I miss the old Texas (Houston, Dallas: suburbs, money, cities)

[stillkit]

Ok, I was wrong. Houston is a lovely place overflowing with nice people and everyone wants to live there. Nobody wants to move the suburbs any more.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by stillkit

Ok, I was wrong. Houston is a lovely place overflowing with nice people and everyone wants to live there. Nobody wants to move the suburbs any more.

People live all over driven by personal desires and job locations. Sure people like to live in the suburbs where schools can be better for a reasonable cost home. Those moving to Houston are doing so for jobs. Fla is a really pretty place, in part due to little manufacturing and focus on tourism. Nice pretty place if you already have money and dont need a good job or well located home you can afford with the pay from a job you can find.

[jr1038]

Originally Posted by stillkit

Oh, come on. Houston is a decaying, overcrowded, smelly place, mostly filled with folks nobody wants to live next door to. The only bright thing there is the flare gases out along the ship channel.

Houston may be overcrowded and "smelly" to you, but it sure as hell isn't decaying. Whether or not you're put off by the city doesn't change the fact that it has the fastest growing economy in the country - few if any cities have a brighter future right now. Fortunately there are plenty of people who feel differently than you about Houston, who take pride in the city's prosperity despite a national downturn.

Originally Posted by stillkit

Today, it has pockets of prosperity in an otherwise pretty dismal place. It has too many people, to few jobs which pay a living wage, too much crime, too much drugs and too little opportunity.

I disagree with that assessment, though I suppose it depends on your definition of "prosperity." Nonetheless an expansive underclass is endemic to all of the nation's cities and is the consequence of much greater forces than simply an influx of opportunistic northeasterners. Indeed your economic generalization could be apt for any city in this country particularly with respect to the low wages. That said, Houston, and Texas as a whole, offers more opportunity than most of the rest of the country - in part evidenced by the uptick in migration to Houston and Texas in the past several years. Things are much bleaker elsewhere.

Originally Posted by stillkit

Houston is a perfect microcosm of the new Texas.

Like it or not, Houston IS the new Texas. More and more, Texas (and the rest of the country) is becoming defined by its cities. As goes Houston, Dallas, and Austin, so goes the rest of the state. These cities - and thus Texas - are on the forefront of the prevailing demographic and social transitions underway in this country. In all sincerity you will find that your beloved "good ol' days" mentality prevails just to the north, in a far less dynamic land called Oklahoma - at least for now. The rest of us wussies happy to embrace modern society can happily stay in "decaying" Texas.

[feufoma]

I had a nice coversation with a neurosurgeon fellow this weekend who moved from NYC and he loves living in Neartown Houston. He said he'll never go back. Houston is a perfect fit for him. Besides the decay you know. Read a book.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by feufoma

This is possibly the most ignorant statement I have read on CD.

... that would be saying A LOT.

But you have to understand, the OP represents "old Texas". Regardless of what we say or what we show, there's nothing positive to him about it.

BTW stillkit, if you think Houston feels overcrowded, go to Boston, a city that would be ranked about 6th largest here in Texas, yet feels HUGE. Say what you will about Houston, I mean it is pretty crowded, but at least everyone's not stacked on top of everyone.

Well, at least not yet anyway....

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by stillkit

Oh, come on. Houston is a decaying, overcrowded, smelly place, mostly filled with folks nobody wants to live next door to. The only bright thing there is the flare gases out along the ship channel.

Houston is a perfect microcosm of the new Texas. Before, it was a thriving metropolis, the hub of the oil business world wide and a pretty decent place to live, if you could stand the humidity. Then, beginning in the 1970's when the industrial belt began to rust, the city was overwhelmed by get rich quick outsiders seeking relief from the problems of the NE and Midwest. They poured in, driving up property values and driving down wages. Within a couple of decades, they'd abandoned Houston for Katy or The Woodlands, leaving behind the natives they'd displaced in the city core. Once, Houston had pockets of poverty in an otherwise pretty prosperous place. Today, it has pockets of prosperity in an otherwise pretty dismal place. It has too many people, to few jobs which pay a living wage, too much crime, too much drugs and too little opportunity.

So you don't like big cities. Don't ever live in one. Problem solved.

I'll keep my Houston, and you'll keep your Pflugerville, Johnson City, or wherever you stay at.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by JJG

... that would be saying A LOT.

But you have to understand, the OP represents "old Texas". Regardless of what we say or what we show, there's nothing positive to him about it.

BTW stillkit, if you think Houston feels overcrowded, go to Boston, a city that would be ranked about 6th largest here in Texas, yet feels HUGE. Say what you will about Houston, I mean it is pretty crowded, but at least everyone's not stacked on top of everyone.

Well, at least not yet anyway....

I had to laugh when he/she said that the city of Houston is decaying lol. Southern cities are actually doing the exact opposite, compared to the Northeast and the Rust Belt.

[ScoPro]

I think the good elements of our state's history far outweigh the bad elements and we are continuing to evolve because of it all.

Get over it, but NEVER forget, and move forward.

God Bless Texas!

[Texas Liberal]

This thread reminds me of No Country For Old Men. Sheriff Bell laments the fact that West Texas has become so violent and he feels " overmatched" by the new criminals. But his uncle reminds that him that West Texas has always been violent and all that has really changed is Bell himself.

I am not saying that Texas hasn't changed any, it certainly has, but it is easy to view Texas through the nostalgia filter.

I mostly agree with those arguing that Texas is getting better.

[eastontracks]

Lol@ that guy saying Houston is decaying. I chose Houston out of all the other cities when I came from LA. Originally from s tx but Houston is more prosperous and diverse than Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. Lots of opportunity and they continue to add more to do in downtown. I miss being out west but there's plenty to see and experience in houston.