I feel like I'm watching an old friend slowly die and I can't do anything about it. I can't help thinking about what happened to Galveston after the 1900 hurricane. It was one of the largest cities in the US at the time and a more important port than New Orleans. Galveston never came back and I'm wondering if Houston ever will either.
Galveston was no where near one of the largest US cities at that time. It was barely larger than Houston. Houston is being flooded with corporate and federal aid, plus a lot of outside money from individuals. It'll be back stronger than ever. Its an important economic spot for the US economy, which has put a ton of resources here already.
Did you just move here? The reason why I ask is you obviously don't know the people of this great city.
Born and raised here and I thought the same as well. Will it ever be what it used to be in our lifetime? Seriously considered moving to another city for a bit this morning
It will probably stop everyone from moving here...and that might be a good thing till our infrastructure catches up.
You know, It's not a terrible idea to get Trump to push infrastructure now. It would certainly help Houston if we could get the dams shored up, build a third dam, and get a coastal spine off Galveston. Those projects would take time to be completed, but so will the current recovery.
I don't see this flood keeping us down. Admittedly I'm not facing the horrible reality of losing everything like many other Houstonians, but I like us in the long run.
Houston is a great city. No matter what you tell us, it will be a great city. Disaster aside, the way people of all backgrounds, colors, cultures, social status etc came together shows that this is till a great city.
The usual patterns will play themselves out. Some of the new arrivals and 1st-generation Houstonians will leave. Everyone else with roots will stay. That's who you want rebuilding the city anyway.
So what's happened in the last few days that's made you question whether or not this isn't a great city any longer (or "what it used to be")? Things are just that....Things. People will pick themselves up and rebuild. What makes this city great (and always has) is the PEOPLE. Have you not been paying attention the past four days? What I see are AMAZING people who have been smacked in the mouth, and despite being dealt a HUGE BLOW, have gone out of their way to do anything to help their neighbors. Many risking their own life to do so. People have opened their homes to strangers, they've volunteered their time to help out at shelters, they've donated clothes, food, money, boats to go on search missions, and on and on I can go with countless examples that show how big the hearts and souls are in this UNBELIEVABLE CITY!!! Nothing, let me repeat myself, NOTHING has changed for the negative, and in fact if you OPEN your eyes you'll see so many things that should make you PROUD to be an HOUSTONIAN!!!!! That you thought about leaving shows that you haven't grasped what makes this city great. People from all around the world when you ask them about Houston the first thing they'll tell you is how awesome the people are. I've been here for over fifty years and let me say I've NEVER BEEN MORE PROUD OF THIS CITY!!!
I don't see this flood being Houston's downfall. I see it being electric/hybrid cars and the population being less reliant on oil & gas.
If I recall correctly OP lives out of state up north, sounds like hyperbole from afar. Yeah Harvey wrecked the city but we are talking about the oil and gas capital of the world. I think the 2nd most Fortune 500 headquarters within the city in the nation, don't think most of them will relocate their hq just because of Harvey.
I think you're being overdramatic, Houston will rebuild and go back to being the vibrant city that it is
I personally am going to move to NYC this December. I dislike how hideous this city is with all the concrete everywhere and so many strip malls. I hate how there are roads being built everywhere yet the traffic never gets better. I dislike how there is no winter here. I hate the public transportation. I've seen people ride bicycles against traffic on highways over here, which just shows how terrible the transportation is. Houston's charm is that life here is cheap and easy. These floods just ruin that. Maybe they won't be a rare occurrence in the future if whatever people are saying about global warming and rising waters is true. I suspect things will keep getting worse, though I'm no scientist really. I personally will not be here to see how it changes.
Massive industrial petrochemical infrastructure, #2 city in the country for Fortune 500 countries. Low cost of living, no ice-cold winters. Houston isn't going anywhere.
I too likely won't be here that much longer for similar reasons. Will Houston bounce back? In the immediate future yes, of course. But you're kidding yourself if you don't think these floods are becoming a more regular occurrence due to lack of zoning and government regulations, basically letting developers and corporations do whatever they want wherever they want and if any resistance is offered it's just a bribe or two away from a resolution. Harvey should be a massive slap in the face to the powers that be here to get their **** straight. Will they? Probably not. Seriously I hope the citizens here understand how exposed and vulnerable this City's leaders are leaving them.
You don't think energy companies will transition when it becomes profitable/necessary for them to do so?