Time to Leave Houston? (Dallas, Fort Worth: 2015, city hall, neighborhood)

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

Name a few of those 'world class' amenities you can find in Houston. Don't use generalities like 'diversity', but real places and experiences that you can take people to.

I'll get started - MFAH is only a top 10 museum, Johnson Space Center is good for history buffs but not much for technology buffs. In terms of places to take kids on weekends Houston is definitely not in the top 5 of the country. The zoo is pretty average, the new Botanic Garden is badly located and pretty pathetic, the other museums are just ok and are at full capacity by 11am on most weekends, and there's not even a decent large food hall or holiday resort in the metro.
Dallas for example has more such places, and even Denver matches the number of those places and it's half the size. The ethnic food scene there is good, but most of them are located in unappealing areas so after you eat you just go home in separate cars.

Not sure why you got so defensive. I took pains to give credit where it's due. I know I made a tradeoff but don't exaggerate what Houston has to offer to justify why you prefer to stay.

All I need is one good Mexican food place and you can keep the rest of the food places (I take care of my own BBQ needs).

Like someone said, different for everyone, but I do feel like these “amenities” and “nightlife” comments are a little oversold. How many good bars does anyone really need? And I agree about our public offerings. The museums, zoo, public parks, gardens — all pretty mediocre. Maybe they’re world class when compared to Indianapolis or Phoenix, but that term is being stretched to fit the narrative.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by kwr

The amenities in Houston can be found in other cities except Denver, okay got it. :-) Houston is a world class city compared to Denver — this is a fact. How about instead of trying to justify your move to Denver by degrading Houston, just say you made a trade off? You simply traded world class amenities, culture and heat for mountains and cold weather. I find no issue with that.

I’ll say the food you miss is a function of diversity and culture. As beautiful as the mountain backdrop is in Denver (spent many summers with family there), the city definitely is missing those two things. Good luck in Denver.

Back to square one..no city is perfect. Find the one that works for you and make the best of it.

This. There’s certain benefits you get in Denver that you wouldn’t get in Houston. but you won’t get the world class ethnic experience that you get here.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

All I need is one good Mexican food place and you can keep the rest of the food places (I take care of my own BBQ needs).

Like someone said, different for everyone, but I do feel like these “amenities” and “nightlife” comments are a little oversold. How many good bars does anyone really need? And I agree about our public offerings. The museums, zoo, public parks, gardens — all pretty mediocre. Maybe they’re world class when compared to Indianapolis or Phoenix, but that term is being stretched to fit the narrative.

A lot.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

Thanks for the thoughts. I guess that’s why I made this thread — trying to find some solace in knowing I’m not the only one! At the same time, I can recognize that this IS the right place for many.

Any thoughts on the difference in K-12 education between the two states? While we attend a top notch school, I honestly haven’t been impressed. I think the schools do a fine job for the middle 80%, but if your kids are either gifted or struggling the schools don’t seem at all equipped to either challenge them or help them. I grew up in Arizona and, at least at the time, the GT offerings were far superior to anything I’ve seen here. Our special needs kids also has more support.

My understanding is that Colorado, like Texas, also spends little on education so I'm not expecting much or any improvement in this area. My kids are just starting K this year so unfortunately I don't have much to add in this area. Maybe in a few months I will.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

This. There’s certain benefits you get in Denver that you wouldn’t get in Houston. but you won’t get the world class ethnic experience that you get here.

I agree with this and listed food as one thing I will miss about Houston. I was only trying to tell OP not to be too worried about moving to a smaller metro as the family 'stuff to do' options would be fairly comparable in most up-and-coming tier two cities.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

The museums, zoo, public parks, gardens — all pretty mediocre. Maybe they’re world class when compared to Indianapolis or Phoenix, but that term is being stretched to fit the narrative.

Actually the MFAH is one of the most respected museums in the U.S. The Houston performing arts scene is also renowned among N.Y.C., L.A., Chicago, etc. (We're not Vegas where the only art museum is in the Bellagio casino and the only performances are in the casino showrooms.)

With Denver, you have the high altitude and the high housing costs. The high altitude is bad for health. But if I wanted altitude with my world-class city, I would learn Spanish and move to Mexico City (seriously underrated by Anglo North Americans).

My concern with Denver is that it's one of the major Whites-only meccas. Plenty of white people have decided to self-segregate themselves and insulate their children from the current racial controversies and the majority-minority future of the U.S.

[michaeltx9412]

I honestly don't think museums in Houston are mediocre. They are world-class IMO. And definitely better than the ones in Dallas.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by michaeltx9412

I honestly don't think museums in Houston are mediocre. They are world-class IMO. And definitely better than the ones in Dallas.

I'll admit I like NorthPark better than The Galleria because of the modern art displayed for free. The mall hours are more convenient than the museum hours, and can't beat FREE!

Sadly for most Texans, Modern art is too abstract. California is really the only place in America that appreciates it.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

This.

The people who seems to constantly worry about protests are those that dont live in the center of a city to begin with. Im going to Portland to visit a friend next week and my sister in law is convinced Ill get mugged by Antifa if I go. She lives in rural Alabama secure in her conservative white bubble and her Fox News.

No offense intended towards your sister-in-law, but I enjoyed a hearty chuckle from your wonderfully pointed description.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I’ve been all across the USA, it is particularly remarkable here. It’s not the only place sure. LA, Chicago and NYC offer a lot of ethnic experiences. But you definitely don’t get Houston’s level in Miami, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle etc etc etc. Even to this day I occasionally notice an ethnic spot that I didn’t know of previously.

Edit: I will admit that diversity alone isn’t what brought me here. Unlike you, I do enjoy the overall vibes and amenities here. Particularly the nightlife, events, food scene, dating scene, etc. Astroworld festival lights it up every year. but diversity is definitely a huge driver for me. As a Venezuelan-Puerto Rican, I love Miami’s ethnic offerings. But there’s plenty that you see here that you won’t there. And much like OP, from your post, you seem like the scenic type and you won’t get that in Houston as you wood in PNW, Colorado, Tennessee, etc.

I also appreciate a number of the same things you and Local Planner like about the Houston metro, but I’m additionally a ‘scenic type’. Primarily, I miss mountains, and being able to drive to skiing. Tennessee may eventually pull me away from the Houston metro. Like you, I’ve traveled all over the country. I love the landscape/setting of Chattanooga, and certain things about the ‘vibe’. It also has local skiing on a bunny hill at Cloudmont, and then better skiing (not the Sierras nor the Rockies, but I no longer need to live near that at my age) in Gatlinburg, which is closer to Chattanooga than my native SF Bay Area is to Tahoe. I lived in California for about 50 years before moving to Houston in the late 2000s. Chattanooga also offers hiking, and easy access to Atlanta for MLB and NFL games, and Nashville for the NFL and entertainment venues (and friends I have there). Chattanooga is also closer to Florida, where I’d like to spend more time (even though I’ve stayed in 13 different cities all over Florida, using each as a hub/jumping off point for day trips in addition to each local scene.