Ugly Houston??? (Dallas, Conroe, Bellaire: upper-class, townhouse, neighborhood)

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by person

Montrose Midtown are supposedly the most walkable in Houston, but not really when compared to what most ppl view as walkable. The density and activity will be disappointing to outsiders if we sell it as such.

Speak for yourself. Houston suits my mother just fine. A woman who I have pointed out before is a born and bred New Yorker. In fact, she wishes she could move into Midtown just so she could walk around more.

[houstoner]

You can thank the "Tin Man" for those. Urban Lofts Townhomes™ - History of the Tin Man I like them though.

I like the Inner Loop; don't travel much on freeways or outside the loop so the Houston I see, I guess, is not the same most see. I like the people, the residential architecture, the almost unreal greenness of the flora in spring and summer, and the sleek silver and slate blue hue of the city I know.

Funny how our opinions are likely shaped by the lives we lead and the places we frequent. There are many Houstons. Choose one.

[tstone]

Cool, thanks for the info! The lofts look nice on the inside but the outside, ugh. Whatever floats your boat, and it looks like the Tin Man is making some money too. We'll see what happens to these in the next 15-20 years.

And as for the "greenness" of Houston inside the loop, if you travel even further out in many spots, you'll see even more. Pines to the north, brush to the south. Overall our greenness is nice, but doesn't really compare to Atlanta and other places in the southern US.

[crbcrbrgv]

I can name 25 metro areas that have nicer greenery and nature. But I can only name 2 that have a nicer skyline. And few areas have such genuinely nice people. And I know I speak for many people when I will gladly take the hot summers. They are easier to get used to than cold winters. Houston has a lot to offer.

[person]

Originally Posted by houstoner

Not really. pacific_trader said you can't walk anywhere in Houston, using Bay Area Blvd. waaaay the heck out in Clear Lake as an example. mpope409 countered that there are some walkable areas in and around the city's core, which there are. No one was trying to sell it as something it's not. This is a sprawling, auto-oriented city like virtually every other city in the sunbelt. I don't think anyone moving here thinks otherwise.

Yes really, we can't just strip away the context. Pacific was talking in the context of Tokyo street walkability, when he say you can't walk anywhere in Houston. So by saying that's not true, we can also mislead someone to think that our few 'walkable' streets are similarly exciting and vibrant too. Ppl moving here certainly know it is auto oriented sprawl, but I don't think they understand how lacking street vibrancy is.

Originally Posted by mpope409

Speak for yourself. Houston suits my mother just fine. A woman who I have pointed out before is a born and bred New Yorker. In fact, she wishes she could move into Midtown just so she could walk around more.

Others have already spoken, with their feet, just look at the sparse street traffic of midtown. Or maybe they also wish to contribute to the street traffic of midtown but just could not get around to it.

Originally Posted by Texas Mack

I don't think they have enough signs and banners posted. Try again.

I am not sure what you are asking for. You want some pics of streets but there is a problem with your browser that is preventing you from accessing the search engines? I might help if you repost clearly.

[T_Puff1980]

Originally Posted by pacific_trader

Frankly, you can't walk ANYWHERE in Houston. I was getting some tires rotated on Bay Area Blvd, tried to walk down to Cafe Express, and almost got killed twice because there are no sidewalks anywhere.

That is one of the things that annoys me about Houston. But I'm not the type of person who just wants to get out and walk around. But it does annoy me when I see bus stops and no sidewalks at all.

I think Houston is somewhat nice (The Galleria Area, Piney Point). But another thing that annoys me is there will be a nice new housing community built around rundown strip malls and corner stores.

[jfre81]

Not a bad balance of greenery and skyline?

Photos Copyright 2007/the guy you know as jfre81 - some of these were posted on HAIF a few months ago

[jonjj]

hmmm--the first picture has a big parking deck taking center stage
the second picture has a freeway taking center stage
the third has a non-discript new building behind some weeds, street post and NO people
and the last picture has a pretty park with again--NO people.

----Maybe these are the reasons people don't think much of Houston.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by jonjj

hmmm--the first picture has a big parking deck taking center stage
the second picture has a freeway taking center stage
the third has a non-discript new building behind some weeds, street post and NO people
and the last picture has a pretty park with again--NO people.

----Maybe these are the reasons people don't think much of Houston.

It's a city, not Yellowstone Park, and I prefer to show it like you're gonna see it when you come here.

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by jonjj

hmmm--the first picture has a big parking deck taking center stage
the second picture has a freeway taking center stage
the third has a non-discript new building behind some weeds, street post and NO people
and the last picture has a pretty park with again--NO people.

----Maybe these are the reasons people don't think much of Houston.

People don't think much of Houston because they don't give it a chance. Or they assume it is going to be something they are used to. Houston is unlike any city in the United States. Also, it is a town built around the automobile. That's why you don't see a lot of people walking around. I live here and I love it. I am from Chicago. I don't ever want to move back to Chicago. Screw the rest of ya'll. Stay up north and enjoy your mouths full of snow as you blow it off your driveway while I sit on my porch in my shorts and enjoy another Anchor Porter from Specs. Houston has the Heights, Montrose, Upper Kirby, the Museum District, Uptown, Midtown, Downtown, state of the art sports facilities, an Ivy League level University, better weather than 90 percent of the country, gulf coast close by, diversity (which means beautiful women of all shapes and colors), restaurants that are just barely a notch under Chicago quality, San Antonio and Austin nearby, affordable housing, and beautiful suburbs in all directions, yes even East. So like I said, stay up north. We won't miss you down here.