Thoughts on conservatism in the Houston area? Forum

[IgosduIkana]

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[phillywc]

This is another in a series of some weird threads for you.

Its a major city. Won't be that conservative. Houston has a lesbian mayor.

Chill yourself, brother, and let it ride.

[IgosduIkana]

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[goldenflash19]

I'm a true blue liberal, but political climates (and dating scenes) rank far behind job prospects in my book. If you're looking at 75k tuition + COL for Houston, I'd run the other way.

[zhenders]

I wouldn't move to Houston for seven figures. One of the most racist, bigoted uneducated cities in the country.

[rinkrat19]

My old boss was a conservative Christian guy from Texas. Even he said Houston sucked.

[ScottRiqui]

The thing I keep hearing about Houston is "It's a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there." It seriously makes me wonder if there's not some mass delusion going on with its residents.

[nebula666]

I'm more concerned with the fact you are leaving the midwest to take almost six figures of debt in a state to which you clearly have no ties. Yikes.

[TheSpanishMain]

I think you're going down the rabbit hole again, man. This reminds me of your thread where you were worried about male/female ratios and poring over demographic data. Any city this size is going to have hardcore liberals, hardcore conservatives, and everything in between. Worry about job prospects and cost first.

[BigZuck]

I'm more concerned with the fact you are leaving the midwest to take almost six figures of debt in a state to which you clearly have no ties. Yikes.

Oh so very much this

To answer the question- Houston isn't a very conservative city. Lesbian mayor, there are churches that do same sex blessings, etc. It's a huge city, so you're going to have the full spectrum of people. Whatever your preconceived notions are about Texas, most of the larger cities aren't going to fulfill them. There's no tumbleweeds, rarely do you see cowboys hats, and not every bar is a honky-tonk. Once you get outside the major cities though, Texas has a habit of becoming Texas real fast.

I moved to Houston from another region and was surprised at how few of the stereotypes I had in my mind weren't true. All that being said, keep in mind that Houston is kind of a like a hotter Los Angeles, without most of the upsides of Los Angeles.

[ScottRiqui]

Once you get outside the major cities though, Texas has a habit of becoming Texas real fast.

My wife and I (both Texans) laughed our asses off at this - it's concise and 100% truth. Looking at the big Texas cities, you wouldn't even think they're all in the same state, but most of the smaller towns are pretty much interchangeable.

[cotiger]

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[IgosduIkana]

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[WokeUpInACar]

If you didn't already know the answer to this question you should not be attending the University of Houston. UH is a solid school for people from the area who can attend for cheap, but that's about it.

[BVest]

The thing I keep hearing about Houston is "It's a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there." It seriously makes me wonder if there's not some mass delusion going on with its residents.

As someone who has actually said this (for years, actually) and who has lived in Houston I will clarify to say that Houston has anything and everything you could ever want in a city from a living, dining, dating, and cultural perspective (unless you're looking for cold weather, mild summers, or hilly terrain), as one would expect for the 4th largest city and 5th largest MSA in the US. But Houston is also a cesspool for shitty strip centers, crappy businesses, and every chain that should never have survived as a stand-alone business, much less spawned additional locations or franchises. As a resident, you have time to wade through the muck to find the good. As a visitor, you don't have that ability.

[BigZuck]

The thing I keep hearing about Houston is "It's a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there." It seriously makes me wonder if there's not some mass delusion going on with its residents.

As someone who has actually said this (for years, actually) and who has lived in Houston I will clarify to say that Houston has anything and everything you could ever want in a city from a living, dining, dating, and cultural perspective (unless you're looking for cold weather, mild summers, or hilly terrain), as one would expect for the 4th largest city and 5th largest MSA in the US. But Houston is also a cesspool for shitty strip centers, crappy businesses, and every chain that should never have survived as a stand-alone business, much less spawned additional locations or franchises. As a resident, you have time to wade through the muck to find the good. As a visitor, you don't have that ability.

I think this is totally on point. There are some really cool parts of Houston (mainly inside the loop). But if you go to a crappy part of town or outside the loop? God help you.

