Houston rates lower than its elevation
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2/13/2006
Lived there 1970-78, visited a few times since. Houston was big then, much bigger now. I remember when the Shell Oil building was the tallest, now you can't even find it!
Bad points:
1) Unbearable humidity in all seasons. Winters are much better in FL, CA, and AZ. I froze many times when I lived there and walked to school. Unbelievably heavy rainfall, much more than cities further inland.
2) Terrible crime. I never felt safe in Houston. Are there any safe walkable neighborhoods? Avoid the East side in particular, anything near the Ship Channel and the east suburbs.
3) Terrible environment. How many smells are there in Houston? All those oil refineries dump the most foul, toxic garbage into the air, I'm amazed children aren't born with 3 arms (so the third hand can cover the mouth and nose). The bayou 'swamp gas' is really sickening.
4) Bugs, all kinds. It doesn't matter how clean you live, they'll come. I woke up to find a roach tickling my nose! Have you ever killed a pregnant roach? Yuck! This is reason enough to never live in Houston.
5) Generally boring with little or no excitement. No theme parks. City is too big to enjoy exploring and landscape is extremely flat. You'd expect much more from a city of 2 million souls.
6) Yes, other reviewers are correct: there are alot of rednecks in Houston. Education levels are low. When I moved there, people referred to me as a Yankee, a term I thought had died after the Civil War.
In general, for those who are considering living there, Houston is one of the worst cities to live in the country. Sorry to those who tout its virtues, I literally can find none.
Michael | Phoenix, AZ