Austin sucks, period. It was cool about 10 years ago. It's overpriced and a bunch of phonies. The place is littered with electric scooters and the good music left as well.
The face of Austin is Alex Jones, Elon Musk, and Joe Rogan now...brah.
For me it was cool about 20 years ago. Before everything got bought out by media companies and there was actually a diverse music scene …and the festivals were more than whatever bands a select few talent agents were trying to push on a built in market in the Live Music Capital of the World (yea right)… but I get your point.
Not even remotely close to being true. The capital, the museum, shops everywhere, food everywhere. The UT campus. You didn’t even try to think of anything besides drinking.
Kayaking/paddle boarding on town lake, picnicking in Zilker, hiking the green belt, swimming in Barton springs, live music shows everywhere every day of the week, world-class restaurants, the Capitol, the Drag (which has almost no bars)…. Yeah, you’re full of shit.
Maybe its really the first time he got out of Houston. You'll be surprised how many people havent even been to other Texas cities outside of Houston. Dont judge lol
Living in Houston here, born and raised in Downtown Chicago on Oak Street.
You are exactly right. Downtown Chicago is stunning, a real show piece. Downtown Houston is an obstacle you have to get through to get to someplace better.
And yes, I know they have a crime problem. But still, a day at Navy Pier, a night walk on Michigan Ave in the summer is magical.
This. Lived in central Florida for a few years and spent a lot of weekends going to all the big cities. Jacksonville's downtown is god awful. Maybe the worst of any major city I've been to
I grew up in Texas, and lived in the Midwest ~10 years. Perhaps the only way I would return to the frozen tundra would be to live in Chicago proper. It's a great city.
I've always heard that, for many years, employers bemoaned not being able to get employees to move to Chicago and then, after finally convincing them to go there and after the employees had lived in the city for a few years, those same employers could never convince those employees to leave and move someplace else.
I just went to FBI website out of curiosity. It all depends on which variable someone uses.
Chicago is number 10 for murders per capita and has led the nation in total murders for 11 straight years. For 2023, Texas has zero cities in the top 20. If you combine all crimes, Houston is 24 n Chicago isn’t in top 50. It all depends how you use your numbers.
yeah but because it's in Texas the republicans don't like the mention that. Chicago isn't even in the [top dangerous cities](https://www.populationu.com/gen/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us) in the US
Used to do a circuit that was events in Los Angeles, NY, Chicago, Detroit, and sometimes Atlanta/,Miami. Chicago was, and even after pivoting to a new industry, still is my favorite downtown! Would visit any chance I got!!!
The real pizza that locals in Chicago tend to eat is tavern style with a crispy crust. It’s delicious and every bit as good as New York. Deep dish is mostly a novelty for tourists with few exceptions.
Agree. Chicago has a few big things going for it
1. The lake
2. The river and bridges
3. The architecture
1 and 2 are natural boosts to scenery and the design choices that result from not having contiguous flat land.
For 3- Chicago has a history of incredible architecture. It's world famous for it.
Chicago is one of the most gorgeous, if not the most gorgeous downtowns. Almost everything loses when compared to it.
I always heard DT Chicago is awesome. As well as there brewery scene. DT Houston has a lot to do to catch up but it still plenty to do.
I have always wondered, cities like Chicago hit there boom pre war, and cities like Houston hit there boom during the car age, that probably has a lot to do with the way majority of cities are set-up.
More than specifically being built for the car, it was really torn asunder in the 1970s by developers with ties to oil companies and oil wealth generally. Similarly grand mixed use plans such as these:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rlDkfST2sc4/VPc-r1cj6YI/AAAAAAAACuw/DgVZWF97kqE/s1600/HoustonCenterRendering.JPG
Really don't get seen again until places like Dubai started to turn into wealthy architectural playgrounds for the mega riches mega projects. Houston's centers plan was much the same but unlike Dubai, the first large scale oil bust basically ended the large scale plans and phases for 30 city blocks of interconnected mixed use buildings and in its place was left an order of the magnitude smaller Houston Center and a sea of empty parking lots.
By the time the bust cycle was over it was too late. The work force had found new neighborhoods in suburban sprawl. And the would be anchor tenets had all long sense started planning or building their own buildings or satellite campuses.
Downtown Chicago also had Mayor Daley as a big ally back in the early 2000's. He incentivized large businesses to keep or move their offices to downtown. Things like United Airlines moving from the suburbs into the Sears (Willis) tower. Unfortunately, Houston's mayor's never really did anything to keep all the energy companies from leaving downtown for the Energy Corridor or The Woodlands.
Even if those companies stayed downtown that wouldn’t improve downtown. I mean when those companies were there downtown Houston was pretty much a ghost town. It’s improved since the early 2000s.
More companies just means more suits downtown. But remember this is Houston so the so called hustle and bustle of downtown is heavily in the tunnels not in the streets.
The main reason why Downtown Houston isn’t on the level of Chicago is because most of Houston’s growth came after WW2. When cars were all the rage, suburbia was in full effect and White flight started to kick into high gear. Houston’s urban core pre WW2 was small in comparison to a giant like Chicago.
Downtown Chicago has been a crowning jewel even before the days of Al Capone.
Not to mention Houston still isn’t fully committed to developing an infrastructure that prioritizes pedestrians.
This is pre-merger United. Daley did a lot of stuff like having the CTA give out transit passes to employees if a company moved downtown from the suburbs. It had the benefit of stabilizing the tax base in the city and keeping their downtown populated, which in turn keeps the restaurants and bars busy.
This is pre-merger United. Daley did a lot of stuff like having the CTA give out transit passes to employees if a company moved downtown from the suburbs. It had the benefit of stabilizing the tax base in the city and keeping their downtown populated, which in turn keeps the restaurants and bars busy.
Politically, Houston never needed this because the city limits include the suburban areas. Daley wasn’t attracting companies to downtown. He was attracting them to Chicago as opposed to another city entirely. If a company is headquartered in uptown in Houston, they are still in Houston. There has never been the same motivation here.
Yup. A big reason why so many cities in Europe have so much more walkable space and why it’s easier for them to implement pro-pedestrian policies - they were in large part built before cars existed.
Chicago had that great Chicago Fire that let them reset and rethink their city. City planners were brought in and they were able to envision the future and plan accordingly.
Downtown Chicago's great, but the neighborhoods are full of life, too. I live in Wicker park (3-ish miles NW of downtown) and can walk another 3 miles away from downtown with interesting and vibrant street energy the whole way.
I spent years in Montrose and Eastwood, and have a lot of love for Houston, but the energy here is something else.
Really impressive downtown. Other than the architecture lecture, that boat ride was cool. We walked around downtown quite a bit and a little around the National Museum of Mexican Art neighborhood. The whole experience was lots of fun, and the weather was perfect when we were there in April. But… I don’t think I’d ever visit in the winter.
I think the biggest flaw with downtown Houston is the failed transit system. We have a rail but it only caters to what ten miles in the middle of downtown? Not exactly a functional convenient mass transit option that most major metros have.
Maybe I’m biased because I was born and raised in NY and only moved to Houston 12 years ago, but not having a subway or some type of mass transit is a major flaw.