[ScottRiqui]

The thing I keep hearing about Houston is "It's a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there." It seriously makes me wonder if there's not some mass delusion going on with its residents.

As someone who has actually said this (for years, actually) and who has lived in Houston I will clarify to say that Houston has anything and everything you could ever want in a city from a living, dining, dating, and cultural perspective (unless you're looking for cold weather, mild summers, or hilly terrain), as one would expect for the 4th largest city and 5th largest MSA in the US. But Houston is also a cesspool for shitty strip centers, crappy businesses, and every chain that should never have survived as a stand-alone business, much less spawned additional locations or franchises. As a resident, you have time to wade through the muck to find the good. As a visitor, you don't have that ability.

I think this is totally on point. There are some really cool parts of Houston (mainly inside the loop). But if you go to a crappy part of town or outside the loop? Good help you.

I agree that makes a lot of sense. My brother has been in Houston for thirty years, and has no plans to move away now that he's retiring. I guess he's carved out a niche, and the crappiest aspects of the city don't bother him since he's able to avoid them.

[Persia]

I moved to Houston from the Midwest after law school, and I enjoy living here. It's very diverse with a huge immigrant population, and my boyfriend and I (mixed-race couple) haven't experienced any of the racism the previous poster mentioned. We're also more liberal than most Texans and haven't had any trouble fitting in. I'm not sure why political views would even be an issue when choosing a law school. No one is going to come at you with a pitchfork. This is one of the largest cities in the U.S., not a small town.

For me, Houston's negatives are: extreme humidity, giant bugs, traffic, lack of reliable public transportation, flooding. The positives: major sports teams, a strong foodie scene (if you're eating at chain restaurants, you're doing Houston wrong), low cost of living, the standard big city symphonies/theaters/museums, good shopping, and a decent nightlife inside the loop. Just stay out of the sprawling suburbs.

That said, I would not go to UH unless you know you'd be comfortable living here. The school's primary market is Houston. If you aren't sure whether you'd like the city, I'd choose a different school.

[BigZuck]

I moved to Houston from the Midwest after law school, and I enjoy living here. It's very diverse with a huge immigrant population, and my boyfriend and I (mixed-race couple) haven't experienced any of the racism the previous poster mentioned. We're also more liberal than most Texans and haven't had any trouble fitting in. I'm not sure why political views would even be an issue when choosing a law school. No one is going to come at you with a pitchfork. This is one of the largest cities in the U.S., not a small town.

For me, Houston's negatives are: extreme humidity, giant bugs, traffic, lack of reliable public transportation, flooding. The positives: major sports teams, a strong foodie scene (if you're eating at chain restaurants, you're doing Houston wrong), low cost of living, the standard big city symphonies/theaters/museums, good shopping, and a decent nightlife inside the loop. Just stay out of the sprawling suburbs.

That said, I would not go to UH unless you know you'd be comfortable living here. The school's primary market is Houston. If you aren't sure whether you'd like the city, I'd choose a different school.

To be fair I'm not sure that the Astros and Texans count as major sports teams

[kalvano]

Houston is a vile swamp full of trollops, nee'r-do-wells, charlatans, and thieves. You are welcome to it and good day to you sir.

[BigZuck]

Houston is a vile swamp full of trollops, nee'r-do-wells, charlatans, and thieves. You are welcome to it and good day to you sir.

Nobody ever wins this cripple fight bro

As someone without a dog in it though, it's fun to watch

[kalvano]

Sorry, I saw "Houston." Automatic response.

[BigZuck]

Sorry, I saw "Houston." Automatic response.

[crit_racer]

As someone from Dallas, I gotta admit Houston is the cooler city. It still sucks due to weather, sprawl, ugliness, etc, but at least it's diverse and has some interesting stuff going on culturally. Dallas is a bit white washed and stiff feeling.

[BVest]

(if you're eating at chain restaurants, you're doing Houston life wrong)

FIFY

BTW, for those of you headed to Houston, Villa Arcos. You can thank me later.