Will straights like living in Montrose??? (Houston, Dallas: apartment complex, rent, condo)

[JGallo]

Dude is all good. I live in Montrose and I do not have problems there. Every once in a while, depending where you go, you can run into gay dudes doing what they do, holding hands, kissing, what ever. But none the less, trust me is nothing bad and I'm pretty conservative. So it's alright. Best real estate in town really. Heights is pretty cool also.
Good luck !

[Wahine]

Montrose's a fascinating neighborhood. We (married couple) periodically head down there, and always see a mix of gays and straights hanging out in restaurants. Can't speak for the bar scene though.

As for Austin, I bet you'd like it too, because it's eclectic, interesting and has tons to offer. Demographically, the university draws bright people from all over the country, and all over Texas. In 2003 the university had 7,000 Asian-American students, which seems like a pretty good percentage of 52,000 students. The university has a center for Asian American studies and many student groups.

Caveat: I'm not Asian American myself. But I've heard about various differences in cities, especially between the east and west coasts, from friends who are.

Austin isn't like, say, Orange County or Hawai'i in terms of Asian-American vibe. But it's not like Madison or my hometown of Ann Arbor, demographically, despite all being college towns... and I really think you cut it off the list too soon.

Those towns are more than 75% non-Latino white, and historically, predominantly German-American. But those are the "townies" who are born and raised there. Every major college town usually has townies, people drawn there by the university ("gownies"), and new residents drawn by industries like high tech that grow around universities. That's where all the political and social tension takes place, between the first group and the other two.

The latter two circles are more diverse, but the tension is usually not racial, but more about wanting to hold onto landmarks, changing downtowns, etc. In Ann Arbor, most of us were appalled when a famous landmark, Drake's, was razed to make room for a bagel shop. But people who have settled there after 1994 don't care. I'm sure there are similar dynamics in Austin: some people insist that the city is just not as "weird" anymore because so many newcomers have moved there.

Anyway, Austin is much more diverse than Madison or Ann Arbor, being about 50% non-Latino white. Proportionate to its overall population, both Austin and Houston have more Asian-Americans than the national average.

[alabambound]

Originally Posted by mpope409

Don't you mean it's one of few areas that are a walkable neighborhood? The whole city is urban.

What's a straight bar, lol?

No, I do mean urban. Montrose is walkable, but it also has an urban feel to it. Most of Houston seems like a giant suburban strip mall to me.

By straght bar, I meant not a gay bar. I didn't mean to imply that gays are not welcome at such bars.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by alabambound

No, I do mean urban. Montrose is walkable, but it also has an urban feel to it. Most of Houston seems like a giant suburban strip mall to me.

By straght bar, I meant not a gay bar. I didn't mean to imply that gays are not welcome at such bars.

Well you should add that Houston doesn't fit your definition of urban because the city is most definitely very urban. (The actual meaning of urban)

[eastwest]

Houston seems suburban to someone? LOL that's the funniest thing I've read in weeks.

Houston = URBAN

[irwin]

Houston is sprawl. They are trying to make the city more urban but in the end it's still a place based on strip malls and sprawling development.

[mpope409]

Originally Posted by irwin

Houston is sprawl. They are trying to make the city more urban but in the end it's still a place based on strip malls and sprawling development.

Okay . That doesn't mean it isn't urban.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Wahine

Montrose's a fascinating neighborhood. We (married couple) periodically head down there, and always see a mix of gays and straights hanging out in restaurants. Can't speak for the bar scene though.

As for Austin, I bet you'd like it too, because it's eclectic, interesting and has tons to offer. Demographically, the university draws bright people from all over the country, and all over Texas. In 2003 the university had 7,000 Asian-American students, which seems like a pretty good percentage of 52,000 students. The university has a center for Asian American studies and many student groups.

Caveat: I'm not Asian American myself. But I've heard about various differences in cities, especially between the east and west coasts, from friends who are.

Austin isn't like, say, Orange County or Hawai'i in terms of Asian-American vibe. But it's not like Madison or my hometown of Ann Arbor, demographically, despite all being college towns... and I really think you cut it off the list too soon.

Those towns are more than 75% non-Latino white, and historically, predominantly German-American. But those are the "townies" who are born and raised there. Every major college town usually has townies, people drawn there by the university ("gownies"), and new residents drawn by industries like high tech that grow around universities. That's where all the political and social tension takes place, between the first group and the other two.

The latter two circles are more diverse, but the tension is usually not racial, but more about wanting to hold onto landmarks, changing downtowns, etc. In Ann Arbor, most of us were appalled when a famous landmark, Drake's, was razed to make room for a bagel shop. But people who have settled there after 1994 don't care. I'm sure there are similar dynamics in Austin: some people insist that the city is just not as "weird" anymore because so many newcomers have moved there.

Anyway, Austin is much more diverse than Madison or Ann Arbor, being about 50% non-Latino white. Proportionate to its overall population, both Austin and Houston have more Asian-Americans than the national average.

Austin, at least when I was living there, was lacking in good Asian restaurants though. And any kind of area of town that was Asian. Houston blows it away in that sense.

[irwin]

Urban


Not Urban
http://blog.kir.com/archives/urban%20sprawl.jpg (broken link)

[Nanner]

Of course the second photo isn't urban. It's a picture of the suburbs.