I will admit that, from time to time, this blog can get a teensy bit negative. That's probably more human nature than anything else, we tend to focus on things we feel need to be fixed after all rather than those things that are humming along smoothly.
To remedy that, I think I'll list out the things about Houston that I like. I haven't done that in a while so this seems like a good time to do so....
1. The way people helped one another during the Harvey Floods - It was cool, when I was cooped up in my house for a week, watching normal, everyday citizens and first responders busting their humps to rescue and evacuate their fellow residents.
2. The food and restaurant scene, even in the suburbs. - While I have to fess up to not venturing 'Inside the Loop' very often except for work (and number four which follows) even out here in the hinterlands there is a large selection of good places to grab a good meal that are not chains. And food trucks. Food trucks are good, very good.
3. The energy industry and job market. - The fact is, the energy industry pays pretty well, they have good benefits and it's a good industry in which to work. You hear a lot of bad about us in the media, but I've seen a lot of good inside.
4. The Houston Zoo. - The wife and I love the zoo here. It's great. The Houston Zoo is one of the underappreciated great places to go in Houston. People gush about the Museums and Theaters, but the truth is a lot of cities have facilities comparable to those.
5. The Houston Astros. - I don't like the Texans, I pull for the Rockets, the Dynamo (and the entire MLS for that matter) are minor league soccer but the Astros? I'm a fan. The first baseball game I ever saw was in the Astrodome and back then I thought it was the biggest building in the world (I was 5).
And that's it. Everything else about Houston is just 'meh' or substantially worse than other cities I've visited/lived in. But those five things are pretty great and I will miss them should I ever leave here.
