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America's Most Underrated Cities (Houston #3)

sevfiv

By sevfiv
in General Houston Discussions

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lockmat

lockmat

Posted
Posted

This is why Houston was number one...

Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do.
"Our formula highlights cities not just with strong past performance, but also with all the ingredients for future success." One key to a bright future is a healthy shot of people in the creative class. People in creative fields -- scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers -- are catalysts of vitality and livability in a city.

----------

me...

Based on your answers, the top city for you is

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

Other high-ranking cities:

2) Austin-Round Rock, TX

3) Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

4) Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

5) San Antonio, TX

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Vertigo58

Vertigo58

Posted
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This city will only have a reputation for a place to have a decent career, raise a family and the schools are good.

That's it.

As mentioned by many others here we've just too much "pride" to admit its not a destination point. Sounds like bashing but its reality, that simple. Go stand outside in a minute (heat/humidity) and thats the 1st negative. Would be interesting to have a poll done of people that have visited from other states and see what they experienced while here. Need I say more. Now swat that mosquito! :P

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lockmat

lockmat

Posted
Posted
This city will only have a reputation for a place to have a decent career, raise a family and the schools are good.

That's it.

As mentioned by many others here we've just too much "pride" to admit its not a destination point. Sounds like bashing but its reality, that simple. Go stand outside in a minute (heat/humidity) and thats the 1st negative. Would be interesting to have a poll done of people that have visited from other states and see what they experienced while here. Need I say more. Now swat that mosquito! :P

I think it feels great outside.

And thankfully, the mosquitoes have stayed away so far.

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CDeb

CDeb

Posted
Posted
This city will only have a reputation for a place to have a decent career, raise a family and the schools are good.

That's it.

As mentioned by many others here we've just too much "pride" to admit its not a destination point. Sounds like bashing but its reality, that simple. Go stand outside in a minute (heat/humidity) and thats the 1st negative. Would be interesting to have a poll done of people that have visited from other states and see what they experienced while here. Need I say more. Now swat that mosquito! :P

Go stand outside in Cleveland and Chicago in February and then you'll see why the heat in Houston ain' such a big deal.

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Vertigo58

Vertigo58

Posted
Posted

A city like Chicago is world famous. Has been for ages.

Think about this, even to this day when we see any kind list of report of weather in the US ie; The Weather Channel it will scroll down and show NYC, Miami, Chicago, St Louis as it pans across the US and never or rather seldom does it even mention dreary old Houston.

Dallas yes, even a cruddy place like Amarillo gets mentioned (now thats depressing) see where this is going. Like we are not even worthy of mention on The Weather Channel...Suffrin Succotash!

I wont even get into the way Hollywood avoids us, break out them 10 gallon hat's y'all!

ok, maybe a little harsh ...or I can erase all the above and pretend. Santo cielo!

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Ethanra

Ethanra

Posted
Posted
A city like Chicago is world famous. Has been for ages.

Think about this, even to this day when we see any kind list of report of weather in the US ie; The Weather Channel it will scroll down and show NYC, Miami, Chicago, St Louis as it pans across the US and never or rather seldom does it even mention dreary old Houston.

Dallas yes, even a cruddy place like Amarillo gets mentioned (now thats depressing) see where this is going. Like we are not even worthy of mention on The Weather Channel...Suffrin Succotash!

I wont even get into the way Hollywood avoids us, break out them 10 gallon hat's y'all!

ok, maybe a little harsh ...or I can erase all the above and pretend. Santo cielo!

I see Houston on the weather channel all the time.

Yes Houston heat/humidity is bad but the weather is near perfect 8 months out of the year. More heat and similar humidity are in the other cities across the state and south. Cities like ST. Louis and others along the Mississippi river get humidity and mosquitoes. I enjoyed perfect weather while other place were stuck inside because of snow. Even Minn/St.Paul gets 95 degree weather with mosquitoes during the summer. All cities in the U.S. but southern California has some sort of bad weather a portion out of the year.

Some Houstonias think everything is greener on the other side and aren't happy unless they find something to be negative about the city..... Many times you sound like a chron.com blogger, very little about your above post is true.

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cnote

cnote

Posted
Posted
I think it feels great outside.

And thankfully, the mosquitoes have stayed away so far.

I am also pleasently surprised so far by the complete lack of mosquitoes outside. I guess it has just been too dry???

I go oustide every night around six or seven pm, and it does feel great. I have a shaded back patio, and agree that going outside at noon in the sun is not comfortable, but in the shade it isn't bad.

Who cares if we aren't on the weather channel scroll? That is their problem more than anything else, with the amount of business people who travel to Houston, they are stupid for not including us. I think they show New Orleans or San Antonio, and dont show us I guess because of our proximity and relationship to those cities weather patterns. The weather channel is a joke anyway...

