How much do you continue to identify with Houston?

Hey Uprising, do you remember Malta? Where did you live there? St. Julians? And where in Switzerland? Kind of funny, Malta, Switzerland and Houston are three important stops for me as well.

I only lived in Houston for one year, but after the initial shock of coping with the heat and humidity, I loved it. As you can see, I still root for the team, and for some odd reason, I still follow what goes on in the city - a lot of it has to do with the Clutch BBS, of course.

 

In DFW for almost two years now, and I proudly say I'm from Houston. Nuts to the snooty Dallas folk who look down on me for it.

 

Most people follow the sports team they grew up with. Growing up within the range of Houston TV stations, I'm no different.

Beyond that, most people who grew up in Texas have a certain longing for the place. I've been away since grad school yet always describe myself as a Texan and often think...

I wanna go home with the armadillo.
Good country music from Amarillo and Abilene.
The friendliest people and the prettiest women
you've ever seen.

I'm flying the family down in late June for my 30th HS Reunion, but before that, we're going to Austin/New Braunfels/The Alamo... got to show the kids their heritage.

 

When they ask I tell people I'm from Houston. It will always be my hometown, though I left when I was 18 or so. I have have fond memories of Houston, but I've got no desire to move back.

 

When I travel outside of Texas and people ask me where I'm from I usually put my head down and mumble "I'm from Houston...sorry."

Once I'm out of the Houston area I will be damn happy but I will always root for the Rockets!

 

Six years in Denton Texas and I'm still a Houstonian.

 

born in tokyo, grew up in houston, back to tokyo. i wouldn`t change anything. h-town is a great great place to grow up and somewhere to be proud of.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with our town, some people called it the town that never wakes up. Infact a band I love wrote a song on their last LP about how lonely a place it can be;

Houston Don't Dream About Me

Another week in the drivers seat
With your feet up on the dashboard
Rain it kept a steady beat
As I watched you dream of Houston

I ain't never going back
Yes sir that's a fact
As you waved your cowboy hat
And sang 'The Yellow Rose Of Texas'

Just trying to make high ground
Has kept us on the run
There's no crime in toeing the line
Cause fortune is smiling on us baby
And we're gonna walk in the sun

I might dream about Houston
But Houston don't dream about me
If I could keep this between the lines
Who knows what will be

Loose change days and motel nights
Day old coffee dollar postcards
State trooper's flashing lights
As we listen to the thunder

As we talk about our past
So we see our coming future
You tell me you know love can last
While staring out the window

Just looking for a place to hide
A place to ease our minds
A place away from yesterday
Close to tomorrow away from the sorrows
Of living other people's time

I might dream about Houston
But Houston don't dream about me
If I could keep this between the lines
Who knows what will be

How long how long
Till we feel the change
How long how long
Will the skies be gray
How long how long
Will it be this way
How long how long
Will she stay

I might dream about Houston
But Houston don't dream about me
If I could keep it between the lines
Who knows what will be

I might dream about Houston
But Houston don't dream about me
If I could keep it between the lines
Who knows what
Who knows what
Who knows what will be



Saw that song played in Austin and Houston last year and at the Austin Stubb's show right in the middle of the tune and for only a few minutes the skies opened up as if to say "you wanna feel the Houston vibe? Cue the rain!!"

 

I wasn't born in Houston but grew up there and always refer to it as my hometown. I've been in Dallas since 99' and still think of it as home.

Always feels like home when I go back.

 

Why?

Houston in particular, or Texas overall, or just 'the south?' I've never heard a bad connotation about Houston unless it extended to Texas, or Southern stereotypes in general...

 

Are you Japanese?

 

There are some valid reasons for someone not to feel at home in Houston. Mass suburban sprawl,, uncontrolled growth, endless concrete highways, seasons consisting of extreme heat, slightly less heat and warm (with an occasional cold snap), generally religious, conservative (though urban areas can be liberal and democratic), enormous and exploding population, limited to access to awesome outdoor activities (relative to a Colorado or Pacific Northwest), traffic issues, pollution of East Houston...

