts of the east side inside the loop are definitely trashy.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by txdemo

Yes, literally piles of trash in the streets. Parts of the east side inside the loop are definitely trashy.

Then we have different definitions of what "piles of trash" are in the streets. No I haven't seen skid row level piles of trash for blocks upon blocks, tent cities, rows of RVs parked on the curbs, abandoned cars, etc. Sorry but I think that Houstonians do complain too much about nothing. I mostly think of litter scattered about, abandoned TVs, the grass isn't cut and the weeds grow out, the stop and street signs are all tilted, there's an old unkempt house. But NOT literal piles of trash stacked chest high.

[radiolibre99]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7HozzSGakA

I'll give the benefit of the doubt, but is east inner loop as trashy as this?

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7HozzSGakA

I'll give the benefit of the doubt, but is east inner loop as trashy as this?

Nope, definitely not as trashy.

[biscuit_head]

Obviously, "trashy" wasn't the best term for the OP to use, so making a tempest in a teapot about that particular word is just a distraction. I wouldn't say Houston is trashy, but it can be pretty gritty in parts. But its nowhere near as gritty as Chicago, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. Or even Los Angeles for that matter. When I lived in LA, I found many parts of that city to look unkempt and gritty, and downright trashy in some parts. Those videos of Skid Row that radiolibre99 provided exemplify that look and feel.

I will say that the nice areas of Houston are very nicely manicured (hello Uptown, Upper Kirby, Memorial area, etc.), but the other parts of the city appear to be slummy and neglected if you're not accustomed to the look and feel of Gulf Coast cities. Like New Orleans and Tampa, Houston is pretty "checkerboard" in its layout where you have lots of low income neighborhoods scattered around town, unlike most cities where the "bad" areas are generally concentrated on one side of town and can be ignored and bypassed by the masses. So you're more likely to see in your face type of poverty in more parts of Houston. That's one of the biggest differences between Houston and Dallas, to me. And a lot of people who aren't familiar with the region notice the lack of sidewalks in many parts of town, and associate that as looking "country." Also, I'll echo that the weather in Houston contributes to vegetation growing a lot quicker, contributing to the unkempt appearance. It takes time and money that some people just don't have to landscape. And there are people out there who don't the industrial landscape on the East Side, conveniently ignoring the fact that if it weren't for the industry and the port, much of Houston as we know it today wouldn't exist. If you want a Disney World, pristine type of city, Houston is not the place for that. It is what it is. That's like moving to Phoenix and complaining that its too hot and new. Every city isn't for everyone.

Also, coming from a city that caters to tourists such as San Diego where a lot of money and thought are put into the overall appearance of the city in contrast to Houston, which is more industrial and blue-collar, and doesn't cater to tourists, I can see where the OP is coming from, even though a lot of what they said was aggrandizement to start drama. Orlando appears to be a lot more manicured than Tampa for the same reason - Tampa started as a city of industry due to its location on a bay and being adjacent to phosphate mining areas while Orlando was a large cowtown with orange groves before Disney took over in the late 60s/early 70s.

[jerbear30]

Large amounts of people throwing trash out their windows? I've lived here for five years and haven't seen anything like that. And I'm sometimes pretty critical of Houston. The OP is making stuff up.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by biscuit_head

Obviously, "trashy" wasn't the best term for the OP to use, so making a tempest in a teapot about that particular word is just a distraction. I wouldn't say Houston is trashy, but it can be pretty gritty in parts. But its nowhere near as gritty as Chicago, Philadelphia, or Baltimore. Or even Los Angeles for that matter. When I lived in LA, I found many parts of that city to look unkempt and gritty, and downright trashy in some parts. Those videos of Skid Row that radiolibre99 provided exemplify that look and feel.

I will say that the nice areas of Houston are very nicely manicured (hello Uptown, Upper Kirby, Memorial area, etc.), but the other parts of the city appear to be slummy and neglected if you're not accustomed to the look and feel of Gulf Coast cities. Like New Orleans and Tampa, Houston is pretty "checkerboard" in its layout where you have lots of low income neighborhoods scattered around town, unlike most cities where the "bad" areas are generally concentrated on one side of town and can be ignored and bypassed by the masses. So you're more likely to see in your face type of poverty in more parts of Houston. That's one of the biggest differences between Houston and Dallas, to me. And a lot of people who aren't familiar with the region notice the lack of sidewalks in many parts of town, and associate that as looking "country." Also, I'll echo that the weather in Houston contributes to vegetation growing a lot quicker, contributing to the unkempt appearance. It takes time and money that some people just don't have to landscape. And there are people out there who don't the industrial landscape on the East Side, conveniently ignoring the fact that if it weren't for the industry and the port, much of Houston as we know it today wouldn't exist. If you want a Disney World, pristine type of city, Houston is not the place for that. It is what it is. That's like moving to Phoenix and complaining that its too hot and new. Every city isn't for everyone.

Also, coming from a city that caters to tourists such as San Diego where a lot of money and thought are put into the overall appearance of the city in contrast to Houston, which is more industrial and blue-collar, and doesn't cater to tourists, I can see where the OP is coming from, even though a lot of what they said was aggrandizement to start drama. Orlando appears to be a lot more manicured than Tampa for the same reason - Tampa started as a city of industry due to its location on a bay and being adjacent to phosphate mining areas while Orlando was a large cowtown with orange groves before Disney took over in the late 60s/early 70s.

"Aggrandizement to start drama," is by definition trolling, isn't it ? That being said the only real problem I have with the OP is the thread title . It is out there for all to see, even though it has been for the most part dispelled, and everytime one of us post to dispute the claim, it bumps that title up to the top of the page and increases its exposure on CD. How many browsers only see "Why is Houston so ghetto" as they rummage their way through CD. I guess that's what the real point of these types of threads is......

[Svensk08]

Originally Posted by txdemo

Yes, literally piles of trash in the streets. Parts of the east side inside the loop are definitely trashy.

It happens. A few days before the COH 6-times-a-year heavy trash pickup, there are piles of trash overflowing onto the streets in many east side residential areas.

Unfortunately, there are absentee landlords who dump a former tenant's household leftovers in front of the rental property until the next pickup day instead of hauling it away themselves.

Anyone with a trash problem in their neighborhood needs to contact their COH council member to report it and request a solution.

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by Svensk08

It happens. A few days before the COH 6-times-a-year heavy trash pickup, there are piles of trash overflowing onto the streets in many east side residential areas.

Unfortunately, there are absentee landlords who dump a former tenant's household leftovers in front of the rental property until the next pickup day instead of hauling it away themselves.

Anyone with a trash problem in their neighborhood needs to contact their COH council member to report it and request a solution.

My thinking is that one of the issues in lower income neighborhoods is that the residents are less likely to call 311 when they see a pothole, pile of trash, overgrown lots, bandit signs, graffiti etc. I always call 311 when I see these in my neighborhood and the issue is usually taken care of within a few days of my call.

If you let these things fester it gets out of hand very quickly.