Lowbrow Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Ten Things I Believe Make Houston GreatR. Alex Whitlock1. The only sport we're missing that matters is in the league that just cancelled their season.2. Houston is the most diverse city in America. This is something I didn't fully appreciate until this trip. While hanging out at the Central Market today, watching a man with a turbin walking into the store to shop followed by a large Hispanic family and white yuppies.3. Houston may not have as many universities as Boston, but six four-year (or more) institutions (University of Houston, Rice University, Texas Southern University, Houston Baptist University, University of St. Thomas, and UH-Downtown), three law schools (UH, TSU, and South Texas College of Law), and countless medical schools ain't bad.4. It's not as vain as Dallas, not as dirty as San Antonio, and not as self-absorbed as Austin.5. It has a quirky personality. For instance today the city completely forgot that it's February.6. This town is full of hidden treasures. Within ten minutes of getting lost you're guaranteed to find something worth seeing or visiting.7. Houston is the only major metropolis without zoning, so you have houses tucked away in the middle of shopping centers.8. If you don't like where you live, you can move somewhere entirely different within city limits. In the general area, you can find just about any way of life (that doesn't include mountains).9. Unless you have a desire to, there are few reasons you would ever need to leave this town. Whether you're wanting to go to a great university, find a good job, or get malignant cancer taken care of, you're just fine here.10. And all of this with a relatively low cost of living considering its size.Bonus: Boston hates it, the national media generally ignores it, and Lee P. Brown no longer runs it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2ntyse7en Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 That was great! I really loved no. 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Is San Antonio really a dirtier city than Houston? It always appears so clean & policed when I visit. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think the comparison is kind of nebulous because people have different ideas of what constitutes "dirt", but if we're talking about litter, I will say that I was fairly disappointed in how the older areas inside much of the 410 loop were maintained. South and east San Antonio, in particular standout, and some of the areas along Commerce heading west are pretty grimy. Where Houston has an issue with litter in its medians (and in the drainage ditches in some neighborhoods), many areas in San Antonio business centers and run-of-the-mill neighborhoods inside the 410 have a good amount of litter. I can only assume that part of it is the fault of the citizens (your typical ambivalence that you find in many cities) but it may be as much an issue with how trash pickup is handled, because I've noticed that there is a tendency in some cities, especially by some private contractors, of leaving as much trash as they pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 Is San Antonio really a dirtier city than Houston? It always appears so clean & policed when I visit. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Where do you normally go when you are in SA? I am most familiar with Leon Valley. Its a burb.. its pretty clean. Then there is the Alamo, Mission trail, and the river walk, all pretty clean. Tourism is an industry there. Other than those areas, most of the other neighborhoods I've visited have been pretty bad off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2ntyse7en Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Unfortunately... both. East and Southeast San Antonio have a rural--NE Houston type of look to it. In fact, it takes a few miles inside the 410 coming from the east on 1-10 to really get the feeling that you're inside the city. Lots of weeded fields with commercial entities that scatter their farm & truck equipment across their lots with no order. That sort of thing.Further inside the loop, you start to see the usual culprits: pieces of cardboard boxes on sidewalks, paper cups along the curbs, plastic and paper bags blowing up and down the streets, napkins taking up residents in lawns, nothing out of the ordinary but still disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2ntyse7en Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Oh, I don't want to give the impression that the city isn't beautiful in many ways, just that like a lot of tourist type cities, the upkeep can wane in some of the common areas. Miami has that issue in many of its non-tourist neighborhoods. So does New Orleans.I think the northern strip of San Antonio between I-10 and approximately US 281 (or maybe a mile or so east of 281) is very well kept and scenic. I imagine Houston would be quite a postcard type town if our west central, northwest and southwest areas had such topography. I also like the Olmos Basin Park area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2ntyse7en Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Hey, I'd settle for renovating our bayous. We have a string of ecological gold mines in them and we've not done much of anything to them over the last three decades. Buffalo Bayou's master plan is a great start, but we could do similar things on a smaller scale at Brays, Sims, Greens, White Oak, etc. Imagine all of those with walkways similar to those you see at the Woodlands Waterways? Imagine them with manicured trees, statuary, etc.The infrastructure is already in place, and they're already "protected". They just need a benefactor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Hey, I'd settle for renovating our bayous. We have a string of ecological gold mines in them and we've not done much of anything to them over the last three decades. Buffalo Bayou's master plan is a great start, but we could do similar things on a smaller scale at Brays, Sims, Greens, White Oak, etc. Imagine all of those with walkways similar to those you see at the Woodlands Waterways? Imagine them with manicured trees, statuary, etc.The infrastructure is already in place, and they're already "protected". They just need a benefactor.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Brays BayouGreens BayouSims BayouWhite Oak BayouArmand BayouCypress CreekHalls BayouHunting Bayou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 I heard to San Antonio's Riverwalk has rats. They live by the water, but I forgot what they calls those types of rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Those are not Rats. Those are Nutria, and I'd take those over regular rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Brays BayouGreens BayouSims BayouWhite Oak BayouArmand BayouCypress CreekHalls BayouHunting Bayou<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Holy, crap! I owe you a 12-pack if/when we ever meet, 19514. That was great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Those are not Rats. Those are Nutria, and I'd take those over regular rats.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Still, it's nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Holy, crap! I owe you a 12-pack if/when we ever meet, 19514. That was great!!<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks, man! If and when I manage to move back to Houston, you can bring my 12-pack over for a house-warming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallasite Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Ten Things I Believe Make Houston Great4. It's not as vain as Dallas, not as dirty as San Antonio, and not as self-absorbed as Austin.Are you serious? Even the reporters have this complex too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowbrow Posted February 18, 2005 Author Share Posted February 18, 2005 Are you serious? Even the reporters have this complex too?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>LOL, actually he is a Houston Blogger. Don't take it too seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 here's my top ten:1. restaurants2. downtown3. entertainment/things to do4. the people5. trees6. zimm's7. diversity8. architecture9. subculture(s)10. the woodlands (ok, not exactly in houston) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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