Houston is a shithole

[Helobious 9459]

Houston is a concrete slab on boringly flat land. With just way too many people. If I grew up there I would probably sip lean & join a gang too, whatever gets you through the day. Also has maybe the least exciting downtown of any major city ever. Say a tourist wanted to visit... what would you even tell them to do? The city has no sites of note or any unique activities. Just NASA & their not updated since the 60s buildings. Or you could tell them to go to bars/restaurants you could find anywhere else. 

Maybe Im biased, but the best part of the state is SA & southward. Slow pace of life, hunting, fishing, beaches, a large city, and all the delicious diabetes-inducing food you could want. 

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

On 8/22/2019 at 9:51 PM, TeddyBearStallion said:

Houston really has gone downhill somewhat.  I went there back in May for the first time in nearly 10 years and Spring and The Woodlands was barely recognizable and covered in signs.   The humidity was unbearable, the traffic was awful and I've never seen so many signs in my life.    Give me DFW over Houston any day of the week and twice on Sundays.  

Why don’t you write a song about signs, seeing as you hate them so much. 

[Wally Fairway 5539]

8 hours ago, Helobious said:

Houston is a concrete slab on boringly flat land. With just way too many people. If I grew up there I would probably sip lean & join a gang too, whatever gets you through the day. Also has maybe the least exciting downtown of any major city ever. Say a tourist wanted to visit... what would you even tell them to do? The city has no sites of note or any unique activities. Just NASA & their not updated since the 60s buildings. Or you could tell them to go to bars/restaurants you could find anywhere else. 

Maybe Im biased, but the best part of the state is SA & southward. Slow pace of life, hunting, fishing, beaches, a large city, and all the delicious diabetes-inducing food you could want. 

Dude

- have you never taken the ship channel tour? 
- gone to the San Jacinto Monument/battleship Texas, and drive past refinery alley?
- walk the tunnels, to avoid the oppressive heat (and it's partner, the humidity)?
- watch a football game in a Superbowl stadium that is far better than the trashy Jerrah World up north?
- 
 

[Quagmire 2147]

I've seen some strange fetishes, but cuming in your pants because a woman insulted your city is a new one for me

Hahah well played

[Pancho 44685]

I’ve been in Houston since Spring 2013, and before that I lived here for a year in 2010-2011.  Have only lived “in the loop” but just built a house in the suburbs off of Lake Houston.  Lets just say I’d rather be living back in the loop.

My friends and I talk about how much we dislike living here all the time, but the problem is where else would we go?  We all make too much money at our current jobs when combined with the cost of living here means why make a move?   I talked to a lady on a flight to San Diego a few years ago, and she was asking me how did I like living here because she has an offer to move here from SD.  She said it was something to consider (money, cost of living, etc.) but the major hang up for her and her family was that Houston was just boring.  There were no beaches like SD, and it had nothing but traffic, people, and buildings.  She said it sounds like Houston is a place where people just get “stuck” because they can make a lot of money, there are good schools, and the cost of living is so low.  I always thought that was the best way to describe this city.  Stuck.  Because when you think about it, Houston has everything you need—nightlife, restaurants, shopping, good schools, low cost of living, make good money, concerts, sports teams, major airport(s), etc.  It’s just when you ask people “what is Houston known for” there is no answer for that like there is for Miami, Chicago, Seattle, LA, etc. 

TLDR: Houston is a place you get stuck because of it’s pros, but the major con of the city is there’s nothing special about it. 

[South Austin 52431]

I hate Pfugerville.

[Longboard Horn 40284]

As someone who lived in Houston for years, traffic is avoidable if you know the back roads and the areas to avoid during rush hour.

[Fondren & Main 6698]

8 hours ago, Helobious said:

Houston is a concrete slab on boringly flat land. With just way too many people. If I grew up there I would probably sip lean & join a gang too, whatever gets you through the day. Also has maybe the least exciting downtown of any major city ever. Say a tourist wanted to visit... what would you even tell them to do? The city has no sites of note or any unique activities. Just NASA & their not updated since the 60s buildings. Or you could tell them to go to bars/restaurants you could find anywhere else. 

