no green space in houston is a huge myth http://persquaremile.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/parkland-per-person-us.png
Careful or he'll move to Vancouver or Vienna to show you how bad ass his cities are compared to Houston.
Live music issues notwithstanding, I disagree about inner Austin. Meaning, as Baqui noted, anywhere from say 71 on the south side to 183 on the north side, and downtown and west (and parts of east of 35 now, too). Strip malls and Applebees have definitely increased, but - again, live music aside - it seems to me that downtown Austin has aged very very well. I didn't spend a ton of time in Austin in the 90's, but enough to make a comparison. The city is extremely popular with huge influxes of people. On a percentage basis, it's one of the fastest growing cities in the country, and for its population, there may not be a faster growing city (maybe Vegas?). So it's going to change, especially because it's growth has transitioned it from one size city to another. That growth having happened, I think downtown Austin has grown quite well. Houston has it's positives, but is really a very ugly city, on the whole.
Exactly. Basically 10 minutes from anything and everything important, best restaurants and shopping, $8.00 cab rides on nights out drinking. The only reason I leave from inside the loop in midtown is to go to work. Otherwise, I'd just kick it there all day/night. I couldn't even imagine living in the 'burbs or away from the city.
I lived in Houston and grew up here for 22 years. It's the only major city I ever lived in until I moved to Meanneapolis, Chicago, Boston and Seattle. I thought Houston was an awesome city, and never knew what other cities were like outside of the Houston-Dallas-Austin-San Antonio area were like. Boy was I wrong. After living in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Seattle Houston is by far, the absolute worst when it comes to night life, activities, shopping (the Galleria area sucks, face it). There isnt a rich history that you can feel, and this is by far the worst city of its size for any pedestrian activities. Shopping sucks, culture sucks, transportation sucks, everything. It's a city you live in, work, go home and repeat. I moved back for a year for work, and absolutely hate it here. Once you experience other places in the world/country you realize there are better places than the only one you ever knew.
This is something that I have long suspected. No reason to move, so I'll probably never find out. But if I ever get a job offer in the Bay Area or Vancouver, I'm out this mug! Goodbye Rockets games, hello League Pass.
Not arguing Chicago, Seattle and Boston are better towns than Houston but Minneapolis? I spent some time up there a few weeks ago and didn't see anything special.
Valid comment, and has some merit. But that is true of anywhere. When you grow up somewhere, you don't know what else is out there. And someone growing up in Chicago might feel the reverse. That said, I personally wouldn't move to Chicago (great place, just way way way to freaking cold for me, also super expensive unless you live far ass away) or Minneapolis (again, great town, again with the coldness... I'd choose Denver of Minneapolis, Denver is cold, but also very sunny, and I find the Rockies a better nearby 'playground'). But I freaking love the PNW, and Seattle is the one place I'd love to live one day. I thought Portland was great, too... though I find the Portland-Austin comparison to at least have some merit, and Austin has Portland beat on economy (by a long-shot, Oregon's economy sucks and then they tax the **** out of you) and weather. Also, apparently the people in Portland can be a little stand-offish (have heard this about Seattle, too... the "Seattle free"). One thing to note, however, is age and position in life. As you get older, your personal preferences may start to change, and you may once again change your mind and start to see why people like Houston. The combined cost of living and economic strength of Texas is almost unmatched... and that's important. The weather may not be your thing, but if you're anti-feezing weather, it's a good spot. You may scoff at the beach, but if you're not a snob, the Texas gulf coast is, actually, fantastic... especially for families. And the scenery around Houston is, I'll agree, horrible, but if you're willing to drive 3-5 hours in any direction, man there are some beautiful places in the state. And finally, there's Austin, which at least gets you something different. This is a point I definitely agree with. Houston has a lot of green, as I noted earlier. I think people confuse green with lack of billboard cluttered highways. Houston has both. It doesn't have Austin like greenery and relative lack of billboards, though... but it does have plenty of green park space.
One city I want to go real bad is Portland... Anybody have any experience there?? <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AVmq9dq6Nsg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Huh? Outside of downtown, Chicago is a giant strip mall as well.... it is called suburbia, and certainly not unique to Houston.
That is virtually any major city outside of the downtown area..... that is not unique to the USA either, Northern Ireland and many parts of Great Britain are the same.
