Houston does not even come close in comparison to Austin. I grew up in Houston, and am living in Austin....Drew, you can not compare Houston to Austin in only 2 weeks. The Restaurants are every bit as good here in Austin if you know where to look. Gumbos, Flemings, Sullivans, Fonda San Miguel Lake Travis blows away all of Houston's lakes. No professional teams? Ice Bats, Round Rock express...etc..etc... And don't even get me started on the air quality of Houston or the traffic. Houston is ok, but Austin is all over it in quality of life. DaDakota
Like on AIM chats, the local chats part includes, nyc, chicago, la, etc... then dallas? wtf. And no houston there either
Wow. You kind of turned on Austin, didn't you? I don't have to dress like a freak to have friends. I think Austin is so liberal that it doesn't matter what you dress. Austin is hot, but not as hot as Houston. Kind of disappointed in the "overrated" statement. You don't have to hate one city to like another.
Houston is hot from April to October. Texas tends to have long summers. You can make a postcard out of any city, but Houston isn't as pretty as alot of the major cities in the US.
Houston VS Austin Restaurants- Good restaurants are everywhere in Houston and in Austin they are hard to find. Also, in Austin when you find a good restaurant, you will have to wait 1-2 hours even on a weeknight. Malls- I don't know how many malls are in Houston, but I'm sure I can pick two that are better than the two Austin has(Barton Creek and Highland). I'd start off with Houston's Galleria and go from there. Theatres- There is a shortage of Movie theatres in Austin, I could probably count them on one hand. That means lots of people, lost of noise, lots of crying babies. Zoos- I think Austin has one, but I've heard it's more like a small farm. Sports- Austin has college sports, so does Houston, but Houston also has pro sports and I'm not talking about minor league or anything like that. Traffic- Both cities are horrible but Houston has more alternative routes such as tollways and HOV lanes. Skyline- I think Greenspoint in Houston probably has a better one than Austin. Beauty- This goes to Austin, but after awhile, I didn't even notice it. Driving up and down hills and looking at rocks gets old. Lakes- Houston has more, but Austin's Lake Travis is better than any Houston has, will it be in 10 years? People- Austin seems, well, segregated and in Houston you will meet many different people everyday. People in Houston are much friendlier in my opinion. To be continued..
I have to agree with the pros and cons. Houston is cheap=good The reason Houston is cheap because people build where ever the hell they want=bad Houston is diverse=good Houston was built on a swamp=bad Houston has a great skyline=good It is to expensive to live close to that skyline=bad All the bad things about Houston are improving though, you have too remember, that this is a place where people come to work and make money, period. Only recently has leadership in our city decided to look at truly making this town cosomopolitan. A guy from New York who lives in Humble now, imagine that, once told me that this will never be a real city till we get a real mass transit system. I agreed with him but I have to say we are improving. I also went to UT, and the only bad thing I will ever say about Austin is that it is growing so fast the infrastructure can't keep up. It is probably the most beautiful city in this region of the country.
do you realize how many cities this excludes?? just because a city has laid down some rail, doesn't mean they have a "real mass transit system." i'm thinking this excludes dallas, atlanta and houston right off the bat...how about phoenix?? so basically a New Yorker said we're not a real city until we have real mass transit like a northeastern city. shocking.
Even our bus system sucks, this coming from someone who has ridden busses here and in different cities. Besides Atlanta, there is probably no other city harder to get around, ask anyone from anywhere, east coast, west coast, midwest, or the south.
that maybe so...i don't know...my point was his comment is ridiculous. it's very typical northeastern...if you don't look like NY, you're not a "real" city. oh...ok.
Our buses....no one uses buses in Houston!!! Now they have that lightrail thing. We don't have a subway...we can't have a subway.
You are right about the northeasterner thing, but the guy has a point. What is this city's biggest problem now. Would it be traffic? Believe it or not, this is something that could really stunt this city's growth, so the guy may have exaggerated, but he isn't ridiculous.
every big city...even the ones with substantial investments in mass transit...have problems with traffic and moving people. you can minimize it as best as possible, but you're always fighting it. i bet if you asked people in every big city in america what their top problems are, traffic would be in every big city's top 3-5. agreed that we need transit options...but it's laughable to say, "houston sucks because of the traffic," when every other big city in the country deals with the same issue. if you don't like traffic, move to a smaller town.
I can not believe that anyone that has lived in both Houston and Austin for an extended period can think that Houston is a better place to live. Austin has more beautiful women, better air, a lot less traffic, the most greenspace per capita in Texas, and a small town feel. Houston has better theater, more choices in Restaraunt (though you have to drive for an hour to get to one), better zoos, and mueseums (but how often do you go to one of those?), and is more affordable. Houston is a nice place to visit, Austin is a great place to live. DaDakota
Personally I like Houston more than Austin(Though I haven't spent nearly as much time in Austin). It's cheaper, bigger, and home to the Rockets(Don't get me wrong, I love the Horns, but...) There is also the hope that one day all I will settle for most) of this construction will finish, and Houston will have the greatest system of highways in the world. Texas as a whole, IMO, has the greatest highways in the country, but, from what I've heard, all of this construction will one day put Houston a cut above. There are also the plans for the monorail that was supposed to be put into effect as early as 2012(Right?). Laugh all you want, but that's more that can be said for Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin as far as public transportation goes.
I had no idea. www.dart.org I've spent nearly an entire summer in Dallas...Can't believe I never knew about that.
