How Houston Gets Along Without Zoning Laws(businessweek.com)
businessweek.com
How Houston Gets Along Without Zoning Laws
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2007/10/how_houston_gets_along_without_zoning.html
48 comments
I grew up near Houston and would totally take Houston drivers over Seattle drivers (Though I'm not living in the US as of this year).
Houston drivers drive. There's a sense of urgency to them. Not so in Seattle where it's normal for the left lane traffic to go 15 mph below the speed limit.
Houston drivers drive. There's a sense of urgency to them. Not so in Seattle where it's normal for the left lane traffic to go 15 mph below the speed limit.
I would say "urgency" is an understatement!
Well, that's the thing, right?
If you're on the 59/610 west interchange, it's dangerous--so you should drive faster to be exposed to danger less. It's obvious.
Especially in the rain..
And the ice.
If you're on the 59/610 west interchange, it's dangerous--so you should drive faster to be exposed to danger less. It's obvious.
Especially in the rain..
And the ice.
I spent a summer commuting from Katy to University of Houston's main campus. Westpark toll to 59 passing through the 610 interchange.
Westpark's off ramp lands you in an exit only lane to 610, so you immediately have to merge over three lanes within less than half a mile.
IIRC it's the most dangerous stretch of highway in America.
Westpark's off ramp lands you in an exit only lane to 610, so you immediately have to merge over three lanes within less than half a mile.
IIRC it's the most dangerous stretch of highway in America.
That stretch has a rival in Houston: if you're heading towards downtown on Allen Parkway and get onto I-45 northbound, the entrance ramp is a tight upward spiral and you'll need to accelerate from 30 to 70 lickety-split because it dumps you right into a full-fledged interstate lane, not a merge lane!
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For a few years, I dated a girl whose parents lived in Houston, so I got to spend some time there. Now as a European coming from a well developed city with millennia of history, I am rarely impressed by any US city, but man was Houston bad.
First of all, the city itself is huge and sprawling. Her parents lived in a nice suburb where all houses looked the same. You had to drive 10 minutes within the suburb on twisted roads with a 5mph speed limit to get out of it, at which point you'd be on the highway and had to drive at least another 5-10 minutes to get anywhere. Forget walking anywhere - without a car, you wouldn't go anywhere. The highways were quite shocking as well - I've never seen so many lanes on a single road, nor so many stretches of road going over and under each other. Perhaps my memory serves me poorly, but I remember exits with three or four layers of highways going all over one another.
I spent some time downtown, which was a bit better - they had a nice museum, some trees, and even a tramway to get around. Sadly, the downtown area was minuscule, and had no personality. Things emptied out early in the evenings - it was mostly businesses or day entertainment.
Overall, I hold a very poor memory of Houston and one could never pay me enough to live there. I hope for the US's sake that this is not the model of urban development they herald as the future, like the article implies.
First of all, the city itself is huge and sprawling. Her parents lived in a nice suburb where all houses looked the same. You had to drive 10 minutes within the suburb on twisted roads with a 5mph speed limit to get out of it, at which point you'd be on the highway and had to drive at least another 5-10 minutes to get anywhere. Forget walking anywhere - without a car, you wouldn't go anywhere. The highways were quite shocking as well - I've never seen so many lanes on a single road, nor so many stretches of road going over and under each other. Perhaps my memory serves me poorly, but I remember exits with three or four layers of highways going all over one another.
I spent some time downtown, which was a bit better - they had a nice museum, some trees, and even a tramway to get around. Sadly, the downtown area was minuscule, and had no personality. Things emptied out early in the evenings - it was mostly businesses or day entertainment.
Overall, I hold a very poor memory of Houston and one could never pay me enough to live there. I hope for the US's sake that this is not the model of urban development they herald as the future, like the article implies.
Houston is approximately half the size of the state of Rhode Island (in sq. miles). It's big. So saying you're from Houston or that you went to Houston doesn't really communicate much.
I grew up there and live a couple of hours away. When I visit family, they're in the suburbs and I don't much enjoy the experience. However, I spend a good bit of my time "inside the Loop" where there is a vibrant and positive experience in progress (and has been for many decades). The area has world-class arts, food, entertainment, and (surprise!) geography. It's an incredibly international city with people from all over the world found throughout the city.
Yes, it's big and getting from one side of town to another sucks. But if you're inclined to explore what makes it interesting, there's plenty there to keep your attention.
