Best Suburb

[TheNiche]

Hey niche, sorry but I can't reveal my identity:)

Signed,

Mystery Woman

Neither can I.

But rules exist to serve reason and purpose; sometimes there is reason enough to make exception. As it so happens, I may have use for a well-connected architectural PR girl in the near future. Perhaps she would have use for me, or rather, a pet project of mine.

I propose to take you up on the free beer offer at Rice Village. We need not share ours or our employers' names, if that makes you more comfortable. Houston is a big town. Unless we've already met (which is very possible, I speculate), identities should be well-protected. And if we have already met, then we've already established a mutual trust.

Signed,

Mystery Man With A Plan

[KatieDidIt]

HAIF goes Reality TV...........

[KinkaidAlum]

Of course not. Do I sound like the kind of guy that buys beads and related accoutrement or overpriced coffee?

Yes.

[ArchitecturalPRGirl]

HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Mystery Man,

I may be able to give you some architectural PR advice or just PR advice in general, but I don't think I can be involved in anything else.

[TheNiche]

I may be able to give you some architectural PR advice or just PR advice in general, but I don't think I can be involved in anything else.

That is all I'm going to need, but I'm at least three months out. I will contact you by PM at that time.

[TexasArchitect]

i just voted and it went to the woodlands

i personally like suburbs becasue for me the city is too busy. I use to work near the galleria and geez talk about temptation to have road rage, lol. I just can't see myself dealing with that over the weekends also.

i especially enjoy the woodlands now that they have PF Changs, Cheescake, etc.. However, we still need some more good places, but i'm content

[DanFrank]

It all depends on what one is looking for.... And where you want to be...

[InTheLoop]

Hi, I'm a lurker who finally registered.

I have a question.

Are the areas listed in the poll not EXURBS?

As a native, I maintain that Meyerland, Tanglewood, Afton Oaks, Riverside, etc. have been and continue to constitute

Houston's suburbs and these newer areas -often ten or twenty miles further out- are properly called (at best) "distant

suburbs" or (my preference) "exurbs".

This "inner" ring of widely varying neighborhoods was suburban 50 years ago. The utterly suburban character of these 'hoods has not changed a whit, though demographics may have. They are car-dominated, single-family home, St. Augustine lawn neighborhoods. They have not moved closer to downtown, nor in many cases are they all that convenient to downtown.

They are not "inner city", except in relation to these exurbs. They are still Houston's suburbs.

I understand why our Big Brother developers prefer "suburb" for these distant places, but it seems disingenuous to link, say,

Meyerland with Greatwood, or Afton Oaks with Cinco Ranch. It's only a little hyperbolic to claim they're in a different REGION

from suburban Houston.

This distinction becomes particularly important when a new arrival inquires about where to move in our area.

I think this is a vote on Houston's exurbs. Thoughts/Corrections? Thanks!

[KatieDidIt]

Hi, I'm a lurker who finally registered.

I have a question.

Are the areas listed in the poll not EXURBS?

As a native, I maintain that Meyerland, Tanglewood, Afton Oaks, Riverside, etc. have been and continue to constitute

Houston's suburbs and these newer areas -often ten or twenty miles further out- are properly called (at best) "distant

suburbs" or (my preference) "exurbs".

This "inner" ring of widely varying neighborhoods was suburban 50 years ago. The utterly suburban character of these 'hoods has not changed a whit, though demographics may have. They are car-dominated, single-family home, St. Augustine lawn neighborhoods. They have not moved closer to downtown, nor in many cases are they all that convenient to downtown.

They are not "inner city", except in relation to these exurbs. They are still Houston's suburbs.

I understand why our Big Brother developers prefer "suburb" for these distant places, but it seems disingenuous to link, say,

Meyerland with Greatwood, or Afton Oaks with Cinco Ranch. It's only a little hyperbolic to claim they're in a different REGION

from suburban Houston.

This distinction becomes particularly important when a new arrival inquires about where to move in our area.

I think this is a vote on Houston's exurbs. Thoughts/Corrections? Thanks!

I agree. Tanglewood, West U, Memorial etc are suburbs. Sugarland, the Woodlands, Cinco are "exurbs."

I get so confused when people say the suburbs suck, and Tanglewood is right off Post Oak. How does that suck?

[DrFood]

I agree with InTheLoop 100%. The Woodlands, Greatwood, Sugar Land, Katy, KingWood, Cypress, Jersey Village are all exurbs. Note the most commonly accepted definition/expanded explanation of an EXURB

The expression "exurb" (for "extra-urban") was coined in the 1950s, by Auguste Comte Spectorsky to describe the ring of prosperous rural communities beyond the suburbs that are commuter towns for an urban area. Most exurbs serve as commuter towns, but most commuter towns are not exurban.

Exurbs are not unique to the United States. They are also found in other land-rich developed countries, notably Canada. Reasons for exurban growth vary. In the 1970s, rampant crime and urban decay in U.S. cities was the primary 'push force', whereas exurban growth has continued in the 2000s even as most U.S. cities experience plummeting crime and urban revitalization. However, house prices have skyrocketed, so middle-class people who want a large yard or farm are pushed beyond suburban counties.

