Some more fun notes about Houston from a native Texan: 1. Houston has no zoning laws. So you can and will pass a horse ranch, a strip mall, an office block, a residential development, and a light industrial site, all in the same mile stretch of avenue. 2. Related to the traffic thing, 2a. Matt must have caught Houston traffic on a good day because there are parts that can make Atlanta blush, we're talking barely moving for over an hour. The 610 Loop is legendary for this, though on last experience the Sam Houston Tollway that was built to take congestion off the Loop ain't much better these days. 2b. Even when traffic is flowing, it's Mad Max out there on the Interstates; use of turn signals is considered a sign of weakness and it's often better to signal the opposite to the lane you want to change to to fake out the dude who is gonna cut you off. 3. Houston has a light rail system. And nobody knows where it goes. Heck, half the time Houstonians forget it exists until they're crashing into the trains. 4. Houston is not just Houston. There's dozens of smaller cities that have been absorbed into the Greater Houston Metroplex. A fun local joke involves what happens when a Houston cop, a South Houston cop, a Pasadena cop, and a Webster cop all end up at a 4-way stop and deciding who goes first. 5. If you find yourself anywhere near the Fifth Ward, keep your windows rolled up and keep moving, otherwise you will be murdered. Houston is a dangerous town, and that is its most dangerous neighborhood. 6. If you wanna move there... Well, don't. But if you gotta, be aware that the Houston housing market is kinda weird in that it kind of ignores the trends throughout the rest of the nation. Like in the real estate bubble of 2008, prices never went up before the bubble burst, but after the burst they never really went down either. That said, it's not completely immune, just less so than other parts of Texas. 7. Galveston. About an hour away depending on traffic on I-45, it's our very own little slice of Key West on the Gulf. Beaches, amusement parks, cruise ships, the historic Strand, tons of museums, tons of bars, and most recently the likely new home of the battleship USS Texas. Just keep an eye on the Gulf and hope that century-old seawall will still prevent a repeat of the 1900 Storm that wiped the whole city off the map.
An amendment to your info about Galveston: don't walk on the beach with bare feet. Really don't walk on the beach at all unless you want to see if the combination of hepatitis and industrial waste will give you super powers. Spoiler alert the super power it gives you is the ability to die slowly...and painfully.
This is true, except if you take a wrong turn and go down a street too far in Galveston, you might actually find something worse than the fifth ward. It’s anarchy out here
For your respect shown to Mattress Mack, your love of Blue Bell, and the genius idea of a repeating Whataburger/Shipley’s cityscape, we recognize you as an honorary Houstonian.
"3 miles from the sun". I about spit out my coffee. That is both the funniest AND most accurate description of Houston I've ever heard. Also, Pappas restaurants are Sysco dealerships.
Yeah, when getting back from a trip via plane you get that "whoosh" of hot and humid air as you exit the plane. Yep, we're home. Then you get in the airport at IAH and the food smells so good. (likely the same at Hobby) The only place I have been to that is worse is Key West, Florida. I was glad to get back to Houston to cool off. Showering was pointless in Key West.
I'd like to revisit the traffic observations. I've lived in all of the big four cities in Texas (Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio). Dallas drivers go WAY too fast; you can't move in Austin because there's not enough infrastructure to support all the Californians and hispters; and in San Antonio, everyone's either drunk or driving too slowly in the left lane. It's only in Houston where I'm convinced the drivers are actively trying to unalive you.
I've lived in San Antonio (now home,) Dallas, and Austin, and have spent a lot of time visiting and driving through Houston. You have it right. I've also lived in a dozen other cities around the country, and visited many more. In southern California, I've driven on the 405 at 4:05 PM, and the traffic was not nearly as bad or as slow as that in Austin at any time of the day or night. In Dallas, drivers slow down to 55 mph if they have to change a tire. San Antonio has lots of highways, because we have a lot of military bases, but so many Californians are moving here that it is hard to keep the roads big enough. I've had my windshield broken three times in Houston, by trucks throwing up rocks. But still, I wouldn't live anywhere but Texas.
I am terrified going through Dallas. Dallas drivers think that if you don’t have a car right next to you on both sides, you’re going to be lonely, so they pull up to keep you company. If you have a whole car length between you and the car ahead of you, you saved them a space. It feels like there’s always a car within 3 feet of you. In Houston, they’ll give you a car length. One.