I grew up there and live a couple of hours away. When I visit family, they're in the suburbs and I don't much enjoy the experience. However, I spend a good bit of my time "inside the Loop" where there is a vibrant and positive experience in progress (and has been for many decades). The area has world-class arts, food, entertainment, and (surprise!) geography. It's an incredibly international city with people from all over the world found throughout the city.
Yes, it's big and getting from one side of town to another sucks. But if you're inclined to explore what makes it interesting, there's plenty there to keep your attention.
Visual help for anyone who is really wondering about Houston's size: http://imgur.com/a/qjNLm
Honestly I'm slowly becoming one of those "Inside the Loop" people who treats anything outside of it as being in another city entirely.
"You're grabbing dinner in the Heights? I'll see you there."
"Lunch with you at City Center? I wish you told me last week. It takes like two days to get out there!"
Even though, depending on traffic patterns, those trips might be the same length.
Honestly I'm slowly becoming one of those "Inside the Loop" people who treats anything outside of it as being in another city entirely.
"You're grabbing dinner in the Heights? I'll see you there."
"Lunch with you at City Center? I wish you told me last week. It takes like two days to get out there!"
Even though, depending on traffic patterns, those trips might be the same length.
8 won't even be the outermost loop once 99 is completed.
Houston's a tough and gritty place, but it's not without its charms. For instance, a lot of people don't know that Houston is the home of the largest medical center in the world - including M.D. Anderson, which is routinely ranked as the top cancer treatment center in America.
I know, I know, having been cured of cancer probably influences my opinion just a bit, but I think Houston's a pretty damned cool town :-)
I think every place has it's own charms, you just have to look for it - in some places you have to look harder than others, sure. I hated NYC the first year I lived there, and later came to really like it. But, I'm the kind of person who'd enjoy living in the Mojave just as much as I'd enjoy living in Manhattan - it's all good, and every day I'm breathing is a great day to appreciate wherever the hell I happen to be.
I know, I know, having been cured of cancer probably influences my opinion just a bit, but I think Houston's a pretty damned cool town :-)
I think every place has it's own charms, you just have to look for it - in some places you have to look harder than others, sure. I hated NYC the first year I lived there, and later came to really like it. But, I'm the kind of person who'd enjoy living in the Mojave just as much as I'd enjoy living in Manhattan - it's all good, and every day I'm breathing is a great day to appreciate wherever the hell I happen to be.
Glad your doing better. We were there for TCH so I have a similar love of the place and I'm grateful for the care we received in the med center.
That said I'm not sure all of Houston is so tough and gritty, especially around the Med Center. If you drive North 2 minutes from the there the 300 acre Hermann park and the Museum District are both gorgeous.
That said I'm not sure all of Houston is so tough and gritty, especially around the Med Center. If you drive North 2 minutes from the there the 300 acre Hermann park and the Museum District are both gorgeous.
Houston is definitely not a place with a lot of charm, it's a non-nonsense down to business city. It definitely would not be my choice if I were an urbanite. But, there are some important things Houston has going for it. It has a fantastic income to cost of living ratio, the best of any major city in America. There are a lot of high paying jobs and there is a lot of economic opportunity. It is a major center for technological innovation (though not of the sort that is hyped on HackerNews). The weather is quite pleasant 7 months per year. There are a lot of interesting museums. The Houston area is a good place to raise a family. To many people these things more than outweigh the lack of charm. Myself, I wouldn't care to live in such a big city but I can easily understand the appeal to those who do live there.
I don't disagree with anything you've said about Houston---I feel the same way about Dallas. But I don't think the zoning laws or absence thereof has anything to do with the culture.
I'll always prefer a city with good mass transit and sidewalks over one with mega-highways.
I'll always prefer a city with good mass transit and sidewalks over one with mega-highways.
Having lived in Dallas and Houston both, and recently, I don't feel either are more or less walkable than the other. Each is majority non-walkable. Each has 2 or 3 neighborhoods that you could call walkable. Locals from each can cherry pick among them to prove a point but compared to other truly walkable cities I've lived in (Tokyo, Seattle, Santiago), Dallas and Houston have a lot of catching up to do. Austin too.
Points for Dallas: DART is awesome. Houston is expanding and would do well to expand it to be able too reach its airports the way DART in Dallas does.
Points for Houston: The Bikeshare program is freaking huge and they're completely reworking the bus routes to realistic for the first time in ages. Dallas recently opened a Bikeshare.