Exurbs vary in wealth and education level. Exurban areas typically have much higher college education levels than closer-in suburbs, and have average incomes much higher than nearby rural counties. Depending on local circumstances, some exurbs have higher poverty levels than suburbs nearer the city. Others (like Loudoun County, Virginia outside Washington D.C. and Ozaukee County, Wisconsin near Milwaukee) have some of the highest median household incomes in their respective metropolitan areas.

Sounds exactly like the items in the poll.

Examples of a suburb are as follows. There are many more.......

Meyerland

Sharpstown

Westwood

Maplewood

Westbury

Oak Forest

Shepherd Terrace

Glenbrook Valley

Eastwood

Kashmere Gardens

The Heights

Timbergrove Manor

I understand the desire for our outlying neighbors in East San Antonio aka Katy (Cinco Ranch etc) and South Dallas (The Woodlands) and South Lufkin (Kingwood) to want to be considered suburbanites of Houston. But in reality you only want to use the roads of Houston and its suburbs. You only want the benefit of the jobs from Houston. And you only want the benefit of telling folks you're from Houston or the Houston area. If you told someone you were from Greatwood Texas or Pecan Grove Texas, would they even care or show an interest the way they do in being from Houston?

I have an idea for the toll roads and toll lanes. Let's charge our Exurbanite neighbors to drive on our roads so the city of Houston can afford to do maintenance on the roads their Escalades, Excursions, Tahoes, Range Rovers, and Hummers destroy. It's not a far fetched idea, the City of Los Angeles has on several occassions debated a "usage tax" for folks from the Exurbs who use LA roads and facilities.

The concepts and ideas expressed above are solely my opinion and mine only. If you disagree that is your right in a free society (or as free as Shrub wishes it to be). It is also my right to express my opinions based on fact and having lived in Houston my entire life and having relatives who have lived here since the 1800's.

[diggity]

I understand the desire for our outlying neighbors in East San Antonio aka Katy (Cinco Ranch etc) and South Dallas (The Woodlands) and South Lufkin (Kingwood) to want to be considered suburbanites of Houston. But in reality you only want to use the roads of Houston and its suburbs. You only want the benefit of the jobs from Houston. And you only want the benefit of telling folks you're from Houston or the Houston area. If you told someone you were from Greatwood Texas or Pecan Grove Texas, would they even care or show an interest the way they do in being from Houston?

I have an idea for the toll roads and toll lanes. Let's charge our Exurbanite neighbors to drive on our roads so the city of Houston can afford to do maintenance on the roads their Escalades, Excursions, Tahoes, Range Rovers, and Hummers destroy. It's not a far fetched idea, the City of Los Angeles has on several occassions debated a "usage tax" for folks from the Exurbs who use LA roads and facilities.

why so bitter?

[InTheLoop]

I'm glad some folks agree that it's hard to vote on a "best suburb" when there is not really a true suburb on the list. My favorite exurb is The Woodlands followed closely by (parts of) Sugarland.

My favorite SUBURBS are: (by decending budget): River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend.

What are your favorite suburbs?

[westguy76]

I'm glad some folks agree that it's hard to vote on a "best suburb" when there is not really a true suburb on the list. My favorite exurb is The Woodlands followed closely by (parts of) Sugarland.

My favorite SUBURBS are: (by decending budget): River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend.

What are your favorite suburbs?

I believe you made some good points about a lot of the areas in the poll being exburbs but I believe it is also at the least confusing and potentially erroneous to call the areas you list above as suburbs any longer. These areas, (River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend) may have been suburbs 30 to 50 years ago but you have to give consideration to the growth of the city of Houston as it stretchs to the bounds of it's metroplex. As the city infills and development expands to these past suburbs how can we still call them as such. As industry and jobs have spread out so has the average commute this seems to me to be a natural progression of growth and I don't understand some people's unwillingness to acknowledge it and why they are so bitter about it.

To each his own.

[memebag]

As the city infills and development expands to these past suburbs how can we still call them as such.

Population density and lot size. River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend all still fit any reasonable definition of suburb based on population desity or lot size. An old suburb is still a suburb.

[sowanome]

Population density and lot size. River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend all still fit any reasonable definition of suburb based on population desity or lot size. An old suburb is still a suburb.

I agree, Once a Suburb..always a Suburb.

Don't forget to mention that "The Heights" was also a suburb (I just hope that the Heights residents don't attempt to verbally assault me over that comment)

[westguy76]

Population density and lot size. River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend all still fit any reasonable definition of suburb based on population desity or lot size. An old suburb is still a suburb.

Population density and lot size are not exclusive to suburbs and are not the only definition of suburbs, just the two that you are picking.

[memebag]

I agree, Once a Suburb..always a Suburb.

I disagree with that. Suburbs can become urban or exurban, given enough time.