Maybe Im biased, but the best part of the state is SA & southward. Slow pace of life, hunting, fishing, beaches, a large city, and all the delicious diabetes-inducing food you could want. 

Still mad about 2017 I see.  Poor fucking Yankees.

[HenryJames 66031]

38 minutes ago, Longboard Horn said:

As someone who lived in Houston for years, traffic is avoidable if you know the back roads and the areas to avoid during rush hour.

Those areas to avoid being Houston.

[RPM 26315]

10 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

I have lived in every corner of Texas at some point in my life, from the Coastal Bend, to...

I remember working for a radio station outside Corpus. Part of our Station ID tag line was "Price K. Johnson Broadcasting for The Coastal Bend". He was the former Refugio County Judge ad easily could have passed for Johnny Carson's brother.

[Longboard Horn 40284]

The only thing I hated about driving in Houston was all the fucking potholes. Then again, that's what they get for building a city on a swamp.

[midtown 3345]

It's amazing how such a "shit hole" could be the 4th largest and at the next census it's going to be the 3rd largest city in the US.  There has to be a reason why so many people move to Houston 

[KaiserSoze 998]

I had a blast when I lived there after college for 9 years, there's plenty of fun stuff to do.

 

I've lived in Austin the last ~15 years but if for some reason I had/needed to move back to Houston I'd be completely good with that.

[Helobious 9459]

2 hours ago, Wally Fairway said:

Dude

- have you never taken the ship channel tour? 
- gone to the San Jacinto Monument/battleship Texas, and drive past refinery alley?
- walk the tunnels, to avoid the oppressive heat (and it's partner, the humidity)?
- watch a football game in a Superbowl stadium that is far better than the trashy Jerrah World up north?
- 
 

1) No, I can’t even imagine how disgustingly toxic that water is.

2) Yes. Not as cool as the missions in SA 

3) No, I’m not a mole person

4) No, the Texans are the definition of mediocre year after year

Was that a serious tourism pitch? 

[NeverMarryAStripper 21865]

I’ve been in Houston since Spring 2013, and before that I lived here for a year in 2010-2011.  Have only lived “in the loop” but just built a house in the suburbs off of Lake Houston.  Lets just say I’d rather be living back in the loop.
My friends and I talk about how much we dislike living here all the time, but the problem is where else would we go?  We all make too much money at our current jobs when combined with the cost of living here means why make a move?   I talked to a lady on a flight to San Diego a few years ago, and she was asking me how did I like living here because she has an offer to move here from SD.  She said it was something to consider (money, cost of living, etc.) but the major hang up for her and her family was that Houston was just boring.  There were no beaches like SD, and it had nothing but traffic, people, and buildings.  She said it sounds like Houston is a place where people just get “stuck” because they can make a lot of money, there are good schools, and the cost of living is so low.  I always thought that was the best way to describe this city.  Stuck.  Because when you think about it, Houston has everything you need—nightlife, restaurants, shopping, good schools, low cost of living, make good money, concerts, sports teams, major airport(s), etc.  It’s just when you ask people “what is Houston known for” there is no answer for that like there is for Miami, Chicago, Seattle, LA, etc. 
TLDR: Houston is a place you get stuck because of it’s pros, but the major con of the city is there’s nothing special about it. 

It’s obvious that most of you cretins have about as much class as those loons from college station and wouldn’t know world class museums, opera, symphony, ballet, and live theatre if it grabbed your nuts and squeezed.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

1 hour ago, midtown said:

It's amazing how such a "shit hole" could be the 4th largest and at the next census it's going to be the 3rd largest city in the US.  There has to be a reason why so many people move to Houston 

There are much better arguments to be made on Houston's behalf. 18 million people live in Dhaka, Bangladesh, but working for the Dhaka Tourism Board would be one of the least satisfying jobs on the planet.

[Pancho 44685]

21 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

It’s obvious that most of you cretins have about as much class as those loons from college station and wouldn’t know world class museums, opera, symphony, ballet, and live theatre if it grabbed your nuts and squeezed.

Okay.

