My Impression Of Houston As Its New Resident

[tw2ntyse7en]

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[kzseattle]

I can't believe they are raising your rent in this market.  Everybody is slashing rents and giving away the farm.  I can tell you from my 20 years in the apartment business, it is not uncommon for owner's to want you to raise rents on renewals, while giving new move-ins a better price on the same unit.  It never made sense to me, but in my positions as a Manager, and then as a Marketing Director, it was a battle I had to wage more than once.  It might be worthwhile to have a friend "shop" them.  Go into your apartment office and pretend to be looking for an apartment the size of yours, and just see what they are quoting new people.

I think most of the apartments in town, with very, very few exceptions, have overall gotten a little lower socio-economic profile living in them right now than a few years back.  In the 90's every complex managed by even a halfway normal management company used to set standards for credit, along with income, rental, and criminal background.  By the time I got out of the business last year, credit criteria had pretty much gone out the window.  So long as someone did not have a felony or an eviction, you pretty much had to take them.  That was all that was left to pick from as tenants for B & C class properties.  Anybody with decent credit and 50 cents had purchased something and was out of the rental market.  This was especially true for properties that were a little older and/or not in the most premier parts of town. 

Kudos to your current management if they are keeping things up in the current market.  It is a HUGE challenge in the current rental market.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree. Just because an apartment complex is giving discount to new tenants doesnt necessarily means that it is going down the toilet. It is just a marketing ploy to attract new tenants. Once a tenant has moved in, it is likely they they are going to stay for a while. The management knows that current tenants arent going anywhere either because they have a lease or it is too much of a hassle for them to move. So they dont get the same incentives.

[VelvetJ]

I'm sorry to change the subject here but kzseattle, I must say I have enjoyed your posts so far. You have a lot of great ideas. It's nice hearing the opinion of a "outsider" that has taken the time to see where we need improvement. We as Houstonians I think get complacent about our city and that causes us to become blind to certain things.

I loved the fact that you mentioned that there isn't really anything in this city that "screams Houston", and how you coupled that with the word tourism. I have been saying for a while that one of the major areas Houston should really put a lot of it's energy over the next 10-20 years is tourism and increasing it's "cool" factor. On a number of occasion, I have been struck down with, "Houston is a business town", and "Just be thankful for what Houston has now", but I think tourism is a major key in taking our city to the next level. One common ingrediant that most "world class" cities have is tourism, and IMO in order for Houston to really be the world class city that we already say we are, we have to do a better job in the area of tourism.

I think we should really step back and take a look at the basic ideas of cities that have a lot of tourists and build from there on something that is uniquely Houston's or at least unique in our part of the country. Tourism is never going to be Houston's bread and butter but can sure help the city in so many ways. I would love to one day hear people in Atlanta, and Seattle, and Philly, and Frisco, say "we're going to Houston next year for vacation". Heck, I would love to hear people in Dallas and San Antonio say they are coming to Houston for the weekend. It's possible.

I am encouraged by what's happening on Main Street and also Galveston but we could use a grand plan. We need to start to see our jewels in a new light. We need to nurture the Montrose and the Heights, two of our most unique neighborhoods. We could really make Sharpstown a destination with the right plan. And by all means, we should really take advantage of one of the most common positive images of our city to the outside world and that is SPACE!!!!!!!! "Houston, we have a problem" is known by most of the country and that is of course from our Space connection. Not to mention our "futuristic" skyline adds to that. IMO there should be honors to space all over our city in some form or fashion. We should refer to the city as "Space City" more. Why not our own version of a "Space Needle" or "Reunion Tower" near downtown Houston?

Ok, I'm rambling but I love this city and that's why I have so much passion for the betterment of it. Houston has so much potential that it is just overwhelming what can be done.

[kzseattle]

I'm sorry to change the subject here but kzseattle, I must say I have enjoyed your posts so far. You have a lot of great ideas. It's nice hearing the opinion of a "outsider" that has taken the time to see where we need improvement. We as Houstonians I think get complacent about our city and that causes us to become blind to certain things.

I loved the fact that you mentioned that there isn't really anything in this city that "screams Houston", and how you coupled that with the word tourism. I have been saying for a while that one of the major areas Houston should really put a lot of it's energy over the next 10-20 years is tourism and increasing it's "cool" factor. On a number of occasion, I have been struck down with, "Houston is a business town", and "Just be thankful for what Houston has now", but I think tourism is a major key in taking our city to the next level. One common ingrediant that most "world class" cities have is tourism, and IMO in order for Houston to really be the world class city that we already say we are, we have to do a better job in the area of tourism.

