DLers, Tell Us About Houston, Texas

There is nothing special about Houston. Downtown Houston is one of the ugliest places I've ever seen. It's hot, it's humid and they have gigantic cockrockes hissing and flying at you when they get angry.

Tacky access roads. No zoning.

Boring skyline

The weather is much worse, but the people aren't as stuffy and pretentious as they are in Dallas - which I never understood, Dallas is basically Oklahoma. Plus, Houston has the advantage of being both a port city and a major oul-hub, so there are always plenty of hot foreigners/out-of-towners passing through. All of Texas sucks though, except for Austin.

*oil hub. (Goddamnit!)

Houston is where Dallas gays go when they want a top.

I used to have to go down to Houston for weeks at a time for work. I always thought it was nice enough, and they have a very diverse restaurant scene there. I actually like how hot, and humid it is. The entire city is on a flood plain. I was trapped down there for Hurricane Harvey.

I know a wealthy gay couple who have a beautiful, penthouse apartment in Houston. And they made their money there. However, they spend most of the year in their much smaller NYC apartment or various vacation spots.

If you look at the next largest CSAs -- Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix and Seattle--people have a very good idea of what those cities are about, what they look like, why someone would live there, movies or TV shows that are set there.

Are there any non-NASA movies that are set in Houston? TV series?

I loved Houston on a business trip, living there was awful (racist, evil and stupid) and I couldn't wait to move but there are some nice things; Fabulous theaters new/old, friendly men of all flavors, lots of good restaurants, affordable real estate/rent, cheap flights to a lot of places and that's more than you can say about many US cities.

We see so many horrible Texans on TV we forget that Ann Richards and Molly Ivins are Texas archetypes too, Houston is filled with wonderful people.

"I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults." Molly Ivins

LOL R1 about the roaches. It's true.

Personally, I like the Houston skyline. The reason Houston is growing is inexpensive plentiful housing and jobs. Plus, it's cosmopolitan and has a very diverse population and wonderful dining and music.

Other than the miserable climate, it's pretty forgettable. It just seems like a generic sunbelt sprawlburg with endless strings of stripmalls. My grad school roommate was exceited to move there and happily left after a year---crime, people, not as much to do as he expected.

[quote]Tacky access roads

We call those feeder roads, yankee.

[quote]Today in 1953, Oveta Culp Hobby, a member of Eisenhower's cabinet, lands her 2nd Time cover. - Houstorian

Dr. Now is based there from my 600lb Life. He talks like Mr Tudball from Carol Burnett. I always think what a basic boring skyline when they show it.

So Houston is so boring even DLers don't have opinions about it?

I live here R16 and offered my opinion.

[quote]We call those feeder roads, yankee.

I'm from Atlanta. So I know ugly highways, but I wasn't prepared for how ugly they are in Houston.

Oul-Hub is a character in the Star Wars cantina scene.

The Houston skyline can be quite dramatic from a distance, like the Emerald City.

The museum culture is genuinely impressive. But outside of that it's pretty generic.

It's popular with white conservatives because there's no zoning and suburban sprawl is the preferred form of development.

[quote]Tacky access roads.

Are access roads tacky, in general, or just Houston's?

It’s a shithole. The worst drivers I’ve ever encountered in the US. People in their huge unnecessarily large vehicles pass aggressively on the right and swoop their huge trucks into the left (should be passing lane) and then lay off the accelerator like their job is now done. No you assholes.

Are there many masculine tops in Houston? Also, how easy is it to find married straight men who are willing to experiment?🧐

Is Dallas or Houston better for gays?

Let's see: You do NOT want to be there in a hurricane. Or a tornado. Or a rainstorm. Or a cold snap. Or a heat wave. Or when the humidity is above 60%. Or when a refinery catches on fire. Oh whoops, I think I just eliminated about 300 days out of the year. But if you happen to make it there during one of the 65 remaining days, you'd still find that it's a very poorly planned city, with no clearly defined center, and miserable traffic in every direction. Other than that, it's fine.

I always laugh when people talk about places like Texas, Georgia, and Florida like they’re the new wonderful places to move to when they’re actually shitholes and not as cheap as people think they are.

Some of Georgia is beautiful. Ditto Florida. Texas...well, the Big Bend area has a kind of bleak majesty to it.

Houston is absolutely the most diverse city in the US. Look it up. It's more diverse than NYC.

Houston Medical Center is big

[quote]Some of Georgia is beautiful.

Who elected Marjorie Taylor Greene.

[quote]Ditto Florida.

Who elected Matt Gaetz, DeSantis, and Trump.

You can have them.👍🏼

R13 Thought we called them frontage roads?

The weather is terrible and the city is ugly but the food and museums are great, and it really is a lot more diverse than anywhere else I've ever lived.

R26 Ain't that the truth. It's one ugly ass city with some beautiful parts but I couldn't wait to leave.

I hear they have good Vietnamese food.

R33 What city do you live in now that is better?

I love the Big Bend area. I toyed with moving around Terlingua for a bit. It's gotten pricey because of all the wealthy folks buying houses. Some surprisingly excellent vineyards around there.

I do have to laugh when people say stuff about hurricanes and rain. Shit, it's just weather. I've lived here during many hurricanes and never suffered much inconvenience. I know I am lucky though. I look at it as a few days off of work and I love holing up in my house. There is extreme weather everywhere. Don't be pussies. CA has wildfires every year, the North has blizzards, the South has hurricanes. Humanity somehow prevails.

[quote]Is Dallas or Houston better for gays?

I'd say Houston. Dallas is full of your typical JR Ewing types along with their big blonde haired, big silicon titted wives and has a much more conservative feel to it.

I like Houston a lot. The best city in TX. Austin is a knock off SF - small, overpriced, obnoxious - without the beauty. Dallas is Oklahoma. San Antonio is interesting but rough. Houston is a true city - diverse, big, international, thriving. Though I’ve never lived there as a resident, I’ve worked there for a few years at a client. Had a great time. A good gayborhood - unpretentious (unlike Dallas), big (unlike Austin) and diverse. Great restaurants with truly diverse options - and affordable. And the Menil/Rothko Chapel/Dan Flavin museum/space are my favorite in the US outside of NY. Great airport - if a little far from the center of city.

Maybe if I lived there, I’d learn to hate it. But having spent time in almost every city in US - and lots of god awful towns - for work, I always looked forward to working in Houston.

I worked in Atlanta for three weeks in July. I felt like I was walking through a steaming hot sauna. Breathing outdoors was impossible. I thought it was absolute hell. Then I spent two weeks in Houston mid August. Atlanta was a cool paradise in comparison.

[quote] It's hot, it's humid and they have gigantic cockrockes hissing and flying at you when they get angry.

The also have gigantic eldergays who hiss and fly at you when they get angry.

Re: Shows "about" Houston. "Reba" was based in Houston. But it really wasn't about Houston.

It smells like rags soaked in gasoline.

Don’t do it, Op. Whatever you are contemplating that involves Houston.

Oh joy, Stinkydena (also known as Pasadena, Texas) aBUTTS Houston.

LOL at some of these comments. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world live and work in Houston and seem to think it's just fine. I've worked with a ton of Brits, Scandinavians, French, Indians and other Asians and they all seem to get along quite well and enjoy it here. It's not paradise but what is? As long as you have central A/C you are fine.

Houston is anonymous, ugly and spiritless.

Of course the trogs who have no sense or expectation of context or other quality-of-life features would type things such as R46's meaningless piffle. She has researched those "hundreds of thousands of of people from all over the world" and the "ton" of EVERY BRANCH OF HUMANITY populating Houston and its environs.

R46 and her like are the natural denizens of "China-Lite" holes and mounds, wherever they happen to occur. Sometimes they even mistake urban bustle for livability. As for being fine if you have central air conditioning, the same can be said for hell, if that's all there is to the matter.

Glad you're where you belong or aspire to it, R46.

You make a lot of ASSumptions there R47. What's your damage?

You sound like an unbearable ass R47

R47 needs his meds because he's got a case of rage that is inappropriate for the topic of discussion and no sense of humor at all.

Lots of money. To little effect apparently.

"As long as you have central A/C you are fine."

I guess that's the point. Most people like to spend time outside. In most Texan cities you spend 5-6 months indoors bc it is too fucking hot and humid. And even on cooler days you can't spend any time outside on your fabulous porches or pools bc the mosquitoes will eat you alive. My brother lived in Houston for a couple of years and he hardly ever left the house during the summer. Had to take a shower after walking his dog for 15 min. Blinds on all windows always closed (everywhere in the neighborhood).