[Wally Fairway 5539]

1 hour ago, Helobious said:

1) No, I can’t even imagine how disgustingly toxic that water is.

2) Yes. Not as cool as the missions in SA 

3) No, I’m not a mole person

4) No, the Texans are the definition of mediocre year after year

Was that a serious tourism pitch? 

If I was serious the list would have started with titters & scrip clubs

Edited August 24, 2019 by Wally Fairway

[elfenix 34221]

4) we're talking about rice stadium in late october or early november, a 70some degree day with clear blue skies, right?

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

It’s obvious that most of you cretins have about as much class as those loons from college station and wouldn’t know world class museums, opera, symphony, ballet, and live theatre if it grabbed your nuts and squeezed.

Id rather take a bus tour of college station vs going to a world class symphony, ballet and opera, for free.

[mycox 582]

On 8/23/2019 at 10:43 AM, dcbc said:

 

For the last several years I lived in Houston, I lived in the Montrose, just east of Shepherd on Fairview.  Since you aren't familiar with Houston, I'll describe that area as being well inside the loop (about a 5 to 10 minute drive to downtown without getting on a freeway).  There are probably a handful of places I could have walked or biked, but the reality of it is that that apart from the Cuban restaurant in the same structure as my old flat (former adjacent grocery store), I drove most places.  And it's not that I don't like to walk.  When I visit Austin and stay downtown, I walk just about everywhere, even during the heat of the summer.

Now, midtown, which had not started to develop in earnest when I lived there, seems a bit more walkable if you live in that area.  But I really think it depends.  Even the inner loop areas of Houston are very spread out.

I live on Fairview and Waugh. There are at least 10 bars and at 15 good places to eat within a 15 minute walk. Midtown and downtown are a short bike ride away.

[Wiler77 1566]

2 hours ago, Helobious said:

1) No, I can’t even imagine how disgustingly toxic that water is.

2) Yes. Not as cool as the missions in SA 

3) No, I’m not a mole person

4) No, the Texans are the definition of mediocre year after year

Was that a serious tourism pitch? 

1) LOL.  "The water is toxic" is a great counter coming from a guy singing the praises of San Antonio, which is home of the most disgusting and overrated "river" in the state.

2) To each his own, but you asked for some ideas of things to do

3) OK

4) The big 3 pro sports teams made the playoffs last year.  Having access to pro sports, and competitive pro sports at that, is definitely a PRO for a city.  Professional soccer available as well.

Someone mentioned the museums, music, ballet, etc, but don't forget the rich diversity of food.  Houston has some fantastic restaurants.

Galveston isn't that far away if you want to head to the beach for a day.

If you don't make an effort to take advantage of what Houston has to offer, it's a boring city.  But you could say that about a lot of places.

[Eastwood 4394]

Doesn't jerseyman live in Copperas Cove or some shit?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

On 8/23/2019 at 12:18 PM, Sbbruin said:

My commute to/from work is 15.8 miles.  It can take anywhere from 35 mins to an hour to get point to point.  LA traffic is in a whole 'nother stratosphere.

You aren't covering 16 miles in 35 minutes in Houston unless it is the middle of the night.

[RPM 26315]

1 hour ago, Wiler77 said:

1) LOL.  "The water is toxic" is a great counter coming from a guy singing the praises of San Antonio, which is home of the most disgusting and overrated "river" in the state.

2) To each his own, but you asked for some ideas of things to do

3) OK

4) The big 3 pro sports teams made the playoffs last year.  Having access to pro sports, and competitive pro sports at that, is definitely a PRO for a city.  Professional soccer available as well.

Someone mentioned the museums, music, ballet, etc, but don't forget the rich diversity of food.  Houston has some fantastic restaurants.

Galveston isn't that far away if you want to head to the beach for a day.

If you don't make an effort to take advantage of what Houston has to offer, it's a boring city.  But you could say that about a lot of places.

You really want to rank the Riverwalk against the ship channel? You also forgot to mention how great Aeros hockey is.

[Coyote 269]

You aren't covering 16 miles in 35 minutes in Houston unless it is the middle of the night.

I commute from Spring to DT every day in ~35 minutes.