I think we should really step back and take a look at the basic ideas of cities that have a lot of tourists and build from there on something that is uniquely Houston's or at least unique in our part of the country. Tourism is never going to be Houston's bread and butter but can sure help the city in so many ways. I would love to one day hear people in Atlanta, and Seattle, and Philly, and Frisco, say "we're going to Houston next year for vacation". Heck, I would love to hear people in Dallas and San Antonio say they are coming to Houston for the weekend. It's possible.

I am encouraged by what's happening on Main Street and also Galveston but we could use a grand plan. We need to start to see our jewels in a new light. We need to nurture the Montrose and the Heights, two of our most unique neighborhoods. We could really make Sharpstown a destination with the right plan. And by all means, we should really take advantage of one of the most common positive images of our city to the outside world and that is SPACE!!!!!!!! "Houston, we have a problem" is known by most of the country and  that is of course from our Space connection. Not to mention our "futuristic" skyline adds to that. IMO there should be honors to space all over our city in some form or fashion. We should refer to the city as "Space City" more. Why not our own version of a "Space Needle" or "Reunion Tower" near downtown Houston?

Ok, I'm rambling but I love this city and that's why I have so much passion for the betterment of it. Houston has so much potential that it is just overwhelming what can be done.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks VelvetJ!

I got interested in Houston because I felt it has certain energy and vitality and things are happening. This trend and momentum should be maintained.

I agree that Houston should also focus more on tourism. In addition to bringing tourist dollars and adding related industry, tourism would boost the image of the city. It could also become a constant factor in forcing the city to focus more on beautification and landscaping efforts. I may be wrong but I think it took a single event like Super Bowl to launch current efforts in Midtown and downtown. My wishful thinking would be bidding for an event like Olympics, like Atlanta did! But then again, it is a wishful thinking.

It is going to take unique and creative idea to create a powerful tourist attraction. Las Vegas capitalized on gambling. San Antonio did so on a river. Minneapolis came with Mall of America. Space could be good theme here. After all, Houston was the first word spoken in space. This will never change and no other city can claim this "honor". However, it is going to take more than a Space Needle to attract tourists in a large number.

The reason I keep mentioning Sharpstown is because a large part of western Houston is already pretty nice and Sharpstown has a large middle class to support its revival. If the city could somehow fix Sharpstown and Alief, a large swath of western Houston could be free of ghettos or ghetto-like areas. East Houston is, unfortunately, another story due the presence of industrial plants and a large working class. May be it could be our "South Central LA", "South Chicago" or "East Side Washington DC".

[Guest danax]

Thanks VelvetJ!

I agree that Houston should also focus more on tourism. ........

Space could be good theme here. ...........

East Houston is, unfortunately, another story due the presence of industrial plants and a large working class. May be it could be our "South Central LA", "South Chicago" or "East Side Washington DC".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not sure how we can incorporate the space theme into our tourism factor any more than we already have. I would like to see our skyline have more of a "futuristic" look, but that's up to individual developers. I know tourism brings money and popularity outside of our own population but how important is that, really? I say let's focus more on making this a great place to live, even if we're the only ones that know about it. Eventually, others will find out and we might attract people to live here, not just visit. If not, that's fine too.

We're also known as the Bayou City and we can really do something with that theme. I would like to see more parks and cafes along our main bayous. More landscaping and beautification, bike trails, water taxis, etc. so these can become destinations and places to hang out on weekends for us, and tourists too. Yeah, it's hot and humid out there in the summer but so what? Houston isn't for wimps. We can show the world how to enjoy life in a tropical envirnment with our world-class bayou living. state-of-the-art shade structures, outdoor fans and cool beverages.

As for the East Houston area, I'm thinking you mean "East End" meaning south of I-10 as opposed to north of I-10. Actually, our city leaders have this area planned as a destination for locals and tourists. The Buffalo Bayou Master Plan link to B.B.M.P. is underway and could be a catalyst for Brays and maybe White Oak developments. The city already has a name for part of Buffalo Bayou east of downtown, the "Waterview District". There's supposed to be a Metro line or two running through the East End and there has been talk of making it actually a tourist destination along Harrisburg with Latin-based architecture, restaurants, retail etc. The older, established neighborhoods south of Harrisburg are being discovered too as still affordable, nice, close-to-downtown places to live. The wheels of change are already turning.