Could not live in any of these hot, humid, mosquito infested Texan shitholes.

THE biggest asset to living in Houston, at least for your skin quality and aging, is the humidity. Not great for hair, but for skin you have nature’s outdoor spa helping you tremendously.

I think most people get used to it R52. Most of us are working during the day but there are people out jogging and other things (they be crazy). I sit out in the evenings in the summer after work and bbq and I have a pool, which is a definite plus. I haven't been bothered by mosquitos in years, don't know why, but they can be controlled. My shades are up all day. The newer homes have better windows and insulation for keeping homes cool.

Yes, R53 it does keep our skin moist and dewy.

Just curiosity R44.

There was a "Tasteful Friends" thread about a house in Houston, people were talking about "the Bay Area" of Houston and I realized that other than NASA and the Bushes I knew nothing about it, even though it one of the largest cities in the US and was curious what DLers knew about it, given that posters are often a repository of information on much smaller towns and cities.

Not R44 but the "bay area" refers to Galveston Bay. Lots of people live between Galveston and Houston in waterfront communities. Little tiny places like San Leon, Bacliff and Seabrook. I used to live in a tiny little island community called Clear Lake Shores. It was a lot of fun. Everyone got around on golf carts and the houses were all elevated. Good times. It was also so safe you could leave doors unlocked at night. Reason being we had our own police force and a tiny population and they were payed well. I'd love to move back one day.

Here's a pic R55.

Thanks R57

Can you go swimming in the water there or is it mostly just for boating?

Boating mainly. I would not swim in it. Even though it's brackish there are alligators are in it plus debris on the bottom from god knows what.

Great art scene all around - museums, galleries, etc.

Good shopping.

Fantastic food. Houston is the most diverse city in the US and it shows in the amazing variety of fantastic food.

Much nicer and warmer people than Dallas. Has a bit of a small-town vibe to it, even with its size and population.

I like Houston better than Dallas. I live in Austin so I'm allowed to judge both.

For Zillow Stalking purposes, what are the areas of Houston that The Gays live in and/or are the happening areas for young professionals in general-- the equivalent of say WeHo, Venice, Los Feliz or SilverLake in LA or UWS, Hells Kitchen, West Village, Park Slope in NY

Thanks

None of Texas, save for the Hill Country and Big Bend, is aesthetically pleasing. The landscapes in and around Houston and Dallas easily make them the ugliest major cities in the country. Dallas is flat, brown and on a prairie. Houston is the same except it’s in a swamp. But people don’t move to these places to be inspired by their environs. They move there to make money, save money, live decently.

I have to put in a word for Houston's architecture. There are a few great Art Deco towers. But downtown has a very solid collection of Mid Century through High Postmodern buildings. A lot of people don't like the latter - I'm not crazy about it myself - but it is done well.

Montrose was the historic gay village though it's been changing and young professionals with young kids started moving in and razing the old bungalows. Still fun though. The Heights is good too. The downtown area has been revitalized with lofts and restaurants but even where I'm at in the burbs there is a gay bar with a drag show. Galveston has a surprisingly large gay community for its size and quite a handful of gay bars and clubs. I like to drive in to the museum district, view art then go eat somewhere in Montrose. The nineties had La Strada which was THE gay brunch spot. Closed now.

This is a little tidbit about La Strada. Shit I miss it.

Houston is the only major US city I've never visited -- except the airport, and one time when I missed a connecting flight and the airline put me up in a hotel nearby.

Can people please comment on cost of living and prices?

I stopped at Dallas airport once (switching planes) and was surprised at how reasonable the airport food & drinks were priced.

According to Wikipedia, in 2010, Houston was 21.6% white / non-Hispanic. You can look it up yourself to find out what the balance of the 100% is made up of.

I mean any city is what you make of it. l've lived in Houston for going on 6 years and it's starting to feel like home. I do wish I was here in my 20's instead of now late 30's, because there seems to be tons of amazing underground art and cultural scenes that I never knew existed.

And the diversity, at least in the inner-loop (the city part of the "city") is amazing, which of course brings great food, music etc. Austin has the nature, but I could care less for their bars or food. Yes Houston is dirty, in constant construction and it's increasingly economically stratified, all that is true. But it was easy to find a niche here.

Also Terms of Endearment (I suppose NASA adjacent but not a NASA movie), Reality Bites, Rushmore, and a few scenes in Paris, Texas.

It was named after Whitney Houston.

R68, can you talk about the cost of living & prices? Thanks.

What I hate about it are these prefab Dallas restaurant groups bringing their prefab concepts: Truckyard, Rustic. All so awful. And those expensive hybrid retail/apartments popping up everywhere. I guess that's happening everywhere but still very soulless.

What neighborhood is the best place to stay in?

Thank you R64

My expectations are dialed back. Houston is not going to be like San Francisco. I'm looking for info on cost of living, traffic, weather. Sounds like there's a bit of culture there.

I'm used to humid weather, so I think I can maybe manage.

Traffic is not horrible if you work, live, and play in a central location. I bought my car new around Christmas 2016 and just hit 33K miles.

Yeah, that water looks really clear, R57.

That's why you don't swim in it R76.

[quote] there is a gay bar with a drag show.

How progressive and forward looking for the community.

Considering the are it kind of is R78. Some of you are so testy and irritable.

R79 didn't get the meaning of my remark.

If you plan to visit Houston, wait until October when the heat subsides.

A better view of Houston skyline

Had relatives in Memorial and Bunker Hill and use to visit for the holidays. Suburban sprawl. Restaurants in strip malls. Casual conversation exposes you to bigoted comments. Leisurely waits in service lines as cashiers chit-chat made me want to kill myself. And dealing with maintenance workers taught me: There is stupid and there is Texas stupid and it's nothing an urban Northerner can comprehend. if you are from the burbs and relate to driving everywhere, you might adjust. I couldn't and wouldn't put up with that governor and atty general on a bet.

[quote]Leisurely waits in service lines as cashiers chit-chat made me want to kill myself.

I hardly think Houston is the only place guilty of these types. You can find this anywhere. I've visited places that completely ignore you until you say "hey, bitch, you going to look at me?"

I hear Pasadena doesn't stink so much now since the paper plant closed.

That skyline is utterly unremarkable.

I like the skyline. I remember when Jarre did a show off the buildings because he loved the skyline.

Cost of living is incredibly affordable compared to all other major cities in its class. Rent, house prices, food prices, all great. Better than Dallas and Austin for sure.

It's getting more expensive every day, just like every other major U.S. city. Real estate is especially overpriced now.

But still incredibly, incredibly affordable compared to other major US cities.

Houston is still a much cheaper option than other large cities r89. Compare it to NY, LA, DC and you'll get it.

The most ethnically diverse city in America Jersey City r29. Of "big cities" its NY.

Ha! Jersey City and Oakland are "ethnically diverse" because they're rapidly being gentrified and less affluent brown and black people are being replaced by affluent white people.

It's not Kum-ba-yah

I love Houston, but I would be scared to live there because of serial killer Dean Corll who killed dozens of gay men. I wonder why Netflix hasn't made a documentary about him?

Honey, that was 50 years ago.

House prices in Houston are much, much cheaper than Austin. Austin's housing prices have reached California levels. Don't know about Dallas.

Houston and Atlanta still have median home prices in the 200s. These are very cheap cities still compared to what's going on in other parts of the country.

(And correct r96, these days Austin's median home price has risen to around 500k. Literally twice Houston)

You can have a much higher standard of living in Houston and Dallas than you can Austin today. Expect to pay $600k for a tiny shack in Austin.

Houston also has the best restaurants for the best price in all of America. Good food of every nationality. I can't say enough about the food scene in Houston.

Houston and New Orleans are sister cities, so there is plenty of good Cajun and Creole food to be found in Houston. It's a shame that Bennans's closed in Houston because it was one of my favorite restaurants in the city.

I'm always looking at houses for sale in Austin. Small, frame houses reasonably close in to town cost about $400K a year ago. Now the same house will cost $750K. A friend was trying to sell his large house in a moderately upmarket suburb for $750K. There was a bidding war and he got over $1M. Just insane.

Zillow stalk #1 -- this is new construction in the Heights area that an earlier poster said was a hip somewhat walkable area that was popular with young professionals.

It's $375K and would be way more than that in other cities

Zillow Stalk #2

Same neighborhood, but if you like older houses, this one is only $380K

Zillow Stalk #3 -- if you want something a little more upscale, this is an almost 2K square foot loft-like condo for just $600K in a building with rooftop pool and more

Matt Risinger just sold his nice but unremarkable Austin ranch for $810k. Everyone thought his reno turned complete rebuild was stupid and going to be overpriced for the ‘hood. Well, that’s looking less and less likely. With Austin appreciation, the house will easily appraise for seven figures. And with everything he got for free/sponsored, he’s guaranteed to come out (way) ahead.