[midtown 3345]

4 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

There are much better arguments to be made on Houston's behalf. 18 million people live in Dhaka, Bangladesh, but working for the Dhaka Tourism Board would be one of the least satisfying jobs on the planet.

Comparing a metropolitan American city to a city in a third world country is absolutely moronic.   Americans are highly mobile and Americans have chosen to live in Houston more than any other US city with the exception of NYC and LA.   

Edited August 24, 2019 by midtown

[Wiler77 1566]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

You really want to rank the Riverwalk against the ship channel? You also forgot to mention how great Aeros hockey is.

Well the Aeros are minor league, which is why I left them off.  SA has exactly one major sports team.  Shitting on the Texans when there is no pro football to watch in SA is a bold strategy.  Houston also has an MLB and MLS team.  I'll wait for the list of major SA sports teams.

 

[6th Street 6389]

17 hours ago, Helobious said:

Houston is a concrete slab on boringly flat land. With just way too many people. If I grew up there I would probably sip lean & join a gang too, whatever gets you through the day. Also has maybe the least exciting downtown of any major city ever. Say a tourist wanted to visit... what would you even tell them to do? The city has no sites of note or any unique activities. Just NASA & their not updated since the 60s buildings. Or you could tell them to go to bars/restaurants you could find anywhere else. 

Maybe Im biased, but the best part of the state is SA & southward. Slow pace of life, hunting, fishing, beaches, a large city, and all the delicious diabetes-inducing food you could want. 

I remember growing up in Houston, it would be so embarrassing when my relatives from London and NY would come visit. You'd take them to the Galleria, NASA, and maybe some shitty attraction in Galveston like the beach or Moody Gardens. 

[RPM 26315]

OMG, the Aeros still exist? I was being facetious.

[Surly Bevo 24908]

1 hour ago, midtown said:

Comparing a metropolitan American city to a city in a third world country is absolutely moronic.   Americans are highly mobile and Americans have chosen to live in Houston more than any other US city with the exception of NYC and LA.   

Meh, geographical size impacts that.  

If we want to look at the major cities people CHOOSE to live in at the cost of being packed in here ya go...

PER SQ KM

1 NYC 10,431

2. San Francisco 6,659

3.  Boston 5,143

4.  Chicago 4,582

5.  Philadelphia 4,337

6.  Miami 4,324

Look every major city in Texas has the feature of shitty heat, we are all in that together.  They all have their good restaurants, their museums, their arts and music scene, their various and sundry landmarks and peculiarities etc.  Not a single fucking one of them is in the stratosphere of cities like NYC, Chicago, LA, etc when it comes to those things though...not fucking one.  

What they all have to one degree or another.  Lots of relatively cheap land, a lower cost of living, a business friendly environment (let's be real people fucking live all over places like DFW and Houston because there are a lot of jobs here as corporate America has found it a very comfortable place to do business) reasonable weather (heat sucks but given the choice I'd rather sweat drip off my balls a few months of the year than they freeze before they can even creep back up into my abdomen).  There's lots of perceived opportunity here and that's what brings people to Houston, to DFW, to Austin, to San Antonio etc.

So yea Houston sucks, Dallas sucks, San Antonio sucks, hell even Austin sucks, except when they are all pretty fucking great.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Surly Bevo

[midtown 3345]

3 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

If we want to look at the major cities people CHOOSE to live in at the cost of being packed in here ya go...

That stat says absolutely nothing.  What does density have to do with anything?  I'd could handle if you chose MSA but  It's almost like you have no business training at all...I dont even work here.  That's what makes this so difficult.

[Surly Bevo 24908]

8 minutes ago, midtown said:

That stat says absolutely nothing.  What does density have to do with anything?  I'd could handle if you chose MSA but  It's almost like you have no business training at all...I dont even work here.  That's what makes this so difficult.

Ok MSA....Houston isn't there either

http://www.usa.com/rank/us--population-density--metro-area-rank.htm

 and you don't think that more area gives a greater chance to ya know encompass more people...draw a bigger circle and all.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Surly Bevo

[midtown 3345]

6 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

Ok MSA....Houston isn't there either

 and you don't think that more area gives a greater chance to ya know encompass more people...draw a bigger circle and all.