The whole point of mass transit is to flow into the city from the surrounding areas. We don’t have that here. So we end up with over crowded highways that are littered with pot holes because they are falling apart and a crazy amount of traffic. People are less motivated to fight traffic and pay to park to attend an event downtown, than they would be if they could hop on a train or subway for a reasonably priced ticket.
Sure we have the park and ride metro buses but anyone whose ever used them know that’s an awful choice that they’re unreliable and poorly kept up.
*I know I sound like a Houston hater, I promise I am not. I just think the transit system is such an epic failure*
This isn't hate, this is just the right conclusion. Houston will forever be hamstrung by too many highways and low density sprawl.
E: Unless some sort of magical shift in how people view their cars changes. Then maybe we can start fixing this mess.
You don’t know how often I wish they took out the HOV lanes and replaced them with a rail system like Perths in West Australia.
Yeah I know it’s probably not that realistic but a man can dream
You won’t catch me outside in Houston during the summer, same with Chicago during the winter. I love LA but the city is so spread out public transportation is pointless. New York is unaffordable for anyone except finance bros and attorneys making $300k a year. To each their own, can’t really compare all these big cities since they’re flawed in their own ways but all have beautiful things about them as well.
I think it’s an interesting comparison! Although I no longer live in Houston, I was born and raised there. Gaining an admiration for the city as an adult. I also am enamored by Chicago.
There’s some resemblance on many fronts. One that I think is amazing is how the people from CHI and HOU both love and have pride in their respective cities. This is a sweet energy.
I think we’re specifically talking about downtown. Downtown Houston sucks, but it isn’t a knock on the parts of Houston that are great.
I mean I also like LA but I don’t like DTLA. I don’t think a city’s downtown needs to be great - it could just have a different vibe.
Some cities just have cool downtown though. Chicago is great. San Diego is really interesting because downtown SD is super residential, rather than being more office oriented.
As someone who lives in Chicago, we do have a nice downtown. The real magic is the neighborhoods and they are all pretty much accessible with public transportation.
I felt safer in Chicago than most other large cities I've been to. I generally feel pretty safe in Houston, too. I do have to be a bit more cautious in Seattle and SF. Both are beautiful cities, but each city has its own problems.
The best list including a wide range of cities and crimes was found at Wikipedia. I've seen numbers from State and Fed sites with similar numbers so I trust they are close to accurate. I did some spot checking and it looks accurate enough for use. So If Wikipedia sources are to be believed, Houston and Chicago are virtually identical in violent crime rate and Houston has like 33% more property crime. Which I wholly believe. Chicago's violent crime is particularly concentrated in high gang areas which are small and isolated. Houston is not some safe haven and Chicago is not some gangland shootout territory.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
And it's OK for places to get better. Downtown has been getting better, but most of our city is still a pretty hollow shell of polluted roads, broken sidewalks, concrete, and strip malls.
When you have a job that requires walking a lot between buildings in a suit and tie, then you will understand. Chicago and northern cities suuuuck in the winter time, but it’s doable since you can warm up in the subway or at the destination. But when you are drenched in sweat and need a half gallon of pedialyte after walking back from lunch or between meetings, it’s a different level of suck.
Also, the tunnels are mostly ad-hoc between private businesses connecting buildings to food courts, etc. there was never some sort of master plan until it got pretty big.
It rarely gets that cold they have to turn on burners over some very specific locations on track switches that needs subzero which happens but not the norm
I was over an hour late to work one day because a switch which was treated with kerosene and burning froze stuck anyway.
This was during that week long polar vortex like 10 years ago.
If that’s your personal experience, you might just not be a hot-weather kind of person. But if you’re basing that off what others have told you, I wouldn’t believe them so easily if I were you. The cold weather makes you miserable and when it doesn’t end for like 6 months, it can really become depressing.
Compare that to the heat of Houston, where you can be in the shade even in the middle of summer and enjoy ice cream to cool down.
Having lived in both the north and the south, I’m taking houston heat any given day.
My opinion as a newcomer to Houston.
Downtown Houston isn't a destination for tourism. Everything that is a destination in Houston is spread out, and it's hard to pinpoint one spot.
It's hard to find those "destinations". I side hustle Uber/Lyft, and it's really only via doing that that I even know now where some of those spots are.
Contrary to local opinions, the bayous aren't "pretty". They have tried to put lipstick on the pig, but it's still a pig.
Transportation is lacking. And always will as there are no plans for real improvement that I've heard about.
All that said. Houston does have it's charms. The number of streets with massive oaks covering them is wonderful. Pockets of areas to visit are fun, IF you can find where they are. Food!
I was really impressed with Chicago when I was there. Easy to get around, people we really nice, it was very clean, plenty to do. Overall great experience.
I just came from Chicago and thought the same thing. I think this city could be better if we were able to walk to a lot of places. I think seeing people outside would make it more lively.
Most of the Houstonians I know who have lived here all their lives and rarely travel think this city’s shit doesn’t stink and will jump you for the slightest criticism
There was a thread on here that once compared the sunset over a *strip mall* to that of a sunset in Hawaii. Sometimes people just don’t want to accept or speak what they consider “ill-will”
You know, as a Chicagoan and as much as we hate that man the building is a really nice super tall in our skyline along the river. If that name wasn’t plastered on the side it would be perfect.
I’ve lived in both cities, but Chicago first. It took me about a decade to agree to moving here before my husband put in a transfer to be nearer our aging parents.
Chicago is my favorite US city. Hand-down. But I’ve grown to love Houston almost equally. I miss the snow, Art Institute (it holds my favorite works), the more exciting bustle inside the loop.. and so much more. This post pierced my heart a bit and prompted me to think of all the wonderful things Houston offers.
Which brings me to Cubs or Astros. Ouch!! I bleed orange & blue. My uncle was a scout for them in the 70’s. But who doesn’t love the Cubbies?
I have nothing of value to add, other than one can love both cities, travel between them, and feel doubly blessed…and I’ll probably spend the rest of today musing over Chicago. 👍🏼
I just moved from Houston to Chicago last month and you are completely right. And yes, I visited in December, January, and March before moving and it wasn’t as bad as you might think. I had thermal shirt and multiple layers and felt totally fine.
I visited New York for the first time last year. I was never interested in visiting. I had always pictured it the way I had seen it in movies from the late 80s/early 90s. Like the Ninja Turtles movies. Rampant crime, homeless people sitting around everywhere, garbage in the gutters.
I went and it was beautiful. Walkable. Clean streets. I realized that what I had pictured was actually Houston. I’ve lived here my whole life and the more I travel now that I’m an adult, the more I realize how much it sucks here.
I think we have better food and diversity and year round accessibility (I'll take stifling heat over debilitating cold). They have a better designed downtown, better transportation, more things to do for families, better shopping, and it's much cleaner. The Chicago River and Lake Michigan don't hurt either.
As a born-and-raised Houstonian that has been living in Chicago for about a year, you are 100% right about the food and diversity. We've been back to Houston a few times and it's so much more common to see social groups of mixed race/ethnicity in Houston than in Chicago.
