What was Houston like back in 92ish-2000ish? (Sugar Land, Galveston: rental, high crime)

[Raider Scott]

Originally Posted by Julio July

True. I'd argue that Austin and Dallas are worse in that regard. Houston definitely feels more like it has stayed truer to itself and to its local culture in the last 20 years than Austin and Dallas have.

Austin has totally lost its cool hippie/cowboy image and culture of the late 80s/early 90s. It is also much more congested and filthy than back then.

[Caro42]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

Original Ninfas is still there and doing well. I was just there last Sat night.

We now have WAY better BBQ than Ottos....you need to get out more. LOL

Hardly. If you think that, then you never were at Otto's in its heyday. or you just like sugary bland gunk.

I get out plenty and have lived not only on three continents and in half a dozen world capitals but in many cities in the southwest.

[Caro42]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

Have you been to Austin or Dallas in recent months?


Houston is hardly the only large TX city that has changed as you described.

I lived in Dallas from 1998-2016. Park Cities is beautiful, as it has always been. I grew up there. Very expensive however. The other parts of Dallas are congested and the freeways are wall-to-wall crazy traffic. But overall I prefer Dallas. Houston is just a zoo.

I don't know Austin at all. Spent a weekend there once, twenty years ago, and did not care for it.

[Caro42]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

Lol I think so. Houston was way trashier, tacky, and crime-ridden in the 80s and 90s with way less cool stuff to do. The lone better thing about the city back then was that it had Astroworld. That's it. There was just as much (if not more) traffic congestion back then too.

Way better city today imo.

Wrong wrong and wrong. But then, you may not have lived in a nice part of town at that time. I lived in River Oaks and Tanglewood and I can promise you, it was quite lovely, clean, landscaped and safe. Actually, River Oaks and Tanglewood are still islands of beauty in this trashy zoo of a city, if surrounded by junked up areas, alas. Houston now has a population over 23% foreign born, and another half of the city comes from northern climes so unfortunately, these folks are not accustomed to clean streets, landscaping or lawn maintenance and do not practice any of those disciplines.

However, if your idea of a "cool thing to do" is Astroworld, then we have nothing to talk about. The museums and art galleries and shopping in Houston were great. The Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts Museum are still extraordinary, so I grant that. There are others. The Galleria was marvelous and actually accessible without having to brave thirty minutes of traffic and parking nightmares to get to it. There were fun restaurants and great "discos" and country and western dancing joints at the time and it was really a fun city. Now it's a jumble of office buildings, dirty streets and horrible strip centers that are absolutely hideous. Westheimer, a major thoroughfare in Houston, and Kirby, south of River Oaks in the Rice University area, are so profoundly ugly and clogged that it is painful to drive there and one avoids those streets at all costs. Same for Memorial Drive and Briar Forest west of Gessner. Half the freeways charge tolls and it's just very hard to get around due to traffic and depressing to do so, due the trashy, run-down look of it all.

So for those folks who have never known anything else but ugly, clogged city life in dirty urban centers, you may not notice. I don't recommend the city for anyone over 50 unless you can afford to live in Tanglewood, Memorial or River Oaks.The city has not changed its no-zoning standpoint, and it has ruined Houston.

[Caro42]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Boomer comment of the year?

Well, if you're from Paraguay, then how would you know the difference?

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Caro42

Wrong wrong and wrong. But then, you may not have lived in a nice part of town at that time. I lived in River Oaks and Tanglewood and I can promise you, it was quite lovely, clean, landscaped and safe. Actually, River Oaks and Tanglewood are still islands of beauty in this trashy zoo of a city, if surrounded by junked up areas, alas. Houston now has a population over 23% foreign born, and another half of the city comes from northern climes so unfortunately, these folks are not accustomed to clean streets, landscaping or lawn maintenance and do not practice any of those disciplines.

However, if your idea of a "cool thing to do" is Astroworld, then we have nothing to talk about. The museums and art galleries and shopping in Houston were great. The Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts Museum are still extraordinary, so I grant that. There are others. The Galleria was marvelous and actually accessible without having to brave thirty minutes of traffic and parking nightmares to get to it. There were fun restaurants and great "discos" and country and western dancing joints at the time and it was really a fun city. Now it's a jumble of office buildings, dirty streets and horrible strip centers that are absolutely hideous. Westheimer, a major thoroughfare in Houston, and Kirby, south of River Oaks in the Rice University area, are so profoundly ugly and clogged that it is painful to drive there and one avoids those streets at all costs. Same for Memorial Drive and Briar Forest west of Gessner. Half the freeways charge tolls and it's just very hard to get around due to traffic and depressing to do so, due the trashy, run-down look of it all.