R103, thanks for posting those properties. Interesting to see.

You're welcome R105

I have only been to Houston to switch planes, but there's a Jeni's Ice Cream in that neighborhood which would lead me to believe it is indeed popular with young professionals. (For context, in LA, Jeni's is in Venice, Los Feliz, Larchmont and Playa)

r99 I assume you mean Brennan's, which is open in Houston.

I thought Brennan's closed?

R108 I believe they had a fire at some point but reopened after a bit.

Yeah, I remember the fire now. I moved away from Houston several years ago. They have the best snapping turtle soup and bananas foster flamed table side.

None of those Houston properties are in a prime location, although technically they might be considered the Heights. I would pass on all three.

Doesn't seem that bad.

The air is sticky hot thick.

Fattest city in the nation. There's a reason the 600lb life doctor is there.

Not true R113.

Still Houston. Still a red state. Still restrictive voting legislation. If you can ignore or fight it, good for you.

R45 Actually, Pasadena isn’t stinky anymore. The paper mill that was the source of the smell is gone. Pasadena actually spans all the way to Galveston Bay and Clear Lake (NASA) area. Much of Clear Lake is actually the city of Pasadena. Northern Pasadena is poor/hispanic. Southern Pasadena is rich/white.

Fun fact: Serial Killer Dean Corll lived and killed there. Sharon Tate lived in Pasadena for 6 years and was in 2nd grade when Dean Corll was in 5th at the same elementary school.

They're not skinny!

Yes, google Joe Horn Pasadena, TX. You will see the rich/white and racist part of the city. That was a wild story.

[quote] THE biggest asset to living in Houston, at least for your skin quality and aging, is the humidity. Not great for hair, but for skin you have nature’s outdoor spa helping you tremendously.

Houston = nature's spa?!?! Bitch, please, but thank you for the laugh. I really love these threads because I am always on the look out for that cheap urban utopia. I do think people underestimate weather if you are used to CA, LA or SF. Scorching heat and humidity is a lot. You all are saying that it's about 4-5 months out of the year? Maybe I'll take a weekend trip to check it out this summer. I been to Texas (Dallas) once. I found the nicer parts of Dallas to be very clean. It reminded me a bit of Scottsdale for some reason. The nice chain steak houses like Mastros, outdoor malls, etc. Houston sounds a little more urban.

R118 controversial but if had been a black man being robbed shooting 2 white punks, I'd say thank you, you're a hero.

R111-- are they priced similarly to places you would buy? What's wrong with their locations?

After Katrina, I've heard that there was a lot of crime and aggressive black people everywhere. Have things settled down with all that?

More or less R122 but many of them never left. I haven't really compared crimes rates pre and post Katrina though.

Having been there in that post Katrina period, there was definitely a surge in crime - at least in the Montrose. It seems to have gotten much better in the Montrose - though not the safest place. Fear of crime seems to have increased disproportionately to the actual increase in crime when looked at over the past 10-20 years.

I remember watching Urban Cowboy as a kid and wanting to live in a posh high-rise in Houston just like Pam. And I would bring home hot men and gaze out with him at the sparkling Houston skyline before he took me to the bedroom to make love to me.

Guess what? It all came true.

Talk about overpriced housing in Austin. I was just looking at houses on Instagram and was stunned they want $10.500/month for this tiny little "farmhouse". WTF? Are these people insane?

You can get a Bel Air mansion for $10.000/month.

R125 Urban Cowboy filmed also in Pasadena.

Hell traffic and the WORST (in all caps) drivers in the continental USA.

R117 LMAO! I remember watching that years ago!😂

Everyone keeps talking about moving to Texas because it’s cheaper, but it really isn’t that cheap anymore and hasn’t been for the past decade or so. Because so many people keep moving to Texas, prices have gone up since there is a demand.

It's true. Drunk drivers at night every where.

I had to get out of Texas. Deep freze, no power and a $10k electric bill.

R125 is living the dream. I love it.

I know the de Menil family are huge art benefactors, going back to the Warhol days.

Also, if you are in Houston and need a great motorcycle mechanic or tattoo artist, I know your guy!

Houston does have a problem with drunk driving. A lot of it is, and I'm going to get screamed at by some sjw for this, but a lot of the drivers are Hispanic and a lot are here illegally. They don't have insurance and a lot don't have licenses and many flee the scene. It's a real problem. I'm not sure why these guys don't call an Uber like other people do.

Because Uber requires you to have a credit card R135

R136 I don't think they would use it even if they had a credit card. It's a macho thing too.

¡Nosotros preferimos Lyft! R135 ¡Uber es para gringos!

Honey, we'd be happy if you got a Lyft too. Just stay off the damn roads and quit driving drunk with your kids in the car.

And what about me?

Aren't you lumped in with Dallas R140?

Uber/Lyft/taxis are an issue in Houston. Because distances are much greater than most places, deciding to get an Uber/Lyft home if too drunk is VERY expensive. In a town with a lower median income than the average big city, paying $50+ for a ride home is too much for most people.

The expense of Uber/Lyft is one of the things that makes me choose to go to New Orleans instead of Houston. The trip to/from the airport (IAH) is so expensive - combined with the cost of local Uber/Lyfts, it makes a Houston weekend much more expensive despite other things being cheap

"The trip to/from the airport (IAH) is so expensive"

Hmm, I remember there is a cheap public bus going from the Greyhound station downtown directly to the IAH terminal for like $2. If you can't afford a private ride....

What are the best areas in Houston? I presume within the Loop, Memorial Drive, Montrose, the Heights?

In Austin priciest are Westlake, Old Austin (Pemberton), Tarrytown, Northwest Hills, Hyde Park, Rosedale. Allandale is now very expensive and Great Hills' prices are climbing.

A city bus runs out to IAH. I've never used it, so I don't know where it drops you off. I have taken the city bus in from Hobby. There's a Metro stop in the pick-up area. Cheap and easy, though slow. What sucks is the light rail doesn't take you to either airport. When I traveled for work (for the government with no expense account), I liked Reagan National because I could walk out of the airport and right on to the train.

I use Uber a lot but mainly going to and from restaurants/bars in my area but I don't think they are outrageous for short trips like those. I rarely have to go to the airports. The biggest issue recently has been a lack of drivers. Not sure if it's the pandemic and issues with magats bitching about wearing a mask but something has caused a serious lack of Uber/Lyft cars.

Yep r146. There are fewer people driving for uber these days than in prepandemic life. I hope it will get back to normal.

[quote] I remember watching Urban Cowboy as a kid and wanting to live in a posh high-rise in Houston just like Pam.

Yes, loved Pam's apartment on Urban Cowboy, esp. compared to Bud's and Scott Glen's trailers.

The city bus from IAH to downtown Houston (Metro station downtown) is a 50 min ride and ONLY $1.25.

Talk about an "expensive" airport trip. It is pretty normal to take an airport shuttle or the subway in most European countries so get over yourself and take a cheap bus if Uber is too expensive.

Amazing Indian food and Mexican food.

Also features the Rothko Chapel.

It's lovely, I had a mother who lived there once.

Speaking as a 14 year resident, I can tel you it is my favorite city in the US. I’ve lived in 5 major US cities and traveled to all of them. It is hot and humid, yes, but actually very diverse, progressive and welcoming (in the Montrose area where I live and work.) Saying all of that, there is no reason to “leave the loop,” meaning to venture outside of the downtown/Montrose/Midtown/Heights areas. There’s some very bad people out there. But if you’re fortunate enough to live inner-loop, it’s the best place in the US.

Other than the diversity what do you like about it R152 and why? Are the areas you mention actually diverse themselves or are they mostly college-educated white people between the ages of 22 and 50?

And are the well-priced houses at R101-R103 in the area you'd consider acceptable?

Don't let R152 scare you. There are fine people outside the loop too. I'm one of them. There's also bad people inside the loop.

Okay, a reality check. When people say "Houston" they may be talking about 700 square miles. It's like people who live in Morristown or Stamford saying they "live in New York".

People regularly drive 25 miles to eat at a chain restaurant passing 3 other places with the same name, "Pappas", which btw are delicious, massive, calorie laden affairs. It's a Mexican restaurant with no Mexican waiters because they aren't allowed to handle money. Drink up, Double Gold Margarita and more chips please.

