Objectively, I'd say Houston is the most boring "big" city in Texas. To be honest, Austin is pretty cool. However, I'm so fond of Houston because I grew up my whole life here. Whether it's the deteriorating, old houses mismatched next to modern apartments, or the chaotic 26-lane highways, or the humongous H-E-B parking lots that take up half a stadium, the city has a special charm.
Houston can kind of be described as having "multiple nuclei." There is a central business district with all the corporate skyscrapers yet manufacturing is seen more in the outskirts of the city. More low-income communities accompany those areas. When my parents first immigrated to America, we lived closer to downtown near our famous Medical Center. As our family slowly became more financially stable, we moved further and further out from the center of the city and into the suburbs.
Houston is very rapidly expanding -- mostly from huge growth into suburbs. When I first moved into my house eight years ago, it was purely farmland all around us. After a few years, they built a tollway right next to our neighborhood. Then they built a huge Walmart behind my house accompanied by a movie theater, gyms, and a million different restaurants. Now there is a whole town past our community and our area has seen so much growth that they built a brand new 206 million dollar high school.
What I find interesting is that while we are expanding fast, Houston suburbs are not necessarily expanding efficiently or planned thoughtfully. For instance, when they built that Walmart, there were already three huge grocery stores within a five-minute drive away. Additionally, half my classmates drove cars to school. Our suburb is definitely not walkable and while Houston does provide a Metro bus system, it is nowhere near as extensive or convenient as many other large cities. All in all, Houston is a driving city, which explains why I became so accustomed to complex highway systems and wide roads. In fact, we have the widest highway in the world!
I was lucky enough to have a car during high school and having that freedom to step on the gas and travel anywhere ingrained an independence and self-reliance in me. However, with car transportation comes traffic which is widespread throughout Houston. Due to the extensive suburbs and sprawl of Houston's outskirts, it is common for people to commute very long distances to get to work. Over the summer, I spent almost three hours in traffic every day and the craziest part was that I wasn't an anomaly.
Although there are certain urban issues with the city, I still love it. My favorite part of Houston is the diversity of food. Some food communities I grew around are Little Saigon, Koreatown, Chinatown, and of course, there is a huge selection of Tex-Mex and barbeques. Also, every fast food restaurant you can think of probably exists here. Just behind my house, we have at least ten! Despite certain issues regarding suburban sprawl and transport, the rich diversity of people, cultures, and food still lies at the heart of the city. While we don't have the dreamy skylines of Chicago or worldwide status of New York, Houston has the feeling of home.
Comments