Are there any good things to say about the city of Houston, Texas?

All I know about it and Texas is oil, republicans, urban sprawl, traffic nightmares, and smog and pollution.

Is there anything positive about living there? I may have to move there for a family situation and it would be a lot easier to do if I thought of it as something other than hell on Earth.

by this huge stated called Texas?

Seriously, it's Hell on Earth. I used to live there.

It's pretty far from California.

as a matter of fact. My brother was a musician there. I loved to visit him because we would do music for weeks. Lots of theater too. I would not like to live there, I prefer the country, but it sure was a fun place to visit.

It was more than I could handle.

Ninfa's is heaven.

Interesting museums and the Montrose art festival(s).

And used to ice skate at the Galleria mall.

And it sort of snowed once.

And cars would never stop for my school bus so I always had to dodge across four lanes of traffic - no stop light - to get home. One time this nice older man stopped, got out of his car, and stopped all the traffic and escorted me across.

I left when I was 11 - that's all I remember.

We moved to FL, though...out of the frying pan...

from the beach. Galveston puts on an entertaining Mardi Gras. Downtown has started to liven up the past couple years. Decent amount of rain. A fair amount of trees. *thinking* Uh...

...I've stopped complaining about Orlando (traffic and otherwise).

it was the pits then, but I suppose everything has changed except the weather.

but love it because of a lot of memories of family and friends.....

BUT - a girlfriend of mine moved there after living in places like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Holland, Florida (Gainseville), and she seems to have the knack of picking out the positive things and beautiful aspects of an area, (along the coast and the lakes), has made lots of good friends..... and her son of 22 - who I thought was going to HATE living there - actually LOVES it:
the money he can make doing enjoyable work while studying, and the NIGHTLIFE, as he calls it - resaurants, concerts, etc. etc. etc.

SO, I would say, it is up to you to make it a nice place to live.

Best of luck,

DemEx

(Ex_pat -Texan)

It's not like you'd be moving to rural east Texas.

The smog is bad, but there are parks and lakes, several Universities, and plenty of cultural activities, like plays and such. There is also a fairly vibrant alternative scene -- it is an urban area with lots of young people and a large gay population.

Though, I am told there are nice neighborhoods for the reasonably wealthy, it is not an aesthetically pleasing city overall, speaking from a visitors perspective. It's not even really a city -- think pure sprawl.

Sorry to say.

it smelled worse than Houston.

in America...the Houston Ballet.

would hate to be arrested there, mistakenly or otherwise.
not my cup of tea. hmmm, tea...

and if you like pine trees, they grow in parts of the city. I go there when I have to... I like Cirrasco's ( a resturant ). That's about it!

I guess in a few places (there's one in the next door neighbor's yard), but I think you are thinking of east Texas, otherwise known as the land that enlightenment forgot.

Churrasco's is the restaruant you are thinking about.

Don't know the maritime muesem though.

Houston's not that bad . . . I'm sitting in it right now.

They picked up a new pitcher this season. Some guy named Clemons. He's not bad.

I've lived here for about 12 years, and I hate it. The only reason I've stayed this long is because my wife grew up and has family here.

The dominant businesses in Houston are billboards, strip malls, and strip clubs. The traffic is horrible and the pollution is just as bad, but I guess most big cities have the same traffic problems. Also, if you really like brown beaches with muddy water, then Galveston is the place for you.

Downtown is nice, and it is getting better. I would also say that the people here are generally friendly, but *very* conservative. Although when they are driving, many Houstonians transform into demons. Housing is very affordable, but some of the public high schools are huge (several thousand students).

The restaurants are no better/no worse than what you would find in any other big city. Although there are a few incredible Mexican restaurants that I will sadly miss if I ever leave.

In the summer it gets pretty hot. Our winters are great though. From October to about April, the weather is great.

I would say the best things about Houston are downtown and its proximity to Louisiana. It makes for an easy drive/flight to New Orleans where I generally go to have fun.

According to the Places Rated Almanac, Houston finished as the 8th best place to live out of 354. It has a higher than national average for household income, but a lower than national average for housing costs. That is an awesome combination. Texas as a whole has no state income taxes. Depending on where you are from, that too can be a huge plus. Rice University is the 16th best university in the nation, according to the US News college rankings. In the arts, Houston is home to the highly acclaimed Alley Theatre, as well as ballet companies, opera companies, other theatre groups and two symphony orchestras. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston is one of the premier cancer hospitals in the world. I used to work in connection with that hospital and people came from all over the world to be treated there. The population is very diverse. According to the latest figures I could find, Houston metro is 52.1% white, 17.8% black, 24.9% hispanic, 5.0% asian and a younger than average population too, 32.6 average age compared to national average of 35.3 Also too, the weather. Yes it is hot and humid in the summer. But in the winter, the weather can be positively glorious. December averages 65, January 63, and February 67. You can see all the averages here.

http://weather.yahoo.com/climo/USTX0617_f.html

Houston is not a bad place to be at all. I go there several times a year to visit one of my brothers. I would live in Harris County if I were you. The suburbs are freeperville big time. And one other thing I hate. Houston Intercontinental Airport has been renamed George Bush Intercontinental Airport. :puke:

. . .bigger than your town!

Also, there are pecan nuts all over the ground.

Tucker

live somewhere else, and that would be a shame.