Manhattan is 22 square miles, 1.7 million people.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of nine counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA covers 9,444 square miles, an area slightly smaller than Massachusetts but larger than New Jersey.

Houston's size is 665 square miles with around 2.3 million people.

[quote]It's lovely, I had a mother who lived there once.

"A" mother? You had more than one?

R62 I would expand your definition of the Hill Country in the hopes that you’ve included Brenham and similar areas. I love those rolling hills.

R155 Sugar Land native here! Moved there as a 6-year old when population was 2200 and it was merely a bedroom community for Houston doctors, lawyers, etc. It’s now well over 100k and incredibly diverse - and it went blue in 2016. My dad still lives there. Note: the refinery is supposed to be turned into condos. I would buy one in a heartbeat, just for the kitsch factor.

Pappas are good but over-priced. You can find much better and cheaper Tex-Mex at little hole in the wall restaurants. Tex-Mex places are a dime a dozen in Houston.

Montrose gay here. What do you want to know?

beyond Montrose, what are the cool areas to live in Houston?

My granny used to live in Tanglewood and my parents had a house off Memorial but the prices look through the roof there now.

Is Gilley's still open? That whole Urban Cowboy/Gilley's era was a MOMENT! I could really get into a gay version of that. Are there gay country & western bars in Houston?

Gilley's burned down years ago. Neon Boots is a gay C&W ballroom.

R153 - To answer your question, yes, we are mainly college educated white people in the inner loop (it’s pricey) but was “diverse” in our thinking and attitude.

R97: House prices in Atlanta have dramatically escalated. My old house there has doubled in price in the past 2 years. I suspact that the median price in the metro area was > $200K before the mortgage crisis.

I have lived in many large cities (NY, LA, SF, Portland, Seattle, Houston, Phoenix) and have to say that both Houston and Portland were tied for favorite places to live. Houston has wonderful architecture (the new stuff being built is so much more tasteful than the garbage that gets built in all the other cities - both skyscrapers and homes.) It has some of the best museums in the country. It has wonderful restaurants of every imaginable nationality. It is green and lush, has beautiful parks, mostly highly educated people, a great art scene, is close to the beach (Galveston). I lived there for 7 years and pretty much loved every day of living there. It is is the only place I have ever lived where my neighbors all came by to introduce themselves to me when I moved in. It was surprisingly very gay friendly.

You had me until Galveston, I've swam in the Hudson river in cleaner water, where u from gurl? Spring?

But you make a point, your money goes a lot further than NY/SF/LA, the real cities. Portland is a nice town, Houston too.

Actually R167, something has happened the last few years in Galveston. For whatever reason, shifting currents, no one really knows, the water has been very clean and even blue. You can see where the line of sandbars ends and past that it's been blue or green water. Very pretty and clear. Haven't been down there though since pre-pandemic so no idea what it's like now. The brown comes from the Mississippi dumping into it.

The problem with Houston is if you like cities, very little of Houston feels like a city. Only a few neighborhoods are actually walkable and dense. Most is just sprawl.

r168, You seem nice, consider the beaches of SF/NY/LA and Portland and then Galveston. Por favor. Here's what I said to my co-workers in Houston after my first trip to Galveston, "I'm from New Jersey, I know a garbage dump when I see one".

Retitle thread- DLers, Tell Us about Houston Texas and being a slave to a car.

R170 I used to live there and never saw it like that. When were you there? I know they have the same problems all beach towns do with bums and druggies moving there due to weather.

I see some snob “inner loopers” here. OMG they are the worst. They literally think if you live outside the loop (inner loop, not Beltway loop) you are just trash and unworthy. Traffic inside the loop is stuff of nightmares. Crime in Monstrose was out of control a few years ago. The inner loop IS where crimes are committed. Granted, it has got some kick ass stuff. Houston is laid back. They need to get rid of all the tacky ass billboards everywhere. There is a major crash every fucking day on one of the freeways. I will forever marvel at how humans can crash into each other when they are all going the same direction.

The inner loop is the only part of Houston that is actually a city r172. The rest is just suburbia.

[quote] I've swam in the Hudson river

Oh, dear.

Let's have Glen Campbell tell you about Galveston.

Galveston is not all that at all. Ugly ass beach with muddy water. It has cleared some on some days but most days it is shit brown. The sea wall is needed but ugly.

Is there a lot of yummy Latino foreskin to chew on?

Galveston is not only ugly, it smells like sulfur and it's surrounded by refineries.

I was born in Galveston and that that sang was really popular when I was a kid.

Yes, R177.

Houston gays are not that cute or should I say there are a lot of dogs with a few really hot guys. Who said all the cute guys are gay? What a fucking crock of shit that is.

I haven't found that to be true at all R180. Tons of hot guys.

Tons of hot gays in every color of the rainbow.

Is South Beach Club back open? Where do gays go now? JRs?

BP oil spill made the Texas Beaches dirty.

Robert's Lafitte

Rumors

Did someone say rumors!?

That is true about the inner loop, but the Galleria area which is just outside the loop is pretty urban as well.

isn't the Galleria in the Loop? Westheimer's Old Houston.

It is really sad how cookie cutter the homes are in the Houston area. I have no idea how it is in other cities but all the new builds since I can remember pretty much are boring asf. Why? All other older homes, even in some shit neighborhoods, have unique homes.

This place is really amazing. If you visit, you would not believe you are in suburban Houston (Pasadena). The diversity and amount of nature here is unbelievable when you realize where you are.

Love Houston! (Only inside the loop.) We have the most amazing restaurants in the Montrose neighborhood, and one of the most beautiful city parks I’ve ever seen is right near Montrose. It’s called Memorial Park and has miles of hike and bike trails, acres of huge trees, green spaces to picnic or do yoga in, and lots of great eye candy! We can be outdoors every month if the year, and every restaurant has a huge patio for for dining al fresco. But the suburbs are trash, full of trash people. I rarely leave “the loop.”

Rank the Houston gay bar/club scene from best to worst.

The baths in Houston are as good as Steamworks in Chicago. I think the men are definitely hotter and more hung at the one in Houston.

My favorites are Ripcord, Eagle upstairs on Sundays, Tony's Corner Pocket. I feel too tall for Blur. Crocker's is fin but swampy in the summer. I've never had a good time at JRs.. full of InstaGays and their posses. I've never step foot in George's. Neon Boots was fine for a one time thing, but too far to drink (same with Crystals and Vivianas). The raunchiest is all the way down in Galveston called Lafitte's. They have a pool in the back where you will be offered a blowjob, guaranteed.

To me Houston has jobs and diversity. It’s not pretty and it’s not that pleasant to live there due to traffic, weather and zoning but it has sort of an unpretentiousness to it where it isn’t trying to be anything else. Dallas is easier to navigate, also has jobs, is less diverse feeling but feels like it makes an effort to look nice for a flat, sprawling city on a prairie. However, it’s focus on aesthetics without a real charm, culture or history can come off as superficial and vapid.

Tony’s Corner Pocket definitely has hot guys.

Does that fat chick Leslie and her gaggle of gays still hang out at JRs?

[quote] People regularly drive 25 miles to eat at a chain restaurant passing 3 other places with the same name, "Pappas", which btw are delicious, massive, calorie laden affairs. It's a Mexican restaurant with no Mexican waiters because they aren't allowed to handle money.

... why are Mexicans not allowed to handle money?!

You queens from NYC & LA will always shit on cities like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and other southern sunbelt cities for one main reason. Your cities are losing people like mad to these "shitholes" and you're scared to death you won't be able to brag about living where you live for much longer. Actually to anyone who has a brain you haven't been able to brag about it for a long time. Far more consider NYC and LA the worst shitholes on earth, and that's why people & businesses are fleeing like the wind every week.

R197 All Mexicans are murderers or rapists. They can babysit your children, clean your houses or mow your lawn, but you can't trust them with money.

R198 - I absolutely agree. The “glory days” of NYC and LA are now over. They’re internationally viewed as horribly managed, dirty, diseased places.

It's more of an income thing R200

As I think I had noted upthread, places like NYC and LA are great places to live if you're making a good salary, say $250K/year and up, especially if you are a dual-income couple and making twice that or more.

But if I were in a job where I knew I would never make anything close to that--say a school teacher--I would look into someplace like Houston in a heartbeat, because it seems that you can have a much much much higher quality of life there.

Weather is what it is: If you live in Santa Monica or Venice or anywhere along the coast in southern California, you do pretty much have perfect weather.

But NYC and the rest of the Northeast have about four weeks in May-June and four weeks in September-October where the weather is really nice and it's pleasant to be outside, but the rest of the year is either freezing or hot and humid.

