Houston Middle Child

[Marcus Allen]

Ok, one more and then, Jesus, Marc, go to sleep! Houston's identity. As a native Houstonian who lived in LA for 20 years, I feel as if I am a recent transplant who is trying to reconnect to his hometown. Cuisine? Tex Mex? Soul Food? Southern? Asian? Culture? Rodeo? Theatre? Suburban elite? Space cadet? Medical guru? Energy officianado? I guess what I am wondering is if Houston is like the proverbial middle child. Not established enough to be like an iconic NY, LA or ChiTown, BUT not the up and coming Austin, Charlotte, Phoenix or LV. In other words, what is our ICON? What is our legacy? Thoughts? I am genuinely curious. Know what I mean? I want to boast! Help me boast. What does Houston have that other top ten cities in the US do not, and actually want. LoL.

[brian0123]

I have family in LA and would say Houston beats LA in all categories other than the weather and amusement parks. I think out of everything, Houston is the most "real" city. People are down to earth and most could care less about who you are, where you come from, etc. LA is the land of fake. I think the fact that Houston isn't listed with any of those other cities is awesome. We're too cool to the point where we don't need to yell it to the world. People come here, make their living, have fun, enjoy life, and they stop caring what anyone else thinks about their decision to live in Houston. People in other cities can reassure themselves they're cool all they want.

[ToryGattis]

I've done a lot of posts exploring Houston's identity, which you can peruse here:

http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/search/label/identity

 

But these two are my favorite as far as bragging rights:

Friendliness/"Houspitality" http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-new-brand-for-houston.html

Highest standard of living in the world http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/2012/07/does-houston-have-highest-standard-of.html

(especially note the graph at the bottom here: http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/2013/02/houston-dominates-americas-growth.html )

[arche_757]

Highest standard of living in the world http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/2012/07/does-houston-have-highest-standard-of.html

(especially note the graph at the bottom here: http://houstonstrategies.blogspot.com/2013/02/houston-dominates-americas-growth.html )

I feel like some of our "highest standard of living in the world" is tweaking numbers to make them line-up for us.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I love this town and want nothing but the very, very best for Houston; but I don't see us having a higher standard of living than Geneva or Bern, Switzerland; Auckland, New Zealand; Singapore; or Vancouver, Canada...?

 

 

And in answering Marcus' post:  Yes.  Houston is the red-headed middle child (sorry for that example).  We get no love, but we work harder than our older siblings: Chicago; NYC; LA.  And we make meals that are just as good - if not better.  Not to mention our music scene may not be as old or glamorous (or large), but we still have great taste.  Oh, and unlike those other places we're happy being what we are - yet we're also able to keep an eye on the horizon and think of tomorrow.

[ToryGattis]

I feel like some of our "highest standard of living in the world" is tweaking numbers to make them line-up for us.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I love this town and want nothing but the very, very best for Houston; but I don't see us having a higher standard of living than Geneva or Bern, Switzerland; Auckland, New Zealand; Singapore; or Vancouver, Canada...?

 

Standard of living is cost of living adjusted average income, and although I don't have hard COLAI data on those cities, I do know their housing is astronomically expensive (see http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf), so we almost certainly beat them.  Don't confuse it with "quality of life", which integrates a lot of subjective non-economical factors, including weather.  Those cities certainly may have a case on that metric.

[arche_757]

^Ah... ok.  I was adding in "quality of life" as I just feel like that is a necessary part of "standard of living" but my own definitions are sometimes different from what was/is used by others.

 

I do agree that our cost of living is very low for the amount of things that you can do, and the ability to find whatever it is you want to do/live/work/play etc.  And find it cheaper than many other places.

 

Got it.  Thanks.

[Marcus Allen]

I have family in LA and would say Houston beats LA in all categories other than the weather and amusement parks. I think out of everything, Houston is the most "real" city. People are down to earth and most could care less about who you are, where you come from, etc. LA is the land of fake. I think the fact that Houston isn't listed with any of those other cities is awesome. We're too cool to the point where we don't need to yell it to the world. People come here, make their living, have fun, enjoy life, and they stop caring what anyone else thinks about their decision to live in Houston. People in other cities can reassure themselves they're cool all they want.

.

That's cool. I like that interpretation. LA, even in the non tinsel town areas is fake. NYorkers will tell you to F off in a minute. LAngelinos will smile and hug you while emailing your hit list to your assailant. LoL. As for weather. Yes, I do enjoy many breezy days of 72 degrees. But i also do enjoy moody weather, especially thunderstorms. Again, thanks for your assessment.

[LTAWACS]

Well, we have lots of energy industry jons. The med center.