You Never Leave Houston

[toxteth o'grady]

A homage to the unofficial motto of Houston ("Fuck You, Houston's Awesome") and the city zeitgeist by Aboubacar Ndiaye has eloquently captured our attention . So what's it all about? What's Houston all about?

You Never Leave Houston

...The anxiety around living here, the need for outside validation, is at odds with the demographic changes in the city. Each day, dozens of people move here, the city has grown more than any other metro area in the country from 2000-2010, and Fort Bend County, on the southwestern side of the metro area, recently passed Queens County, New York as the most diverse in the country. The source of the anxiety is that we don’t like the reasons why people are coming: good jobs, cheap housing, safe neighborhoods. We hate how practical it is. We are not drawing in Patti Smiths and Joan Didions. There are no mass arrivals of Portland and San Francisco expatriates in skinny jeans and vintage dresses stepping off planes at Bush International Airport. We attract engineers from Midwestern state schools and school teachers from Florida—people who want to make a good income, and maybe get married, buy a house, and have a couple of kids. But that’s not enough. We don’t want to just be safe, and rich, and comfortable. We want to be cool...

[vjhe]

A great read and pretty much sums up the feelings of many who have lived in Houston for any good measure of time.

[ardecila]

Makes sense. Houston is one of our nation's most perfect embodiments of the 20th-Century version of the American Dream. To dismiss Houston is to dismiss the millions of people for whom this vision still holds tremendous appeal.

Anybody who wants to change American lifestyles will eventually have to grapple with places like Houston. This is why Tesla is deep into research on electric pickup trucks and may soon locate its gigafactory in Texas, and even noted transit planner Jarrett Walker has sought to improve Houston's bus system to show that transit may still have a chance in Texas-style suburban environments.

[llamaorama]

There are no mass arrivals of Portland and San Francisco expatriates in skinny jeans and vintage dresses stepping off planes at Bush International Airport. We attract engineers from Midwestern state schools and school teachers from Florida—people who want to make a good income, and maybe get married, buy a house, and have a couple of kids. But that’s not enough. We don’t want to just be safe, and rich, and comfortable. We want to be cool...

I think I have it figured out.

People want to move to a place that maximizes their opportunities; economic and personal.

People we often consider "cool" are usually a rare combination of the personality trait of work hard play hard and highly energetic, AND are uniquely privileged. They were lucky and took the initiative to take advantage of opportunities. Stuff relating to creativity, entreprenuership, is the hallmark of these people. The real reason why live music and art correlates to successful talented people's living preferences is because these people are the ones making that stuff.

Most people are in the other group, which is more boring but also human. The group we should care about because it is almost guaranteed we are a member of it.

Cities like Seattle are very enabling of the former group at the expense of the latter group, for reasons that are less about being cool and more about having lots of money and institutions which may be in fact very staid and conservative; combined with the fun opportunities that come from being a great natural setting on a coast/mountains and a socially relaxed culture.

Just by virtue of aspiring to have such a life, a lot of people call this "cool"...

But Cities like Houston are far more enabling of the second group because they are accessible due to a lower cost of living. The surplus that comes from a lot of middle class people having actual disposable income tends to lead to good things of a different sort...

Richard Florida is wrong, reality is the reverse of his theories.

BUT

Boring people still want to maximize how nice their home is. The stuff about attracting the creative class is just a necessary ruse to fool the more naysayers into letting us have nice public amenities like bike trails and push for a more tolerant type of community. The old "its for the greater good" mentality is dead, here in Texas especially, it really is has to be for some make-believe economic development for anything good to happen.

As far as "cool" people and their wants, what are they really? I think we label rich hipster tech types as liberal and forward because of their stereotypically naive and intentionally contrarian views. If you peel back the skin most of them are actually just snotty fake libertarians. Over time I don't think their influence will be positive on the cities they have chosen to call home.

[chris08876]

Wouldn't this also apply to all of Texas? I hear people from Texas have a unreal pride for their state. Which is great, but I think Texas has a way of winning the hearts of its residents. What is it about the state thats so awe inspiring and seems to win the heart of its residents? I'm from NJ so I have no idea.

[AviationGuy]

After having finally read the entire article, I see that it's pretty fair and accurate. I think the problem is SSP forumers who read the summary and "assume" what the ariticle says, which I did initially until I read the whole article. I would like to have seen more discussion of the the huge, young, liberal population within the loop that is clearly "cool", creative, and embodies what SSP forumers consider the only way to live. As for the large proportion of the overall population of the area that is more suburban and "all-American", they're just as legitimate as anyone else, and represent the origin of most of us here, regardless of where we're from. You're talking about our parents, siblings, friends, teachers, doctors, etc. that are just as human as the rest of us, and who are entitled to live how they want regardless of whether it pleases SSP forumers.

The articles mention diversity. One of the "cool" things about Houston is that a simple trip to the grocery store can reveal people from all over the world. You can find this diversity even in some suburban areas, especially Sugar Land, which is largely Asian The inner loop, especially around West U, can be fascinating. My folks have friends from all over the world who wouldn't want to leave, largely because of the kindness of the people they find there. There's much less snobbery than you find in other places around the country.