The trouble with saying "it's ok if you have central air", "It's affordable", "they have good museums" is that lots of places have those things and aren't built over swamps or have miserable humidity or endless stripmalls. Face it, it sucks.

R202 - Bless your heart!! Have you been reading my comments above? Houston is a paradise oasis within the “loop.” Outside the “loop” it’s living hell with horrible people. Trust me on this one!

I don't think I could be very happy in a place that suppressed voting.

The air quality is horrible for anyone with sinus or allergy problems but the number one worst thing in Houston is that every place you go there are MAGAts with guns. 40 percent in the city/ 80 percent in the suburbs. Literally a million evil, stupid, cruel, racist pieces of shit. Your Dr. could be one, your pharmacist, dry cleaner, they are everywhere, worse than a virus.

If I owned Hell and Houston, I would live in Hell and rent out Houston.

Climate change is destroying Houston, so anyone who buys property there is an idiot. Parts of the city now flood regularly, and those areas are sure to grow as the area's average rainfall continues to increase and the hurricanes get worse.

R207 Houston has always flooded. When I was a kid 100 years ago, my Dad used to take us at twilight to a stretch of road near a bayou where the tarantulas would emerge en masse before a rainstorm and march across the road to higher ground. A ballet of 100s of tarantulas was a sight to see!

"X has always flooded" is not exactly a ringing endorsement for any place. And this inside/outside the loop stuff doesn't help. Lots of places are more livable in some areas than others--probably everywhere. Atlanta, which never lives up to its hype, is much better if you live "Intown" (Basically downtown out to Decatur) than elsewhere but it still is no particular endorsement of the place. The "better area" argument can be made anywhere and doesn't always compensate for the more general negatives.

Nicest areas of Houston - and no one has mentioned River Oaks or University, the nicest and most expansive areas in Houston? River Oaks has some of the most beautiful urban center neighborhoods in the world. Rivals Beverly Hills - the flats anyway. And you’re right next to the Montrose. Museum area/River Oaks/Montrose are the best area IMO. You can get a mansion in River Oaks for the price of a house in the San Fernando Valley. Or more relevantly, the price of a mediocre new build McMansion in Austin.

R209 Houston and New Orleans (I've lived in both) are identical climate wise. Both flood. Both are hot and humid and both are largely black cities.

[quote]The air quality is horrible for anyone with sinus or allergy problems

But, how is the air quality inside the"loop"?

New Orleans is much more fun. You're not helping your case.

R210 - River Oaks might look nice at first glance, but it’s a hotbed of evil bigots and racists. I live in Montrose (adjacent neighborhood) and see their behavior frequently. Ted Cruz lives there, and he’s the least bigoted one! It is packed with generational wealth that only serves their own interests. We locals stay away. They even have their own private police force patrolling their public streets (River Oaks is not gated, but individual homes are.)

r204, It's not just the voting suppression, it's the standing around applauding themselves for their evil deeds and just KNOWING Jesus loves them for making it illegal to give voters water! Good job hypoChristians. It's sickening and I want to ask every single Christian Texan I knew, "WHET Thou shall not lie? Or, any of those other commandments that you all used to talk about so much during the Clinton years. They were so important they wanted to put it on money. Funny, we don't hear about the 10 commandments much any more, I wonder why?

It used to be that Houston had some of the worst pollution in the country and canals would catch on fire. Houston has very high cancer rates. which most be because of the pollution and high rate of smoking there. The city has been built over virtual toxic waste dumps. It bubbles to the surface after storms.

Is Houston the sort of place where, even inside The Loop, people ask you which church you go to, the way New Yorkers might ask you what you do for a living?

And what will you say that you're a devil worshipper?

Once you get past the MAGAt's and the hypochristians you can meet and find a lot of great characters with warmth, wit, charm and creativity. The bars were all very friendly, people are generally polite everywhere you go and that makes life a lot more pleasant. More than once I ended up going to breakfast with people because we wanted to keep talking after the bar. I've never done that in NY or any place else that I remember. I had a rental car for a month with Florida plates and people would regularly talk to me about it in traffic or in parking lots. Also, the traffic lights go out when it floods and I was amazed how consistently polite and orderly people handled 4 way stops. Very civil. I would pick Houston over every other city in TX including Austin, which is too small for me and I couldn't stand to have people tell me how great it was all the time. Houston does not try to be something it's not.

Many significant architects have designed some very wonderful buildings in Houston. Such as I.M. Pei, Phillip Johnson,

Visited in 2012. Downtown closes down very early and there seems to be expressways everywhere. NASA is cool.

r211 Actually Houston is largely a Latino city followed by white, black and then Asian. It's not predominantly black like New Orleans.

Houston demographics

Good God some (most) of you lot from outside the southern US have some incredibly antiquated, and ignorant, ideas about what living in the south is like. I have lived in the south for almost 69 years and to date no one has ever asked me what church I go to, nor have I ever heard it asked of anyone else.

r221 Downtown has been reborn since 2012.

Major architects--so what, I could say the same about smaller places like Hartford (a good IM Pei building) or Cleveland (bad Pei, nice Johnson). Columbus Indiana has a wide range of great modernist buildings. You have to make the gestalt attractive rather than all this peripheral detail or the chamber of commerce nonsense (Most diverse!) that's easily debunked.

Have lived in the South and have been to all the major Texas cities multiple times. Houston seems like a fairly generic, consumerist sprawlburg. Maybe it will become a real city some day---it took Chicago decades to get past irritating Babbitry and become one, but it could easily be another Atlanta---some place that probably will never live up to it endless grating hype ("next world city", "the NYC of the South") but structurally unable to find a niche where it can actually be worth bragging about.

R219 - You summed up Houston perfectly!

R224 I couldn't agree more. I lived in Houston for 7 years and no one ever asked me what church I go to.

Every major city in the US is a "sprawlburg". Tell me one that is not. NYC, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Washington DC, and every other city sprawls for miles and miles from their central cores. LA is probably the biggest sprawlburg on the planet.

To the poster asking about the neighborhoods for the three homes on Zillow above:

#1 and #2 - Relatively poor, high-crime areas just off Loop 610. The other side of the freeway, you’re getting into some of the most desolate neighborhoods in the city.

#3 – Situated on a major, but very narrow thoroughfare that’s unnerving to drive though. Walkable area though, with nice restaurants.

Thanks R230, that was me.

Are those areas being gentrified though?

Both #1 and #2 seemed very HGTV House Flip to me, which would indicate they were aimed at more upscale buyers?

Houston - like Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, El Paso and more recently Fort Worth - is a Democratic city. It's rural Texas and some suburbs that are GOP.

Unfortunately, a shitload of Republican Californians have moved here..

It’s a great city but can’t stand the humidity

My friend who moved there to work in a hospital said the first thing people ask him is if he wants to join their Bible study group.

He's been there for six months now and still hasn't met someone he feels he could be friends with.

[quote]My friend who moved there to work in a hospital said the first thing people ask him is if he wants to join their Bible study group.

😑 What a nightmare.

So far, the Bible and church stuff is the worst turn-off.

R236 Wait until summer comes. Hope he’s likes 90+ degree days and 100% humidity. Oh and wait until he gets the electric bill.

Don't people use solar energy panels in Houston? My electricity bill is crazy, but I'm renting.

It's home to Joel Osteen! He keeps his church nice and tidy by keeping all the wet hurricane rained on riff raff out.

Buy your tickets now!

I like San Antonio better out of all Texas cities. Riverwalk is really nice.

Houston is so ugly. If a developer comes to your area and says they're from Houston, shot them. The urban developers messed with Texas.

r224, I lived in Tallahassee for 12 years (I'm originally from the pacific Northwest). I was never asked what church I attended while living in Tallahassee. HOWEVER, I was asked, practically on a weekly basis, by people I hardly knew, if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. To say that such a question took me aback would be a major understatement. I wish I had had the balls to respond, as a friend of mine does to such inquiries, with a deep look intended to make the asker quake, "that's an incredibly personal question, DON'T YOU THINK?" Moreover, the deep South was the only place I ever lived where people routinely made decisions (and admitted to doing so) on the basis of what was "in the Bible". One friend's mother, an avid gardener, hated vines. She looked for Biblical references to help her out of quandary, and proudly told me that she had found the verse "and he took an axe to the root of the vine". Using that as her guide, she took an axe and chopped away at all the vines she could find growing on her property. I suspect that Houston, being a bigger city and more diverse, tones down that Christian rhetoric, but I wouldn't be surprised if it survives in many of the semi-rural communities which surround and envelope Houston.

