Time to Leave Houston? (Vega: new home, job transfer, college)

[RMESMH]

Accidental duplicate post

[Texas Ag 93]

Late to the thread here, but I also recently lived in Denver (2012-2015) and wanted to add my thoughts as well.

1. I agree with other posters who conclude that Houston is a world class city and Denver is not. Denver, however, is a regional center (government, finance etc), so it punches a bit above its weight class in a way some other comparably sized cities do not.

2. Denver does not have much diversity and what diversity it has (a fairly large Hispanic population) doesn't really translate well to food and culture in the way that Houston's diversity does. You will almost certainly notice this.

3. I personally also think the museums and cultural activities in Houston may be higher in quality than Denver, but I think Denver has great museums, zoo, botanical gardens etc. I'd say it's a zero sum game comparing the cities on these measures.

4. I always found the schools to be comparable. We were in DPS in Denver, but the best public schools in the city (in Stapleton, now called Central Park). I have been just as impressed by my suburban Houston District of CCISD as Denver. And BTW, the best school district in the Denver area seems to be Cherry Creek School District. JeffCo (Jefferson County) also has good schools, and lean much more conservative. This could be a pro or con for you.

5. Denver is very isolated. In particular, there's absolutely nothing to its East. Yes, you can drive 2 hours into the mountains, but as far as making a 4-5 hour road trip to another city, forget about it. It's also a high plains desert and very brown much of the year, not to mention dry. My hair loved Denver; my skin suffered greatly, as did my kids with frequent nosebleeds etc.

Overall, I enjoyed living in Denver (probably more so than Houston). It's a perfectly sized city with a lot to offer. Family brought us back here and while I'm not unhappy, I'd happily relocate out of here again if a great opportunity came along for my husband, although my kids are getting older and we now have them to think about....

[kwr]

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

Late to the thread here, but I also recently lived in Denver (2012-2015) and wanted to add my thoughts as well.

1. I agree with other posters who conclude that Houston is a world class city and Denver is not. Denver, however, is a regional center (government, finance etc), so it punches a bit above its weight class in a way some other comparably sized cities do not.

2. Denver does not have much diversity and what diversity it has (a fairly large Hispanic population) doesn't really translate well to food and culture in the way that Houston's diversity does. You will almost certainly notice this.

3. I personally also think the museums and cultural activities in Houston may be higher in quality than Denver, but I think Denver has great museums, zoo, botanical gardens etc. I'd say it's a zero sum game comparing the cities on these measures.

4. I always found the schools to be comparable. We were in DPS in Denver, but the best public schools in the city (in Stapleton, now called Central Park). I have been just as impressed by my suburban Houston District of CCISD as Denver. And BTW, the best school district in the Denver area seems to be Cherry Creek School District. JeffCo (Jefferson County) also has good schools, and lean much more conservative. This could be a pro or con for you.

5. Denver is very isolated. In particular, there's absolutely nothing to its East. Yes, you can drive 2 hours into the mountains, but as far as making a 4-5 hour road trip to another city, forget about it. It's also a high plains desert and very brown much of the year, not to mention dry. My hair loved Denver; my skin suffered greatly, as did my kids with frequent nosebleeds etc.

Overall, I enjoyed living in Denver (probably more so than Houston). It's a perfectly sized city with a lot to offer. Family brought us back here and while I'm not unhappy, I'd happily relocate out of here again if a great opportunity came along for my husband, although my kids are getting older and we now have them to think about....

I love the balance in your post. We need more of this on CD. Late and very much impactful. :-)

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2018t.html

[mkwensky]

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.

MFAH is better than the Dallas Museum of Art, while the Houston Museum of Science is better than the one with Perot in its name. But Fort Worth and other surrounding area has a copy of these so there are more options there. In the aggregate it is not a blowout. One advantage of having 2-3 inferior museums instead of a good one is that there is less of a crowd and parking issue when the attractions are more spread out. The science museum in particular is VERY FULL in the summer before noon.

