Looking for first-hand knowledge of Houston, Texas, and surrounding environs.

[Griffyn612]

Looking for anyone that has lived, or still lives, in Houston, Texas.  Need a feel for the city, certain landmarks and places, and local terminology.

Also interested in similar information for Texas in general, and any knowledge anyone has about life along the border with Mexico.

Houston Info
 - What's a popular downtown location?
 - What's Main Street Square like?
 - What's the land to the west like?
 - What's Bessie's Bayou?
 - What are the local terms for major roads and highways?
 - What's the area around Texas Medical like?

[MClark]

Looking for anyone that has lived, or still lives, in Houston, Texas.  Need a feel for the city, certain landmarks and places, and local terminology.

Also interested in similar information for Texas in general, and any knowledge anyone has about life along the border with Mexico.

Houston Info
 - What's a popular downtown location?
 - What's Main Street Square like?
 - What's the land to the west like?
 - What's Bessie's Bayou?
 - What are the local terms for major roads and highways?
 - What's the area around Texas Medical like?

My friends live out in Sugar Land and I've visited them occasionally. The land near the highway was a combination of housing developments, shopping malls, strip malls, and texas countryside. The countryside was gently (very gently, almost flat) rolling fields. I think we would cross the brazos river on the way to their house.
There is a huge subdivision called Greatwood out that way. A variety of very nice homes, most ten years (or less) old, some large, some very large.

Whoa, realtor.com shows 2200 sq ft house in Sugar Land for only $185k. You can spend much more if you want to.

Most (all?) houses in Houston do not have basements- the water table is too high and they'd leak all the time.

My friends used to live in the city, but I don't remember much from visiting them. We drove up and down Westheimer Street so much I joked I was visiting the city of Westheimer St. Lots of apartment buildings, businesses, strip malls. Ten years ago it seemed every strip mall had a strip joint in it, not sure if that is still the case.

Sorry I can't help more.

[Griffyn612]

I appreciate the input.  I'm working on something based in Houston, but I've never been there.  Trying the old 'Butcher' move, like he did with Chicago.  Although I'm benefiting from the web, Google Maps & Earth, and boards like this. 

Your mention of the Brazos is helpful.  I'm trying to determine the name of a small tributary river that runs alongside the Brazos for a bit.  North of interstate 10 its called Bessie's Bayou, but I don't know if that's the name of the river system to the south, or just a marshy area to the north.

[Starbeam]

Info about Texas in general really won't help too much with the Houston area, other than Texas history sort of info, because there are varied regions.  There's a reason one of the travel/visitor commercials had the slogan something like "Texas, it's a whole other country."
I grew up in Texas, and I wouldn't even try to answer any of the questions because I grew up in West Texas--my hometown is a 6 hour drive to get to Houston.  And West Texas goes a bit more twangy with accents and speech, which I don't think you get so much of in south/southeast Texas--I believe you get a bit more of a Southern drawl there.  Maybe.

[Griffyn612]

Info about Texas in general really won't help too much with the Houston area, other than Texas history sort of info, because there are varied regions.  There's a reason one of the travel/visitor commercials had the slogan something like "Texas, it's a whole other country."
I grew up in Texas, and I wouldn't even try to answer any of the questions because I grew up in West Texas--my hometown is a 6 hour drive to get to Houston.  And West Texas goes a bit more twangy with accents and speech, which I don't think you get so much of in south/southeast Texas--I believe you get a bit more of a Southern drawl there.  Maybe.

But any and all information is welcome.  My story is going to be based primarily out of Houston, bu there's travel across Texas, with multiple unnamed towns, a venture across the border into Mexico, followed by some time in San Antonio.

So descriptions of small towns in west Texas are just as helpful.  Descriptions of life along the border will be helpful as well. 

[tuttman1234]

San Antonio I can help you with. Just let me know what you need, and that I can provide. Gotta show my city some love.

[Quantus]

The only think I know about Houston is that there is a truly massive tanker shipping port there in the northern part of Galveston Bay, for large scale chemical shipping and storage, run by a Norwegian company called Odfjell. 

Thats a very, very random fact for what you have in mind Im sure, but its all I got 

[uberduck]

I used to live outside of Houston (out 290 past Jersey Village) but have some experiences with a number of parts of H-town.

Currently, I live in Austin, Tx.

Watcha wanna know?

Houston is a big city, geographically, spread out in all directions.  One's subdivision or local high school is a more important landmark than almost anything, especially if one lives outside the Loop (IH-610) or the Beltway (Sam Houston Toll-road also called Beltway .  IH-10, US Routes 290 and 59 are important roads as well.  Areas in the south and east are more prone to flooding from heavy rains.  Buffalo Bijou runs through downtown.  Bush International is the major airport, but Hobby still operates and is located almost downtown (kinda like O'Hare and Midway, Kennedy and LaGuardia or DFW and Love Field).  There are a number of different school districts in the area (HISD is only for Houston proper) and if one grew up in or around the area, one's school district, and especially high school is a more important indicator of living area than nearly anything else.

Nasa's Houston Control is in Clear Lake.  Rice is actually IN Houston (West U area), the Ninth Ward is sorta the Houston equivalent to Compton (in S-Central LA) but the city if fairly diverse racially.  There are very large communities of Vietnamese, Koreans, Hindi's, Hispanics (Mexicans, Texicans and Tejanos).  There are still plenty of rednecks though. 

The place was built on a swamp and it feels like it.  It's damn near always humid (one wit, okay it was me, likes to joke that the rain is only humidity you can actually see.)

Belaire is a township within Houston City limits, but it's a different municipality, complete w/ it's own police force (whose job seems to be mostly harassing motorists who don't live in Belaire.

Sharpstown has a high concentration of Vietnamese and is at rare times referred to as 'Little Saigon'

Montrose is the "arts" district and a long time bastion of more liberal/socially progressive lifestyles.  Also has some of the best bar/club venues.

River Heights is where the 'old money' used to live way back when.  It was pretty run down for a while but has gentrified greatly.

Houston has very little in the way of zoning laws (or at least it used to).

Harris County Constables range throughout the area.  HPD is restricted to Houston.  If you're writing anything about law enforcement, keep that in mind. 

Lots of so-called Houstonians don't actually live IN Houston.  They live out in the surrounding 'burbs.

The city has a butte-load of great eateries.  Not many know Houston as a gourmand's paradise, but whatever you may be hungry for, you can find it, and it's usually top notch.  Maybe not world-class, Michalen three-star, but damn good. 

That's about it for now.  If you have specific question about specific areas, e-mail me