We've had some good meals here, too, but in we've been to a number of well-regarded restaurants that were expensive and disappointing (Galit, Frontera, Beatnik) and some of that may be because of how prevalent truly great food is in Houston. Granted, Chicago truly excels at hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc, which is awesome, and we haven't been to any of the crazy world-class 2- and 3- Michelin star restaurants (though we have upcoming reservation at Oriole, so that's about to change), but in Houston it's way more likely to stumble into a good place than here. For example, we've been to three Thai places where the drunken noodle was absurdly surgary, a banh mi place so bad I'm convinced the proprietor has never actually had an actual banh mi before, and plenty of underwhelming tacos.
That said, I love that we haven't driven the car in several weeks and we can get pretty much everywhere we need to on foot, bike, or via public transit. The lake is truly incredible, especially now with the weather getting nice, and the city always has so much energy in a way that you'll never get in a place where everyone's in their damn car all the time.
The music scene here is also unreal. There are countless amazing local bands and you can catch a show any night of the week. It feels weird to bail on shows because the venue is "so far" when it's like 2 miles away. Plenty of dive bars with cheap beer, and weed is legal. We can even occasionally catch an Astros game when they're in town playing the White Sox, with plenty of orange on the train and in stadium.
Both great cities. Different strokes.
Eado is getting better it’s no way near Chicago but it’s getting to the point where it’s walkable. You can walk the bike path from your townhome on McKinney to Shell Energy Stadium catch a game and then after walk to Cobo’s, Pitch 25, or Neil’s Bar, and then walk back home. Again it’s not nearly as pretty as Chicago but east downtown is actually becoming a somewhat entertaining area.
Downtown Chicago is one of the best downtowns on this continent. Some ppl think it’s the best there is. Of course Houston can’t match or catch up.
The thing Houston needs to be worried about is not catching up to a world class city like Chicago but hell there’s some smaller cities in this country that have a better downtown than Houston.
I mean Austin, Nashville, and even a city like Charlotte has more vibrancy in their DT than Houston. And yes I said Charlotte! Matter fact I’d take Asheville, NC downtown over Houston’s.
DT Houston has made some improvements but still got a long way to go.
Don’t worry about Chicago can you be just as vibrant as Austin?
I was just in Chicago this past weekend and it’s just no comparison… if it wasn’t so expensive, I would have already left Houston for Chicago. Houston is so ugly 😭 I love it but aesthetically, it’s not pretty.
I said the same thing over 10 years ago our DT could be put in one corner of Chicago downtown that’s how huge theirs is… nonetheless we need more stuff to in DT houston for sure
I’ve been to 14 different countries and Chicago is by far one of the best skylines I’ve ever seen. Especially at night. Hong Kong and New York being tied for 1st.
Well, it's hard to compete against Lake Michigan, especially since they've cleaned up the pollution from the 70s. And the summer through fall weather in Chicago is <>
To the OP... Thank you for showing Chicago in a positive light. Appreciate that. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I can state this. Chicago, like a lot of cities it's size, has issues. Good areas, bad areas, drugs, guns, gangs, affluent, poor... The fear that certain news sites has espoused over the last decade, is trying to paint Chicago as "If you visit, you will DIE!" kind of thing. There's way, way more positive things in Chicago than negative. Food, tourist sites, sports teams that sometimes don't suck, nightlife, I could go on. For any visitors coming to Chicago, just be aware of the surroundings, walk in groups, at certain times of the night, take a ride share to your destination. And take pictures! Chicago is one of the most photogenic cities in the country. Enjoy your stay in Chicago.
I'm a Houstonian currently sitting in my parents' apartment in Chicago. Chicago trounces Houston in every way: architecture, public transportation, fun activities, everything. No comparison.
It’s because for most large cities their tourism/visitors hub is in downtown. Driving through downtown Houston seems like endless corporate buildings and then of course you have the stadiums, convention center, and concert/theater venues but besides that that if a visitor wants to go on any given day and do a fun attraction the only thing there is to do is the Aquarium.
I have been to Chicago only once and it was a great trip. I will always remember it because my dad was still with me, and we had amazing food and beer. We visited the Willis tower and the bean and was snowing. Everything was great.
Now in June I'm moving to Houston so hopefully we will visit again. Not possible anymore with my dad but still. Good to remember
Chicago is the true gem of the Midwest. You really though have to endure a FULL 6 months of winter. If you don't like winter and wind, it's not the place for you.
Hey Houston friends! Long time Chicago resident here. I’ve never visited your city but have heard great things and lurk here to learn more. Some day I’ll make it down there. Just wanted to say I appreciate the Chicago love and hope you have a great three day weekend!
Houston is an urban hellscape full of traffic, poverty, and gaudy displays of wealth. Immigrants are really doing the heavy lifting in this town—Houston’s only redeeming qualities are food and diversity… and I guess the medical center.
Been all over and it’s Texas that sucks in general. Culturally we contribute very little outside of country music and some rap which is woopty doo I guess. We’re behind in a lot of ways but hey at least it’s not Mississippi or Florida.
I was raised in Chicago. Downtown is for business and tourists. Just like Houston, the real fun is elsewhere. You can’t do anything with a pretty city scape. Even in Manhattan, “downtown” bear Wall Street is not the place to be. I live in Houston now and wouldn’t move to Chicago unless I was maybe getting paid double my salary….
Just wait until Buffalo bayou park is fully finished and lively, and wait until they do all those improvements with the WORLD CUP coming to town. Now they actually have the pressure to make something cool out of our downtown.
You went comparing with probably the best DT in the country. I have been to NYC and to SF etc but somehow Chicago DT ( not talking about the whole city) has a unique classic feel not present elsewhere
A thing I've noticed for people who love Houston.....they haven't left Houston or Texas lol other downtowns are MILES above Houston. I've traveled tons for work and vacation and I've never looked back at Houston the same way lol
I’ll say this; Houston has come a long way I remember about 30 yrs ago Dt Houston was horrible homeless people everywhere, streets dirty buildings in really bad shape people were afraid to go to dt Houston and honestly I’m impressed for the transformation of it.
Their downtown is beautiful, but you have to know how it got that way. Most of it was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The city had to be rebuilt and they were forward thinking by planning it right.
So Houston could catch up to them if we burn down our downtown and start over like them.
I have lived in Houston 36 years (all of my adult life) but lived in Chicago (2 years) and the suburbs of Chicago, Arlington Heights for 5 years. Chicago is an older city with a lot of history and even if you aren't downtown, wherever you live feels urban , not like in Houston where a lot of the area outside of downtown seems like a suburb, I live in the Memorial area and really don't feel like I live in a big city . Chicago is very walkable unlike Houston and the weather is nicer. Downtown Houston just doesn't have the vibe of other big cities. I remember spending a lot of time in the big train station in Chicago whenever we came in from the suburbs or went to the suburbs. Hot dog stands on the street corners, continuous buildings instead of one building per block like we have here. Chicago has so much more to offer than Houston, especially when it comes to living without a car like i do.
Tbf, Chicago has been working on improving their downtown for literally a generation.
I agree Houston has a long way to go but the big hurdle is deciding to spend that public money.
The city of Phoenix did the same thing in the 90’s. They spent 10’s of millions on parks and public Venus. It completely changed the way the city was seen and has been a huge financial success. It took a solid democratic mayor and council tho. I don’t see THAT happening in Houston or again in Phoenix this generation.