I was born in Houston. I moved to Dallas when I was eight but I've spent a lot of time in Houston throughout the years and never encountered any God-botherers anywhere.

Ultra-religious types tend to be more of a Dallas thing. For all its attitude and pretentions Dallas is a very provincial place, far more so than Houston IMO.

R241 - “Houston is ugly”

Umm, you sir, are an ignorant moron.

What about property taxes in Houston? A friend told me his boss built a new home on Lake Austin and the property taxes are exploding. He paid $81.000 (!!!) in 2020 and this year they increased his taxes a third time in a row to $115.000. That's almost $35.000 more in one year.

^For your friend.

I'm sure there's been a lot of progress since I lived there 30 years ago but Texas went from Ann Richards(!!!) to George Bush to Rick Perry to Greg Abbott, dumb, dumber and dumbest. How did that happen without the glorification of (Ivy League educated) stupidity?

How can you accept Evangelical Christians as unapologetic and unrepentant liars? I would be accepting those bible study invitations now that their true amorality has been exposed. These voting laws are pure evil. The worst part of living in Houston is that it's in Texas.

I moved back here in the late 80's and Houston has changed tremendously during that time. Back then I would say there were people around who would ask "what church do you go to" and back then Pasadena was "white" and no minorities allowed and majority redneck (home to Gilley's). Now, with so many foreigners working here at NASA and in the petrochem and marine industries and the immigrants flooding in from all over the world it's very different. In my neighborhood down near NASA we have a church right next door to an Islamic mosque and activity center and Pasadena is now majority Hispanic. People who think Houston is some Southern redneck God bothering hick town are very mistaken and are more than likely very narrow minded anyway,

Houston IS ugly. What’s with them building all those ugly, detached, garage-presenting SFH that might as well be townhomes because there is approximately six inches of useless and impossible to access space between them? Also, for very large metros, the Texas biggies are still VERY red.

The only things I like in Houston is art purchased by oil money. The Menil collection, and the Rothko Chapel.

Pasadena may now be Hispanic but I'll bet all the managers at Luby's are still white and your neighbors who love you and bring you pecan pie still think it's okay for gays to be fired and that you're going to hell for eternity, unlike their pedophile brother who is forgiven because he accepts JC.

There's a lot of nice people in Houston but don't be Pollyanna, the racism/ignorance is deep and wide and somewhat celebrated.

I heard Ann Richards tell this story live about the first female Gov. of Texas who when asked about bilingual education said "If English is good enough for our lord Jesus Christ it's good enough for the people of Texas". That would STILL be a winning line in today's Texas politics and wouldn't cost you a vote.

And now this FFS.

Luby's is going out of business. Cleburne's is the best cafeteria in Houston.

[quote]Rank the Houston gay bar/club scene from best to worst.

1. Buddy's. The new place in town and they did everything right. 2. Eagle. Despite the name it's Houston's stand and model bar, a title JR's used to hold. 3. George. Friendly country sports bar and friendly guys. The COVID changes they had to make, make the inside really awkward now. 4. Tony's Corner Pocket. Trashy beyond comprehension but that's why it's so much fun. Many of the dancers go on to better things; one of them is now the premier French Bulldog breeder in the country, and another used his tips to get through law school. 5. JR's. Faded glory. 6. Neon Boots, big country place, but pretty far from the center of town in an area swarming with cops. 7. All the rest, don't bother with them.

R247 skipped over Mark White which is understandable; nobody remembers him. And r247 really isn't making a strong case.

Thanks R255. Had not heard of Buddy’s. I do love the Corner Pocket. One of those great places that used to exist in NYC and other cities that were over gentrified. One of the reason I like Houston - real people can still live there.

[quote] River Oaks has some of the most beautiful urban center neighborhoods in the world. Rivals Beverly Hills.

I'll take Beverly Hills. After reading this thread, it seems like Houston is decent if you stay in a small section of the city, but once you leave that progressive, urban zone, everyone seems to agree it's terrible. That seems to be the sentiment with Austin as a city. It's great, but once you leave, it's all trash. If I am going to live in a red state on hurricane alley, I think I would just do a coastal community in Florida. There are nice beaches and more to do.

Pasadena and every other city in and around Houston is majority Hispanic. But it is still 35% or so white and they live predominantly in the southern part of the city, are affluent and crazy Christians.

Actually, there are many "progressive" zones around the city. The inner loop snobs would have you think it's only in the loop. There are pockets everywhere. That's what happens with sprawl.

My favorite beaches in Texas are Port Aransas and Mustang Island which is a state park.

I’ve not heard of Buddy’s.

Why is JRs rated so low now? Didn’t they do that huge renovation?

I think it is pretty safe to assume that the bible/church shit goes on more "outside the loop" than inside the loop. Most people who live inside the loop never venture outside of it.

R261 I'm surprised the person who posted above said he worked at a Houston hospital and all his co-workers asked him to join a Bible study group. That's bizarre as it seems like 90% of the medical staff in Houston is South Asian.

Yes to Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.

Never to Florida. Not even for a visit.

I think Trump has forever tarnished Florida.

My brother is an atheist and moved to Texas for work a couple of years ago. He worked for a oil company and regularly visited different offices and refineries in the Gulf region. A lot of colleagues asked him about church in Louisiana, Port Arthur, Houston etc. Especially his colleagues wives always wanted to know if he had already joined a church and always offered him to attend church with them. He finally joined a Lutheran church and made some donations so he could give them a name and leave him alone. It is not true that people in Texas don't ask you about church.

R265 I've lived in Texas cities most of my life and nobody has ever asked me what church I go to (I don't, I'm an atheist),

I've been here 6 years and no one's asked me what church I go to.

I suspect that church-going is a topic among blue-collar oil workers, but not at all with most educated people.

[quote] people were talking about "the Bay Area" of Houston and I realized that other than NASA and the Bushes I knew nothing about it,

I grew up in the so-called Bay Area or Clear Lake. It's where Nasa is located. There are a lot of really smart people, foreigners and asshole libertarians. It's a boring suburb for the most part. The coast is lined with refineries and a few old seedy beach towns.

[quote] He worked for a oil company and regularly visited different offices and refineries in the Gulf region. A lot of colleagues asked him about church in Louisiana, Port Arthur, Houston etc.

This happened to me all the time in Louisiana but never in my life in Houston. I imagine it's somewhat common in Port Arthur and Beaumont. I'd tell people I was Catholic, which is basically a pagan to the types of people who'd ask, and they'd leave me alone.

R265 Your brother is a pussy. He should have manned up and just said he was a non-believer.

Goodness, if people don’t even have the guts to admit they don’t go to church, imagine how many people are still in the closet about being gay.

R270 Port Arthur and Beaumont are super rightwing. The Carcinogenic Coast.

Some parts of the metro smell like a giant fertilizer plant.

Lumping Port Arthur and Houston together is ridiculous. Like Erie, PA and Philadelphia.

While Pasadena got labeled as the stinky city (the plant that stunk is gone) prevailing winds blow the ship channel refinery releases away from Pasadena 90% of the year. Pasadena only gets the pollution when we get a cold front.

So does the fat girl Leslie still go around JRs with her insufferable gays?

Ive never been but I’ve heard good things about it.

R275 - Us locals call Pasadena “Stink-a-dena.” Ive lived here 14 years and never been there!

Pasadena has all the charm of a sump.

Houstonians (especially right now) have a kind of smug satisfaction and pride about our home city. When we look around and see your overrated, overpriced “world class cities) plagued with disease, crime, homelessness, and poor leadership. (No this is not a hate thread on NYC, LA, SF, and the others.) Its more that we are so happy we chose to live here, and know we made the right decision. It’s nice to breathe a huge sigh of relief in these times. I actually pity the gays that are in those above-mentioned cities currently in a scramble to move and having to figure out career and residency. What a nightmare that must be.

Went to the Woodlands, was walking around in sandals and was badly bitten by some awful ants on my feet and ankles. Stayed at 4 Seasons on company dime, This was in the summer time and it was kept very cold when indoors, requiring a jacket.. Saw Duke and Duchess of Kent waiting for a limo, Had a massage and the masseuse had done the Duchess right before me. I have never been back and don't intend to. Saw many women in the offices with waist length hair, which seemed to have something to do with going out and dancing the two step.

I grew up in Friendswood so I’m familiar with Pasadena. Pasadena isn’t called “sink-a-dena” anymore. It actually has nice housing in the central/southern portion of the city (those awful McMansions) and has a great rodeo which attracts national singers, the huge Strawberry festival, the Armand Bayou Nature Center and its business growth is exploding around the expanding Beltway.

