I've said it before, Houston has some ****ty ass roads. And these are in the nicer areas, the inner loop is full of potholes, cracks, warps, and messed up patchjobs. Portland is cool, like a less pretentious Austin. Pacific northwest area has a lot of nice natural scenery. I liked Seattle, drizzled a lot. San Fran is nice, but driving a standard sucked. I wasn't expecting much from Minnieapples, but what I did notice was almost every chick was blond blue eyed. Go to the Hooters at the Mall of America and see for yourself. I accidentally *left the freeway on* the wrong exit in Chicago once and noticed right away I was in a bad part, like MLK Blvd type of area. Well at least we got the cheaper cost of living still. And NASA, and brown water Galveston. *edited for TheChosenOne
I live near the Medical Center and it's not so bad. I don't walk to any place I regularly go (except when I used to work at Rice), but who really wanted to go walking around outside this past summer? Guess I'm no fun. If it makes yall feel any better, living in the DFW-Arlington area is just as bad (or worse*). *Added so I won't get flamed. Yes! A million times yes!
I have lived in Chicago and Minneapolis...... first you are leaving out the fact that the weather in both of these places is HORRIBLE for over half the year, snow, sleet, high winds. Second, the music scene and culture in DOWNTOWN Chicago is very impressive, but if you are not downtown it completely sucks. Also, the cost of living in Chicago is horrendous. Downtown Chicago is a great place to visit, and not bad to live in when you are in your 20's. Aside from that, it has extremely high taxes, an economy that is flat and no culture in the suburbs. Only spent 6 months in Minnesota, a very beautiful area, aside from the fact that it is FROZEN 7 months a year. Very progressive area.... but cultured? No, not at all.
I used to live in Portland in 2007. Great place in the summer - setup similar to Austin with a river (Willamette) running through the city center. A massive park, Washington Park, is located on the hill adjacent to downtown with views of Mount Hood, Rainier, St. Helens, and Jefferson on a clear day. There's also one of the largest rose test gardens there, as well as a Japanese garden as well. They've also got a ton of cool microbreweries throughout the city. You're also a short drive from Cannon Beach (Haystack rock from Goonies), Astoria/Seaside, Mount Hood for skiing/hiking, and areas near the Columbia River Gorge for white water rafting. The main areas where Portland is really lacking are: - nightlife: kind of dull at night, much more active during the day - sunlight: it's gray 5 months out of the year; no thunderstorms, just a daily shower and the ground is always wet in the winter - girls: some decent 6's and 7's, but not the kind of place you'll see the 5-star recruits; this is why a lot of dudes there prefer having a girlfriend rather than try to go raging for chicks every weekend
Yes the PacNW is an amazing part of the country. Portland is also a great city and during the summer can be absolutely gorgeous. A lot of stuff to go out and do, whether it be outdoors or indoors. I have been to Denver a few times, although never lived there. I heard it too is an amazing city to live in as well. Minneapolis isn't really a city like Seattle or Boston, but it does have a great night life, good areas for bars/clubs. A fantastic midtown and uptown along with a lot of the same in St Paul. Overall it's a very clean city, low crime with good shopping areas (mall of America and others). The summers are amazing, with lots and lots of outdoor activities to do. Overall its a very chill city for the north, but has a lot to offer in terms of what the larger cities have (NYC, Chicago..etc)
One thing I've been appreciating recently is that we have some new and upscale strip mall developments that are really beautiful. Highland Village is very well done. The new mixed-use place on Upper Kirby is nice. Parts of Sugar Land too. The renovated entertainment venue at 610 and I-10 (with the MarqE theatre, The Improv, etc). If you can come to terms with and embrace the fact that Houston is a giant strip mall, you free yourself to at least appreciate a strip mall when it is done well.
I grew up in houston and left in 1991 in my early 20s to move to Portland. Have been here since and wouldn't consider living anywhere else. Too much to mention- can drive 30 min and be hiking in the columbia river gorge, can drive down the hill from my house in the middle of the city and be kayaking in the willamette in 5 minutes. Very easy to get around without a car in the city- very easy to bike (on the east side- a lot of hills on the west side). There is stuff going on at night. Skiing and beach within 1.5 hours. Great hiking within the city park system- forest park,washington park, tryon creek. If you come though, bring your own job.
I like strip malls? And who wants to walk around in Houston Heat anyways? I don't wash and wax my car every week and put cool rims on it to walk around the city. Give me a city where I can run a small business and raise a family over a LA/NY nightlife any time.
I don't think I'd call CityCentre a strip mall. Most strip malls don't have nice hotels, convention space, upscale bars/restaurants, residential and office space all rolled into one. The office space there is going for Galleria area rates right now, and they're building another building to accomodate the demand.
CityCentre is a mixed-use development, which is the idea of combining "work-live-play" in one walkable joint. it's one step away from the ideal "transit-oriented" development, which is all that above plus a mass-transit feature that moves you to any other "transit-oriented" development or central business district. a strip mall is a cheap, convenient way to manage commercial real estate with little or no regard to intelligent city planning. more businesses = more tax base to the city.
The city planners who came up with the freeway feeder road systems is what made this place what it is (all the businesses along the feeder roads look crappy). It was the city's influence and design that was cause, not the lack thereof.
New Orleans, but you can understand why it's the exception. Charlotte. I like how Houston keeps its trees, but Charlotte has done a much, much better job. Charlotte looks like an urban version of The Woodlands.
I lived in Houston for over 30 years and am so glad I moved to Seattle. When I return to Houston for business, I always feel the absence of mountains and water. I also love that Seattle is heavily zoned so there aren't signs and billboards cluttering up the scenic views. I'm married with small kids, so I'm not the best judge on what constitutes a successful night life, but the food scene (my wife is a chef) in the whole PNW is awesome. I'm also an author and love to read, and the book culture is incredible here as well. Yes, we have rain for four straight months and winters are dreary, but no hurricanes, tornadoes, blistering summers, or ozone warnings. I love Seattle, but I would strongly consider moving to Portland or Vancouver (if we could make the visas work. My wife does have a British background which might help). I can't envision ever leaving the PNW.
Admittedly, I've never been to Charlotte. I've been to NOLA quite a bit. It's beautiful in places...in the French Quarter (if you find the architecture appealing - and I do) and in the Garden District. But I don't think of NOLA, typically, as being a beautiful city. A fun place to visit for sure...but not beautiful. Beignets are beautiful, though.