So for those folks who have never known anything else but ugly, clogged city life in dirty urban centers, you may not notice. I don't recommend the city for anyone over 50 unless you can afford to live in Tanglewood, Memorial or River Oaks.The city has not changed its no-zoning standpoint, and it has ruined Houston.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Houston was not as clean then. If you lived in River Oaks and Tanglewood, you missed out on the trash, crime, and general decrepitude of the times. Traffic was far worse back then as well.

Nice way to insult a significant portion of the population of Houston with your condescending implication they are trashy people.

Since you think it's a mess, maybe it's time to move. Personally, I am well over 50, and still ove Hosuton, warts and all.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Caro42

Well, if you're from Paraguay, then how would you know the difference?

Not from Paraguay. However, regardless of my place of birth, I wasn’t here to see Houston of the 90s. But I was here to see Houston of the mid-late 2000s. Here’s what’s changed that contradicts some of your points.

- The eastern half of downtown was dead and ugly then and to be avoided at all cost. Its turned that around rather quick

- much better shopping today than there was back then for all sides of the income ladder

- The Post Oak Blvd was (I guess you like un landscaped streets and parking lots?). It currently has 2 five star hotels and adding a third. It previously had none.

Can’t comment on the traffic being better or worse because I wasn’t of driving age then.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by Caro42

Wrong wrong and wrong. But then, you may not have lived in a nice part of town at that time. I lived in River Oaks and Tanglewood and I can promise you, it was quite lovely, clean, landscaped and safe. Actually, River Oaks and Tanglewood are still islands of beauty in this trashy zoo of a city, if surrounded by junked up areas, alas. Houston now has a population over 23% foreign born, and another half of the city comes from northern climes so unfortunately, these folks are not accustomed to clean streets, landscaping or lawn maintenance and do not practice any of those disciplines.

However, if your idea of a "cool thing to do" is Astroworld, then we have nothing to talk about. The museums and art galleries and shopping in Houston were great. The Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts Museum are still extraordinary, so I grant that. There are others. The Galleria was marvelous and actually accessible without having to brave thirty minutes of traffic and parking nightmares to get to it. There were fun restaurants and great "discos" and country and western dancing joints at the time and it was really a fun city. Now it's a jumble of office buildings, dirty streets and horrible strip centers that are absolutely hideous. Westheimer, a major thoroughfare in Houston, and Kirby, south of River Oaks in the Rice University area, are so profoundly ugly and clogged that it is painful to drive there and one avoids those streets at all costs. Same for Memorial Drive and Briar Forest west of Gessner. Half the freeways charge tolls and it's just very hard to get around due to traffic and depressing to do so, due the trashy, run-down look of it all.

So for those folks who have never known anything else but ugly, clogged city life in dirty urban centers, you may not notice. I don't recommend the city for anyone over 50 unless you can afford to live in Tanglewood, Memorial or River Oaks.The city has not changed its no-zoning standpoint, and it has ruined Houston.

Ha. This is just a mess of a post. But no, I didn't grow up in River Oaks or Tanglewood and I do remember how nice they were in the 90s and remain today. I'm sure an argument can be made that those areas were just as good back then. However, for us plebes that live in the other 97% of the city, the city has significantly improved. The area that *I* grew up in is like night and day (in a good way) compared to what it was in the 90s. Even with the spikes we've seen in the last year or two, crime is still way lower than back then. Traffic is honestly no worse - back then I-10 was worse, 290 was worse, the West Loop was still horrible in both directions. The streets were dirtier and worse with potholes and the like back then. As a matter of fact, the city had a much bigger billboard and litter problem back then overall. One thing I was pleasantly surprised by when I moved back a couple of years ago was how much cleaner the city is today overall compared to 20-30 years ago.

Museums are better now - we didn't even have the Holocaust Museum or the Czech Center until the late 90s. I was a teenager back then and yes Astroworld was a thing to do that was cool to do - much cooler than going on message boards complaining about things that never were true in the first place. In fact, it was my first job. No shame there at all.

You don't live here anymore right? I think that's the best outcome for everyone. Many of us are very happy with where Houston is today when compared to the 90s.

[Caro42]

Left town in 1998, but grew up there in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The residential neighborhoods of Houston were beautiful then. I never went "downtown" so don't know anything about that.

Returned in 2017 and must admit, I was horrified to find that wall-to-wall traffic had engulfed the city and dark office towers were looming over the once bright and open Post Oak Boulevard and the entire Galleria area, which was all new back then. The only thing I've found in the 2000s that resembles the Houston of the 60s is Cross Creek, in Fulshear, and certain parts of Cinco Ranch in Katy. Granted, Cinco Ranch and Cross Creek are not really a place for young singles - it's pretty houses and lawns and gardens. No singles bars. Presume Houston still has lots of those. It was certainly a blast when I was young and single. Elán and Daddy's Money and TGIFridays and those kinds of places were terrific. Houston was great fun then for young people.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

You talking 1992-2000? I was better than now, just like the rest of America. Don't have any specifics though.

Thank you Bill Clinton