If you left Houston to live somewhere else, why did you leave? (League City: low crime, mortgage)

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by houstoner

Oh, and professorsenator, thanks, but your great help and dedicated service here in the Houston forum is SO not needed. Those of us who STILL live here and actually *G-d forbid* LIKE living here are perfectly capable of selling our city and noting its drawbacks. As far as what you perceive as boosterism, Houston gets dumped on the most of any major Texas city when really it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be, and those other cities have their share of problems, too. Look around in the Austin and Dallas fora and then get back to me about shameless boosterism, mmkay?

Amen! Houston gets more bad press than almost every other major city except maybe Detroit. I think professorsenator should find a new cause to support.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by jcm1986

I've narrowed my choices down to Houston, Ft. Worth, Atlanta, and Chicago as prospective new places to live.

Of those cities, if I didn't have kids in school I'd choose to live in a condo in the near north/Streeterville/Gold Coast area of Chicago. I love the Windy City. I would definitely not choose Ft. Worth. I've been to Atlanta a number of times but don't really know enough about it to comment.

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by gold dust

Bottom line : gotta do your research.

Some of it is just dumb luck. My husband I researched Oregon extensively, thought it sounded perfect for us, moved there, and the experience was horribly disappointing. We moved to the Houston area because we were backed into a corner for my husband's career and we are enjoying it here very much.

Isn't there a saying that too much planning tempts the fates? I'm starting to wonder if that is true.

I do wish the people with a Houston address would stop trying to disown those of us who live in the burbs. I think Houston needs all the supporters it can get regardless of our zip code.

[gold dust]

Originally Posted by Topaz

Some of it is just dumb luck. My husband I researched Oregon extensively, thought it sounded perfect for us, moved there, and the experience was horribly disappointing. We moved to the Houston area because we were backed into a corner for my husband's career and we are enjoying it here very much.

Isn't there a saying that too much planning tempts the fates? I'm starting to wonder if that is true.

Hi Topaz! Ah, I do agree with you there.....

How long did you stay in Oregon?

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by Topaz

I do wish the people with a Houston address would stop trying to disown those of us who live in the burbs. I think Houston needs all the supporters it can get regardless of our zip code.

That's not what it is.

What it is, though, is that people need to understand the differences between Houston the city and its suburbs, even the further reaches of the city limits that in many cases were annexed fairly recently. Those people have a Houston address but they really do not live in the proper urban core of Houston and what they live in is just not the same. If the city government somehow annexed, say, Rosenberg, it wouldn't really turn Rosenberg into Houston except on paper. It would still feel like, and be for most purposes, its own place. And these farflung places with Houston addresses are really their own separate places.

You wouldn't know how many times I hear or read people who are out in the burbs and were expecting something different from what you find in the burbs most anywhere else. Of course you have to drive everywhere.

OK....for an example, for a little over 13 months in 2005 and 2006 I lived in northwestern Johnston County, North Carolina near Raleigh. Yes, I left the Houston area to live there (look Ma, I'm on topic!) Where I lived was farmland 20 years ago but is now for all intents and purposes suburban Raleigh. I lived in the "Raleigh area" or "the (Research) Triangle" as that area is called, but I did not live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Anywho, long story short, I came to find out that working out your problems at home is sometimes easier than going someplace where you don't know anybody and trying to get around a place you'd never been to before.

[theSUBlime]

[quote=jfre81;4008015]That's not what it is.

What it is, though, is that people need to understand the differences between Houston the city and its suburbs, even the further reaches of the city limits that in many cases were annexed fairly recently. Those people have a Houston address but they really do not live in the proper urban core of Houston and what they live in is just not the same. If the city government somehow annexed, say, Rosenberg, it wouldn't really turn Rosenberg into Houston except on paper. It would still feel like, and be for most purposes, its own place. And these farflung places with Houston addresses are really their own separate places.


Exactly. You should see the looks I give people when they say they're from Houston and I find out they're in Spring and the surrounding communities have little besides sprawl in common with Houston.

The thing about it is, living in the Houston city limits is NOT at all difficult. Living in the Houston city limits does not carry the same exclusivity as living in the city limits of Chicago, Miami, and (especially) SF--It's affordable as opposed to the other major cities, and there's 600 sq miles of it.

I mean, I can understand someone in a Boston burb saying they're from Boston, especially since many of the burbs are highly connected through mass transit, but the areas on the ends of Houston's limits would not even be Houston when compared with many other cities.

[gold dust]

Originally Posted by jfre81

You wouldn't know how many times I hear or read people who are out in the burbs and were expecting something different from what you find in the burbs most anywhere else. Of course you have to drive everywhere.