As for Sharpstown, it has decent geography and housing. I think it's just a matter of time until people start buying up the rattier neighborhoods. As you know, demographic shifts and the resulting changes in the neighborhoods take longer here than in cities with less wide-open spaces, unless there is some kind of development that speeds up the natural process.

[tw2ntyse7en]

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[jmancuso]

houston needs to clean itself up aesthetically if it wants to be like a chicago, seattle or a boston. except for a few pockets around town, the city is...well...rather ugly. unlike those cities, houston really doesn

[kzseattle]

I want to agree with the 3 of you, but I just don't think Houston will ever become a "tourist town" as cities like Orlando, Miami, LA, San Fran, LV, NY, DC or even places like Seattle, Boston, & San Diego.

The sad truth is that we are a business town. I think we should focus on that and make Houston the premiere place for business to be. With big business will come other things that will make our city better if not "great" as a whole.

I think we sometimes focus so hard on the idea that we need "tourists" to make Houston great. I think we need a positive image to make us great. Cities like Boston, Chicago, & Seattle don't really have any real tourist attractions. The reason that we all like going to these cities is that we think they are cool places to be, and see.

Houston needs to advertise itself more as a young diverse business oriented city with an exciting nightlife. Main street is not the only place in Houston to see some action after the sunset.

Positive image of existing Houston = Future positive reputation by others around the nation.

Glen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Seattle, Chicago and Boston do have powerful tourist attractions even if they were not created specifically for tourists. Tourist attraction doesn

[kzseattle]

houston needs to clean itself up aesthetically if it wants to be like a chicago, seattle or a boston. except for a few pockets around town, the city is...well...rather ugly

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, indeed, a large part of Houston is rather ugly. However, I wouldn

[VelvetJ]

kzseattle, you basically answered for me.

Also note my initial post when I said, "tourism is never going to be Houston's bread and butter". I know Houston is a business town but my point was to say Houston can do SO much better in the tourism department.

As I mentioned earlier, we as Houstonians can be complacent and blind to a degree and some of the responses so far have shown that again. Personally, I am not satisfied with the phrase referring to Houston as, "a great place to live but a terrible place to visit". Personally, I don't like the fact that many say Houston looks great from a high distance but on ground level it's a mess. Personally, I think it is indeed possible to incorporate our Space heritage more into our city and tourism. But sometimes it takes a series of leaders with a vision, and a gradual changing of a mentality.

It has been my experience that we as Houstonians pride ourselves on our large freeways, and gigantic shopping malls and good suburban schools, things most "World Class" cities do not boast about. But not only that. Even on the business front, many business leaders here pride themselves on being able to literally do as they choose, many times with no regard to others (will someone please smack the owner of that Zone D' Erotica in Uptown?). Mattress Mack, whom I have a lot of respect for, actually defended and supported the appearance of I-45 north (the entrance to our city) because in his words, "it shows free interprise" . That says a lot.

It's time to look beyond Houston being JUST a business town. Business and making money having STRONG priority over citizens and quality of life must be eased if we are going to another level. It's time to move beyond building the Taj Mahal in the middle of a slum then patting ourselves on the back, fooling ourselves into thinking we have made it and deserve a "Big Boy" crown. We should really shake ourselves.

It's great not caring what the world thinks of us.......to a degree. There are times when it's ok to ponder how outsiders view us. If anything it at least makes us think.

Welcome kzseattle.

[tw2ntyse7en]

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[ricco67]

As I have mentioned in Old-Haif (and probably repeated several times already, because I like reading my own text....the older readers can skip over my post after you read the first couple of sentences):

Houston doesn't need "global" tourism. Houston was one of the few cities in the nation in which wasn't affected by 9/11's phobia's with flying. Most cities that focus on tourism has a tendency to see it's up and downs when it comes to a variety of factors including weather, economic downtown, or in one case, terrorism.

Tourism for locals (regional) and business visitors is very important. They are here for an extended amount of time (mostly involuntary) and need SOMETHING to do during their downtimes.

Let's concentrate on our arts, or local customs and festivals. Let's not cater to a transient community who won't give our city the care and respect it truly deserves as a major business center.

Ricco

[The Great Hizzy!]

Interesting viewpoint, Ricco.

I always consider a city like Chicago to be set up for its citizens as well as its visitors, and not necessarily from a need/desire to improve its tourism industry but a need to improve its quality of life.

Take cities like Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Las Vegas: these cities are heavily geared towards placating tourists but not necessarily in that it also leads to improvement in quality of life, and certainly not for the explicit benefits of its residents.

