Ugly Houston??? (Spring, Magnolia, Vega: insurance, mattresses, public schools)

[person]

I think that because of where I visited and where I had lived. Houston is not ugly in the strictest sense of the word, but it doesn't look great when you compare it to what many other cities have to offer.


Every city has some form of ugly element going for it, whether its weather, flat topography, lack of density in city core, sprawl, lack of natural beauty, dirty beaches, strip malls, terrible roads, empty lots, broken buildings, unkempt broken sidewalks, but Houston seems to have a lot of these going, and that makes it ugly, the combination. For example, LA is sprawly like Houston, but it makes up for it with nice weather and nicer beaches. Many San Francisco areas have really dirty and gritty areas, homeless, worse than Houston IMO, but they more than make up for it with surrounding scenery, topography and density. And it goes on. Many cities have a few of these ugly elements, but Houston seems to have a lot of them.
Many cities have nice stuff to make up for its uglier elements. Scenery, history, or even certain industries make a place feel more hip and enjoyable than it really is; film, the web, music, publishing, fashion, which we don't really concentrate much on. We are better at serious practical stuff like energy and medical and all matters corporate.

I recently showed a few visitors around, and one of them sums it up nicely, there are a few pockets of nice areas here, but it seems we have to drive long distances through much ugliness to get to each one. And even so, the nice areas here are nice, but for the same amount of time, money and effort, you can easily find better ones in this country.

[tstone]

I think the main issue we get this stereotype has to do with the geography. Southeast Texas, along with some of adjacent South Texas are really lacking in natural beauty compared to many, many other places in the US.

Now throw trashy SW-side areas into the mix... maybe some Ft. Bend or Galveston County trailer parks and you come to understand why some outsiders call our home an "armpit."

[houguy1087]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

Ugly in Houston is Westheimer near Dairy Ashford. Ugly in Chicago is the projects. I'll take Westheimer/Dairy Ashford any day.

Hey I live north of Westheimer on Dairy Ashford! Hahaha. It isn't that ugly. (Not pretty but not ugly.) Now when I visit my grandma on the NE side then I'm pretty grossed out--that's ugly if I ever saw it. Houston is not ugly, but I admit, when my roommate from San Francisco asked me if Houston is pretty, I had to tell her "Not so much naturally."

[houguy1087]

Originally Posted by C2H (ComingtoHouston)

I want to know why I hear some people refer to Houston as ugly. I know it doesn't have much natural beauty but you have to appreciate what it has. I think people always use the No strict zoning laws as reason to say why Houston appearance looks bad.

I think areas in the West part of Houston (Off Katy Freeway), Uptown/ Galleria area, Bellaire, Greenway Plaza area, River Oaks, Rice U area, Medical Center areas, and Bay areas are all nice areas. I will admit that there are areas in Houston that just look downright awful, but I always thought that it comes with the territory in living in a big city. All large cities have ghettos, crime, and other things. Some of the roads in Houston are very ugly but I hear Philadelphia, Detroit and a few places have even worse roads. I rarely hear those cities being called ugly. I'm just curious because I know Houston isn't the prettiest place, but it shouldn't just be classified as ugly because there's just as many nice areas in the city.

The only thing that makes Houston ugly IS the lack of natural beauty which some of the smaller metropolitan cities are lucky to have (ie. San Francisco and Boston).

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by crbcrbrgv

You could easily shoot a romantic scene in the Heights or by the museum district. People who say Houston is all ugly or, for that matter Philadelphia and Chicago is all beautiful need to drive around a lot more in these cities. Ugly in Houston is Westheimer near Dairy Ashford. Ugly in Chicago is the projects. I'll take Westheimer/Dairy Ashford any day.

i guess thats exactly what a houston promoter would say. we're not talking about backseat romance here. symbols of power, world influence and historical importance would be least type of backdrop if natural beauty is lacking.
which part of westheimer/DA? that area seem to be just underdeveloped (grassy lots).
to me the 'ugliness' of houston is due to things that cannot be found or lacking in the city. like 'person' said, its the things that would make up for a city's shortcomings. houston promoters definitely magnify houston's shortcomings when people find out its just hype or houstonians just dont have any idea how to build a great city