Born & raised Houstonian here, and I can vouch for all the info in this video. Also, I haven't laughed so hard at being made fun of in a long time! This, folks. THIS is the kind of teasing humor that the world should embrace...not a hint of meanness or untruth here. LOVE it, Matt!
Hubby was a corporate pilot flying a four-engine Jetstar out of Houston. He once took off from Intercontinental Airport to fly to Midland and pick up a passenger to bring him home. I left at the same time to pick up a rug on the other side of town. Hubby was back before I was.
@@Cynsham Houston is so big it's the point where most of those climate zones meet and just by crossing a Bayou you suddenly leave the Piney Woods region and enter the Coastal Plains region... or the Central Plains Region... or the Prarie
I am a native Houstonian and I can verify all he says. Though I have to confess, I didn't know small Buc-ee's exist! Also, the No. 1 thing I love about Houston is that every ethnicity from all over the world has a community of people who live here. It is incredibly diverse! You can travel the world and never leave the city. Then again, the city is only slightly smaller than the whole world so, you're not really saving any time....
I grew up in Houston and can testify that you got the fundamentals basically nailed. The only thing I’d mention is how international the city is. It’s been an entry point for a long time, which is demonstrated by its huge cultural diversity.
Houston is not really a tourist destination, so a lot of people don't know about the amazing food scene. The lack of tourists made it a great city to grow up in. Most people visiting are there for business. There really isn't much to do that distinguishes it from any other major city, and it takes forever to get anywhere. Main reason I moved to Austin. He's totally wrong about the traffic... 610 by the Galleria is literally an automobile parade. You're not going anywhere any time soon, and good luck trying to move lane-to-lane, cuz Texans don't know how to merge.
The 1st Bucees I ever visited was in Giddings. Just a normal sized store with Beaver Nuggets, warm cashews, beef jerky and immaculate bathrooms.What else do you really need?
Yes. The Buc-ees in Giddings was smaller and had rocking chairs (for sale?) on its porch. It got remodeled probably after all the bigger Buc-ees were being built, but it is still pretty small.
I think the first one is in Lake Jackson? It’s pretty small, so is the one in Alvin and also the one in Eagle Lake. There’s still a smaller one off 96 too, and last time I drove through Angleton, they had a smaller one off 35 & 288.
As a Texan, my takeaway is that we need to raise the speed limits. If you don't feel like you're driving on the Texas Motor Speedway every time you hit the road, we did something wrong.
@@Sun-gs6hq tell that to all the suped up trucks that haven't seen any real work in years going 45 in a 30 in the right lane, tailgating, and not using the left lane to the last nanosecond.
As a Mitchell who lives just outside of Houston, welcome! A few quick notes: --It's an ongoing joke that Houston is over an hour away from Houston. This is all true. Driving from my suburb on the southern side of town to my folk's house on the NW side takes more than 30 minutes on a Saturday morning with NO traffic. --The "service roads" in Houston are called "feeders." Also, every major highway in town has at least 2 names; it's how we distinguish who's local. --Dollar Generals are ALL OVER the suburbs. You just stayed in the fancy parts of town. --The various Buc-ee's sizes: There's regular (enormous) locations, the smaller versions that are still built originally as Buc-ee's (I call them "baby Buc-ee's") and then the locations where they took over other gas stations and retro-fitted the Buc-ee's brand ("fetal Buc-ee's"). --Come back sometime!
I lived in Houston for 18 years. You nailed it. You did miss talking about the greatest donut ever made for mankind, Shipley's. We probably miss HEB more than anything now that we moved.
As a kid from the 'burbs of H-town. I love this, Matt. Always love your content. Houstonians typically call "service roads" "feeder roads" like they feed into the interstate.
Hey fellow '77er. It's a rarer thing when the feeders will be able to get you somewhere faster than the fwy, unless there's a wreck or it's not the 5-6 hrs/day of rush hour.