But as with all things, your life is mostly local. Live in the right neighborhood in either, and you won't have to drive except for a few times a week. Live in the wrong neighborhoods in either, and get used to planning your evenings around traffic reports.
Points for Dallas: DART is awesome. Houston is expanding and would do well to expand it to be able too reach its airports the way DART in Dallas does.
Points for Houston: The Bikeshare program is freaking huge and they're completely reworking the bus routes to realistic for the first time in ages. Dallas recently opened a Bikeshare.
But as with all things, your life is mostly local. Live in the right neighborhood in either, and you won't have to drive except for a few times a week. Live in the wrong neighborhoods in either, and get used to planning your evenings around traffic reports.
> Live in the right neighborhood in either, and you won't have to drive except for a few times a week.
Part of the trouble with trying to arrange your life in that way in Houston (I've never lived in Dallas, so can't compare) is that most of the jobs aren't in places amenable to it. It's just about doable if you work downtown or in the medical center, but that's a minority of Houston-area jobs. At least when I lived there, it was also not where most of the engineering jobs were. The big concentration of oil & gas jobs, for example, are in the Westlake corridor. Another big cluster of engineering jobs are scattered in about a 5-mile radius of the Johnson Space Center, which is itself 25 miles from downtown. And huge numbers of jobs are in just random places off any given freeway: the 45, 10, etc. feeders are lined with office buildings going out every direction.
Part of the trouble with trying to arrange your life in that way in Houston (I've never lived in Dallas, so can't compare) is that most of the jobs aren't in places amenable to it. It's just about doable if you work downtown or in the medical center, but that's a minority of Houston-area jobs. At least when I lived there, it was also not where most of the engineering jobs were. The big concentration of oil & gas jobs, for example, are in the Westlake corridor. Another big cluster of engineering jobs are scattered in about a 5-mile radius of the Johnson Space Center, which is itself 25 miles from downtown. And huge numbers of jobs are in just random places off any given freeway: the 45, 10, etc. feeders are lined with office buildings going out every direction.
This is pretty much my impression of the city, too, as an American (though I'm from New England, so there's a segment of Houstonians who'd probably say I'm not an American). In a fit of incredulity I said something like "it's a three-hundred-thousand-lane highway and you just merge across it to get anywhere."
It's a soulless place, and I was glad to be rid of it as fast as I was able.
It's a soulless place, and I was glad to be rid of it as fast as I was able.
Living in Houston is about as varied as an experience as you can imagine and different parts of town have wildly different density, walkability, sameness and yes soul (Montrose, Museum District just off the top of my head). It's like visiting New Jersey and saying NYC is soulless. Lay Houston + the suburbs you were probably in over the top of both and you'll see it's not a bold statement.
Most of the driving that people complain about are people that don't even have Houston addresses, it's a rare day I drive more than 5 miles, and none of the houses in my neighborhood are the same.
Most of the driving that people complain about are people that don't even have Houston addresses, it's a rare day I drive more than 5 miles, and none of the houses in my neighborhood are the same.
I love New England. I'm an urbanite and briefly had the pleasure of living in Boston. I love walking through ancient streets in Europe, Turkey, and other lands. I'm not a fan of the lack of walkability of Houston and some other things, but one of my chief joys in living here has not been old historic areas (which we hardly have) but rather the amazing mix of people who make the city such an interesting place. I often want to be somewhere else in the world but since I can't always be gone I frequently thank God for bringing the world to Houston! With over 90 languages spoken here it's now the most diverse city in the country, so I can assure you there's plenty of soul!
Your impression lines up pretty closely with mine. My strongest memory of my time in Houston is how much driving we did to get places.
>> "I hope for the US's sake that this is not the model of urban development they herald as the future..."
It is indeed the model of the future. This fact makes me as an American very sad sometimes.
It is indeed the model of the future. This fact makes me as an American very sad sometimes.
Lived in Houston for a number of years. You ain't wrong. http://imgur.com/gallery/TYfGrIY
I love that picture. Living in Texas, and especially Houston, it's kind of hilarious whenever you hear people get excited about highways. It's like, "Oh, you folks just figured out how to have a three-deck interchange...that's cool I guess...?"
"Now as a European coming from a well developed city with millennia of history, I am rarely impressed by any US city, but man was Houston bad"
Europeans are just so charming, aren't they?
Europeans are just so charming, aren't they?
I'm not European, but I'm the first to admit that a place with a Millenia of history to explore is more interesting than 100 years worth...