I think a Chicago model is more realistic for Houston than say a New Orleans or Miami model.

[VelvetJ]

I don't think anyone here has said Houston should become a "tourist town". That's not what it is. What has been stated is Houston should do a better job on it's tourism characteristic. Kzseattle mentioned that there isn't anything that "screams Houston" like in most other cities of our size. Many times, those things that screams the identity of a city happen to attract tourists. Wanting to attract more tourists does not mean our economy should be dependent on it. Dallas isn't characterized as a tourist town but they do a better job at tourism than Houston and see the results from it.

When I mentioned in one of my earlier posts about Houston having it's own version of a space needle and honoring our space heritage in some way all over the city, it was meant to help Houston define itself more which in itself can lead to more tourism. Lets be honest about something....Dallas fits that "Texan" identity that most of the world recognizes (I still don't think the name "TEXANS" with the colors Red, White, and Blue, fit a football team for Houston. Houston isn't a red, white and blue type city IMO. I see that more for Washington D.C. or New York). We have a surname that is the "Bayou City" but honestly, when most people hear the word bayou, they think of Louisiana. I can't tell you how many people I have encountered that think the Bayou City is New Orleans. But, we DO have a Space Heritage, and like I said earlier, "Houston, We have a Problem" is automatically connected to Space. Our country's astronauts train and live in our city. Houston was the first word spoken from the Moon......guests entering our city on that drive or bus ride down JFK or Broadway from our airports should be reminded of this. Can we have TOO many museums dedicated to space in Houston? How about one in or near the museum district near the rail line?

Houstonians have to get to a point where we truly understand that living in a city that outsiders WANT to visit, is not a bad thing. We don't have to be a place where the only people excited to move or visit here are people from small towns in Louisiana and small towns in East Texas. We can be a place that Chicagoans, and Seattlites, and Atlantans, and San Franciscans WANT to visit instead of them HAVING to visit or move here because of their job.

Great Hizzy, I think Kzseattle's 11:52pm response addressed your reference to places like Miami, New Orleans, Orlando and Las Vegas.

[tw2ntyse7en]

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[GovernorAggie]

I think capitalizing on Latin heritage could be a great thing here. In addition, somone mentioned a futuristic skyline, I think an Asian/Latin American (specifically Panama City) skyline would work here. Houston may actually be one of the only cities in America that the supertall, super futuristic Asian skylines would work in. I could see Houston with the gaudy skylines of Hong Kong and Shanghai (Yao would feel at home, lol!).

I also think that the capitalization on the Bayous would probably be the best thing for the time being. Houston may not see a boon from a space focus until something big happens, a la Bush's plans to go to Mars or when they re-visit the moon. Maybe it's just me but the intrique of 'space' has just gone by the wayside.

On a side note--everyone should be know that Houston does have some attention in the entertainment world. I played the video game "NFL Street", and there were only about 8 places to play a game, with Houston being one of them! I was shocked.

If any of you have a PS2 or XBOX, you should play NFL Street (not NFL Street 2) just to see the Houston location. The folks at Electronic Arts games definitely see Houston as a Latin city. The setting is like a walled mission/hacienda-type playing area with small fruit stands on the sides and chickens walking through the playing field. Then you have a (generic) skyline in the background of it all with a building that could easily pass for Chase Tower!

Sound geeky but it is actually very cool.

[MidtownCoog]

but they're not really as swampy as the bayous

We paved most of them over. Even UH was all true swamp land as recently at the 20s.

This city started as a swamp. Check out the Buffalo Bayou pictures from the 1800s for proof.

[MidtownCoog]

I think capitalizing on Latin heritage could be a great thing here.

To quote Kelly Rippa, "I don't even know what that means, Regis".

[tw2ntyse7en]

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[tw2ntyse7en]

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[ssullivan]

Not too sure about the "Latin" Heritage. I think South Bronx, East LA & Miami have As for the bayous, is there nothing we can do with Buffalo downtown? It's not a navigable route past the turn basin. Couldn't we put some sort of locks in around the downtown area, maybe drain it, then clean it, and finally build some retail around it? It worked for San Antonio. The flooding? easy, add bypasses at the locks to make the excess water go somewhere else. I think this would be about 10 times easier than trying to tunnel under everything to make room for a subway. Again, big influence, bigger money... I've got $6.23 - what will that get me?

That's actually a great idea. It's also already part of the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan.

[tw2ntyse7en]

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