[bobdreamz]

I found this quote in the Reader's comments interesting:

Sounds like a fun place to visit. But it also sounds like it wouldn’t be possible to live there without a car, which is a deal-breaker.

[jg6544]

To each his or her own.

[Eightball]

As far as "cool" people and their wants, what are they really? I think we label rich hipster tech types as liberal and forward because of their stereotypically naive and intentionally contrarian views. If you peel back the skin most of them are actually just snotty fake libertarians. Over time I don't think their influence will be positive on the cities they have chosen to call home.

Rather ironic, don't you think? You attack a certain group for being intolerant, fake and stereotyping others when you have just done same exact thing.

I did read the article. I enjoyed the talk about the author's journey and what he likes about Houston. Where he lost me was the need to attack other cities to prop up Houston. What's wrong with loving where you live because it works for you. Why the need to cut down other areas that work better for others.

By the way being tolerant of others is not some abstract concept. It was legal to discriminate against gays in Houston in housing and jobs until late last month. It's still legal to do essentially all over the rest of Texas and many other areas of the country. It's not just a checklist on some list it's about basic human rights. Rights which are denied over much of the country.

BTW Chris I know quite a few people from Texas who feel it has gone down the tubes, especially due to political changes. I'm not sure I'm buying they have more pride than other states or areas.

Texas is great for a lot of people and not so great for a lot of others.

[pacarlson]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

...As for the large proportion of the overall population of the area that is more suburban and "all-American", they're just as legitimate as anyone else, and represent the origin of most of us here, regardless of where we're from. You're talking about our parents, siblings, friends, teachers, doctors, etc. that are just as human as the rest of us, and who are entitled to live how they want regardless of whether it pleases SSP forumers.

I think it's telling that so many SSP forumers need to be reminded of this. Good point AviationGuy.

[fflint]

Originally Posted by pacarlson

I think it's telling that so many SSP forumers need to be reminded of this. Good point AviationGuy.

It's neither a necessary point, nor a relevant one. The article has nothing to do with assertions that the 'legitimacy' of just plain folk has been somehow denied by a sinister straw-man cabal of forum hipsters, liberals, coastal urbanites, youth, singles and gays and whomever else is to be treated as counterfeit, not "real," as people who should be ridiculed when not ignored.

The writer is more of a dreamy hipster than anybody I know in San Francisco, name-checking everything from bahn-mi to dosa, and he frosts that puffery by pretentiously referring to Houston as the "Land of the Lotus Eaters." Right. That is neither our vaunted middle-aged, middle-class, middle-Americans' diet, nor is that how they experience their communities.

I like Houston. This piece is far too personal to extrapolate anything meaningful about Houston (or whichever not-Houston he is currently using as a foil). It is really nothing more than the projection of one man's youth onto the place where he lived it.

[mrnyc]

they say after living in manhattan for 7 years you leave in a box.

[photoLith]

I left Houston and am never looking back.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Makes sense. Houston is one of our nation's most perfect embodiments of the 20th-Century version of the American Dream. To dismiss Houston is to dismiss the millions of people for whom this vision still holds tremendous appeal.

Anybody who wants to change American lifestyles will eventually have to grapple with places like Houston. This is why Tesla is deep into research on electric pickup trucks and may soon locate its gigafactory in Texas, and even noted transit planner Jarrett Walker has sought to improve Houston's bus system to show that transit may still have a chance in Texas-style suburban environments.

Houston is continuing to evolve and change at a very rapid pace; thanks in part to having no zoning; its urbanizing and NIMBYs are powerless to stop it. While the city still very much clings to its auto-centric traditions; large parts of it are anything but suburban nowadays. Its become a full fledged hybrid city, and has more in common with LA or the outer boroughs of Toronto than anything else in Texas. And with its robust job market and high metropolitan area growth rates, there is an immense amount of demand fueling the development boom.

Its a place to watch because it is turning into our nation's next great city. Houston has the cosmopolitan mix and offerings of a traditional large city, just in different packaging.

[dc_denizen]

Build a subway, then we'll talk.

[Shawn]

^---- Subways are for Patti Smiths and Joan Didions.

[mhays]

I don't get this idea that "coolness" is Houston's problem. First it seems to have its share, and second that's not necessarily what draws people to certain cities.

Some of us want to live without a car, in a climate we like, and have lots of density around us, because we like density and/or like the convenience it brings. We want walkable, bikeable, and decent transit. All of these things are subjective. But I bet these types of factors are collectively much bigger than coolness.

Houston's building a lot of sorta-density and is taking steps to improve transit. Great. Keep doing that, and maybe delete the "sorta," and it'll get more of the types I'm talking about.

[599GTO]

Quite the opposite. Visiting in Houston reminds how special Manhattan is.

Not knocking on anyone who likes living in Houston but we all have our preferences.

[TexasPlaya]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Build a subway, then we'll talk.

What a waste of money in a city like Houston.

[JManc]

Subway in a city that routinely floods is a rather silly idea. Houston already has (and is building more) surface level light rail.

Btw, most cities, a car is needed. Some more than others but even in NY and Boston, countess people still have cars. Try finding a parking spot in either city at night. There is no car free urban utopia anywhere. The idea is to design the city around the person, not the car which Houston has done in the past and is now evolving in right direction.

I actually miss Houston.