Yea. I'm from Houston, born and raised. Moved to Illinois about 13 years ago. When we first moved, we lived literally 2 blocks away from Willis Tower, right in the middle of highrise buildings and skyscrapers. It. Was. Insane. We sold our cars and that was foreign because anyone from Houston knows you have to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere there, so the thought of not having my own transportation was crazy. Was weird at first but ended up loving it. Bought a bike and dropped 30lbs easily lol. The first year living there was like a super long vacation. But, then we got older, wanted kids and moved to the burbs so now it's like AnywhereVille, USA. And now I can't stand driving to the city, hate the taxes and despise the weather lol.
Okay look. You have to take progress into consideration. Houston downtown has come a long way. Like, a really long way.
Do we have further to go? Yes. But there are now parts of Houston that are completely walkable. As in, you don't need a car to live at all. They said it couldn't be done.
The important thing is to not rest on our laurels because, in fact, we haven't earned laurels yet.
As someone who has lived in Texas their entire life, I HATE Houston with a passion. Mainly because of the traffic, but also because there isn’t really much to do there you can’t do elsewhere better, and have more fun doing so. There is no reason to visit Houston as a Texan.
I was just there last week as well. Stayed at the Congress Hotel with a view of the "Bundy" fountain.
I went to high school in Chicago and wasn't blown away by what I saw last week. It's nice and fairly clean and there weren't yahoos zipping down the sidewalks on those rental scooters, but wouldn't say it's waaaay better than DT Houston.
For reference all the activity along the Chicago river (shops, boats, etc.) didn't look like that when I grew up. It very much to me looked like they're trying to imitate the San Antonio Riverwalk.
Y'all... just keep visiting Chicago and you'll only love it more. DT Chicago (the Loop) is great, but the neighborhoods are even better, and they are all connected and easy to get thru by public transit or a 15 minute Uber, or riding a bike thru many bike lanes. You can literally go to any pro game you want, the beach, an awesome brewery, and world class authentic food in the same day without driving/parking/etc, or burning yourself on a seatbelt.
TX cities will never get there because politicians will never fund pedestrian-first, public transit, or eco friendly infrastructure. TX doesn't care about people first investments over business friendly investments. No taxes, no infrastructure. 🤷
Grew up in TX near ATX, went to A&M. Lived in Chicago (actual city not burbs) for 12 yrs. Will never go back.
I just recently moved from Chicago after living there for 35 years ( minus 4 I spent in San Diego ) to Milwaukee. I've grown to love my new home after countless comparisons on all fronts; food , entertainment, culture, diversity, etc.. I still love Chicago and visit regularly. The Art Institute being my favorite place to visit. My mother worked for an airline so I traveled everywhere in the US. I've been to almost all of the big cities and national parks and a whole lot of the in between (the driftless area in Wisconsin is awesome). I guess I'm just trying to say that if you put in the effort, you can find something in these smaller cities that is unique and amazing that makes it stand out. As great as Chicago is, I wouldn't want every other city to be just like it.
The fact of the matter is that there's simply nothing to do in Houston besides walk a few parks, visit a few museums, and get drunk at one of our many bars. It's not even legal for people to busk and make music on the street. That's how fucking boring and uptight this city is. When you look at a typical "fun" (but also messy) city, there's usually looser laws and a general spirit of artistic and free culture. Houston doesn't have any of that. You can only go to karaoke night so many times before it gets old. Not to mention the car culture here makes it impossible to walk anywhere.
I love Chicago. The hotter take is that Chicago is superior to NYC.
It helps to be right on a Great Lake / have the river through the city and not be in a swamp and subject to hurricanes lol
Except Houston is in texas. And you ain't got a shot in the hell this day and age to fix that helpful. It's only going to get worse as your Christian nationalist keep stripping away freedoms of everybody else.
The downtown area of a few dozen cities beats Houston by a country mile. Austin, Nashville, New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, San Antonio…etc
I love HTown but it’s not a tourist city, it’s a working city and it’s downtown area reflects that.
Duh
Litrally any downtown beats DT Houston
Texas downtowns are not great in general. DT Fort Worth is probably the most lively and enjoyable.
Downtown Austin has quite a lot going on as well.
>... and enjoyable. (Kidding.)
Austin sucks, period. It was cool about 10 years ago. It's overpriced and a bunch of phonies. The place is littered with electric scooters and the good music left as well. The face of Austin is Alex Jones, Elon Musk, and Joe Rogan now...brah.
For me it was cool about 20 years ago. Before everything got bought out by media companies and there was actually a diverse music scene …and the festivals were more than whatever bands a select few talent agents were trying to push on a built in market in the Live Music Capital of the World (yea right)… but I get your point.
Only if you like to drink. If you don't, then there's nothing in Austin
That’s honestly ridiculous. Let’s be real dude
Not even remotely close to being true. The capital, the museum, shops everywhere, food everywhere. The UT campus. You didn’t even try to think of anything besides drinking.
Kayaking/paddle boarding on town lake, picnicking in Zilker, hiking the green belt, swimming in Barton springs, live music shows everywhere every day of the week, world-class restaurants, the Capitol, the Drag (which has almost no bars)…. Yeah, you’re full of shit.
Yes, however have been getting better, lots of activities and events, many new bars around main.
Me: you actually like Houston??
also this, Houston is a concrete wasteland.
lol fr like wtf how dense is op
Maybe its really the first time he got out of Houston. You'll be surprised how many people havent even been to other Texas cities outside of Houston. Dont judge lol
Living in Houston here, born and raised in Downtown Chicago on Oak Street. You are exactly right. Downtown Chicago is stunning, a real show piece. Downtown Houston is an obstacle you have to get through to get to someplace better. And yes, I know they have a crime problem. But still, a day at Navy Pier, a night walk on Michigan Ave in the summer is magical.
If anyone wants to feel better about their downtown come visit Jacksonville Florida
Jacksonville is a total shit hole.
As a duval dirtbag, couldn’t agree more.
DUVAAAAAAAAAAAAL
DUVAAAAAAAAAAAAL!
BORTLES!
Don't worry they are going to start construction on the sculpture that I'm pretty sure says sex soon
I thought they canceled it because everyone told them it says sex
Honestly I'm not sure. I just saw an article on tuesday for the groujd breaking and it still had the sculpture in the rendering.
Ah. Maybe I just assumed they would lol it’s so dumb
Or Kansas City, Missouri
This. Lived in central Florida for a few years and spent a lot of weekends going to all the big cities. Jacksonville's downtown is god awful. Maybe the worst of any major city I've been to
Now why would I do that to myself
Whoa now buddy…we ain’t there…yet
I grew up in Texas, and lived in the Midwest ~10 years. Perhaps the only way I would return to the frozen tundra would be to live in Chicago proper. It's a great city.
I've always heard that, for many years, employers bemoaned not being able to get employees to move to Chicago and then, after finally convincing them to go there and after the employees had lived in the city for a few years, those same employers could never convince those employees to leave and move someplace else.
