Living in Houston is a blessing. While growing up I never understood others who wanted to leave. I couldn't imagine living in a different city or grow up anywhere else. Here are the 5 things that make me proud to call Houston my home:
5. The weather.
Yes, last week it was it is crazy hot and humid, and today is below freezing. Houston weather is almost unpredictable. However I feel that Houston weather is nice, to have 75 degrees in a December winter is nice, but at the same time, the chance of it snowing isn't surprising as well. October through March brings my favorite time of the year weather between 75 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which though may be hot... Houston is the city in the US with the most ACs so I all think we'll be ok.
4. All the Quirky:
The quirky. While Austin is known for keeping it weird, I think Houston can be -- just – quirky. There are so many off-beat attractions... so let's keep Houston Quirky?
3. Gastronomic Diversity - you name it, you can find it in Houston - provided of course you're prepared to beat the traffic
"French bistro, Dominican chef, Italian restaurant, Boricua chef, Chinese takeout, Mexican chef". You can find almost anything you want in Houston and you the whole world's plate. Being Brazilian-American, some of the best BRAZILIAN food I've had is here in Houston. So eat up, you can find food from all over the world as Houston is so diverse, which brings me to my second reason...
2. Diversity
A lot has been made in recent months about how Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country. (Check out this great report from NPR’s Elise Hu about it). Most recently, Smithsonian Magazine has bestowed Houston with the “most diverse city in America” moniker. It doesn’t take long to recognize Greater Houston’s diverse populations, culture, food (there it is again – I have to stop writing these posts while I’m hungry), music, business, shopping, and so on, and so forth. Consider the demographics – the 2010 Census pegged this breakdown for Harris County: 41% Hispanic, 33% non-Hispanic whites, 18% African-American, 8% Asian or other. Generally speaking, my initial impressions are that this diverse population generally gets along pretty well. The 32nd Kinder Institute Houston Area Survey this year indicated that’s how the majority of Houstonians feel, that 51% of those surveyed say “the relations among ethnic groups in the Houston area are 'excellent' or 'good'”. Stats and surveys aside, I love that people here get along. Especially for a big city, people embrace the diversity here and show it.
#1. The Houstonian attitude.
It’s positive, it’s up-lifting. People here are optimistic about the future. (An economic boom and rising population sure helps). I’ve lived in communities on a downturn, and I’ve lived in communities very slowly on the rise, but this is the first full-fledged boomtown I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of. There is a palpable sense of excitement about where Houston may be going in the years to come. There’s a sense of progress, not just related to the materialistic ideas, or the next skyscraper, or the natural gas boom, or the rise of health care, or arts and culture – it just feels like, right now, I’m part of a huge swath of people who have arrived in Houston with the intention of making this community a better place to live, and having the support to do it. Of course, that’s the easy part. Figuring out how – and coming to consensus on what “better” actually means – that’s much harder. Still – it’s an exciting time to be a Houstonian.