Edit: Typo

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20thStDad

20thStDad

Posted
Posted

I whine about being hot and muggy more than anyone, but it was a pretty pleasant April and May this year. Warm at times, but some good fronts that brought in low humidity. I'm not going to say we have great weather for 8 months...typically half of May through some of October really sucks. Sometimes all of October and part of November still don't regularly dip down into the 60s. I hate that. 70 degrees is a perfect high, but a crappy low temp.

I love being in Houston, and it has always been a major vacation destination for unadventurous or budget-limited Louisiana folks (where I'm from). Actually much less so now that Astroworld is gone. But as far as an international destination, not even close.

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Vertigo58

Vertigo58

Posted
Posted
as far as an international destination, not even close.

Bingo. :D

and I really do not want to start comparing other cities but when you have time be sure to see all of the posts regarding the Have you been to Louisana topic. I think I was the only one being sympathetic. Yep most people pity that state and that could acount for most of the problems. Makes sense that a newcomer to Houston would see us as a paradise in comparison to LA.

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Mister X

Mister X

Posted
Posted

I don't think Houstonians should be bothered by what the weather channel does or what any channel does. Fox News Channel shows weather conditions and temperatures in Houston all the time. And although I despise Fox News and rarely listen to it more than 1 or 2 minutes, like it or not, is it a much more popular channel than the Weather Channel and reaches a lot more people.

Anyway, I've seen Houston weather info on the Weather Channel lots of times when I lived in California. TWC constantly list weather info about Houston and it's not just a local insert, it goes national.

It's CNN, CNN Headline News and MSNBC that does not seem to ever list Houston on it's scrolling weather info at the bottom of the screen. Sure they list places like Birmingham, Alabama, Brownsville, Texas and Boise, Idaho, but the fourth largest city, the sixth largest metro, the tenth largest t.v. market in America isn't good enough for them. I removed CNN and Headline News from my selected channels list a long time ago. I figured that any news network that is so out of touch with where the major population centers are, especially one as large and important as Houston, should not be trusted with any important news events going on the nation.

BTW, CNBC always list Houston on it's weather info. This must probably have something to do with Houston being such a popular business travel city.

This thread is turning into a living example of what I was talking about on my earlier post. Instead of talking about Houston being the #1 place to live according to Kiplinger, we are talking about our humidity and why we just don't measure up to other cities. Do you think people in other really humid cities like Miami, New Orleans, Dallas, and Atlanta (and YES these cities are all very humid and uncomfortable in the summer) would be discussing humidity, high crime, ect. after somebody listed their city as the #1 place to live in America. I don't think so. Well, maybe somebody might.

I blame our collective humble nature. If anyone ever says anything nice about us, we feel we must respond by pointing out one or more of our imperfections. I guess that's the kind of thing that makes the people of Houston (generally speaking) so nice, and makes Houston the #1 place to live according to some.

But stop it already. Many people all over America really like Houston. No joke. And CNN can stuff it.

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20thStDad

20thStDad

Posted
Posted
...Makes sense that a newcomer to Houston would see us as a paradise in comparison to LA.

Slow down there, I don't know about paradise. I am here because there are no jobs worth a damn in LA for college grads, and since I've been here I've learned there are a lot of things that are great about the city. As for comparison to LA, I'll just bite my tongue and take solace that Houston and Baton Rouge (my hometown) could both stand to improve, and honestly they don't have any basis for comparison. Completely different environments, and I love them both.

Someone in another thread brought up the topography as holding Houston back - I totally agree. It is flat here (hill=overpass), and although we are a huge port, it is no Miami or San Fran when it comes to beach quality and waterfront attractions. Dallas is equally flat and boring, but I honestly don't hear anyone saying Dallas is all that much better except for Dallas homers. Same for Atlanta, I don't think it is much of an international destination either.

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feufoma

feufoma

Posted
Posted
The schools in Houston and it's suburbs are not good. They're mediocre or worse when compared to the rest of the nation.

But I like it here:)

Yeah, but kids should go to private school anyway. So, the quality of public schools isn't a deciding factor for me.

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barracuda

barracuda

Posted
Posted

Kiplinger's has named Houston the #1 best city to live, work and play for 2008. I was shocked until I saw the rest of the list. Cost of living is obviously playing

a big part in this rating.

http://www.kiplinger.com/money/bestcities/

No. 1: Houston

No. 2: Raleigh

No. 3: Omaha

No. 4: Boise

No. 5: Colorado Springs

No. 6: Austin

No. 7: Fayettville

No. 8: Sacramento

No. 9: Des Moines

No. 10: Provo

I wonder if it's a catch-22 though. If more people start moving here, won't that increase the cost of living and thereby make it less desirable to live here?

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TheNiche

TheNiche

Posted
Posted
I wonder if it's a catch-22 though. If more people start moving here, won't that increase the cost of living and thereby make it less desirable to live here?