You can argue that MFAH is 'world class' in that it's top 10 in the US, while the Museum of Science is above average but by no means exceptional, the other museums in Houston aren't really that special. In terms of numbers of lesser museums Houston is not really a top 5 city.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

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

Untitled by James Fremont - Four Star Images, on Flickr ©2011





Funny thing to me is, Houston can be a work of modern art if you look at it the right way.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

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.

I understand that the Alley Theatre had won a Tony before, but I cannot think of a single famous play that originated in Houston. A city needs to have an answer to Second City or something like it to be in the same league as the top 3 IMO.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

I understand that the Alley Theatre had won a Tony before, but I cannot think of a single famous play that originated in Houston. A city needs to have an answer to Second City or something like it to be in the same league as the top 3 IMO.

“Ok, boomer”.

Jokes aside, Houston and Chicago grew in entirely different eras. Right now, people don’t want to see the new Mona Lisa. They want to see graffiti and anime. They don’t want to see theater, they want to see movies and tv. And they don’t want to hear classical music. They want to listen to hip hop, pop and trap.

If museums want to keep younger audiences, they will need to adopt to adapt to them. And they have to some degree. The Contenporary arts museum has experimented with DJ Scree exhibits for example.

I’m not going to make the case that Houston is top 3 as an art city but you can’t base it all on antiques. The present is just as important as the past.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

“Ok, boomer”.

Jokes aside, Houston and Chicago grew in entirely different eras. Right now, people don’t want to see the new Mona Lisa. They want to see graffiti and anime. They don’t want to see theater, they want to see movies and tv. And they don’t want to hear classical music. They want to listen to hip hop, pop and trap.

If museums want to keep younger audiences, they will need to adopt to adapt to them. And they have to some degree. The Contenporary arts museum has experimented with DJ Scree exhibits for example.

I’m not going to make the case that Houston is top 3 as an art city but you can’t base it all on antiques. The present is just as important as the past.

I don't think Second City is for boomers actually. It is still where lots of comedic talents go to 'get famous'.

Houston is probably a top three hip hop city, but I don't know if it stands out in anime or the other things you mentioned. In any case most cities in the US have gotten a lot better in offering the stuff that appeal to millennials, like warehouse art districts, axe throwing or food halls, so you don't really need to live in a top 10 city to enjoy these anymore.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

I don't think Second City is for boomers actually. It is still where lots of comedic talents go to 'get famous'.

Houston is probably a top three hip hop city, but I don't know if it stands out in anime or the other things you mentioned. In any case most cities in the US have gotten a lot better in offering the stuff that appeal to millennials, like warehouse art districts, axe throwing or food halls, so you don't really need to live in a top 10 city to enjoy these anymore.

In grafiti, it easily stands out. In anime it doesn’t. But then again, we are in USA, not Japan. That being said, there’s currently a hip hop style anime renaissance and Houston is a front runner in this regard, but that’s besides the point. Modern art is an era of art. The constant argument of “the real art/hip hop was in my day” is baseless.

I wasn’t claiming Houston is top 3 art city because I don’t think it is. My point is that you can’t judge specifically based on antiques.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Untitled by James Fremont - Four Star Images, on Flickr ©2011





Funny thing to me is, Houston can be a work of modern art if you look at it the right way.

That's actually an easy reference for long-time Houstonians. That jagged edge of the First City building is a nod to bank's red & blue corporate logo that appeared on bank statements, envelopes, and other stationery.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...of_Houston.jpg

Too bad the bank actually failed and was simply closed--though drawn out. The deposits were sold to Chase. Will never forget that my parents set up my first savings account there!

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/...y-rest-in.html

Also several years ago, the new city hall for Katy proper had a community survey to determine whether to go traditional or modern. The architects eventually designed a towering Federalist-era building. (It could be mistaken for a church with the spire that is the clock tower. It's probably a ripoff of the courthouse in the Back to the Future movies!)

https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/k...ll-6001784.php

Asked what type of architectural character best expresses the city, 78 percent of the respondents favored traditional styles, with 20 percent learning toward an in-between style and only 2 percent favoring a modern approach to architecture.

Wish Houston could build a new larger city hall, while keeping the Art Deco architecture, similar to Los Angeles. The current complex shows that Houston didn't anticipate the growth after WW2.