...I'm not saying all of those are bad or bad to everyone, but they can certainly be brought up as issues with the city from certain people's perspective.

I know I find many of those things about the city not too my liking. But then, I appreciate the cheap cost of living, the great and growing economy, the abundant restaurant scene, solid cultural opportunities (arts, museums, music, zoos), great medical facilities, my family in town, and all of the other things a city of Houston's size and diversity offers.

I have not lived in a ton of places. I spent some years in Philadelphia, and, well, would never live there again, so certainly felt like Houston was home and appreciated it when I come back. But having been here a long while now, I am anxious to get out and try another locale, like Dave_78.

 

Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya, and later go ahead and say you're from wherever else it is.

I've only been away a year, and I miss it. Not everything about it, I know it for what it is, but overall it's good people and a good place that I've been proud to call home for a long long time.

 

I find that infinitely pathetic. You actually APOLOGIZE??? Wow.

 

I moved to Houston when I was 2 and lived there from 1975 through 2004 with 4 years of college in San Antonio mixed in.

I was really glad to move away. For years my wife and I talked about leaving Houston for London, but even after they lifted their dog quarantine, it would been way too expensive. So we set our sights on Seattle and have never looked back after 6 years here.

I do miss some of the regional food, particularly Tex Mex, BBQ, Cajun, Soul, and good traditional Southern Cuisine. I can get good Mexican here, there are some subpar BBQ places, and Cajun is simply unknown. There isn't much African American population up here, and Soul Food and Southern flavors just really aren't cultivated up here.

I miss the Rockets quite a bit. I get to watch them with League Pass, but now that the Sonics are gone, I rarely get to see them live. To do so takes a trip down to Portland, which is complicated with 2 small kids. I've never been to the Toyota Center. Luckily Clutch Fans gives me an outlet to other Rocket fans, since basketball is a pretty dead sport here now.

I miss the Astros somewhat. I got soured on the league after the strikes and steroids, but I came of sporting age with Bagwell and Biggio. It also doesn't hurt that my dad has awesome season tickets. I flew back to go to one of their World Series games. Now that they suck and Bagwell and Biggio are retired, I don't follow them much. Hell, I really only have time for one sport, so baseball is a casualty. Pro football pretty much died for me when the Oilers left town. I really don't have much connection to the Texans. I suppose I wish them well. I do, however, pull for the Titans to suck.

I don't miss the summers, the yellowish sky and ozone warnings, the concrete urban sprawl, massive billboards, hurricanes, flooding, mosquitos, cockroaches, and once again the brutal summers. People were friendly in Houston and it had a broad range of diverse cultures. However, I knew too many hypocritical Southern protestants. To each their own, but I felt people too often wanted to impose their beliefs on me. I hated that I couldn't walk to the grocery store. I hate that it's flat without water. I want to see mountains, hills, and lakes.

I'm not ashamed that I spent nearly 30 years in Texas. I doggedly use the word "y'all." But I would never consider moving back. I have passed on ownership of a family business because it would require moving back to Houston. When I visit now, it no longer feels like home. It doesn't even seem that familiar with all the development that's taken place since I left. It feels like meeting up with an old friend that I haven't seen in years and don't have much in common with anymore.

 

Born in Houston, grew up in London, Islamabad, and Berlin (came to Houston every summer).

After going to college in Austin, grad school in Chicago, I'm back in Houston now though I live half the time either in NYC or Chicago (depends on work).

Have always identified myself as a Texan and proud to call Houston my home.

 

Congrats, white boy.

 

WTF is that supposed to mean?

 

Wasn't born in Houston (moved there when I was 4 in 1980) and left in 1999 for Austin. I love living in Austin and my family has no plans to ever leave. My parents and brother are still in the Houston area. I still follow every thing about the Texans, Astros, Rockets & Dynamo...even though the Dynamo and Texans didn't come into existence until after I left. If it's got "Houston" on the jersey, I'm a fan.

That said, I'm more and more considering myself an Austinite. I now tell people, "I was raised in Houston, but I'm from Austin." I've never tell people I'm actually from Philadelphia unless they ask specifically where I was born.