Millenia of History? Hell, that ain't nothin' - we got us a Millenium Falcon!
Having grown up in Houston the zoning issue is definitely something everyone young and old knows about. It's almost part of the ethos. In practice though, it was rare to see development that was crazy or so "out of place" that it would have caused problems. That said, places like the Heights and the wards have some interesting character as a result.
I would never move back largely due to the lack of public infrastructure, heat and humidity but the sprawl of the city isn't really a result of poor urban planning but rather seemed to be a function of the cost of real estate and the need to access the oil corridor while also not living in the refinery wasteland to the South east.
I would never move back largely due to the lack of public infrastructure, heat and humidity but the sprawl of the city isn't really a result of poor urban planning but rather seemed to be a function of the cost of real estate and the need to access the oil corridor while also not living in the refinery wasteland to the South east.
> it was rare to see development that was crazy or so "out of place"
Part of that is because, imo, the "no zoning" mythos doesn't really result in practical freedom to develop land however you want. There are two big zoning-like restrictions in practice, which if anything end up with more restrictive land use than many cities which do officially have zoning.
The first is that just about all neighborhoods built after WW2 are master-planned communities laid out by one developer (in many parts of Houston, subsidiaries of the various oil companies who were selling off land). These developers built neighborhoods intended to have a particular character, most commonly a suburban-style character, and attached deed restrictions to the properties requiring buyers to maintain that character in perpetuity. This has very similar effects to zoning, in that there are huge swaths of Houston which are by deed restriction not allowed to be redeveloped into anything but single-family homes with a minimum lot size (owners also cannot subdivide their home into rental units). In some ways it's even worse because "rezoning" is even more difficult than usual. Most of these communities do have a way to modify the deeds in principle, but it's all routed through homeowners' association politics, which make regular municipal politics look well-functioning.
The second is a big set of development restrictions from the city which, while not precisely zoning, strongly influence what can practically be built. Rules on minimum setbacks, height, and minimum parking really constrain a lot of possible redevelopment.
Part of that is because, imo, the "no zoning" mythos doesn't really result in practical freedom to develop land however you want. There are two big zoning-like restrictions in practice, which if anything end up with more restrictive land use than many cities which do officially have zoning.
The first is that just about all neighborhoods built after WW2 are master-planned communities laid out by one developer (in many parts of Houston, subsidiaries of the various oil companies who were selling off land). These developers built neighborhoods intended to have a particular character, most commonly a suburban-style character, and attached deed restrictions to the properties requiring buyers to maintain that character in perpetuity. This has very similar effects to zoning, in that there are huge swaths of Houston which are by deed restriction not allowed to be redeveloped into anything but single-family homes with a minimum lot size (owners also cannot subdivide their home into rental units). In some ways it's even worse because "rezoning" is even more difficult than usual. Most of these communities do have a way to modify the deeds in principle, but it's all routed through homeowners' association politics, which make regular municipal politics look well-functioning.
The second is a big set of development restrictions from the city which, while not precisely zoning, strongly influence what can practically be built. Rules on minimum setbacks, height, and minimum parking really constrain a lot of possible redevelopment.
Well exactly, the whole Deed restriction and HOA thing that is rampant is what makes most of Houston's newest developments frustrating to live in.
I'll mirror what you and _delirium have said, but also note that simple economics certainly play a role as well, ala the article. Yes, someone theoretically could buy up the lot across the street from my house, tear down the two houses, and put a gas station in the middle of my cozy little world. But no one will do that because you don't put a gas station in the middle of the block on a side street, or you'll simply go out of business. You put gas stations on a major or semi-major thoroughfare.
Some parts of Houston really shine as a demonstration of the adaptability and character of a lack of zoning, and some really do end up worse off for it. And opinions differ, often by what people value in the first place. Plus some areas feel like they're zoned, because a combination of historical designations and private land covenants make them functionally close enough anyway.
Some parts of Houston really shine as a demonstration of the adaptability and character of a lack of zoning, and some really do end up worse off for it. And opinions differ, often by what people value in the first place. Plus some areas feel like they're zoned, because a combination of historical designations and private land covenants make them functionally close enough anyway.
"it was rare to see development that was crazy or so "out of place" that it would have caused problems."
I was in Houston briefly in 1999.
We were driving through a completely residential neighborhood, and someone was running a liquor store out of their porch.
They had a house. It was a normal house in a normal neighborhood. That house had a porch. There was an I-shit-you-not liquor store being run from that porch.