Downtown Chicago is fucking awesome, wife and make a trip there pretty often
According to this website, Houston has higher crime than Chicago. https://www.bestplaces.net/crime/?city1=51714000&city2=54835000
I just went to FBI website out of curiosity. It all depends on which variable someone uses. Chicago is number 10 for murders per capita and has led the nation in total murders for 11 straight years. For 2023, Texas has zero cities in the top 20. If you combine all crimes, Houston is 24 n Chicago isn’t in top 50. It all depends how you use your numbers.
yeah but because it's in Texas the republicans don't like the mention that. Chicago isn't even in the [top dangerous cities](https://www.populationu.com/gen/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us) in the US
I think the difference is Houstons crime is spread out, where as Chicago's is localized. When it is localized, it's more dramatic sounding.
This is why travel is important! It changes your perspective, and makes you want to improve things at home!
If only Houston wasn’t so dependent on cars
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Exactly. Something to aspire to, but we aren't going to catch up even in a generation or two.
Used to do a circuit that was events in Los Angeles, NY, Chicago, Detroit, and sometimes Atlanta/,Miami. Chicago was, and even after pivoting to a new industry, still is my favorite downtown! Would visit any chance I got!!!
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The real pizza that locals in Chicago tend to eat is tavern style with a crispy crust. It’s delicious and every bit as good as New York. Deep dish is mostly a novelty for tourists with few exceptions.
Agree. Chicago has a few big things going for it 1. The lake 2. The river and bridges 3. The architecture 1 and 2 are natural boosts to scenery and the design choices that result from not having contiguous flat land. For 3- Chicago has a history of incredible architecture. It's world famous for it. Chicago is one of the most gorgeous, if not the most gorgeous downtowns. Almost everything loses when compared to it.
I always heard DT Chicago is awesome. As well as there brewery scene. DT Houston has a lot to do to catch up but it still plenty to do. I have always wondered, cities like Chicago hit there boom pre war, and cities like Houston hit there boom during the car age, that probably has a lot to do with the way majority of cities are set-up.
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More than specifically being built for the car, it was really torn asunder in the 1970s by developers with ties to oil companies and oil wealth generally. Similarly grand mixed use plans such as these: https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rlDkfST2sc4/VPc-r1cj6YI/AAAAAAAACuw/DgVZWF97kqE/s1600/HoustonCenterRendering.JPG Really don't get seen again until places like Dubai started to turn into wealthy architectural playgrounds for the mega riches mega projects. Houston's centers plan was much the same but unlike Dubai, the first large scale oil bust basically ended the large scale plans and phases for 30 city blocks of interconnected mixed use buildings and in its place was left an order of the magnitude smaller Houston Center and a sea of empty parking lots. By the time the bust cycle was over it was too late. The work force had found new neighborhoods in suburban sprawl. And the would be anchor tenets had all long sense started planning or building their own buildings or satellite campuses.
And a passenger train running all the way to Galveston. I read they dug up all the rails to use for manufacturing of war stuff for WWII.
This is the answer. Chicago came up at a fabulous period in history.
Downtown Chicago also had Mayor Daley as a big ally back in the early 2000's. He incentivized large businesses to keep or move their offices to downtown. Things like United Airlines moving from the suburbs into the Sears (Willis) tower. Unfortunately, Houston's mayor's never really did anything to keep all the energy companies from leaving downtown for the Energy Corridor or The Woodlands.
Even if those companies stayed downtown that wouldn’t improve downtown. I mean when those companies were there downtown Houston was pretty much a ghost town. It’s improved since the early 2000s. More companies just means more suits downtown. But remember this is Houston so the so called hustle and bustle of downtown is heavily in the tunnels not in the streets. The main reason why Downtown Houston isn’t on the level of Chicago is because most of Houston’s growth came after WW2. When cars were all the rage, suburbia was in full effect and White flight started to kick into high gear. Houston’s urban core pre WW2 was small in comparison to a giant like Chicago. Downtown Chicago has been a crowning jewel even before the days of Al Capone. Not to mention Houston still isn’t fully committed to developing an infrastructure that prioritizes pedestrians.
The whole United Airlines debacle benefited Chicago at the cost of all of the customers.
This is pre-merger United. Daley did a lot of stuff like having the CTA give out transit passes to employees if a company moved downtown from the suburbs. It had the benefit of stabilizing the tax base in the city and keeping their downtown populated, which in turn keeps the restaurants and bars busy.
This is pre-merger United. Daley did a lot of stuff like having the CTA give out transit passes to employees if a company moved downtown from the suburbs. It had the benefit of stabilizing the tax base in the city and keeping their downtown populated, which in turn keeps the restaurants and bars busy.
Politically, Houston never needed this because the city limits include the suburban areas. Daley wasn’t attracting companies to downtown. He was attracting them to Chicago as opposed to another city entirely. If a company is headquartered in uptown in Houston, they are still in Houston. There has never been the same motivation here.
Yup. A big reason why so many cities in Europe have so much more walkable space and why it’s easier for them to implement pro-pedestrian policies - they were in large part built before cars existed.
Chicago had that great Chicago Fire that let them reset and rethink their city. City planners were brought in and they were able to envision the future and plan accordingly.
Downtown Chicago's great, but the neighborhoods are full of life, too. I live in Wicker park (3-ish miles NW of downtown) and can walk another 3 miles away from downtown with interesting and vibrant street energy the whole way. I spent years in Montrose and Eastwood, and have a lot of love for Houston, but the energy here is something else.
Really impressive downtown. Other than the architecture lecture, that boat ride was cool. We walked around downtown quite a bit and a little around the National Museum of Mexican Art neighborhood. The whole experience was lots of fun, and the weather was perfect when we were there in April. But… I don’t think I’d ever visit in the winter.
Chicagoland is one of the largest metro areas in North America.
I think the biggest flaw with downtown Houston is the failed transit system. We have a rail but it only caters to what ten miles in the middle of downtown? Not exactly a functional convenient mass transit option that most major metros have. Maybe I’m biased because I was born and raised in NY and only moved to Houston 12 years ago, but not having a subway or some type of mass transit is a major flaw. The whole point of mass transit is to flow into the city from the surrounding areas. We don’t have that here. So we end up with over crowded highways that are littered with pot holes because they are falling apart and a crazy amount of traffic. People are less motivated to fight traffic and pay to park to attend an event downtown, than they would be if they could hop on a train or subway for a reasonably priced ticket. Sure we have the park and ride metro buses but anyone whose ever used them know that’s an awful choice that they’re unreliable and poorly kept up. *I know I sound like a Houston hater, I promise I am not. I just think the transit system is such an epic failure*
This isn't hate, this is just the right conclusion. Houston will forever be hamstrung by too many highways and low density sprawl. E: Unless some sort of magical shift in how people view their cars changes. Then maybe we can start fixing this mess.
You don’t know how often I wish they took out the HOV lanes and replaced them with a rail system like Perths in West Australia. Yeah I know it’s probably not that realistic but a man can dream
You won’t catch me outside in Houston during the summer, same with Chicago during the winter. I love LA but the city is so spread out public transportation is pointless. New York is unaffordable for anyone except finance bros and attorneys making $300k a year. To each their own, can’t really compare all these big cities since they’re flawed in their own ways but all have beautiful things about them as well.
Texans love everything about Texas, up until they leave Texas and experience actual public services.
Impossible to even compare.
? You can compare how fun different cities are. Unless you mean Chicago has undeniably a better downtown, that would make sense
Most definitely better in Chicago, Houston just a bigger Atlanta or any other large city when it comes to downtown.