That's the point of MSA because its including surrounding counties and towns that may or may not be in the actual city limits.  On an MSA basis no MSA is truly land locked.  SF MSA and NYC MSA and Houston are all grabbing burbs and other towns and cities.   Simply because you have more land doesn't necessarily equate to growth.  In fact in a case like Houston it probably hurts it when people look at moving to a suburb and dealing with commuting with shitty public transpo.    And when you look at MSA growth Houston and Dallas are high teens in population growth where NYC, LA, and Chicago MSA are low single digits. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_statistical_areas

[Wiler77 1566]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

OMG, the Aeros still exist? I was being facetious.

I have no idea.  Comparing the Aeros to the big 3 pro sports team is stupid

[Macanudo 12974]

3 hours ago, Coyote said:

I commute from Spring to DT every day in ~35 minutes.

Unless you either ride a bus or live at Spring Cypress/45 and leave the house at 4:45 in the morning, I'm calling bullshit.   

Different commute (59 N) but I live in Kingwood and unless I leave before 7:00, it can take me 20 minutes just to drive 7 miles from my house to the freeway.   The 25 miles from there to Allen Parkway and Waugh can take 30 if I take the HOV and downtown isn't a mess or 60+ if 59/10/45 are a clusterfuck.

[Jersey Man10 3528]

Actually Houston isn't that bad. I kinda got used to getting around already. But yeah this city has no identity.

[Wally Fairway 5539]

2 hours ago, Macanudo said:

Unless you either ride a bus or live at Spring Cypress/45 and leave the house at 4:45 in the morning, I'm calling bullshit.   

Different commute (59 N) but I live in Kingwood and unless I leave before 7:00, it can take me 20 minutes just to drive 7 miles from my house to the freeway.   The 25 miles from there to Allen Parkway and Waugh can take 30 if I take the HOV and downtown isn't a mess or 60+ if 59/10/45 are a clusterfuck.

Mac

He posts on Surly, so I'm guessing he takes his helicopter

[ImissWallyPryor 9046]

12 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

It’s obvious that most of you cretins have about as much class as those loons from college station and wouldn’t know world class museums, opera, symphony, ballet, and live theatre if it grabbed your nuts and squeezed.

Doesn’t that describe a lot of major cities?  Most people live in cities to earn money and only occasionally indulge in those things you mentioned. I know people from Chicago who haven’t been to one of their fantastic museums in a decade. If you can earn money in less populated areas and visit a big city once or twice a year for what they have to offer, you’ll get the best of both.

Maybe I’m just not a Surly 1%er. 

[Hate 20106]

What the fuck is Chicago “known” for? Being windy? I say that as someone who loves Chicago. The fact of the matter is that most North American cities have nothing that makes them stand out. Outside of NY and Washington DC there isn’t much interesting about any other NA town.

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

Look it all boils down to if you have to sit in traffic from 10-20hrs a week...your city is a shit hole.

[52-80 19140]

On 8/23/2019 at 4:41 PM, deadshank said:

So?  How is this different from pretty much every major metropolitan city outside of NYC? 

Natural geography

[52-80 19140]

17 hours ago, midtown said:

It's amazing how such a "shit hole" could be the 4th largest and at the next census it's going to be the 3rd largest city in the US.  There has to be a reason why so many people move to Houston 

HEB

[Mez2 4023]

[gmr548 16575]

23 hours ago, Pancho said:

I’ve been in Houston since Spring 2013, and before that I lived here for a year in 2010-2011.  Have only lived “in the loop” but just built a house in the suburbs off of Lake Houston.  Lets just say I’d rather be living back in the loop.

