Loved this article.

Basically, everything bad you will hear about Houston is true. Yeah, the summer heat is bad. Suburban traffic is awful (though not so bad closer-in). The air is polluted and the water is nasty and to top it off we've got GIANT FLYING COCKROACHES.

But you know, I've got a list of a million reasons why I wouldn't rather live any other place. In spite of the above. You either get it, or you don't. If you do, great, and if you don't, well it's probably better that you just don't move here and try to make it like a bad copy of New York or San Diego or whatever other dreadfully "livable" place you came from.

The place where I live (Fort Collins, Colorado) was recently named by Money magazine as the best place to live in America.

We have our problems, too, like a high rate of child poverty...but at least we don't have GIANT FLYING COCKROACHES.

Glad you're happy with Houston, as you presumably won't be moving here. Folks in Fort Collins were actually not at all pleased about being named the best place to live: they were afraid there would be a huge migration of people looking for Paradise.

Even the Garden of Eden would be awful if it became overcrowded.

Ahh yes, I know the feeling.

But see, we've got nothing to fear, 'cuz we've got no zoning. What happens in every other city is it gets listed as "best place to live," then people move in and bid up the housing prices, replace the local places with "upscale" national business, and basically destroy the place.

No danger of that in Houston! If they come... we will build more houses! And freeways and tollways and maybe even 80mph commuter rail. And if they want chains, great! We'll build more commercial space too. Actually Houston has some of the most retail commercial space per capita. That's why the out-of-towners complain about the "ugly" stripmalls when they get here. It's also why you can have your Chili's, and I can have my La Tapatia. Spicy!

I live a couple miles north of Houston where the giant flying roaches like to sneak into the house and hang out in the shower with me in the mornings before driving to work and I still will probably never move to another city. It only gets unnerving when they fly for your face.

How often do you see these giant flying cockroaches in your home? Daily? Do they fly regularly or crawl most of the time like regular cockroaches?

I don't know where these folks get there average market prices for homes. I live in the Heights and I have lived inside the loop since moving here 4 years ago. There's not a condo under 500K and "tear downs", as they are lovingly called, go for at least 200K. The thing about Houston is you can live 35 miles from downtown in the burbs and you are still "in" Houston---but you're really not--you just live in some suburb (like every other US suburb) with Walmarts and strip malls. If you're inside the loop in Houston, it is not like that, at all. I love it here: major metro area, great restaurants (fantastic Mexican food), world class opera, ballet, theater, incredible shopping, non-stop flights to nearly every relevant domestic and international destination. The biggest joke is the weather only sucks for 3 months out of the year (summer), the rest of the time, get some screens for your windows (keep the "palmetto bugs" out--those are the flying cockroaches) and sleep to the dreamy tunes of the cicadas. Please don't let the secret out, so that more people move here--or God forbid, we get tourists.

Unfornately or fortunately as the case may be... the only flying cockroaches in Austin - are the ones throw out by the city council and city employees; now I know why we have so many homeless coming to Austin!

But on a serious note: There is a saying in Austin, "I moved to Houston to make enough money so I could afford to live in Austin."

Luv U Houston ; )

I live in Houston, and I have to wonder why everyone is making a big deal out of GIANT FLYING COCKROACHES. Yes, they exist and you see one occasionally. But unless you live in a crumbling house covered in trees and filled with exposed food and standing water, I don't see how they could affect your lifestyle much.

I've lived in Austin and not only were there also flying roaches, but plenty of scorpions and ants as well. And it's not that much more expensive to live than Houston or Dallas. It's exactly that "we're so much better" attitude of native Austinites that Houstonians get annoyed with. The truth is Houston is a much larger, international and cosmopolitan city with world-class amenities Austin doesn't have and probably will never have. To say Austin is so much better, aside from possibly outdoor recreation and the college scene, is completely subjective and not based on fact.

Mr J,

Umm... we definitely have American roaches (the "giant, flying cockroaches") here in Austin.

And I thought the saying was, "Houston wants to make money, Dallas wants to spend money, and Austin just wants to have a good time."

I was showing my age. The old hippies used to refer to their joints as 'roaches' There are a lot of old hippies in Austin...

On a serious note: I got that comment about going to Houston to make enough money to live in Austin from the 'Esther's Follies' that performs on 6th Street.

Personally, Houston is too large for me. Housing is cheaper and you can find work easier than Austin. But as the other posters say, 'you have to live Houston.' I'm too much of an old Austin hippie to live any where else.

Luv U Houston but only to visit!

It isn't for criminals, or hunting, or target shooting--it's for protection against the bugs!

Personally, Austin is too small for me. Housing is more expensive and it's harder to find work. Why would I live there?

The two advantages to Austin are (1) better shows, at least if you're into less-mainstream acts, and (2) the people who attend said shows. But that's why God created 290.

I thought God created TxDOT (Texas Dept. of Transportation) who in turn created 290!

Hwy 290 has grown! When I married some xx years ago, 290 had several sections that were 2 lanes and construction was always going on - now it is a nice divided highway with some great stops along the way.

Love the Bucky's stop in Giddings!

Everyone is making a big hairy deal about the GIANT FLYING COCKROACHES (which haunted me in my dreams as a child in Houston). But what about the crazy ants??