PHX-area has always been appealing to me: for reasons past my understanding the NHL is there, the resort scene is great for someone like me, it's a big enough city in general, the golf is impossible to argue with, and they're pretty cool on stuff like individual freedoms (read: CCW) along with my favorite famous cop, Sheriff Joe. Apartments and condos weren't horribly overpriced last time I looked, either. All of that in trade for feeling like you're living on the Sun for four months a year.

Summer weather aside, Houston is much better off than most other cities in the US, especially with regard to economics. It certainly is better than the Rustbelt (ultra-high unemployment, poor weather) and Southern California (somewhat high unemployment, worse traffic, high taxes and ultra-high real estate prices), two areas whose virtues people seem to extol quite often, especially many from places like Texas. Try moving to many areas of the midwest, where jobs (even at McDonalds and Starbucks) are non-existent and the average high temperature during January and February is 24 degrees. Houston is Paradise in comparison.

(Obviously, this is not directed at you, as you moved to NYC.)

I would need a huge jug of Crisco if I lived in PHX.

Why is that? You'd fry?

Yep. And with Crisco, when you start to sizzle, you move your butt.

I know the economy of Houston has diversified greatly since the 1980s oil crash (when Downtown became a ghost-town). However, I think that once oil/gas ceases to be a central component of global energy markets (whenever that may be), Houston's fortunes will suffer greatly. It may even be that the chain-reaction is equivalent to or greater than that felt in former manufacturing strongholds like Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

For those in Houston, details about the I-10 HOV/HOT/Toll lanes are coming out. I drive from inside the loop to the Energy Corridor (opposite traffic) and from what it sounds like, to not be charged a toll, you have to use the lanes only during that direction's HOV times, even when traveling with 2+ people.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/5949701.html

:td:

I hope this idea crashes and burns.

So, cheap real estate, no Walmart, 8 avocados for $1, non-chain restaurants, coffee shops and warm weather?

Count me in for a place inside the 610 loop! ^

LOL.

Yeah, I know some people love places like Phoenix and Las Vegas, but they're just not for me. I don't care if it's a dry heat, it's still too damn hot.

In addition to the heat, Arizona as a whole always feels very dirty to me with all of the dust and concrete. I need to see some grass!

Lewis Black would be proud of how you sanitized his line. :p

Heat doesn't bother me, cold does. I did the Air Force overseas thing twice - 135 degrees with 8 percent humidity. After about 110, your brain stops registering. 110 and 133 feel the same...though it's odd to see the thermometer say 90 and have a desire for another layer. You don't get a painful sunburn in that part of the world either. I was outdoors in a t-shirt almost every day I was there and I never felt pain related to sun exposure.

Do I really want you as a neighbor in Midtown? Hmmm... Yes, I am moving there at the end of September. I'm guessing you're either going to move into a townhouse in Midtown, rent in Camden (next to the Randalls), or buy a teardown and build your own home. I do like the farmer's market in Midtown on Saturday mornings next to the Breakfast Klub (best breakfast in Houston - though not inexpensive).

I'm actually not a bad neighbor. I'm usually so exhausted from pulling 17-hour days during the week that I just collapse when I get home, and on the weekends, I'm usually in another city.

True, you could be living in Detroit where as Ive heard everything is going down the pooper. Granted I am in the finance industry and while Houston has tons of OIL money they would rather send it up to NYC than keep it at your local wealth management companies in Houston. I also have seen the vast difference of working in Houston vs. NYC in this industry and there seems to be a great disconnect with the markets and sources I now have available compared to when I was in Houston. My father is an executive at an O&G company in Houston and he is a lot better off there than anywhere in the states. I guess it all just depends on the industry you are in and the resources you need to have avialable successfully and efficiently do your job.

Haha, suckers. It cracks me up that people are just now freaking out over this, when it was actually publicized back around 2002 that it would be a HOT lane with a toll all the time except for high occupancy vehicles during HOV hours. Back then nobody really seemed to care. I guess if you lived in Katy and had to deal with that freeway on a daily basis you were willing to agree to anything, no matter how poorly planned it was.

But now that the road is almost complete, everyone is a lot more concerned about it will actually work.

I still think Houston totally missed the boat on the Katy Freeway expansion, thanks in large part to two certain Congressmen in the area (one of which is fortunately no longer in office). That project could have been much more effective in my opinion if HCTRA had stayed out of the picture, and TxDOT and Metro had jointly expanded the freeway and installed a commuter rail line the full distance from the proposed intermodal transit facility just north of Downtown Houston all the way out to Katy. It could have replaced the existing park and ride bus service with much more capacity that's far more expandable, and would have left plenty of room for a couple more non-tolled freeway lanes.

Not only did this expansion destroy several neighborhoods and wipe out lots of long-term businesses, but the tolling is necessary because it was so ridiculously expensive. And part of the expense has to do with the reinforcement that was put into the bridge structures under the HOT lanes. TxDOT had to cave into Metro to preserve the possibility for future commuter or light rail in the corridor, so TxDOT had to build the bridges strong enough to accommodate rail vehicles at some point in the future. However, the portion of the highway that could be converted to rail is the HOT lane portion down the middle that HCTRA manages. And there's little to no chance they're ever going to give up the cash cow that the Katy Tollway is sure to be. So now we're stuck with a much wider highway, but only one additional through lane in each direction that's free to drive on, two toll lanes in each direction, and no room to accommodate a rail line without eliminating the four HOT lanes (which is half the expanded highway's eight through lanes).