I think it’s an interesting comparison! Although I no longer live in Houston, I was born and raised there. Gaining an admiration for the city as an adult. I also am enamored by Chicago. There’s some resemblance on many fronts. One that I think is amazing is how the people from CHI and HOU both love and have pride in their respective cities. This is a sweet energy.
I think we’re specifically talking about downtown. Downtown Houston sucks, but it isn’t a knock on the parts of Houston that are great. I mean I also like LA but I don’t like DTLA. I don’t think a city’s downtown needs to be great - it could just have a different vibe. Some cities just have cool downtown though. Chicago is great. San Diego is really interesting because downtown SD is super residential, rather than being more office oriented.
Chicago has an epic downtown and for a bonus you do not need a car to easily get around.
As someone who lives in Chicago, we do have a nice downtown. The real magic is the neighborhoods and they are all pretty much accessible with public transportation.
People may defend this city but we have a ton of work to do. Chicago also isn't what Fox would have you believe.
I felt safer in Chicago than most other large cities I've been to. I generally feel pretty safe in Houston, too. I do have to be a bit more cautious in Seattle and SF. Both are beautiful cities, but each city has its own problems.
The best list including a wide range of cities and crimes was found at Wikipedia. I've seen numbers from State and Fed sites with similar numbers so I trust they are close to accurate. I did some spot checking and it looks accurate enough for use. So If Wikipedia sources are to be believed, Houston and Chicago are virtually identical in violent crime rate and Houston has like 33% more property crime. Which I wholly believe. Chicago's violent crime is particularly concentrated in high gang areas which are small and isolated. Houston is not some safe haven and Chicago is not some gangland shootout territory. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
Houston's violent crime is also extremely concentrated. And the high property crime is from the million parking lots.
It's OK for places to be different.
And it's OK for places to get better. Downtown has been getting better, but most of our city is still a pretty hollow shell of polluted roads, broken sidewalks, concrete, and strip malls.
Damn just add pansexual cowboys and you got a Hunter S Thompson quote there.
Yeah I live In chicago now downtown Houston sucks. They put all their eggs into the pedway tunnel basket leaving an empty street level.
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When you have a job that requires walking a lot between buildings in a suit and tie, then you will understand. Chicago and northern cities suuuuck in the winter time, but it’s doable since you can warm up in the subway or at the destination. But when you are drenched in sweat and need a half gallon of pedialyte after walking back from lunch or between meetings, it’s a different level of suck. Also, the tunnels are mostly ad-hoc between private businesses connecting buildings to food courts, etc. there was never some sort of master plan until it got pretty big.
Besides, if you are dressed for business, you are already half-prepared for winter cold.
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Yeah thanks I’ll just get up and start fixing it.
What, you don't like thousands of parking lots?
Try again in January
That’s when they light the rail tracks on fire to keep them from freezing over cause it’s so cold Lmao
It rarely gets that cold they have to turn on burners over some very specific locations on track switches that needs subzero which happens but not the norm
I was over an hour late to work one day because a switch which was treated with kerosene and burning froze stuck anyway. This was during that week long polar vortex like 10 years ago.
Beats houston in august
If that’s your personal experience, you might just not be a hot-weather kind of person. But if you’re basing that off what others have told you, I wouldn’t believe them so easily if I were you. The cold weather makes you miserable and when it doesn’t end for like 6 months, it can really become depressing. Compare that to the heat of Houston, where you can be in the shade even in the middle of summer and enjoy ice cream to cool down. Having lived in both the north and the south, I’m taking houston heat any given day.
My opinion as a newcomer to Houston. Downtown Houston isn't a destination for tourism. Everything that is a destination in Houston is spread out, and it's hard to pinpoint one spot. It's hard to find those "destinations". I side hustle Uber/Lyft, and it's really only via doing that that I even know now where some of those spots are. Contrary to local opinions, the bayous aren't "pretty". They have tried to put lipstick on the pig, but it's still a pig. Transportation is lacking. And always will as there are no plans for real improvement that I've heard about. All that said. Houston does have it's charms. The number of streets with massive oaks covering them is wonderful. Pockets of areas to visit are fun, IF you can find where they are. Food!
Good feedback
I was really impressed with Chicago when I was there. Easy to get around, people we really nice, it was very clean, plenty to do. Overall great experience.
Houston is not a "destination" city. Never has been. Never will be.
I just came from Chicago and thought the same thing. I think this city could be better if we were able to walk to a lot of places. I think seeing people outside would make it more lively.
Yea when you travel you start to realize that maybe Houston ain’t all that…
I feel like nobody starts out thinking Houston "is all that" and the more I travel, the more I appreciate the positives.
There are a hundred people on here who will dogpile you if you try to criticize the city
I triggered someone last year because I told them the main attraction at an AQUARIUM should NOT be a white tiger
Most of the Houstonians I know who have lived here all their lives and rarely travel think this city’s shit doesn’t stink and will jump you for the slightest criticism
I still love Houston but I'm mature and secure enough to know we could learn from others.
There was a thread on here that once compared the sunset over a *strip mall* to that of a sunset in Hawaii. Sometimes people just don’t want to accept or speak what they consider “ill-will”
Load of work here, gotta be where the money is!
Uh no shit lmfao
Well at least we don’t have a Trump Tower.
You know, as a Chicagoan and as much as we hate that man the building is a really nice super tall in our skyline along the river. If that name wasn’t plastered on the side it would be perfect.
Ya bro Chicago is a totally different city. I lived in northern Illinois for 25 years and it’s great. Just depends what you want
This is not news.
I’ve lived in both cities, but Chicago first. It took me about a decade to agree to moving here before my husband put in a transfer to be nearer our aging parents. Chicago is my favorite US city. Hand-down. But I’ve grown to love Houston almost equally. I miss the snow, Art Institute (it holds my favorite works), the more exciting bustle inside the loop.. and so much more. This post pierced my heart a bit and prompted me to think of all the wonderful things Houston offers. Which brings me to Cubs or Astros. Ouch!! I bleed orange & blue. My uncle was a scout for them in the 70’s. But who doesn’t love the Cubbies? I have nothing of value to add, other than one can love both cities, travel between them, and feel doubly blessed…and I’ll probably spend the rest of today musing over Chicago. 👍🏼
I just moved from Houston to Chicago last month and you are completely right. And yes, I visited in December, January, and March before moving and it wasn’t as bad as you might think. I had thermal shirt and multiple layers and felt totally fine.
I visited New York for the first time last year. I was never interested in visiting. I had always pictured it the way I had seen it in movies from the late 80s/early 90s. Like the Ninja Turtles movies. Rampant crime, homeless people sitting around everywhere, garbage in the gutters. I went and it was beautiful. Walkable. Clean streets. I realized that what I had pictured was actually Houston. I’ve lived here my whole life and the more I travel now that I’m an adult, the more I realize how much it sucks here.
I think we have better food and diversity and year round accessibility (I'll take stifling heat over debilitating cold). They have a better designed downtown, better transportation, more things to do for families, better shopping, and it's much cleaner. The Chicago River and Lake Michigan don't hurt either.