@RTPMinxyeee, So true! first time i found out we the only ones calling it feeders then realizing - 😗 the traffic dudes do be saying Frontage Road or Sevice Roads... never in my life had I heard these two terms till I gained friends comin in from NY and Cali. Everyone just calls it the Feeder also we will give directions like: "Go UNDER the OVER pass." 😢 Then seeing the pain in the eyes of the person tryna decipher that one. Also, You always know someone's from out of state when they say Interstate 10 or Interstate 610. 🤔 That breif moment of pause before: 😅 O! U mean I-10 / The Loop. 😗 huh? oh okay you guys say I-10. Ok. but whats "The Loop?" That's 610. 🙃 I thought that was "The 8" 🧐 huh?? oh no. no. That's "The Belt or Beltway 8" if you just have a lot of time. 😢 I want to go home. 🫡 Y'all be alright just give it a minute.
I remember I went to the Blue Bell Creamery once on vacation. The power ended up going out when a truck carrying a house hit the power line, so we couldn’t see the ice cream being made or anything. But, those $1 scoops were free because they had to get rid of it all before it melted
That is some Jeff Foxworthy stuff right there 🤣🤣🤣 If you ever lost power because of somebody towing a HOUSE, then... yea... there ain't no maybe LOL. But hey, life hack on how to get FREE ice cream. >>;=)
That sounds like the best vaca ever. You can always see icecream being made somewhere else but how often does the opportunity to stuff yourself with secret recipe, free, ice cream come along?
The Pappas Bros have been flying under the radar for awhile now, I'm surprised you noticed! They are everywhere because everything they do is GOOD. If it's Pappas it doesn't matter what kind of food it is or where it's located, it's gonna be good!
Thank you for you kind review of our state and the City of Houston. Yes, "Matress Mac" has been around since my early childhood and is an honest and awesome businessman!
Mattress Mac saved the day when Joel Ostend did not. Jesusian here and don't wanna be anywhere near JO on the day of judgement as I don't like massive infernos!
The problem with Houston traffic, 290 especially, isn’t that it’s slow. It’s that it’s filled with people who think the only way to get into Heaven is to die in a glorious car crash. Especially like the Ford F-150s, Chevy Silverados, Dodge Rams, etc. They hit the on ramp and are *immediately* possessed by the long dead spirits of WW2 kamikaze pilots.
Houston born and raised! Love my hometown and loved your spot on analysis of it! Except for the HEB part. There are some real crap HEBs out there, built during the time when HEB was still trying to figure itself out and work its way into the Houston grocery store market. Also the guy who drives the train at Minute Maid is Bobby Dynamite. He has two World Series rings lol
Early concept stores of 90s (limited stores - pantry) were a way to stick with old noncompete agreement to get into market. Once Safeway bought out competition the floodgates opened for HEB to move in with real stores. Just thankful they finally made it to DFW
@@CG-gf7ce You and me both. Before the Plano store opened I only had Kroger and Walmart for options. Well, Tom Thumb too, but they're way too overpriced.
I've been around the Houston area my entire life and you are correct on everything but the traffic. You came on a good day I guess. And also, Shipleys originated here and they have the absolute best glazed donuts ever created.
I was born and raised on the Northside of Houston (right outside of the 610 loop) and everything is pretty accurate, except for traffic, I can remember sitting on the Katy Freeway for an hour while waiting to exit! I now live in OK and it drives me crazy that people take so long to go when the light turns green and that they drive the speed limit instead of the 10 miles over they are supposed to! I tell my friends, when you go to Houston, get out of the way or get run over, speed up when there is a yellow light and go when the light turns green!
Yeah, the thing about the traffic was confusing. Its true traffic is a mix btwn rollerderby and Nascar but since I live in the inner loop I know traffic that crawls at less than 5 mph for miles is the rule not an anomoly. So all he needs to do next time is take 45 up to Woodlands or back from it all during rush hour and you will see a sea of cars for miles.
Yeah and when you make it through the 3 miles of 5 mph traffic.... it opens up and there's no one there. No cop, no wreck, no broken down car, just no REASON for everyone driving slow.
Yep, that’s accurate for OK. I’m from NC taught to drive by my NC/East Coast parents and for us yellow means hit the gas and burn rubber when the light turns green and God forbid, driving the speed limit is illegal 😂 Don’t know what it is but OK drivers are the absolute worst and most frustrating with how slow they go, especially when they get on the highway. Like why, Lord, why??!!! 😂😂😂
As a Houstonian, I can conform most of this is accurate, except for the traffic. I have no idea how you got so lucky with that, nobody even moves for ambulances here.
