Jeebus

I do - and I do it easily. All these neighborhoods inside the loop west of downtown are sandwiched in between multiple high density commercial districts. Areas like Downtown, Greenway Plaza, Uptown, and the Medical Center come to mind. If River Oaks is a suburb, then what are these areas? Whether you like it or not, River Oaks and its residential neighbors are inner-city neighborhoods. Some people here just need to grasp that things have change post WW2, especially in cities that grew and prospered around the availability of land and the automobile - like Houston did here in the south. TKO revoked.

Fight Club was what I was referencing. And for the record, I like that particular Hooters.

I like the cornflower blue water in the drainage canals out front.

I only drink BRAWNDO now, the "Thirst Mutilator!" It's got what you need: electrolytes! EDIT: God, I could talk about this movie all day. Terry Crews is freakin' hilarious as President Camacho and I love what Starbucks sells 500 years from now!

Now you're just messing with me.. Well, at first I did it to get a bigger home in a quieter/safer neighborhood in a better school district.. But now I'm realizing I just did it to avoid ILS. Inner-Loop Snobbery. Not to be confused with IBS, however similar the symptoms are.

Yes, and yes. I'm sure there are suburbs in the northeast and in other countries that rival if not exceed our own downtown's bordering neighborhoods in terms in urban density. Westbury is not a suburb.

I've told you three times now that I agree that WESTBURY IS SUBURBAN. My argument is that it WESTBURY IS NOT IN "THE SUBURBS". Because if they (suburbs) are not "of a city" then what in the hell are they a suburb of??? If you have one suburb in an area that is not serviced by another area that is more organized and centralized (i.e. town, city, four-way stop with a post office and lone gas station, whatever..) then its no longer a suburb - its the actual town/village/community/etc. - no matter what style of neighborhood layout it possesses! So if Westbury could be built in a cow pasture in west texas, with not a single stitch of civilization for over 100 miles, as suburban in construction and layout as it is - it still would not be a suburb. How are you not grasping that suburban and suburbs are as different as dogs and elephants???

Kate, I think you're hitting the nail on the head. Houston is a monstrous double-standard of urban vs. suburban living. By that definition, then anyone not living with in about 1 square mile of downtown, on the inner-cusp of the Wards, is living in the suburbs. River Oaks, Montrose, Rice Village, Eastwood, Lindale Park, Denver Harbor, the Heights, etc, etc, - all still suburbs. Meme, to answer your question (again).. Your home, and most of the single family dwellings in ALL of the Houston metro, and outside the colonial northeast for that matter, are suburban in design. The construction type of home is helpful in identifying a suburb, but is not absolute. I will contend that Westbury was a suburb once. You would leave Westbury and travel into the city for your needs. Now however, the city has grown (or annexed as you refer to) around Westbury. So its physically impossible for you to live in the suburbs. Perhaps if Westbury and/or adjoining neighborhoods had incorporated, then indeed you could say that you live in the suburbs, and more specifically a suburb of Houston. For now however, you simply live in the city of Houston, in a neighborhood called Westbury.

That's not what I asked you. I asked if you've conceded that you don't live in the suburbs, not if you live in a stereotypical suburban home. You probably live in a stereotypical suburban home because once upon a time, your neighborhood was a suburb that was adjacent to the city that would make it a suburb to. I just figured its kind of hard to drive in to the city from the "suburb" you say you live in, when said neighborhood is already inside the city you would drive in to. What a perplexing conundrum indeed.

So Meme, did you ever concede that you don't live in the suburbs, or are you still not budging?

So that's still inside the loop then right?

Where is this?

Dominique is the "home-town girl".

In all honesty, its what they all want. Most of my friends and family are from small towns, cities, and the straight-up farm country. A stroll down West Montgomery, Scott, or Bissonnet and they are always floored. I get bonus points when I take them down Bellaire to see our Suburban strip-mall Chinatown. Country come to town! WHY? My parents are 1. old, and 2. white. You think they'd ever try anything beyond a place like Cheesecake Factory!? Besides, when they're paying I don't complain! I've seen this conversation take place between my wife and some of her vapid friends. Ugh.. Is that not the best compliment? I love getting that one.

ZERO pretention. That is my number one love for Houston. I'm the exact opposite. I go out of my way to drive off the "safe" landscaped paths to show visitors how "rough & tough" and gritty Houston is. I love our southern grit.

Maybe the pictures were posted out of order.

Too Utopian..

Well, its probably a lot easier for smaller municipalities with only small stretches of freeway frontage to keep them clean. You'll find that Sugar Land has clean frontage as well.

Citykid, can you give more specific examples of where these areas were? Perhaps some were the City of Houston's responsibly, where as some might be Harris County's. As for the rundown buildings, sometimes thats all the space a small business can afford.

All these are valid reasons, but most of them stem from children. If you ever have one, no matter how much you love urban environments, suddenly all its flaws will reveal themselves. You'll at some point debate the suburbs the exact same as we have: better (public) schools, percieved to be safer, more quiet, and more assimilation which seems less stressful.I know to any urbanite these are horrible things to wish for, but I'm telling you, kids will make you at least consider it - and in most cases make it happen. To those that are brave enough to stay in the city with children I commend you though. It takes twice as much money and/or work to give your kid the same amenities as the suburbs. I wish I was as brave/wealthy as a friend of mine who raises his kids in Pecan Park on the southeast side. Actually, I wish my wife was! Well, you're absolutely right. I blame the news media. If they would start reporting on all the white on white crimes, versus choosing to racially single out Blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims as the criminal element in the suburbs, maybe those living in said suburbs would start to change their thinking. As for the gay-hating, blame your local church. I'm no major proponent of homosexuality (not for it, not against it), but I refuse to go to a church that wastes it's time "scaring everyone straight". Actually, since moving to the burbs four years ago, I have YET to go to church. Yay for me! (I hope my wife never reads this.. )

Semantics. I give up. Westbury is the burbs. I'm out.

You'll have to explain this one to me, and probably everyone else here.

Are you going to lose some sort of tax-credit if Haifers refuse to acknowledge Westbury as a suburb? And if a major sports stadium was built in an empty field, lets say out on 288 south of 610, then yes, it would be in the "suburbs".

I think inside a glass case would look great, make it visible to the passing public, yet preserve it as a significant piece of world history.

Eh.. This whole conversation has lost focus. We can't even agree on what exactly is suburban in a city like Houston. Meme, I know it means a lot to you, but you don't live in the suburbs. Give your neighborhood more credit. The suburbs are when you have to drive 5 minutes to get to the collector road that leads you to the access road that will take you to a commercial district. Last time I checked you live in an area with a street grid with multiple means of entry and egress. My neighborhood has one way in and one way out. EVERYONE has to take that road to leave my neighborhood. That's not the case for Westbury. If you want, you can say Westbury is a suburb of Bellaire, but its not a suburb of Houston. I think this hits the nail on the head. Westbury is suburban like, as it was build as a suburb 40 years ago, but has been eclipsed by more further-out growth, and has now matured as simply a residential neighborhood for the City of Houston. Home constuction does NOT equal suburban status. Proximal location does.