As a born-and-raised Houstonian that has been living in Chicago for about a year, you are 100% right about the food and diversity. We've been back to Houston a few times and it's so much more common to see social groups of mixed race/ethnicity in Houston than in Chicago. We've had some good meals here, too, but in we've been to a number of well-regarded restaurants that were expensive and disappointing (Galit, Frontera, Beatnik) and some of that may be because of how prevalent truly great food is in Houston. Granted, Chicago truly excels at hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc, which is awesome, and we haven't been to any of the crazy world-class 2- and 3- Michelin star restaurants (though we have upcoming reservation at Oriole, so that's about to change), but in Houston it's way more likely to stumble into a good place than here. For example, we've been to three Thai places where the drunken noodle was absurdly surgary, a banh mi place so bad I'm convinced the proprietor has never actually had an actual banh mi before, and plenty of underwhelming tacos. That said, I love that we haven't driven the car in several weeks and we can get pretty much everywhere we need to on foot, bike, or via public transit. The lake is truly incredible, especially now with the weather getting nice, and the city always has so much energy in a way that you'll never get in a place where everyone's in their damn car all the time. The music scene here is also unreal. There are countless amazing local bands and you can catch a show any night of the week. It feels weird to bail on shows because the venue is "so far" when it's like 2 miles away. Plenty of dive bars with cheap beer, and weed is legal. We can even occasionally catch an Astros game when they're in town playing the White Sox, with plenty of orange on the train and in stadium. Both great cities. Different strokes.
What I said when I visited Boston. How do we not enjoy our downtown area as much as they do especially on weekends 😲🤯? Then I got over it.
Only way to get Houston people downtown is to make it a drive thru
Just about every major city has a better downtown than Houston.
Eado is getting better it’s no way near Chicago but it’s getting to the point where it’s walkable. You can walk the bike path from your townhome on McKinney to Shell Energy Stadium catch a game and then after walk to Cobo’s, Pitch 25, or Neil’s Bar, and then walk back home. Again it’s not nearly as pretty as Chicago but east downtown is actually becoming a somewhat entertaining area.
too bad we're flattening st Emmanuel and Neil's Bar for a bigger freeway
Main Street and Market Square are very walkable and a better going out scene then “EaDO”.
Culturally/aesthetically Chicago is like if Houston and New York had a kid.
100% agreed, I say the exact same thing.
Downtown Chicago is one of the best downtowns on this continent. Some ppl think it’s the best there is. Of course Houston can’t match or catch up. The thing Houston needs to be worried about is not catching up to a world class city like Chicago but hell there’s some smaller cities in this country that have a better downtown than Houston. I mean Austin, Nashville, and even a city like Charlotte has more vibrancy in their DT than Houston. And yes I said Charlotte! Matter fact I’d take Asheville, NC downtown over Houston’s. DT Houston has made some improvements but still got a long way to go. Don’t worry about Chicago can you be just as vibrant as Austin?
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I was just in Chicago this past weekend and it’s just no comparison… if it wasn’t so expensive, I would have already left Houston for Chicago. Houston is so ugly 😭 I love it but aesthetically, it’s not pretty.
I said the same thing over 10 years ago our DT could be put in one corner of Chicago downtown that’s how huge theirs is… nonetheless we need more stuff to in DT houston for sure
I’ve been to 14 different countries and Chicago is by far one of the best skylines I’ve ever seen. Especially at night. Hong Kong and New York being tied for 1st.
Chicago is a great city, but I'd rather put up with the heat here than the winter there. My blood is too thin.
Well, it's hard to compete against Lake Michigan, especially since they've cleaned up the pollution from the 70s. And the summer through fall weather in Chicago is <>
To the OP... Thank you for showing Chicago in a positive light. Appreciate that. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I can state this. Chicago, like a lot of cities it's size, has issues. Good areas, bad areas, drugs, guns, gangs, affluent, poor... The fear that certain news sites has espoused over the last decade, is trying to paint Chicago as "If you visit, you will DIE!" kind of thing. There's way, way more positive things in Chicago than negative. Food, tourist sites, sports teams that sometimes don't suck, nightlife, I could go on. For any visitors coming to Chicago, just be aware of the surroundings, walk in groups, at certain times of the night, take a ride share to your destination. And take pictures! Chicago is one of the most photogenic cities in the country. Enjoy your stay in Chicago.
Houston needs to invest in more parks and outdoor space
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I'm a Houstonian currently sitting in my parents' apartment in Chicago. Chicago trounces Houston in every way: architecture, public transportation, fun activities, everything. No comparison.
We don’t really have a downtown. 99% of downtowns best out downtown
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When you two are rich, you should do 6 months in Houston, 6 in Chicago. 😆
OP keep traveling! I like Houston a bunch but I don't know anybody who thinks the downtown area is considered anywhere near top tier in the US.
Of course all that Houston invests in is roads and suburbs / strip malls
It’s because for most large cities their tourism/visitors hub is in downtown. Driving through downtown Houston seems like endless corporate buildings and then of course you have the stadiums, convention center, and concert/theater venues but besides that that if a visitor wants to go on any given day and do a fun attraction the only thing there is to do is the Aquarium.
I have been to Chicago only once and it was a great trip. I will always remember it because my dad was still with me, and we had amazing food and beer. We visited the Willis tower and the bean and was snowing. Everything was great. Now in June I'm moving to Houston so hopefully we will visit again. Not possible anymore with my dad but still. Good to remember
Chicago is the true gem of the Midwest. You really though have to endure a FULL 6 months of winter. If you don't like winter and wind, it's not the place for you.
ITT: Everyone here is describing life without cars. Just saying
Hey Houston friends! Long time Chicago resident here. I’ve never visited your city but have heard great things and lurk here to learn more. Some day I’ll make it down there. Just wanted to say I appreciate the Chicago love and hope you have a great three day weekend!
Houston is an urban hellscape full of traffic, poverty, and gaudy displays of wealth. Immigrants are really doing the heavy lifting in this town—Houston’s only redeeming qualities are food and diversity… and I guess the medical center.
Shit...as a non-native Houston, I've been doing free labor trying to explain to Houstonians that they live in a swamp. I'm batting 0 and 5000.
I hate to tell you, but nearly every downtown is better than Houston.
Well Houston is in Texas, so it's already farther down. As long as you all keep voting red as a state, your cities are only going to get worse.
Been all over and it’s Texas that sucks in general. Culturally we contribute very little outside of country music and some rap which is woopty doo I guess. We’re behind in a lot of ways but hey at least it’s not Mississippi or Florida.
That a city can even be compared to Chicago is actually a compliment to that city.
I was raised in Chicago. Downtown is for business and tourists. Just like Houston, the real fun is elsewhere. You can’t do anything with a pretty city scape. Even in Manhattan, “downtown” bear Wall Street is not the place to be. I live in Houston now and wouldn’t move to Chicago unless I was maybe getting paid double my salary….
Just wait until Buffalo bayou park is fully finished and lively, and wait until they do all those improvements with the WORLD CUP coming to town. Now they actually have the pressure to make something cool out of our downtown.
You went comparing with probably the best DT in the country. I have been to NYC and to SF etc but somehow Chicago DT ( not talking about the whole city) has a unique classic feel not present elsewhere
Houston as a whole has work to do
A thing I've noticed for people who love Houston.....they haven't left Houston or Texas lol other downtowns are MILES above Houston. I've traveled tons for work and vacation and I've never looked back at Houston the same way lol
We MIGHT catch up to Chicago population wise one of these days. Houston will never match the downtown allure of the other metropolis.