Depends which direction at what time, but it's still way better than Atlanta, LA, NYC, though I Dallas they drive much faster. When it's not rush hour Houston drivers go so so slow, way below the speed limit.
This Dallasite has always heard that Houston has such bad traffic because it lacks crosstown streets. If you want to get across town, you've got to get up on the highway. Dallas, on the other hand, has lots of crosstown streets because Dallas roads were designed by all the big retailers (Titche, Sanger Harris, etc.) and the roads are all designed to get you to a shopping center by the most efficient route. Dallas traffic sucks probably because of all those people trying to get to a store.
Driving through Houston at 5 pm on a Friday pulling a trailer MIGHT change your opinion of how great traffic is in Houston. We'll follow you anywhere Matt.
With Houston it's not so much whether the traffic is good or bad, it's where you're driving. South Loop of Beltway 8? An Indy 500 practice track (at least until you get near 288). West Loop of 610 north of 59? Parking lot, 23 hours a day, and that one remaining hour from about 3:00-4:00 am is still pretty busy.
Matt's probably comparing to Atlanta, and may not be considering the distance traveled as a factor. Houston's traffic flow isn't as bad as some cities, but it's very spread out even compared to other US cities, so it typically ranks rather high on Longest Commute lists (but usually not in the top 3). For example, Houston and Atlanta tend to have similar ranks on total traffic delays aggregated over all drivers annually, but Houston's area is about 5 times that of Atlanta (135 square miles for Atlanta, 670 square miles for Houston). So a Houstonite may only experience a total delay similar to that of an Atlantan, but they experience it spread out over 2-3 times the distance.
Moved to Houston 3 years ago and this is all 100% on point! HEB is a force to be reckoned with here! And Buc-ee's, boy oh boy, you have to respect the Beaver! FYI, those tortilla chips are in my pantry and yes, we all adore anything Texagon.
As a Houstonian I absolutely agree that not every HEB is the same HEB Clear Lake and HEB El Dorado look similar and yet HEB El Dorado has more stuff. Delightful video!
@@eb4600 I ended up unsubscribing from IAST. They're just not funny anymore. I wouldn't say it's definitely because Matt left; they're just... not funny.
The guy who drives the MMP train is Bobby Dynamite! He is indeed a hero to all. Years ago, you would have included in the Houston Trinity Marvin Zindler, the "SLIME IN THE ICE MACHINE" guy, of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas fame. Sadly, he is no longer with us, and Dave Ward is retired, so we don't get to hear Dave say..."Thank you, Marvin", which was like knowing the Houston secret handshake.
As a Houstonian…I loved this. You were spot on with all of it. My two favorites were the “feeders” (aka access, roads), and the fact you got Jim Adler in there 🤣😂 “The Texas Hammer”
If you get a chance (and it's here on RU-vid, so you should do it), search "Jim Adler spanish." He does his own commercials on the Spanish-language stations, and he speaks Spanish with a thick Texas accent. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.
Fine job you did there; for a foreigner. The good news is that everyone in Houston seems to be a foreigner. The service roads are officially called frontage roads, but everyone in Houston, and only in Houston, calls them "feeders" because they feed the freeways. We do indeed drive farther to get to a "great" HEB. We're getting a new one out here in Katy and it looks like it's going to be huge. I went to a mini Buc-ee's once. I was shocked at how much food and such they had. I was expecting a normal convenience store, but no!. It's basically a scaled down version of a big Buc-ee's. We do have dollar stores, but they're tucked away in neighborhoods.
As a native Texan, frontage roads is correct, but 'access roads' feels more universal. Service roads is right out, though. I do admit I am from the parts of Texas without HEB and Buccee's (bazaar, I know) and have only recently gotten to experience them, so great HEBs and big buccee's are all I know. I guess I'm lucky ;)
@@candybearGaming I remember the first "Frontage Rd." sign I ever saw. (I lived out in Deer Park/Pasadena back then; decades ago.) It seemed to be an odd name to name a road. After a minute or so I had an "aha" moment and understood they were talking about the feeder.
