Are HAIFers representative of Houston?

[IronTiger]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like? It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

[ricco67]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like? It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than you should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

1: I'm wary of suburbanites' attitudes when they think they make assumptive statements on what goes on in the city of someplace they rarely visit.

2: I'm a Moderate Conservative who gives both sides of the party hell and I live in, what can be considered a liberal neighborhood.

3: While I enjoy booze, I don't drink it as much as I'd like.

You're not always wrong, and I don't wish to bash you, but you seem be the local "Counter culture" person here.

[BryanS]

1.) No.

2.) Yes.

3.) Yes.

[IronTiger]

but you seem be the local "Counter culture" person here.

I don't know if I should feel honored or insulted with that comment.

[ricco67]

I don't know if I should feel honored or insulted with that comment.

I always believe that everyone is entitled to their opinions and differing views are a good way to bring to light arguments for and against. But it depends on how the discussion gets started.

Sorta like walking up to a room full of people and suddenly screaming, "OBAMA Sucks!". You're going to make your position known, but you're going to turn off people, including those that didn't like President Obama to begin with.

[RedScare]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like? It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

I prefer to see myself as falling into all 3 of those categories. Why must I be limited to only one of them?

[jfre81]

I understand why people live in the suburbs but like ricco I read a lot of stuff from people who don't know what they're talking about, going instead on what they see and hear in the news (especially TV).

The other day I took one of those online political tests and I came out described as a "centrist social libertarian," and although I don't like labeling myself I don't find any fault with that description.

I like booze, but I prefer to smoke pot.

[Porchman]

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

For my own part - Disrespectful, no. Condescending, yes, probably.

First, I totally get the joy of living in HOA land. I look at where Mrs. Porchman grew up in the Champions area - big trees, quiet, very nice. There are a few good retaurants and some bits of culture out that way. We live in a place with big trees, quiet, very nice, and we're less than 10 minutes from the Theatre District, the Museum District, and some of the best resturants in the nation. And like the people we know who live in that area, we probably would not venture the trip into town, if it was not convenient. We have a sense that we need to stay alive in a way that others may not. Some people pop out kids for that. We're DISC's (dual income, sick cats)..it's just not our thing. Also, our meager 1500 square feet cost us more than we would pay in that area, but we really don't need any more than that

Edit: Oh, the commute. Listening to more NPR is just not worth it.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

We lived in Culberson's district before we moved to Jackson Lee's district. (I have little respect for either, BTW). Had we not found the right house in the Heights, we still might live in Culberson's district. My political opinions haven't changed since then.

The fact the Heights happens to be liberal and has some of the most active members on HAIF, may have to do with the fact that this happened to be a great venue to share what's happening in our neighborhood, while staying connected with the life that surrounds it. Looking beyond that, perhaps people who are more connected with what's actually happening around them are more liberal. And those who choose to disconnect or bliss on blogs, are not. (Oh, was that condescending or disrespectful? ).

3) Enjoys alcohol more than you should.

Probably. We're probably more honest about it, too.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

No. I believe most of the members are college educated. The educaton statistics for Houston would not even rival HAIF.

[barracuda]

1) No/Yes

2) Yes

3) Who's to say?

[TheNiche]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like?

No, HAIF is a poor representation of most easily-identified populations. One of the great ironies is that out of everybody that showed up to the last Houston Architecture Information Forum happy hour, I was the only person there who had any kind of occupational association with real estate, architecture, or construction. The median age was somewhere in the 30's, I think, and the population was mostly white but by no means exclusively so. Most everybody was college-educated. And just watching how a couple of my non-HAIFer friends associated with the rest of us, it became very clear that there are personality traits common among HAIFers that aren't common among the general population. We're very different in substance but seem to meld socially in a pretty seemless way.

It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

1. No, I have a live and let live approach to housing and lifestyle preferences.

2. No, I don't vote in most elections in the first place, am presently homeless/couchsurfing so that I don't actually have neighbors, and I suspect that most of the places around where I stay have a majority of people who aren't even registered to vote, so that would be another disqualifier.

3. No, I should drink a lot more, and of a far greater range, but can't just afford it right now.

[jfre81]

I don't have work in architecture, I just admire it. Good architecture anyhow.

I didn't go to college. I had full-time work at a small newspaper before I even finished high school, and stayed in it for about six years. Might go back to school eventually, if the money ever worked out.

[IronTiger]

I prefer to see myself as falling into all 3 of those categories. Why must I be limited to only one of them?