I would characterize that as "crazy" and also "out of place".
I was in Houston briefly in 1999.
We were driving through a completely residential neighborhood, and someone was running a liquor store out of their porch.
They had a house. It was a normal house in a normal neighborhood. That house had a porch. There was an I-shit-you-not liquor store being run from that porch.
I would characterize that as "crazy" and also "out of place".
I like Houston but I have only visited. If I were to live there, I would live inside the 610 loop, which has reasonable density. It is still a driving city, though.
The closest thing to a walking city are the underground tunnels downtown. However, as another commented, the downtown empties out at night; at least that was the case 20 years ago. Houston is very hot in the summer, so a walking city is probably not a reasonable thing to ask for.
One of the absurdities was the Transco tower, called today the Williams tower. It used to be the tallest building in Houston, and it is outside the 610 loop and 4 miles from the downtown. Everything around it is quite small and it is difficult to understand what economics motivated building it.
Update: I'm trying to think why I like the city. I guess it is the vegetation. Houston is perhaps a bit like how Mayan cities must have been.
The closest thing to a walking city are the underground tunnels downtown. However, as another commented, the downtown empties out at night; at least that was the case 20 years ago. Houston is very hot in the summer, so a walking city is probably not a reasonable thing to ask for.
One of the absurdities was the Transco tower, called today the Williams tower. It used to be the tallest building in Houston, and it is outside the 610 loop and 4 miles from the downtown. Everything around it is quite small and it is difficult to understand what economics motivated building it.
Update: I'm trying to think why I like the city. I guess it is the vegetation. Houston is perhaps a bit like how Mayan cities must have been.
Houston's surprisingly nice, like a Texas version of Los Angeles. A great place to buy a used car: incomes are high, real estate is cheap, nobody wants to buy a pristine car with 80k miles that's never seen snow or dirt.
LA is much drier and Houston is pretty wet; mold would be a problem in the latter but not the former.
This. If there's one thing I can't stand about Houston, it's the mold. You could probably make a living selling bleach door to door in this town.
Isn't that what AC is for? ;) It's funny you should say this, though - I had someone come to my door a few months ago and say "you have some mildew on your foundation and roof, I can take care of it for $75.."
> LA is much drier and Houston is pretty wet; mold would be a problem in the latter but not the former.
I can attest from personal experience that mold is an major headache if you live close to the ocean in Los Angeles.
I can attest from personal experience that mold is an major headache if you live close to the ocean in Los Angeles.
Native Houstonian here. This is a great place to make a living. We even have some pockets of genuine beauty here and it is really frustrating that they are so spread out. Houston is going to have some real opportunities as we transition to a driverless travel situation. The amount of land we have that is covered in soon to be useless parking surfaces is mind boggling. Hopefully we don't screw it up.
The only good thing I have to say about Houston is that it has good food. That's it. On the downside, it's huge, noisy, polluted, terrible traffic, very high humidity, toll-roads everywhere, McMansions, susceptible to flooding, hurricanes, etc. The best view I ever had of Houston was in my rear-view mirror.
Yah, we get along fine without zoning laws. We have this wonderful urban sprawl and no hope for useful public transit. Oh and the surprises! Buy a nice house in a new neighborhood and just wait to see what pops up nearby! It could be anything, like a drill pipe manufacturing plant! But if you don't like your neighborhood, just wait for the next dip in oil prices, you'll have all new neighbors when the price goes back up and people buy up the foreclosed homes in your neighborhood and turn them into rental homes. Constant new people to meet! Sometimes they even cut their grass! Want to protect your investment in your home? Don't worry developers will be quick to build low cost apartments around your house the moment enough retail exists. Who needs equity!
Look, I lived in San Francisco, Chicago, and elsewhere. It is definitely easier to exist here in Houston because it's damn cheap, but it sure as hell ain't pretty.
Look, I lived in San Francisco, Chicago, and elsewhere. It is definitely easier to exist here in Houston because it's damn cheap, but it sure as hell ain't pretty.
In fairness you don't have a Houston address ;)
If you want some stability live in a deed restricted neighborhood.
If you want some stability live in a deed restricted neighborhood.
Houston is a strange place but I mostly love it. I've lived in a suburb north of Houston (literally 30 miles north) for the last ten years or so and really love it up there, but it's really very different (and VERY far away, even at 80 mph) from the city itself. (fwiw, I'm a NY'er and moved here from CA, so I've got some experience in other big cities; Houston's the fourth largest city in the USA.)