R282 - Please don’t tell me you’re glamorizing Pasadena, Texas! It’s one of the worst cities in the state. It’s also got the highest cancer rates in the nation. It’s an evil pit of hell right here on earth. It’s where meth heads go to die.

R281

[quote]Had a massage and the masseuse had done the Duchess right before me.

What does this mean?

nvm I somehow missed the preceding sentence.

R257 I think you miss the point about Houston. Pretty much everything you would want to do is inside the loop. So you rarely have to travel outside the loop to the burbs beyond. The Galleria area is about the only part of Houston one might want to travel to, but it is right outside the loop. The beaches of Galveston are only 45 minutes from downtown Houston. Galveston is also FULL of wonderful historic architecture.

R238 Well my ex lived there. I went to San Jacinto College there. It really is not that bad. Most of Clear Lake City is actually Pasadena. For some reason the link won’t work (maybe it is my phone) but Pasadena is not even the top 10 most populated cities in the Houston area. Prevailing winds do not blow the petro plants over the city unless a cold front blow through. King wood gets the pollution blown over them 90% more than Pasadena. The northern part is old and run down but the southern part is booming. As I described above, it has quite a few huge cultural events. The people are Christian MAGA crazies, though.

Sorry the above was meant for R283

Where’s the “Pasadena was home to actress Sharon Tate and serial killer Dean Corll who both went to the same elementary there at the same time” troll?

Houston is extremely progressive. The mayor before the current one (who is black) was an out lesbian.

R289 - Actually the Pasadena you’re thinking of is Pasadena, California. We are talking about Pasadena, Texas (near Houston) on this thread.

R291 Yes, we are all aware and the Texas one you speak about is the old caricature. It has changed. Maybe you should?

It is a well known fact that Houston is ugly. The developers there fuck it up. I am sure there are efforts by some to do some beautification projects, but you need state tax money for that. So, good luck with that.

They are backwards on Health Care. They need to do the Medicare/Medicaid Government Program Expansion. They are blocking money that goes directly to medical care of their state citizens.

Like most of Texas, the main thing that turns me of is the absence of natural beauty or parkland. You can have a fine life there - but I need nature.

DLers, Tell Us About Houston...... there's a tiger named India roaming around.

A relative used to get the "Have you accepted JC as your personal savior?" question in Houston all the time. This goes back 10 years and it was a retirement community.

I'm sure that if you love living in Houston, this thread is very frustrating. For some of us, the red state politics is impossible to swallow. But if you can have a good life despite that, good for you.

R226 it's a question of where you live, who you work with and who your neighbors are. As a gay man, I've never hung around with rightwing Bible thumpers who are easily avoided in the major cities or worked in an industry that attracted them.

Have lived in the South---the "have you been saved?" crowd is impossible to avoid, even if you live in the local liberal bubble.

R298 nobody has ever asked me that.. I guess they figure a gay man's going to hell and they'd be wasting their breath.

R294 I suspect that you have never been to Houston. Living there is like living in a jungle. Besides all the trees, and (4) bayous it has frogs, turtles, alligators and snakes inside the city. Inside the loop, even. And the Buffalo Bayou goes right through downtown Houston, in the theatre district, which is one of the most impressive theatre districts in the country.

More of that chamber of commerce nonsense. Lots of places can claim great theater (DC, for example) and remarkable theater districts (Cleveland, for example). You really have to make it stop. Bayou=swamp. Not an attractive idea. Even DC "built on swamp" only has a small bit that's actual swamp.

What's happening in Texas? Why aren't you guys discussing the lies, laws, and the upcoming civil war? r280, Are you feeling just as smug as always this morning? Seriously, where is the outrage and action or am I missing something that the media isn't reporting?

Texas is a shithole

I love it here! We had a lesbian mayor for years, and have several gay judges. We are represented and accepted (if you live inside the loop.) And honestly, I do have gay friends that live outside the loop in the suburbs and are somewhat safe, they just can’t afford to live in the heart of Houston. I have multiple museums, the most unique (non-chain) restaurants, and two college campuses (great for cruising/looking) within walking distance of my apartment. Our park just down the street is fantastic! (Seriously google images of the Eastern Glades at Memorial Park - its stunning) Ive been all over the world, and I can live anywhere. I choose here.

I just returned from my first trip to Houston. I had no idea it was in a swamp. I just thought it was going to be a greener, damper Dallas. I felt as if I had landed in Kinshasa or Ho Chi Minh City. I had never experience such awful humidity and I live in FLORIDA. The air does not move. It's literally a hothouse. I saw people walking around in cowboy hats, I was like WTF, you do not live in the Wild West, you live in the jungle! In fact at first I was suprised by the number of Indian and Southeast Asian locals, but then it occurred to me: they must have the same climate!

And yes to reiterate OPs point, I had no idea what to expect because Houston has almost no popular cultural profile. I don’t think Real World ever even bothered with it.

Total and complete cesspool. Why would that rich pastor life there otherwise? They didn’t even pave all their roads or have street lights in the poor neighborhoods in the seventies.

As per R304, I googled images of Eastern Glades and... it's nice, but not really anything all that special. Well done natural woodlands area, but nothing to write home about.

R308 - Thanks for googling my favorite park! It really does have to be explored in person to fully appreciate.

[quote]...no popular cultural profile...

I have been searching for more than 20 years to find the words to describe Houston's lack of visibility among other cities. Thank you r305 / r306. For the longest time we weren't even on CNN's weather map!

I have wondered why Houston hasn’t pushed the tropical exoticism angle more.

“Houston: Jakarta of the West!”

Every Houston park has a highway running through it or around it, the traffic noise/air pollution are inescapable. The Jogging paths are next to highways. Your favorite park is SAD, dirty and dull.

Has Houston's population passed Chicago's now? Chicago's dying off.

I'm in 77024 right now.

Some of what people write about it being soulless or spiritless is probably true. But it's true of almost all cities these days, especially in the gay zones. Montrose, Castro, WeHo, Oaklawn, Dupont Circle - NONE of them are what they used to be. And I think most of the people complaining are not joiners or organizers anyway - so they're not doing a thing to solve the problem. For a community to exist, someone needs to have a sense of community, and remain committed to it.

There is more to do in Houston than most people know. The arts are alive. Choices of restaurants are vast. Stay inside the 610 loop if possible. And NEVER venture beyond Beltway 8.

Dallas is a prettier city - but Houston is far more real. You will face pretentious and judgmental people in Dallas that do not exist in Houston.

Home prices are skyrocketing. Unfortunately, the trend is to tear down an old ranch house that was on 1/4 acre, and replace it with 6 vertical cubes that are so close together you cannot walk in between them. And this phenomenon stretches for mile after mile. Just search redfin to see what I'm talking about.

This city has a wonderful spirit. The past hurricanes have brought us all together and bonded us in a very unique way. Even the gays rally around and pretend to enjoy watching our Major League Baseball team! The Houston Astros held a “Pride Night” this year at the stadium and was heavily attended. And everything R314 said is accurate. I moved here for a 2 year contract and that was 14 years ago. I’d live no other place.

OK, my Houston ghost story. My father - who was a wealthy doctor - bought a brand-new house off Memorial before I was born. It was an enormous red brick house, with a pool and an acre of grounds. People kept either breaking into the house or something weirder was going on. A couple of times my father (who was not given to flights of fancy) saw shadowy figures running through the house. My father even hired a private detective and had to call the cops several times when weird things happened. My mother was fed up, sure there was something supernatural going on, forced my father to sell and we moved.

Not long after we moved, our house - which was new - was torn down and somebody built an enormous mausoleum type house. Then a few years later, that house was torn down and another extravagant house was built in its place. Then a few years later, same thing happened again. OK, not too surprising - the street the house is on is one of the priciest in Houston.

Finally, curiousity got the best of me. I found out who currently owned the house a few years ago, sent them a letter detailing all my parents' issues with the creepy goings-on in the house and I wondered if that was why the house kept getting torn down and a new house built.

About a month later, I got an email from the woman who owned the house. She said they had never noticed anything spooky going on. Then she wrote: but the same day I got your letter, lightning struck the chimney and a bad fire broke out in the house. She was creeped out!

Lasting impressions: Downtown is the most characterless of major Texas cities, Montrose was nothing special, the ice rink at the Galleria was a nice feature but otherwise, it's the kind of super-regional mall most places its size have, the rudeness of people at the pool at the Westin at the Galleria. I kindof like the airport--much better food selection than Dallas and not a bad place to kill time, but the layout is confusing and it has a justifiably bad reputation for slow lines at immigration.