I did originally mean to write that everyone fell into one or MORE of those categories but I forgot. Thanks for pointing that out.

[crunchtastic]

Based on the last time I saw the editor's statistics, HAIFers generally are mostly white, mostly male, mostly highly educated and mostly affluent. Or did you mean the current high volume posters? Or mabybe just the alfa males?

Of course that doesn't quantify liberal/conservative, straight/gay, presence of children in the HH, or age. I would say generally that HAIFers are representative of only a narrow demographic of the city.

I have a question of my own, now that you bring it up---Why would a person not from Houston be so invested in the HAIF?

oh, to answer:

No

Yes/not really

Yes

[ricco67]

Based on the last time I saw the editor's statistics, HAIFers generally are mostly white, mostly male, mostly highly educated and mostly affluent. Or did you mean the current high volume posters? Or mabybe just the alfa males?

Of course that doesn't quantify liberal/conservative, straight/gay, presence of children in the HH, or age. I would say generally that HAIFers are representative of only a narrow demographic of the city.

I have a question of my own, now that you bring it up---Why would a person not from Houston be so invested in the HAIF?

oh, to answer:

No

Yes/not really

Yes

You forgot to mention those that are dual income, sick cats.

[august948]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like? It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

1) Since I live outside the loop I'd have to answer no to this one.

2) I believe in low taxes and gay marriage. What does that make me?

3) Absolutely.

[RedScare]

...and mostly affluent.

Speak for yourself.

2) I believe in low taxes and gay marriage. What does that make me?

Log Cabin Republican?

[UrbaNerd]

1: No. Hell, I'm outer loop, outer beltway, outer 6/1960, and outer 99 at the moment. Just another uni student living with the parents.

2: No.

3: No. I don't drink.

[august948]

Log Cabin Republican?

Lol...I said I believe in gay marriage, not that I would qualify for it.

[hoef]

You might be talking about my neighborhood (inside the loop)

[Native Son]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like? It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

1) Nope, but I live within spiting distance of the Loop

2)a. so damn liberal I have to stay off the political threads

2)b. not judging from the yard signs in my neighborhood

3) no, but that is a long story

[editor]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like?

Well, let's hope not. I would hope that HAIF would attract better-than-average Houstonians.

It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

I think a lot of people span multiple categories. Also, realize that how people are on the internet is usually very different than how they are in real life. You're trying to compare two very different things.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

If you think it's possible for those three categories to represent any city or population, no matter the size, then you need to get out and meet more people. The world's a big place.

[kylejack]

It seems to me that despite being Houston's largest Internet community, which says a lot, given Houston's fourth place in population (behind Chicago, NYC, and LA) but is the members of the HAIF really accurate of what Houston's population is like? It seems to me that many of y'all fall under one of three categories:

1) Appears to have a disrespectful and condescending attitude to the suburbs/outer loop.

2) Votes liberal and lives in a neighborhood that does so.

3) Enjoys alcohol more than one should.

Does that represent Houston as a whole? Please discuss...but don't rip my throat out. I can always be wrong.

How much should one enjoy alcohol??

[ricco67]

How much should one enjoy alcohol??

Well, I think it should be enjoyed to whatever levels you enjoy, as long as it doesn't affect the lives of others.

However, if you wake up in a dumpster, you might have taken that level of enjoyment a bit far.

[RedScare]

How much should one enjoy alcohol??

I try to always enjoy my alcohol.

[IronTiger]

How much should one enjoy alcohol??

Hmm...it really depends. I believe it's OK to support local breweries and consume it responsibility. I don't believe it's OK to drink until you've passed out, and obsess/praise it on message boards.

[kylejack]

Hmm...it really depends. I believe it's OK to support local breweries and consume it responsibility. I don't believe it's OK to drink until you've passed out, and obsess/praise it on message boards.

What if I obsess/praise local breweries, then what mister?

[TheNiche]

Hmm...it really depends. I believe it's OK to support local breweries and consume it responsibility. I don't believe it's OK to drink until you've passed out, and obsess/praise it on message boards.

Ms. Nation, has anybody on here expressed a desire on their part or in any way condoned drinking to the point at which one loses conciousness?

[kylejack]

I enjoy alcohol exactly the right amount.

[LTAWACS]

I hardly think we as a group are anywhere near a representative slice of Houston. To be a more statistically accurate slice you would have to includ several illegal immigrants. Ok perhaps 50 or so. Then throw some common criminals in the mix too. Then add some of the homeless. And random kids.

And Asians. I wonder how many Asians are on this board.