[houguy1087]

Originally Posted by Wysiwyg

i guess thats exactly what a houston promoter would say. we're not talking about backseat romance here. symbols of power, world influence and historical importance would be least type of backdrop if natural beauty is lacking.
which part of westheimer/DA? that area seem to be just underdeveloped (grassy lots).
to me the 'ugliness' of houston is due to things that cannot be found or lacking in the city. like 'person' said, its the things that would make up for a city's shortcomings. houston promoters definitely magnify houston's shortcomings when people find out its just hype or houstonians just dont have any idea how to build a great city

You know, I still think Houston is underrated nationally. Most people tell me what they know about Houston: people are fat, the air is polluted, it sprawls--not any of the positive things and you wouldn't believe how many times I've had people tell me that Dallas is the biggest city in Texas.

[Wysiwyg]

Originally Posted by houguy1087

You know, I still think Houston is underrated nationally. Most people tell me what they know about Houston: people are fat, the air is polluted, it sprawls--not any of the positive things and you wouldn't believe how many times I've had people tell me that Dallas is the biggest city in Texas.

i might agree. then again what do we have to offer to visitors and residents in order not to be rated as just a plain US city. houston doesn't have anything 'crazy' and 'crazy' is what gives modern cities its character. i guess air pollution is crazy for most people
anyone think New Orleans would be more popular than Houston if 'houston, we have problem' was never recorded?

[Kandy]

Originally Posted by kpoeppel

Kandy,

Is that the Columbia River gorge area?

Yes it is! Good catch. We lived near there in Oregon and visited often.

I wanted to add that I think the Houston area would be so much prettier if there weren't so many visible power lines. Most areas I've lived have them burried. Here you see mini Eiffel Towers everwhere. Not attractive.

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Kandy

We lived near there in Oregon and visited often.

Wow, you must REALLY REALLY be missing the scenery in Oregon!!

[houstoner]

Houston's not ugly. It just hasn't found its identity yet. People come here for work or to visit friends and relatives and they don't know what to make of us. A lot of Houston's charms are hidden from public view and even from native Houstonians. There's a lot happening here, but it's out of the way, or you have to be somewhat in-the-know to find it. This is a city you have to turn inside-out to appreciate.

The other problem, as I think KerrTown noted a while back, is that unlike NYC, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, and some other cities, we have other Texas cities to compete with, and because we're not as tourist-friendly as San Antonio and not Austinite and Dallasite-style mega-PR boosters, visitors have no clue as to what we're all about. Maybe we need to take a page out of those cities' books. I don't see Dallas pulling out crime maps when people inquire about areas of town to live in. I don't see Austin noting they've got the highest suicide rate in Texas when someone asks about high schools. But hey, whatever floats your boats, right, my fellow Houstonians? We don't have the media, film industry, or any of that, and really when you think about it, it's largely an accident of geography. We're kinda isolated, in Texas, and in "flyover country," so not of interest to people on the coasts. Nobody's writing books about us... we have this image as a free-wheelin', cowboy, oil & energy capital, and while that's here, there's a lot more to Houston than that. But who's writing books about us? Who's made movies about Houston without apologizing for it? Even native son Wes Anderson who filmed "Rushmore" here doesn't want to claim us! *******! But that's okay because, let's see, that leaves us with Paul Wall, Beyoncé, Devin the Dude, Hilary Duff, George H.W., etc.... lol I've heard rumors that employers would pay higher salaries just to lure people here, and Rice University only in the past couple years stopped trying to sway prospective students to come to Rice despite it being in Houston and now actually tries to get them to come because it's in Houston.

So things are changing. The current crop of high school and college students seem to be repping H-Town fairly well, I've noticed, plus with all the downtown revitalization and Inner Loop interest, things are on the upswing. (Midtown could use some help though. Soooo much potential being wasted there.... sooooo much.)

A friend of mine visiting from L.A. said Houston reminded her of L.A. fifty years ago, 3rd Coast-style; I've heard from someone else it's like a mini-NYC (no, it wasn't Wysiwyg), and then someone on this board called it a modern-day baby Chicago. I think Houston is still becoming whatever type of city it's going to be. In time its image will emerge, and if you pay attention, you will see it's already happening.