It's too damn hot to riot in Houston. All the rioters just stay home and throw beer cans at their tv's and overturn their coffee tables. Ever notice San Antonio and Houston don't have riots? Ever notice they're always among the fattest cities and have the hottest temperatures? That's what I thought... Now Dallas had a mini-disturbance after a Super Bowl win, but you notice they're further north... Fat people can't riot and fat people sure as hell can't riot when the heat index is around 100-105 outside... I rest my case.
Well, I'm from Houston and went to school at UT and interned at Ford for two summers and lived in Ann Arbor (UM) and I must say, I definitely saw similarities in the region. 1) Texans have a lot of pride. I was surprised when I noticed the SE Michigan area with a lot of pride as well. Not NEARLY as much as we do...but noticeable. 2) Auto Industry vs Oil Industry - In both cities, you'll run into people that are somehow one way or another tied to the big companies or their suppliers. 3) Michigan State reminded me of A&M and University of Michigan reminded me of UT. 4) Both cities require lots of driving to get from one place to another. Some big differences that I noticed were: 1) They don't have feeders or billboards on the side of the road. Just lots of trees and it's all green. Yeah...we're full of concrete and "Darque Tan" or "Michelob Ultra" or "Grand Casino Cashada" signs. 2) Y'all have a lot of parks and sports for all 4 seasons. Everyone there I knew there owned a motorcycle, boat, a cottage house by the lake, jet skis, mountain bike and a convertible. 3) I must say, ya'll's downtown looked deader than ours though.
It's kind of funny, I've spent more time in Houston than I can even remember. The one time I've "been" to Detroit was for an airport layover on Northwest. Flying in to Detroit, I actually thought to myself that, from the air, Detroit looked a lot like Houston. By the way, on that trip I spent a week in Northern MI in the Pellston area and Mackinac Island. Being from Alaska my standards for outdoor recreation are very high, and I was pleasantly surprised by what Michigan had to offer.
Yeah, their airport resembled Hobby before both were rennovated. The one other thing that I thought was funny is that they'd have signs saying "I94 W to Chicago" or "xyz to Windsor, Canada" or "xyz to Toledo." But in Houston, all highway signs point to other cities within Texas (San Antonio, Austin, Cleveland, Lake Jackson/Freeport, Galveston, Dallas, etc). That was one of my moments when I took pride in how BIG our state is.
I noticed that too when I fly to detroit. I don't see how a city can not have feeder roads. How you know where everythings at? and what happens if you mis an exit.
You dont know, thats the craziness. You just keep driving. That was one of the hardest things for me to get used to when I started going to different cities. Exits can be miles apart, especially like in Chicago. Another reason why I hate that city. Feeder roads are something that are the exception, not the rule from what I have seen in my travels. Most cities I have been in do not have them.
Seeing as I was relatively new in the city and I drove solo most of the time, I had to go all the way down one highway til it hit another highway and come back. It s*cked! It made the drives scenic but boring too.
I actually bought this book. A good read: http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ It said that only Houston and Dallas use feeder roads. (Dallas calls them something different)
The best part about Detroit is that within about a 4-5 drive, you can get somewhere good. (Toronto, upper Michigan, Chicago and Cedar Point) That's about the only thing good I can say about Detroit. Lived there for 4 years and glad to be back in Houston.