Wait till u see their winter!
I went to Chicago years ago and it spent 2 1/2 days just walking around and seeing the sites. I wish Houston’s downtown was like that
Any walkable city with reliable public transportation is going to have a better DT than Houston
But, but, but, but...the shootings and fires! /s
I’ll say this; Houston has come a long way I remember about 30 yrs ago Dt Houston was horrible homeless people everywhere, streets dirty buildings in really bad shape people were afraid to go to dt Houston and honestly I’m impressed for the transformation of it.
Their downtown is beautiful, but you have to know how it got that way. Most of it was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The city had to be rebuilt and they were forward thinking by planning it right. So Houston could catch up to them if we burn down our downtown and start over like them.
Been downtown Chicago several times, it's great! Loved every minute of it.
This just made me so homesick 🥵
There are a ton of cities that smoke our downtown. Milwaukee has a great one too
Walkability bro
I have lived in Houston 36 years (all of my adult life) but lived in Chicago (2 years) and the suburbs of Chicago, Arlington Heights for 5 years. Chicago is an older city with a lot of history and even if you aren't downtown, wherever you live feels urban , not like in Houston where a lot of the area outside of downtown seems like a suburb, I live in the Memorial area and really don't feel like I live in a big city . Chicago is very walkable unlike Houston and the weather is nicer. Downtown Houston just doesn't have the vibe of other big cities. I remember spending a lot of time in the big train station in Chicago whenever we came in from the suburbs or went to the suburbs. Hot dog stands on the street corners, continuous buildings instead of one building per block like we have here. Chicago has so much more to offer than Houston, especially when it comes to living without a car like i do.
Agreed, I have been to Chicago and they have a beautiful city, and some of the nicer suburban neighborhoods are very pretty also!
We need *trains*
I’ve always said as far as big cities go Houston’s downtown is definitely lacking.
Texas lacks. Period.
Tbf, Chicago has been working on improving their downtown for literally a generation. I agree Houston has a long way to go but the big hurdle is deciding to spend that public money. The city of Phoenix did the same thing in the 90’s. They spent 10’s of millions on parks and public Venus. It completely changed the way the city was seen and has been a huge financial success. It took a solid democratic mayor and council tho. I don’t see THAT happening in Houston or again in Phoenix this generation.
Yea. I'm from Houston, born and raised. Moved to Illinois about 13 years ago. When we first moved, we lived literally 2 blocks away from Willis Tower, right in the middle of highrise buildings and skyscrapers. It. Was. Insane. We sold our cars and that was foreign because anyone from Houston knows you have to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere there, so the thought of not having my own transportation was crazy. Was weird at first but ended up loving it. Bought a bike and dropped 30lbs easily lol. The first year living there was like a super long vacation. But, then we got older, wanted kids and moved to the burbs so now it's like AnywhereVille, USA. And now I can't stand driving to the city, hate the taxes and despise the weather lol.
You say, “We have work to do” Start by voting and vote out the current officials in office. All of them! Especially Turner!
But conservative radio tells me Chicago is a war zone and I'll be shot if I go there.
the entire state of texas has work to do
Okay look. You have to take progress into consideration. Houston downtown has come a long way. Like, a really long way. Do we have further to go? Yes. But there are now parts of Houston that are completely walkable. As in, you don't need a car to live at all. They said it couldn't be done. The important thing is to not rest on our laurels because, in fact, we haven't earned laurels yet.
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I love the city as a whole, but downtown is a dead zone. That's not even controversial, it's a ghost town after 5 PM unless there's a sporting event.
As someone who has lived in Texas their entire life, I HATE Houston with a passion. Mainly because of the traffic, but also because there isn’t really much to do there you can’t do elsewhere better, and have more fun doing so. There is no reason to visit Houston as a Texan.
Houston is…..I’ll just keep my comments to myself
I went to Houston and it was literally the ugliest looking major city I’ve been to. Flat as hell, no scenery other than brown dirt really.
Houston isn't centered around it's downtown like most cities. I rarely went there when I lived in Houston.
Looks like a lot of transplants and Chicagoans in this thread. You're all welcome to go to Chicago.
I was just there last week as well. Stayed at the Congress Hotel with a view of the "Bundy" fountain. I went to high school in Chicago and wasn't blown away by what I saw last week. It's nice and fairly clean and there weren't yahoos zipping down the sidewalks on those rental scooters, but wouldn't say it's waaaay better than DT Houston. For reference all the activity along the Chicago river (shops, boats, etc.) didn't look like that when I grew up. It very much to me looked like they're trying to imitate the San Antonio Riverwalk.
Y'all... just keep visiting Chicago and you'll only love it more. DT Chicago (the Loop) is great, but the neighborhoods are even better, and they are all connected and easy to get thru by public transit or a 15 minute Uber, or riding a bike thru many bike lanes. You can literally go to any pro game you want, the beach, an awesome brewery, and world class authentic food in the same day without driving/parking/etc, or burning yourself on a seatbelt. TX cities will never get there because politicians will never fund pedestrian-first, public transit, or eco friendly infrastructure. TX doesn't care about people first investments over business friendly investments. No taxes, no infrastructure. 🤷 Grew up in TX near ATX, went to A&M. Lived in Chicago (actual city not burbs) for 12 yrs. Will never go back.
I just recently moved from Chicago after living there for 35 years ( minus 4 I spent in San Diego ) to Milwaukee. I've grown to love my new home after countless comparisons on all fronts; food , entertainment, culture, diversity, etc.. I still love Chicago and visit regularly. The Art Institute being my favorite place to visit. My mother worked for an airline so I traveled everywhere in the US. I've been to almost all of the big cities and national parks and a whole lot of the in between (the driftless area in Wisconsin is awesome). I guess I'm just trying to say that if you put in the effort, you can find something in these smaller cities that is unique and amazing that makes it stand out. As great as Chicago is, I wouldn't want every other city to be just like it.
It’s probably the best city in the world for about 4-5 months a year. Doesn’t mean H town is bad though.
Stay until February lol
The fact of the matter is that there's simply nothing to do in Houston besides walk a few parks, visit a few museums, and get drunk at one of our many bars. It's not even legal for people to busk and make music on the street. That's how fucking boring and uptight this city is. When you look at a typical "fun" (but also messy) city, there's usually looser laws and a general spirit of artistic and free culture. Houston doesn't have any of that. You can only go to karaoke night so many times before it gets old. Not to mention the car culture here makes it impossible to walk anywhere.
Check back with me in January.
I love Chicago. The hotter take is that Chicago is superior to NYC. It helps to be right on a Great Lake / have the river through the city and not be in a swamp and subject to hurricanes lol
Except Houston is in texas. And you ain't got a shot in the hell this day and age to fix that helpful. It's only going to get worse as your Christian nationalist keep stripping away freedoms of everybody else.
Seriously, Houston is fugly.
The downtown area of a few dozen cities beats Houston by a country mile. Austin, Nashville, New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, San Antonio…etc I love HTown but it’s not a tourist city, it’s a working city and it’s downtown area reflects that.