My favorite Texas shaped thing are waffles - so many hotel breakfasts have Texas shaped waffles. Got on a flight once and the flight attendant was showing everyone her Texas shaped waffle - not a picture - but an actual waffle.
Native Nutmegger here! I moved to VA a few years ago and found you and those other people when I was learning more about the south and I’ve been watching you ever since.
As a native Texan and Houston resident for the last 50 years... you are spot on... LOL!! Oh, and the reason there aren't that many Dollar Generals around is that they have a competitor here... Dollar Tree... 🤣🤣
I live in the Texas Hill Country, in one of the 5 fastest growing counties in the COUNTRY, & we are being invaded by Houstonians fleeing the congestion of the big city (making the big cities of Austin & San Antonio even more congested)….. but I grew up in Houston, so I can hardly begrudge them…. My husband says that everybody should go to Houston at least once a year, preferably at Christmastime…. Houston’s Christmas decorations can easily be seen from outer space.
HA! Yes, I agree, although to be fair, I moved to Bandera from Houston and it's hard to tell others to stop the influx. Don't get me wrong, I wish they'd come here and spend their tourism money and go home. But since I did the same thing you did, well, it's hard to be too judgy, lol.
Lived in Houston my entire life, glad you put some respect on Mack’s name. Lol You’re 100% spot on for each subject bro. Glad you enjoyed your visit but come back in January or February it’s tolerable then.
Mattress Mack is #1! Then the Astros. You mentioned the train driver, but no real mention of the Astros! 15 years ago, that would’ve been OK, but not after two World Series wins! Go ‘Stros! And the best thing about Houston is it’s only about an hour to an hour and a half from Galveston.
I have lived most of my life in the Houston area and you were spot on! I was busting a gut watching this video. You made my day! Mattress Mack trumps all of the trinity though. He is an institution unto himself.
As a Houstonian I agree with everything 😂 you basically nailed it 😂 most of the Dollar Generals are in the suburbs. Believe me when I tell you, they are everywhere. We have an HEB that is fairly close to us but I will drive 30 minutes in the opposite direction to get to the "good" HEB 😂
I’m from Alabama. Been living in Houston since 1980. At my age (68), access to any kind of healthcare you need is what keeps me here and my kids don’t have to leave the state to find work like I had to back in the late 70s.
Happy you enjoyed your time in Brenham at the Blue Bell factory! If you ever go again, you need to go in March when the bluebonnets are blooming; it's a beautiful time of year!
As a Yankee born and raised in Connecticut, I was floored by that. So I looked it up Houston: 665 sq miles Connecticut: 5,028 sq miles Houston metro area: 10,062!
Glad you visited and got a taste of the level of heat we live with. It’s scorching. I’m between Houston and Galveston and I must say, it’s the best. Close enough to both, but far away enough to avoid the crowds. 😊
When we lived in the Houston area, we always parked where there was a tree...not the closest parking place to the store. We used potholders to open car doirs and pixk up seat belt buckles thar could double as branding irons. Leaving a shop when you go to open the door, you hold your breath and shut your eyes like you would for a hot oven.
This is also why people don't get leather interiors here. If you smell bacon after you get into your car, it's probably you cooking on the leather seats.
Houston transplant from Dallas here, everything you said about Houston is true! The service roads or “feeder” roads as they call them here are terrifying. If your car has “sport” driving mode, I highly recommend you use it to pull out of Chilis with. 😂😂😂
Most of the little Buc-ees are south of Houston where Buc-ees got its start in the Freeport/Lake Jackson area. For many years Buc-ees were just normal sized convenience stores noted for cheap gas, clean restrooms and cheerful checkers almost exclusively located in Brazoria county (Houston is Harris county).
I grew up in Houston and now live in the home of Texas A&M. You are absolutely correct about the heat. It is miserable in the summer. And right now it's still summer. I will never move back to Houston for one reason- traffic. I have no idea how you got off so lucky while you were there, but I'm thankful you had a very uncharacteristic experience. It used to take me an hour to an hour and a half to get to work in Houston, when it should have taken 20 minutes for the distance. Learning to drive in Houston turns you into a very aware defensive driver, though!