First, I'm a New Yorker who lives and feels out of place with his Yankee accent in Houston, a la Jeff Van Gundy. So I will provide a non-bias opinion.. And I do actually have something nice to say about Detroit. I have to give it up to them....Great Sports town. Have been fortunate..*YES FORTUNATE* to attend many Red Wing games, especially against the Avs in the playoffs. If your a true sports fan, the scene is something to behold. Some might say "Malice @the Palace" will take away from this. I don’t think so. Think about it, a player from a rival team attacks your hometown fans because an empty cup was thrown at him. In New York we've thrown MUCH worse at players but I've never seen John Rocker in the stands fighting Mets fans. Even more, if Rocker were to come in the stands to attack, like Detroit, me and some Met fans are going down there to kick his ass. No one messes with us. I'm sure some Rocket fans might do the same if Dirk Nowitski decided to enter the stands and attack the fans. Comerica Park and Ford Field are marvels to behold. Tiger Stadium might have been great for its history, but if there were any way to replace a legend, Comerica Park would be the way. Much like MMP has done for fans in Houston, Comerica gives fans in Detroit an impressive skyline view they have never had form a sports venue as well a great baseball friendly atmosphere, whenever the park fans that actually attend, that is. Then there's Ford Field. Combining the old Hudson Warehouse into the actual footprint of the stadium was an ingenious idea that gives the venue a unique atmosphere that cant be matched anywhere in football. An even better idea is putting all of the stadium's suites into the warehouse on one side of the stadium, which in turn brought the upper deck stands closer to the field then any other stadium I've been to. There truly is not a bad seat in the house, which makes this stadium one of the best that the NFL has to offer. But I'm sorry, Reliant is still top dog for its innovations and rowdy fans. Heritage. One thing I like about this city is its musical heritage. Its a city known for two types of music on the opposite ends of the spectrum, Motown and Rock City USA But if there is one thing I hate about Detroit is its absolute failure to "cash in" on this heritage. Cleveland should NOT be home to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, Detroit SHOULD. It makes all the sense in the world for a city that proudly proclaims itself as "Rock City USA" to be home to the Rock n' Roll HOF. But the fact that this major attraction is in another city instead of Detroit clearly shows how this city has dropped the ball. Now as for your comparison Fatty, no offense but Detroit is no where near Houston's league. Come to Houston, as I did and you will see what I mean. Houston is literally on the verge of becoming the next major U.S. cosmopolitan city on par with the likes of New York and LA. In fact, if there is any city that Houston should be compared to, its Los Angeles. These two cities are like twins..... Development. Both cities are sprawling giants that eat up the countryside around them at an alarming rate. In fact, in terms of land size, there 1 and 2 in the nation. But look a little deeper beyond this fact, look at the way the cities are made up. Most cities have a vibrant urban core with suburbs being modest and quite. Not in these two places. Both cities downtown's are tailor made for Fortune 500 companies and afterwards, are dead at night. The reason is simply due to the fact of all the massive business, retail, and entertainment developments in the suburbs, which compare quite closely to each other as well. Like Houston, I find LA's suburban development to be literal "mixed bag" of business, entertainment, and retail development meets housing development, something I only see in other major cities like Tokyo. Some might find this to be unattractive as they like the suburbs to be quiet retreats away form the city. I like it as it just seem convenient. However, both cities, literally at the same time, are now trying to reinvent there core's as a lively urban district rivaling Manhattan and other cities famous for there downtown development. The reason is the same, to make there city center's more attractable to business looking to relocate. They way they have started revitalization is the same too...building sports facilities downtown. LA has built Staples Center and has attempted to build either a new football stadium or baseball park for the Dodgers downtown. Since the opening of Staples Center, it has spawned the "LA Live" development which could transform Figueroa St and Downtown LA. Houston has 1-uped LA however, building both Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park downtown. Since then, both facilities have spawned the smaller Houston Pavilions entertainment project as well revitalization in the northern sector of downtown Houston. Clearly both cities are banking on the success of Baltimore with Camden Yards and Cleveland with Jacobs Field as ways to revitalize there city center. But as obvious, unlike other cities (Cleveland, Baltimore), both LA and Houston face a challenge in downtown revitalization due to the impressive developments that can be found in the suburbs. Traffic. Both cities are known for there sprawling rivers of concrete with spiraling, towering fly-over ramps known as "freeways." And they are everywhere. No other cities expressways...err freeways can even compare with what these two cities have. And yet still, they have traffic. Why? Citizens in both cities appear to be more automobile dependant, unlike other cities where citizens will leave there cars for rail. But this fact is not stopping civic leaders form trying to implore the novel idea of rail in these areas. And while early returns are promising, it is still a safe bet that both cities will continue to be highly dependant on the automobile in the future. Ports. Not much can be said here as this fact is quite obvious. Both cities have mega-ports that generate major business for there respective city. If you think about, despite the fact that LA is the center of the entertainment universe and has better beaches and more palm trees, these two cities are almost the same.
Feeder roads are awesome...I couldn't imagine Texas without them, but I could see how they're not as feasible in other places. Places like NY, NJ, Philadelphia just do not have the space for feeder roads to be feasible or even useful. In Houston, it's cool that you can hop on the highway to get somewhere that's really only 10-15 minutes away. In the northeast, not so. You don't enter an interstate highway to go to the mall in New Jersey. I think highways there are a lot more limited access than they are here, so it just doesn't make sense to use them to get around town.