Don't forget to mention that "The Heights" was also a suburb (I just hope that the Heights residents don't attempt to verbally assault me over that comment)

The Heights is still a suburb.

Population density and lot size are not exclusive to suburbs and are not the only definition of suburbs, just the two that you are picking.

They are the most objective. What criteria are you using?

[InTheLoop]

Westguy-

No offense, but what do you call e.g., Meyerland, since it somehow doesn't meet your criteria for a suburb anymore ?

"Inner city" ? "Lost world" ? "Gateway to the suburbs"? "Sub-suburb'? "Wealthy for a ghetto"? "Land of the petro-pinchers"?

"Non-burned-out inner ring"? "Non-subprime Wonderland"? "Juraissic Park"?

Mostly kidding here, but the fact is the are close-in suburbs all over the country - called suburbs - even if they were developed in

1920!

As someone wisely noted in this thread, the term "exurb" was coined in only the last half-century or so SPECIFICALLY TO DIFFERENTIATE

these distant areas from the already extant "suburbs". Otherwise the term, which is commonly used, wouldn't exist!

If Greatwood is a suburb, it is a suburb of Sugarland, not Houston. It is an exurb in relation to H-town (and so on)...

[TexasVines]

did TheNiche and APRG ever make their love connection?

[ProHouston]

I'm glad some folks agree that it's hard to vote on a "best suburb" when there is not really a true suburb on the list. My favorite exurb is The Woodlands followed closely by (parts of) Sugarland.

My favorite SUBURBS are: (by decending budget): River Oaks, Southampton, Crestwood, Meyerland and Willow Meadows/Bend.

What are your favorite suburbs?

If we're truly sticking to suburb vs. exurb then we shouldn't include Sugar Land either. Sugar Land was a town of its own long before Houston stretched out to meet it, unlike The Woodlands which did not exist on its own. Sugar Land would simply be another town much like Richmond, Tomball, and Sealy are today.

[memebag]

If we're truly sticking to suburb vs. exurb then we shouldn't include Sugar Land either. Sugar Land was a town of its own long before Houston stretched out to meet it, unlike The Woodlands which did not exist on its own. Sugar Land would simply be another town much like Richmond, Tomball, and Sealy are today.

Being a town doesn't stop an area from being an exurb.

[kylejack]

They are the most objective. What criteria are you using?

And what is the limit on this objective standard? How many people per square mile?

[LTAWACS]

The Heights is still a suburb.

It is NOT a suburb. It is Houston.

Pasadena on the other hand IS a suburb.

[westguy76]

QUOTE (westguy76 @ Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 @ 1:45pm)

"Population density and lot size are not exclusive to suburbs and are not the only definition of suburbs, just the two that you are picking."

They are the most objective. What criteria are you using?

common sense

[wxman]

I think the general public couldn't care less. To say The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Kingwood, Pasadena and others are not suburbs would make one look ignorant to the general public. The Heights, River Oaks and Bunker Hill suburbs? Really? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. The only flaw with what I just said is that Kingwood would be considered a suburb but yet it is within the boundaries of Houston.

[InTheLoop]

I think the general public couldn't care less. To say The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Kingwood, Pasadena and others are not suburbs would make one look ignorant to the general public. The Heights, River Oaks and Bunker Hill suburbs? Really? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. The only flaw with what I just said is that Kingwood would be considered a suburb but yet it is within the boundaries of Houston.

The most ridiculous thing you've EVER heard...but nevertheless, completely true.

[KatieDidIt]

The most ridiculous thing you've EVER heard...but nevertheless, completely true.

I live in Memorial. It's in the Houston suburbs.

I've lived in the Woodlands, it's on another planet.

[LTAWACS]

I think the general public couldn't care less. To say The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Kingwood, Pasadena and others are not suburbs would make one look ignorant to the general public. The Heights, River Oaks and Bunker Hill suburbs? Really? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. The only flaw with what I just said is that Kingwood would be considered a suburb but yet it is within the boundaries of Houston.

Suburbs:

woodlands

C6H12O6 land

pasadena

Not Suburbs:

Kingwood

I live in Memorial. It's in the Houston suburbs.

I've lived in the Woodlands, it's on another planet.

You mean memorial just outside the loop? I'd hate to say this but it's not a suburb. It is Houston.

woodlands is indeed a suburb.

[InTheLoop]

I understand why you'd "hate to say it" since it is simply wrong.

Woodlands - exurb

Memorial - (w/in Houston) - suburb of Houston

Pasadena - city adjacent to Houston

Strike three! You're out!

[HedwigTramp]

You mean memorial just outside the loop? I'd hate to say this but it's not a suburb. It is Houston.

Wrong!

Bunker Hill is not Houston. It is it's own incorporated city or "Village". As are all of the 6 true "Memorial Villages".

Bunker Hill Village

Hedwig Village

Spring Valley Village

Hilshire Village

Piney Point Village

Hunters Creek Village

They have their own Police, Fire, Water, School District, etc.

All are the perfect example of a "suburb".