As someone who lives in the "Greater Houston Metro Area" I'm obviously a bit biased on how cool Houston is, but I think this article (and Bourdain's episode about the city on Parts Unknown) get at...
As someone who lives in the "Greater Houston Metro Area" I'm obviously a bit biased on how cool Houston is, but I think this article (and Bourdain's episode about the city on Parts Unknown) get at some of what makes Houston more than just a case study in urban sprawl.
I don't know, I've spent time in both Austin and Houston. Austin is overhyped; the things that made it "cool" are now overpriced tourist joints, the cost of living is atrocious, and in many...
I don't know, I've spent time in both Austin and Houston. Austin is overhyped; the things that made it "cool" are now overpriced tourist joints, the cost of living is atrocious, and in many respects it's just a bad copy of Portland that serves as a refuge for Texans who are too weird for their home towns, but not weird enough to move away from the Lone Star State.
As it happens, I'm actually visiting Houston tomorrow for work... There are some great foodie destinations, cultural attractions, and arts communities, to be sure. It's heartening that Houston remains a beacon of blue politics in a red state, and local governance is surprisingly functional.
But the sprawl, traffic, and consequences of income inequality are horrifying. The dominance of the medical industry can literally be seen from space! It's a grossly underplanned city with terrible vulnerability to floods and hurricanes; I've been stuck there twice in the past three years due to weather.
Quality of city infrastructure is poor as well; incompetent contractors are the norm (I'm going out to clean up a network mess left by local vendors), the streets are full of holes, Internet service is spotty and overpriced.
Houston doesn't need more people until it gets its sh*t together.
Oh I'm not saying the urban sprawl isn't a problem. The city is just more than that. Also you can't act like there wasn't a $2.5b flood mitigation bond up for vote literally today. We're working...
Oh I'm not saying the urban sprawl isn't a problem. The city is just more than that.
Also you can't act like there wasn't a $2.5b flood mitigation bond up for vote literally today. We're working on at least some of the city's problems.
I wasn't aware of the flood mitigation plan, but I've always found it disturbing that a day of heavy rain would flood the underpasses, because the streets are part of the drainage system. My...
I wasn't aware of the flood mitigation plan, but I've always found it disturbing that a day of heavy rain would flood the underpasses, because the streets are part of the drainage system.
My apologies for letting grumpiness about work get the better of me. Nearly all of my Houston visits have been too thoroughly consumed with business to have time for appreciating many of the finer points. I've met some great people there.
As someone who lives in the "Greater Houston Metro Area" I'm obviously a bit biased on how cool Houston is, but I think this article (and Bourdain's episode about the city on Parts Unknown) get at some of what makes Houston more than just a case study in urban sprawl.
I don't know, I've spent time in both Austin and Houston. Austin is overhyped; the things that made it "cool" are now overpriced tourist joints, the cost of living is atrocious, and in many respects it's just a bad copy of Portland that serves as a refuge for Texans who are too weird for their home towns, but not weird enough to move away from the Lone Star State.
As it happens, I'm actually visiting Houston tomorrow for work... There are some great foodie destinations, cultural attractions, and arts communities, to be sure. It's heartening that Houston remains a beacon of blue politics in a red state, and local governance is surprisingly functional.
But the sprawl, traffic, and consequences of income inequality are horrifying. The dominance of the medical industry can literally be seen from space! It's a grossly underplanned city with terrible vulnerability to floods and hurricanes; I've been stuck there twice in the past three years due to weather.
Quality of city infrastructure is poor as well; incompetent contractors are the norm (I'm going out to clean up a network mess left by local vendors), the streets are full of holes, Internet service is spotty and overpriced.
Houston doesn't need more people until it gets its sh*t together.
Oh I'm not saying the urban sprawl isn't a problem. The city is just more than that.
Also you can't act like there wasn't a $2.5b flood mitigation bond up for vote literally today. We're working on at least some of the city's problems.
I wasn't aware of the flood mitigation plan, but I've always found it disturbing that a day of heavy rain would flood the underpasses, because the streets are part of the drainage system.
My apologies for letting grumpiness about work get the better of me. Nearly all of my Houston visits have been too thoroughly consumed with business to have time for appreciating many of the finer points. I've met some great people there.