My friends and I talk about how much we dislike living here all the time, but the problem is where else would we go?  We all make too much money at our current jobs when combined with the cost of living here means why make a move?   I talked to a lady on a flight to San Diego a few years ago, and she was asking me how did I like living here because she has an offer to move here from SD.  She said it was something to consider (money, cost of living, etc.) but the major hang up for her and her family was that Houston was just boring.  There were no beaches like SD, and it had nothing but traffic, people, and buildings.  She said it sounds like Houston is a place where people just get “stuck” because they can make a lot of money, there are good schools, and the cost of living is so low.  I always thought that was the best way to describe this city.  Stuck.  Because when you think about it, Houston has everything you need—nightlife, restaurants, shopping, good schools, low cost of living, make good money, concerts, sports teams, major airport(s), etc.  It’s just when you ask people “what is Houston known for” there is no answer for that like there is for Miami, Chicago, Seattle, LA, etc. 

TLDR: Houston is a place you get stuck because of it’s pros, but the major con of the city is there’s nothing special about it. 

I think this is a good way to put it. Houston has its strengths/pros, and it is a place plenty of people are willing to settle on, primarily because their dollar goes pretty far. Living there is fine. Yeah, the sprawl and the swampy weather are a beating, but because said dollar goes pretty far you can generally carve out okay QOL if your income is decent. You can certainly do it for less than Dallas or Austin in-state, and pretty much any major US metro area. And the weather is pretty nice from October to March or April. No one is super enthusiastic about moving there though. No one has a burning desire to relocate to Houston. Living there is more likely to wear on you than to inspire you because of how urban sprawl, of which it is the most extreme example in America, has been demonstrated to impact health.

I'm not shitting on Houston. I've lived there before, I'm in town on a fairly regular basis, and I will probably live there again at some point. It gets the shithole wrap primarily for its physical characteristics, and it is easy to see why, but it has plenty going for it. It's just no one's first choice.

[Doze 1322]

Shithole?

Odessa says hi

 

 

[Coyote 269]

Unless you either ride a bus or live at Spring Cypress/45 and leave the house at 4:45 in the morning, I'm calling bullshit.   
Different commute (59 N) but I live in Kingwood and unless I leave before 7:00, it can take me 20 minutes just to drive 7 miles from my house to the freeway.   The 25 miles from there to Allen Parkway and Waugh can take 30 if I take the HOV and downtown isn't a mess or 60+ if 59/10/45 are a clusterfuck.

I’m in the office by 6. Two minutes from my front door to the grand parkway. 99->Hardy.

[gmr548 16575]

22 hours ago, midtown said:

It's amazing how such a "shit hole" could be the 4th largest and at the next census it's going to be the 3rd largest city in the US.  There has to be a reason why so many people move to Houston 

Of course there is. Short answer - they move because of work, there is work because it's cheap, it's cheap (relative even to other TX metros) because it is perceived as a shit hole.

Long answer - People generally relocate there for work. It is a booming employment center because operation costs are low across all sectors, and the energy industry in particular 1.) Has reached critical mass there as far as being the hub of US/North American operations, and 2.) Is essentially unregulated and can do whatever it wants in TX. The latter contributes to the "shit hole" reputation because it has turned the most redeeming natural feature in the area into an ugly, polluted, mess that is actively harmful to public health. However, it is also a major driver of employment opportunities. There aren't many people, certainly from outside of  the area/TX, that start their job search by filtering by location for Houston.

As has been pointed out, the "largest city" argument is pretty silly given its physical size. Houston is ~2.8 times larger than Chicago in terms of land area. If you nearly tripled the area of Chicago it'd be a fuckload bigger than Houston. Dallas, which is only 60 percent of Houston's land area, would be the bigger city at the same physical size as well.

[Macanudo 12974]

31 minutes ago, Coyote said:

I’m in the office by 6. Two minutes from my front door to the grand parkway. 99->Hardy.

6 am?  That's why it takes 35 minutes.  

[midtown 3345]

26 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

As has been pointed out, the "largest city" argument is pretty silly given its physical size. Houston is ~2.8 times larger than Chicago in terms of land area. If you nearly tripled the area of Chicago it'd be a fuckload bigger than Houston. Dallas, which is only 60 percent of Houston's land area, would be the bigger city at the same physical size as well.

MSA removes that physical size issue.  And yes on an MSA basis Houston is only 5th but its growing at double digits and both Dallas and Houston Metro areas will be bigger than Chicago within a decade.   Regardless of why people move there.