# Houston is One of the Country's Coolest Cities -- So Why Haven't You Been Yet?



## Meanderer (Nov 25, 2014)

*Houston is One of the Country's Coolest Cities -- So Why Haven't You Been There Yet?*

Pop quiz: Largest cities in the United States. Go. We all know New York is number one, right? And most are hip to the fact that Chicago ought to be called the Third City, because the number two spot has long been owned by Los Angeles. Who's in fourth, then? Houston's in fourth, that's who, now home to nearly 2.2 million people. Chicago ought to watch out -- the bayou boomtown seems intent on getting a whole lot bigger, real soon. Not that you should wait around to get to know this fast-growing free-for-all, a diverse and unique place where, generally, the thing to expect is the unexpected, which always makes visiting a whole lot of fun.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/David-Landsel/the-coolest-city-youre-no_b_4950428.html


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## jujube (Nov 26, 2014)

I HAVE been to Houston.  We were there a few years ago visiting my cousins and went to see the "corpse plant" at the museum.  That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I mean that in both the good and bad way.....  My cousin and his wife both worked for NASA and he took us on a great tour of the space center.


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## hollydolly (Nov 26, 2014)

Interesting Jujube...I have promised myself I will visit the USA one day..but as it will only be a one time visit, I have constantly got an ear out and an eye  researching places in the US to visit .

I've thought of Texas,,but I think I read somewhere that it's quite an expensive place to visit along with NY...so did you find that?..I get to read all the good parts about places but rarely the bad.. what were the more negative aspects from your point of view?


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## NancyNGA (Nov 26, 2014)

hollydolly, you have to put The Grand Canyon on your list of places to go in the US. 
 I don't think Texas is expensive.  Except maybe for Florida, the cost of living is generally lower in the southern states.

I been to Houston once, in August.  Didn't get to sight-see.  It wasn't *cool*, it was hot and humid.


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## jujube (Nov 26, 2014)

Regarding Texas.  I haven't found the big cities to be more expensive than any other big cities.  You can find bargains or you can blow the budget.  We were in San Antonio for a few days in September.  The Alamo is free.  Strolling along the Riverwalk is free.  Going into the big cathedral and admiring the beautiful interior is free.  Stopping for a beer in a historic bar isn't free but it's not budget-busting either.  Parking will probably cost you $10.  In the past few years, we've stayed in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Fort Stockton, and Amarillo.   We've eaten in local dives for reasonable prices and have had great food.  Once, we splurged on steak dinners in a famous restaurant.  I have come to the conclusion that I like the dives better.  My only complaint about Texas is that it seems like it's thousands of miles wide.  You drive, and drive, and drive, and usually there's not much interesting to see from the highway.  Cows, fields, oil wells, more cows, more fields.  If I could just teleport between cities, I think I'd be OK.  I hate the hassle of flying, though, so I guess I'm down to driving or waiting for teleportation.  I would like, one of these days, to go to Big Bend National Park....the pictures are breathtaking. 


In the last five years, we've traveled to all but four of the continental states.  Hopefully, we'll knock those off in the next couple of years.  Every state had good and bad.....a lot more good than bad, though.  A *whole* lot more good.   Just about the only bad is the horrible traffic in the big cities.  We try to stay in small towns outside the big cities and take public transportation into the city.  We pull our camper with a big-ass pick'em'up and it's a bitch to find parking we can squeeze into sometimes in the cities.  Not to mention expensive....we paid $26 to park for four hours in one town.  On the other hand, we parked for free in Santee, CA and took the Trolley (rapid transit) into San Diego every day...$5 for an all-day pass and the Trolley took us every place we wanted to go.  

The US isn't cheap by any means but if you plan carefully, you can have the same amount of fun on a lot less money.


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## hollydolly (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks Jujube, it sounds a lot like London apart from the huge distances ... I think I will stick to looking to visit  smaller towns and outlying areas.. ...


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## oldman (Nov 27, 2014)

This is another one of those cities that I used to fly into, but never got further than the hotel at the airport. I always heard that there is a lot of oil money in that city.


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## Ken N Tx (Nov 27, 2014)

My wife and where born and raised in Chicago, moved to Texas 30 years ago..Best move ever!! We live 45 miles North of Dallas/Fort Worth..

We have 4 acres 1800 sq ft home. Low taxes, no State income tax..Our suburbs are some of the fastest growing areas in the country. Houston, that is a different story!!


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## Ken N Tx (Nov 27, 2014)

It does get windy!!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_wpI_jhFbt4


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## Pappy (Nov 27, 2014)

My kind of place, Ken. Love the out buildings. You are a fortunate man. I'm an old country boy myself but I somehow always had jobs in the big cities.


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## Jackie22 (Nov 27, 2014)

Hey....Texas is not all fields and cows......lol.  East Texas and the Hill Country are beautiful.

Just one warning if you're planning a visit to Texas..Do NOT come in August.


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## Ken N Tx (Nov 27, 2014)

Jackie22 said:


> Hey....Texas is not all fields and cows......lol.  East Texas and the Hill Country are beautiful.
> 
> Just one warning if you're planning a visit to Texas..Do NOT come in August.


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## rkunsaw (Nov 27, 2014)

I don't like big cities, heck I don't even like small cities. A population of 25,000 or so is reaching the maximum. I don't live in town but am very close to Clarksville 
( pop. just over 9,000 ). That's big enough for me.


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## oldman (Nov 27, 2014)

I like big cities. New York is my favorite, but only because I like to go to the shows on Broadway and walk around Times Square. My wife and I catch a train 20 miles away from where we live and in about three and a half hours later we are in New York City and the train station is only about a mile away from Broadway, so on nice days we walk and on cold or wet days, we grab a cab. We are going up in about 2 weeks, I think. We are going to see "Motown-The Musical." Then, maybe "The Book of Mormon" in the spring. New York City is no place to be in the winter. 

Trouble with being a pilot is we get to fly into a lot of cities, but never have time to visit. I flew to Los Angeles on one of my flights before I retired and Kobe Bryant was on-board coming back from Chicago where he had spent the night in the hospital following an injury during the game he had just played. He asked me if I'd like tickets to the game the next day. I had to turn him down because I wasn't staying that long and was scheduled to be elsewhere. Darn!


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## hollydolly (Nov 27, 2014)

NancyNGA said:


> hollydolly, you have to put The Grand Canyon on your list of places to go in the US.
> I don't think Texas is expensive.  Except maybe for Florida, the cost of living is generally lower in the southern states.
> 
> I been to Houston once, in August.  Didn't get to sight-see.  It wasn't *cool*, it was hot and humid.



I've seen pictures of the grand canyon ...it looks amazing..!!


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