To me, the suburbs that sprawl from the city seem to not have any life of their own. No local theater (plays), no local pubs, no local mom & pop restaurants, to name just a few things. This is what traumatizes me the most about the move to Houston. If someone disagrees, by all means, please let me know!

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by jfre81

That's not what it is.

What it is, though, is that people need to understand the differences between Houston the city and its suburbs, even the further reaches of the city limits that in many cases were annexed fairly recently. Those people have a Houston address but they really do not live in the proper urban core of Houston and what they live in is just not the same. If the city government somehow annexed, say, Rosenberg, it wouldn't really turn Rosenberg into Houston except on paper. It would still feel like, and be for most purposes, its own place. And these farflung places with Houston addresses are really their own separate places.

You wouldn't know how many times I hear or read people who are out in the burbs and were expecting something different from what you find in the burbs most anywhere else. Of course you have to drive everywhere.

Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!

What is inside the Houston "city" limits is not all that "city". League City isn't Houston. Sugar Land isn't Houston. Even parts of Clear Lake, Alief, and areas like that may technically be in the city, inside city limits, are not completely of the city. In fact, people normally live in these places to get away from the city, so pardon my eyeroll when they gripe about how there's nothing to do out there! In other cities, a lot of these areas wouldn't even be considered part of the city, as they are more suburban than urban. Many of these surrounding areas were in fact towns in their own right till Houston came and gobbled them up. That's the confusing thing about Houston, I guess. That's what sprawl, annexation, growth, lack of planning and foresight hath wrought. I like living where I live because it is the City of Houston, no two ways about it. There's no mistaking it for any other place, and for the most part, there's a noticeably different mindset here.

[houstoner]

Originally Posted by jd2008

Although I might feel a little out of place, I actually think those kind of places seem kinda fun. Almost seems like the traditional Irish pub where the entire neighborhood/community gathered.

I just get a sense that there isn't that much community interaction. People drive to the local strip mall in their huge SUV, get groceries, perhaps drop by the fast food chain and then drive home and sit on their couch. Maybe that is a generalization but that is just the impression I get.

Perhaps some areas are different though. Midtown definitely didn't seem like that last summer although admittedly it didn't seem like many people live in Midtown for a very long time (maybe just a year or so). It's just so different from places I am used to (North End, Arlington VA, Alexandria, etc). Is the Heights more what I am looking for?

Yes, if you live inside the loop. A lot of people from outside the loop come inside the loop to party, dine, etc. If you live there, it's all the better. You will find that sense of community you are seeking. You can choose the Heights or Montrose. I would move to somewhere in the northern half of the Montrose/Neartown area if I were you, probably someplace closer to West Gray/Allen Parkway/Memorial/Shepherd, or maybe even to Rice Military, hmmm... or possibly around the Menil, or closer to Lower Shepherd, or around that section of Montrose near UST/Soundwaves/Diedrich's/the library/The Black Lab... it's all good really! Try to move near a bar/pub, as that will become your local watering hole. Personally, I would probably try to live within walking distance of Rudz, but that's me. There are plenty of others...

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by jfre81

That's not what it is.

What it is, though, is that people need to understand the differences between Houston the city and its suburbs, even the further reaches of the city limits that in many cases were annexed fairly recently. Those people have a Houston address but they really do not live in the proper urban core of Houston and what they live in is just not the same. If the city government somehow annexed, say, Rosenberg, it wouldn't really turn Rosenberg into Houston except on paper. It would still feel like, and be for most purposes, its own place. And these farflung places with Houston addresses are really their own separate places.

You wouldn't know how many times I hear or read people who are out in the burbs and were expecting something different from what you find in the burbs most anywhere else. Of course you have to drive everywhere.

OK....for an example, for a little over 13 months in 2005 and 2006 I lived in northwestern Johnston County, North Carolina near Raleigh. Yes, I left the Houston area to live there (look Ma, I'm on topic!) Where I lived was farmland 20 years ago but is now for all intents and purposes suburban Raleigh. I lived in the "Raleigh area" or "the (Research) Triangle" as that area is called, but I did not live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Anywho, long story short, I came to find out that working out your problems at home is sometimes easier than going someplace where you don't know anybody and trying to get around a place you'd never been to before.

Thank you. That's exactly what I meant when I said it wasn't "Houston at all. Period."

Some of the far flung areas don't even feel Texan, much less Houstonian.
Houston-Life happens. Socialization just occurs...anywhere. It has urban-suburbs, but they definately are laid back, not master planned but neighborhoods, and Texan and close to everything.
Outer Fringes in Planned Communities-Life is planned. There's designated areas for it and something called Bunko. :/ and lot's of driving