Wish I'd known you were visiting. I'm a South Georgian living here via a couple stops. The mystery of the mini-Buc'ees is those were the original size until they decided you could make a gas station a destination more fun than a theme park by following one simple rule: Give people clean restrooms and they will come. When you go down the interstates you'll see signs for Buc'ees 80 miles away. I think they have zoned in on the distance a family will travel from one Buc'ees before needing to stop and build another store at that point. And here the service roads are called frontage roads and speed limit is slightly lower than the main lanes. As for speed limits on major roads you can pretty much multiply posted by 1.5 to get the real speed. On 290 out of Houston you'll be going 75 in a posted 65 and find yourself the "slow old guy."
Well said. As a lifelong Houstonian I can confirm being the slow grandpa (I’m 40ish) while still being more than 10 over the posted limit. And the cars passing aren’t moving past at a gentle rate - sometimes it’s so fast their air-wake gives your car a little kiss. Used to be speed traps everywhere (like 10+ years ago) but now I only see them on the Beltway.
There's a sign in Orange just as you cross Sabine Pass. It's for the Katy location (something like over 100 miles away). And what does it say on the billboard? "You can hold it."
There's a sign just east of Pensacola, FL i believe i know its in the far west part of Florida for the BUCCEES in Baytown just east of Houston and it's "you can hold it" then like 700 miles it's amazing
@@fearlessleader3489 Oh, that's funny. I can see someone around Biloxy Mississippi who is in visual pain and squirming in the passenger seat. Driver: "You know, I can pull up to this gas station up the road so you can go pee." Passenger: "Absolutely not. I'm going to go at Bucees in Baytown. I've been holding it since Tallahassee. I can hold it until Baytown."
Fun facts: 1) If you ever have a reason to be in downtown Houston, you can get around without exposing yourself to the boiling rain and flaming air by using the most extensive urban pedestrian tunnel network in the USA. 2) All (only a slight exaggeration) Houston area restaurants not owned by Pappas Bros are owned by Landry's, which also owns the Kemah Boardwalk, Galveston Pleasure Pier, several hotels, and Mitchell's (!!!) Steakhouse.
I read an article about your tunnel system a couple of years ago but have never been there. Are there still time restrictions when you can go see them?
@@carolemerle9995 They aren't "my" tunnels -- I live near Austin. According to the Houston government website, they're open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays. There are several parking garages connected to the system. I usually park in the one on Louisiana Street when I travel to downtown Houston for business. Alternatively, I park at the Fannin South Metrorail station and take the train downtown. I've also stayed at the Hyatt and taken the elevator to the tunnel level. It's similar to the network in Crystal City, Virginia, with retail and restaurants but much more spread out (about 6 miles of tunnels) and also connected to a downtown mall.
You made me laugh out loud. And I'm in school, as I'm teaching school. So thanks for that. My kids are like, 'What's Mr. Taylor chuckling about?' ME: Oh, just Matt. Keep up the good work, my friend. And y'all come back, you hear!
I am a native Texan and moved from DFW to Houston five years ago. I love Buc-ee’s. The Chopped Beef’s sandwiches so good. FYI: There is a small Buc-ee’s in Sugarland.
Now THIS is an entertaining video! We take all these things for granted in Houston, and it was funny hearing Matt Mitchell opine on them from the outside, reminding us that it's not like this everywhere. For those of you watching this video who have never been to Houston, everything in this video is pretty much true. Well done!
Oh, the accuracy. Houston is an hour away from Houston. But the word you're looking for is "feeder." Not "service road." Not just Dollar General - we have a shocking shortage of Waffle Houses too. That's why we never know when to evacuate from a hurricane.
Im one of the 3 from Connecticut, and thats NUTS. Also driving 5 hours to get to Florida. from Huntsville. In 5 hours you can drive to NOVA SCOTIA from CT.
Yes! The third person from Conn in the comments. And after 5 hours you'll only be in Maine. I was curious so googled it and it's 12 hours. You were probably thinking of Montreal.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Houston metro area that I grew up in. Family, friends, Texans, Astros, Rockets, Buc-ees, Shipley's, BBQ, Tex-Mex, Seafood and Cajun...love. Traffic, heat, concrete and oh yeah more construction to destroy the few trees we have...hate. Don't forget about our Hurricanes either Matt. 😉
The constant destruction of the land just so more places can be built drives me nuts. You can literally drive right by an empty strip center and there is a new one being built.