The strangest thing to me, and a result of the zoning laws (which seem to be a slightly insane form of pure genius to me), is the multiple downtowns that are scattered around aside from the 'real' downtown. Pockets of skyscrapers and tall office buildings are every 30 miles or so. It's interesting and so I'm still finding (huge, significant) parts of the city that I've never seen before. It's so spread out that it make other big cities (like SF) feel distinctly small; going there once makes you feel like "oh, this is tiny compared to, say, NYC", which is, of course, mostly true, but then you find out that you're only looking at one of the 'downtown' sorts of areas.
Houston has a surprisingly large arts community. Low costs of living tend to help there. It also has lots of alternative lifestyles, but also (rather small) pockets of religious and conservativism. It also has an incredibly vibrant culture, with more theater seating than any other city in the country, except for NYC. (Yes, even more than Chicago or LA). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Theater_District
It's also a great food town. Since it's more ethnically diverse than any other city in the United States, you can find almost any food you want. There's also a very nice part of town that's quite reminscent of Austin's downtown.
And I've spoken with other startups -- Houston tends to be attractive to startup engineers coming from the Bay area and in some ways feels alternately like SF or SV, depending on where you are. It tends to be more difficult to attract serious tech startup executives, however.
The only significant downsides, at least to me, for the HN crowd: the city is so spread out that it's hard to build a strong community. (I run The Woodlands Entrepreneur's meetup w/ over 300 members, but only about 30 or so are in tech startups of some sort; I also run the Houston AWS and Houston Cloud meetups and most of the AWS users are associated with big oil or big medtech, not tech startups.) Still, there's SO much here.
The other downside is the utter lack of VC, and what little is here is not competitive. This alone may be a reason to pick another city. (Austin has a few really great VC's.) .. on the other hand, if you're bootstrapping, you really can't go wrong with Houston. Your runway goes a really long way here.
The strangest thing to me, and a result of the zoning laws (which seem to be a slightly insane form of pure genius to me), is the multiple downtowns that are scattered around aside from the 'real' downtown. Pockets of skyscrapers and tall office buildings are every 30 miles or so. It's interesting and so I'm still finding (huge, significant) parts of the city that I've never seen before. It's so spread out that it make other big cities (like SF) feel distinctly small; going there once makes you feel like "oh, this is tiny compared to, say, NYC", which is, of course, mostly true, but then you find out that you're only looking at one of the 'downtown' sorts of areas.
Houston has a surprisingly large arts community. Low costs of living tend to help there. It also has lots of alternative lifestyles, but also (rather small) pockets of religious and conservativism. It also has an incredibly vibrant culture, with more theater seating than any other city in the country, except for NYC. (Yes, even more than Chicago or LA). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Theater_District
It's also a great food town. Since it's more ethnically diverse than any other city in the United States, you can find almost any food you want. There's also a very nice part of town that's quite reminscent of Austin's downtown.
And I've spoken with other startups -- Houston tends to be attractive to startup engineers coming from the Bay area and in some ways feels alternately like SF or SV, depending on where you are. It tends to be more difficult to attract serious tech startup executives, however.
The only significant downsides, at least to me, for the HN crowd: the city is so spread out that it's hard to build a strong community. (I run The Woodlands Entrepreneur's meetup w/ over 300 members, but only about 30 or so are in tech startups of some sort; I also run the Houston AWS and Houston Cloud meetups and most of the AWS users are associated with big oil or big medtech, not tech startups.) Still, there's SO much here.
The other downside is the utter lack of VC, and what little is here is not competitive. This alone may be a reason to pick another city. (Austin has a few really great VC's.) .. on the other hand, if you're bootstrapping, you really can't go wrong with Houston. Your runway goes a really long way here.
Houston is home to the world's largest medical center. 20,000 doctors and it was started as a tax dodge! It's the most ethnically diverse city in America, moreso than LA or NYC. It's affordable, the schools are good (in the burbs anyways) and the food is unbeatable, from endless pho shops on Westheimer, Iranian and Turkish in West Houston and creative restaurants like Pass and Provision or Underbelly in Montrose. One of the largest private art collections in the world is smack in the middle of the city.
The people are friendly and welcoming and as tolerant as you'll ever find (Houston has the nation's first openly lesbian mayor). Unless you're on the road in which case everyone is a raging maniac trying to kill you. Houston's drivers are the most balls-to-the-wall crazy I've ever seen and I'm typing this from Penang in Malaysia...