Not really. We've got plenty of land, few geographic or political barriers to growth, and--for the time being--a good freeway system with plenty of highway reconstruction and toll roads in the works by way of which to access all that cheap land.

Notice that there isn't a single other major metro area on the list. All are much smaller cities.

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Houston19514

Houston19514

Posted
Posted
This city will only have a reputation for a place to have a decent career, raise a family and the schools are good.

That's it.

As mentioned by many others here we've just too much "pride" to admit its not a destination point. Sounds like bashing but its reality, that simple. Go stand outside in a minute (heat/humidity) and thats the 1st negative. Would be interesting to have a poll done of people that have visited from other states and see what they experienced while here. Need I say more. Now swat that mosquito! :P

Go stand in central Florida, endure almost exactly the same heat/humidity and swat a few mosquitoes while trying to explain the HUGE convention and tourist trade there...

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Pumapayam

Pumapayam

Posted
Posted

Update, what a stupid poll, last years best cities was a totally different format, broken up into many subgroups.

"The comeback kid." . .WTF, there was not even a matching list last year to back this up (watch someone find it, foot in mouth in 3-2-1. . .).

Some of these Top 10's, 25's, 100's etc. are just number games to get people to click on articles and add traffic to websites for instant gratification. I think that is why magazine covers always have the word "sex" and some "number related article" of something on the cover; like top 10 TV shows, movies, sex postions or time related stuff; like 30 minute meals, or 10 minutes abs. . .whatever.

I love Houston, and don't need some meaningless rank to prove we have a great city.

Plain dumb.

Htowngirl, nothing against you, just the stupid article.

On a side note, yay for being #1 on a meaningless ranks. . . now where is our crown for the fattest city. . . ? :P

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sarahiki

sarahiki

Posted
Posted
Update, what a stupid poll, last years best cities was a totally different format, broken up into many subgroups.

"The comeback kid." . .WTF, there was not even a matching list last year to back this up (watch someone find it, foot in mouth in 3-2-1. . .).

Some of these Top 10's, 25's, 100's etc. are just number games to get people to click on articles and add traffic to websites for instant gratification. I think that is why magazine covers always have the word "sex" and some "number related article" of something on the cover; like top 10 TV shows, movies, sex postions or time related stuff; like 30 minute meals, or 10 minutes abs. . .whatever.

I love Houston, and don't need some meaningless rank to prove we have a great city.

Plain dumb.

Htowngirl, nothing against you, just the stupid article.

On a side note, yay for being #1 on a meaningless ranks. . . now where is our crown for the fattest city. . . ? :P

dude, you need a latte or something to pick up your mood. Agreed, these rankings are based on silly numbers, but I think it's great to see Houston top a list at last... a much-deserved recognition of what a great city it has become.

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crunchtastic

crunchtastic

Posted
Posted
Some of these Top 10's, 25's, 100's etc. are just number games to get people to click on articles and add traffic to websites for instant gratification. I think that is why magazine covers always have the word "sex" and some "number related article" of something on the cover; like top 10 TV shows, movies, sex postions or time related stuff; like 30 minute meals, or 10 minutes abs. . .whatever.

mmmmmm............behold the power of marketing. Which reminds me, I need to get off this forum and go finish up that "Top 5 Underwriting Conundrums--Solved!" web blast I said I'd do by 1.

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Trae

Trae

Posted
Posted
Slow down there, I don't know about paradise. I am here because there are no jobs worth a damn in LA for college grads, and since I've been here I've learned there are a lot of things that are great about the city. As for comparison to LA, I'll just bite my tongue and take solace that Houston and Baton Rouge (my hometown) could both stand to improve, and honestly they don't have any basis for comparison. Completely different environments, and I love them both.

Someone in another thread brought up the topography as holding Houston back - I totally agree. It is flat here (hill=overpass), and although we are a huge port, it is no Miami or San Fran when it comes to beach quality and waterfront attractions. Dallas is equally flat and boring, but I honestly don't hear anyone saying Dallas is all that much better except for Dallas homers. Same for Atlanta, I don't think it is much of an international destination either.

Dallas isn't flat. Fort Worth isn't either. Both are pretty hilly.

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lockmat

lockmat

Posted
Posted
mmmmmm............behold the power of marketing. Which reminds me, I need to get off this forum and go finish up that "Top 5 Underwriting Conundrums--Solved!" web blast I said I'd do by 1.

Maybe the COH and GHCVB paid them off? :D

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lockmat

lockmat

Posted
Posted

My friend dated a girl from Manhattan and he traveled there often. Her parents visited Houston and they were in awe of how many restaurants we have. They commented that Houston has just as many as NYC.

I was really surprised to hear that. I figured every city has a ton of restaurants.

Has anyone traveled the US enough to compare and see the same difference?

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