Immigration - reminds me of Austin's brand new immigration service. I'd taken one of the first British Airways flights directly to Austin. When we arrived, the immigration officer divided people up; foreign passports and a special line for US passports and Canadians. Canadians?? Then I asked what line Green Card holders were supposed to be in. She didn't know what Green Cards were.

R314, I get my Adderall perception from your zip code.

(R315), Houston sounds wonderful. I would like to visit the great museums there. I also hear Houston has some very good Vietnamese restaurants, too.

Houston is actually the most diverse in the US - more diverse than NYC, LA or Miami. Massive waves of immigration from Syria, Vietnam, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Senegal as well as the usual suspects - Mexico and Latin America.

I think this came up before with no attribution. Queens and LA County usually get crowned as most diverse. OTOH, this isn't as silly a boosterish thing as someone complaining about a cold snap in May in Chicago upthread which, of course, is easier to deal with than enormous parts of a major metro flooding as has happened in Houston. Even built on a swamp DC has less flood risk.

Re: Houston’s Popular Culture

I bought one of those localized Starbucks souvenir mugs and the imagery on it is all cowboys and rockets imagery.

A) They never launched the rockets from there. That was Florida. Houston is home to NASA’s manned space flight mission control and astronaut training.

B) This is swamp country, not cowboy country. DFW is where the cowboys were.

C) The only accurate imagery on the cup was oil and Mexican food.

With such an identity crisis, it’s no wonder the only name they could come up with for the new football team is the Texans.

When you graduate from Anti Gay Hate School in Houston you get promoted to Dallas to replace the guy who took drugs and fucked whores.

That's what it's like to live in Houston, you're surrounded by people who want you dead but you try to ignore it, "You wanna nuther sweetea sweety to go with your pie?"

Houston is a great town for foreskin aficionados. 40% latino or more, and local black males are rarely circumcised for some reason (also true in Louisiana). If you meet a black male in Houston who is missing his foreskin he's very likely to be from somewhere else. Throw in large immigrant communities from all over and it's really an uncut paradise. Probably only Miami has a better selection of foreskins among U.S. cities!

The lack of any real natural beauty is an issue in Texas generally. It will always be a place you live as a compromise. I do like Houston and think it’s a diverse, semi-urban, modern city with affordable housing - a rarity anywhere in the world today. Enjoyed living there - fantastic food and unpretentious. But the humidity and absence of nature were big negatives.

Doing a Google Maps tour of Montrose it does not look "urban" at all-- mostly single family houses and a few low-rise apartments.

Did I just go down the wrong streets or is that what it looks like.

And where would the main drag be? Did not seem to find a concentrated walkable area with lots of stores

Montrose has been converting from single family shacks/cottages to townhouses over the past 30+ years. Looking at real estate in 77006 zip gives an idea of the type of housing. Some blocks still have cottages - but because of Houston’s absence of regulations there is a really vibrant tear down building culture. Oddly similar to LA’s tear down culture - even though prices are 1/10 those of LA. It has created density in the Montrose mainly in the form of multi unit townhouse developments on the site of what was once a single family home - all with garages. Bizarre mish mash architecturally but it kinda works to create density within a driving city. Also encourages modern architecture - influenced by the proximity of the Menil museum.

“Houston lacks nature” says someone who has never lived in New York or Chicago

Houston has nature. It's just so damn hot right now you don't want to be in it.

R326 perhaps we have different ideas of beauty but I found the Chisos mountains and Big Bend stunning as well as enjoying the Hill Country with it's plentiful springs and clear rivers.

This is what I was referring to above. There must be 10,000 of these units all over the city. The objective is to turn a lot that was assessed at $400,000 and turn it into a conglomeration that is worth $3,000,000 to drive extra property tax revenue to the city.

Houston had too much wildlife of the dangerous variety when I was a kid. Enormous alligators in all the bayous keeping company with all the water moccasins. Copperheads everywhere. Tarantulas prancing around. One winter there was a black panther roaming the neighborhood eating the neighborhood dogs.

Big Bend may be pretty - but in a state the size of Texas, the relative absence of interesting nature is a significant detriment. Flat scrub for miles and miles. The most distinctive natural feature of most of Texas is its flatness. Memorial Park is nothing to brag about - a functional ribbon of running paths between highways.

I like Texas and Houston but the absence of natural beauty is one of the main reasons I can’t live there - even more so than the politics.

R334 Central Texas - the Hill Country - is beautiful. The rivers are gorgeous; San Marcos, Blanco, etc. The cenotes like Hamilton Pool, the swimming holes like the Blue Hole, Mckinney Falls, Jacob's Well.

To each his own R334. I can find beauty in flat scrub too, just different than other landscapes.

I could not agree more, R325. There are also PLENTY of Caucasian guys who are uncut in Houston as well. Many men who live in Houston grew up in more rural parts of Texas where they don't chop off your foreskin! But I never lived anywhere that had as many uncut men.

R327 I have not lived in Houston in over 20 years (regrettably). But the main streets were Westheimer, Montrose Blvd, and the street where lots of gay bars were was Pacific Ave.

Do they have a problem?

Houston is a hateful slaughter house for trans women of color.

R340 the vast majority of the trans women getting murdered are hookers. And hookers have gotten murdered in massive numbers since forever. - Peter Sutcliffe

Why would it ever be in the top 25? Even if housing is cheap, you can say that about a lot of places.

R343. Housing is not cheap in Houston. And it is skyrocketing lately.

Bump

R335 has clearly never seen actual, beautiful nature if he thinks that Central Texas's Hill Country is beautiful. It's kind of like saying that spam is the best tasting food ever -- because you've never had real food.

R348 the Hill Country is beautiful - rivers, creeks, waterfalls, cenotes, great swimming holes... and hills of course

Wow. A lot of hate of Houston and Texas. You are all wrong. I have lived in Texas my entire life:

I live right in downtown Houston and absolutely love it! The hustle and bustle of the city still attracts me. My balcony has one of the best views of the skyline and work is 0.3 miles away. Houston offers excellent opera, symphony, theatre, library, museums, fine dining, casual dining, and every major sports team, less hockey.

I have lived in Tyler and Dallas. Tyler is actually a super nice city to raise kids in. Dallas is super snobby and materialistic.

Austin is going to collapse on itself. For years the city council has wanted to keep it a small city, but people keep moving in. Real estate is imploding, the traffic is God-awful, and the infrastructure is not made to handle the people. It is an unmitigated disaster.

San Antonio is okay. There are not many universities or large companies based there. Because of that, it seems like a lesser city.

Fort Worth is nice, but it is always competing with Dallas. They have terrible water.

Lubbock has Texas Tech. El Paso is boring.

Big Bend National Park is to die for. I love it and try to go as much as possible. People who say it is boring or ugly have no joy in life.

R348, is Houston worth visiting? I love museums and cultural activities and Vietnamese food. I have a week off in November to go anywhere.

I just saw a travel program on PBS about Big Bend Park and it looked very interesting. It's hard to get to, otherwise I would make a weekend trip to visit. Maybe one day.....

I LOVE Houston! The weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful!

Carmen is playing this weekend at the Houston Grand Opera (the third largest American company behind New York and San Francisco).

[bold]Houston is the new BBQ empire of Texas, and these 11 restaurants prove it[/bold]

FWIW, Pizzitola's is old-school BBQ. Pinkerton's is great. I haven't tried the others, but that could be a project for the winter.

Just the fact that R348 uses the phrase "hustle and bustle of the city" tells you everything you need to know about this guy.

And the sophistication of Houston-lovers.

R353 What would you say instead?

I'm planning a visit to Houston this summer. Can someone recommend art museums worth visiting?

Sure you are, Comrade R355.

Beware of trolls and their seemingly innocuous questions.

Wtf, r356? I WELCOME you to check my posting history.

I will always like Houston. Multiple extended stays for work and I always enjoy it. Especially as an escape from NYC in the winter. Unpretentious, big, diverse, great food, hub airport between East and West coasts and cheap. Not sure I could live only there - but it was a pleasantly surprising place that I enjoy visiting.

The Menil - and adjacent campus including the Rothko Chapel - is a great, small, low key museum walking distance from the gayborhood. River Oaks is a beautiful central neighborhood next to the Montrose. Downtown is meh - but River Oaks/Montrose/Museum District is a fun weekend. Especially in the winter.

R356 is one of many schizophrenics now on the board.

R351 The Houston Grand Opera is world-class and has often premiered more avant-garde works, such as Nixon in China.

R334 You don’t think the Hill Country is pretty? I love it out there, especially Enchanted Rock. Not a fan of the Gulf Coast but I do love Galveston and all the history therein.