I have lived many different places in the USA and in Europe. Houston is one of the best places I have lived overall. It is the best place I have lived as far as opportunities for people that work hard and want to raise a family. If you have lots of money there are areas I have lived that are arguably better (parts of California and the NE and London) but for an average Joe Houston has a lot of bang for the buck. Houston also has the best entrepreneurial spirit and opportunity of any place on the earth I have been. In Houston you can do your own thing. The worst parts are the humidity/heat and the land is overall flat but that is the case a lot of other places.
On these points the drivers in Houston and the road quality in Houston is better than in most major cities I have lived in. Also the living paycheck to paycheck is as bad or worse in Los Angeles, Chicago and NY from my time living in these places in large part because of cost of housing, goods and services.
https://www.lung.org/our-initiative...ings/msas/houston-the-woodlands-tx.html#ozone 9th worst ozone pollution in the country 17th worst year-round particle pollution in the country https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/06/port-neches-texas-explosion At 2:40 seconds of this discussion I heard the man speaking say that the Houston Chronicle reported that between 2014-16 that there was the equivalent of one industrial chemical accident every 6 weeks in greater Houston. Houston had the deer park and the Crosby explosions this year. Port Neches is also just about 80 miles away. In 2017 we had the Arkema explosion, and there are probably others I didn't hear about. The plants having problems are a constant thing. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/ne...emicals-roadblocks-to-information-7420931.php - the article that I can't access https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/ - Ranked 21st worst based off of violent crime rate from 2017 report from FBI - https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/table-6
Air quality definitely needs to keep improving -- the progress over the last couple of decades has been impressive. Ozone will always be a bit of a wildcard due to the shear amount of cars thankfully they run much cleaner which is the primary reason for improvements. The reduction of smog/ particulates shows the biggest improvements and progress. _______ The worst period on record for ozone in Houston was from 1997 to 1999 when there was a weighted average of 110 days of unhealthy air, said JoAnne Strother, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Texas. Compared to this year average of 26.7 days, it paints a good picture, she said. “Yes, maybe it still ranked fairly high, but comparing Houston from 1997-1999 to now, the air quality has improved.” While Houston no longer tops the list for the most polluted, Metzger said the progress that helped improve air quality back in the late 1990s has stalled. “There are still are some initiatives, but the momentum has declined,” he said. “We are not seeing the same level of support from our state leaders, making this a priority and implementing policies necessary to clean up the air.” The latest numbers, he said, show the problem hasn’t gone away. Texas had three of the top 25 most polluted cities — Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and El Paso — although it still lags behind California, which had 10 of the most polluted cities. Nationwide, more than four in 10 Americans, about 43.3 percent of the population, live in counties that have monitored unhealthy ozone and/or particle pollution, the report found. And nearly 141.1 million people are exposed to unhealthy air, an increase from the previous two reports but still down from the 166 million in the years covered in the 2016 report (2012-2104). A big contributor to air quality, according to the report, is climate change as warmer temperatures stimulate the reactions in the atmosphere that cause ozone to form. The reporting years, 2015-2017, are also the three warmest years recorded in global history, the authors said. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...n-air-quality-among-worst-13791574.php?espv=1
Didn't watch the whole video but it was obvious 2 minutes in that the dude is not from Houston and I don't put much stalk in critiques from outsiders
At the end, he asks for suggestions for other cities to cover, so yeah, he doesn't know the H-tine gestalt.
My personal top 5 reasons: 5. The weather is terrible 4. There is nothing pretty anywhere close if you’re into nature 3. Traffic sucks 2. Air quality 1. Toyota Center
Concerning air pollution...... Houston is a major city and air pollution is a fact of life. For example LA is the worst and NY is tied with Houston. Chicago and Dallas are not far behind. These rankings take into account the suburbs as well. So if someone wants to live in a major metropolitan city it is a fact of life. As far as refinery explosions are concerned, that is interesting. It would not be my number one concern, but to each his own. As far as crime is concerned, Houston isn't terribly safe nor terribly dangerous. Recently Houston was named the 92nd most dangerous city in America. However a number of other major cities also fall in the same range of Houston. The fact that Houston is a major port of entry to the US (2nd in the country) and that it borders another nation with serious criminal cartel issues, it makes Houston interesting but also a major hub for drugs, dangerous criminals coming through, undocumented people and human trafficking. Chicago is similar, as many of those same people drive straight from Houston to Chicago for distribution of their criminal enterprise. One of the crappiest (maybe the worst) parts about Houston is that nothing is saved. The city is relatively new, so the history is limited, and most of the old and interesting buildings and sites have been destroyed and something else built on top of them. That puts Houston at a disadvantage against a city like Chicago that saves almost everything.
The weather is terrible? Don't move to the Midwest or Northeast then. Maybe San Diego is the place for you. There are plenty of parks and areas around Houston, it just tends to be flat. Traffic sucks in any city the size of Houston. The air quality sucks in most other large cities too. Yeah, the Toyota Center blows......... actually downtown Houston blows.
I have 6 oak trees surrounding my house that give me fresh air and shade. Those inner city folks take a beating from the rays and toxic fumes which makes them age bad.
This. I am spending a lot of my time in Chicago where my firm is located...... it was 19 degrees yesterday. It is 35 degrees today and assholes are having BBQ's outside with shorts on because it normally isn't this warm until April. There is a weather trade off almost anywhere you live......... Chicago has beautiful summers and a brisk fall......... the Spring is still frozen over and the Winter lasts from the end of October through basically May sometimes. Seattle is usually not too cold or hot, but it is depressing because it rains far too often. Miami is hot and muggy..... NY can get cold with lots of snow. I thought that San Diego would be the one place free of b****ing and complaining....... NOPE my wife even found a complaint stating that "I miss the changing seasons."
The weather is definitely one reason I would never go back to Houston, its terrible. Getting a warm december is not a payoff worth the rest of the year in misery. I'm plenty fine in Denver at 50 degrees in december and not having to go through 6+ unbearable months of summer.
It all depends on what you like. Some people cannot stand snow.... some people cannot stand the heat....... the closest thing to non offensive weather I have found is in SOCAL and people still complain about that. I like Colorado, but I also know some people that have lived there that cannot stand the snow fall.
I used to agree with #4, but I’ve now lived in Midland for 3 years and let me tell you: Houston is a damn beautiful oasis, don’t take it for granted!