@@daintycaked I am serious in that I want to hear why you think it is good. I will explain more why I think it is not. Home owners rights: because there is no zoning, the laws favor business owners. Home owners are forced to solely rely on HOAs to "keep the peace ". HOAs are unable to do so because they lack the authority and ability to police the rules. They can write letters and even issue fines but only if you, the home owner, can prove an infraction. On infractions, most are designed to protect home values and not keep the peace. Protecting home values is well and good but does nothing for your privacy and right to live peaceably. Even if you get into a neighborhood with an active HOA with restrictions that maximize peace, ten feet outside your neighborhood it's the wild, wild west. Of course the flipside of an active HOA is their tendency towards power trips. They can make your life hell simply out of spite and you have no recourse because they answer to no one. A well zoned and policed city does not have these problems.
Those lanes of pavement next to the freeway are called the "feeder^. A nice idea of how big Houston is that one can travel the " Inner loop " 610 from point A back around the loop to the start point for an hour and half not be done, especially at peak hours. I-45 has been under construction since the 1960, and is not finished yet. By the time one stretch gets completed, it is time for other parts to be upgraded. By driving the "outer loop,"one can basically drive roughly 300 plus miles around the Houston metro area.
I live in North Texas and I avoid Houston, Dallas/Ft Worth and San Antonio completely. They are just entirely too big and I am more than content with my town of less then 200k people. You are right, the heat and humidity in Texas is lethal and I feel bad for any man that has to work out in the heat.
@@Zara-Bari "People selecting Texas over the Golden State cited affordability as a key factor. But for some, it's come with different costs: dense traffic, a lack of dependable public transportation and scorching heat that transplants say is lowering their quality of life. (...) Old Austin attitudes have clashed with the enterprising mindset of bosses in the tech industry. Founder and angel investor Mike Chang lamented to Insider that "Austin is where ambition goes to die." 😂😂😂 from the houston chronicle
I’m the opposite. I’m from north Louisiana and being from a run down small town, I loved going to Houston and Dallas as a kid. I’ve always loved going to the bigger cities.
We do have a ton of Dollar General here in Texas but they stick to the outskirts and back roads or settle for small towns. Theres no way they can out hussle the Christian Churches for that prime main road real estate.
I was gonna say this as well. We live on the outskirts of Houston, born and raised here. Dollar General is everywhere, I can count at least 5+ in our little town. He's pretty spot on with most except for the Houston traffic thing, it's usually terrible no matter where you go.
1:43 I was born and raised in Houston but have lived in the Northeast my whole adult life. It took me many years to realize that the term “feeder road” is quite specific to Houston, and even the concept of it seems foreign in most other American cities.
As someone who grew up in the Brazoria County area (Where Buc-ees Originated), the first stores were smaller, like the Alvin, Pearland, Lake Jackson, League City Stores. I remember they first became popular because they were selling way cheaper gas than everyone, so naturally everybody was flocking to them. Word then got out about the bathrooms, and then they took off super fast to what they are now. I'm not really sure they do small stores anymore, but you'll find them mainly in the Brazoria/Galveston county area if I had to guess.
But the difference is that you don't have to typically travel more than 15 minutes ON FOOT, to find what you need. Houston on the other hand is 15 minutes by car, and that's if you live within 5 miles of whatever it is you need. I also did not think Tokyo was any more humid than Houston, and was definitely not as hot while I was living there (usually only got to about 85 to 90 F on a "hot" day for the 4 years I was there), but I was also always outside during the Houston summers, so maybe I was just very acclimated to it.
"The three people who have been to Connecticut" 😂 Born and raised here. I cannot wrap my mind around a city being as big as my state especially because I don't consider Connecticut to be small.
When we lived in Shoreacres....between Houston and the gulf...we could drive 90 miles an hour for an hour and a half and just bearly be at the city limit on our way to San Antonio. Yeah, it was that fast.
People in other states think those in CT are goofy for complaining about how far it is to have to drive somewhere. You can cover the whole state in a couple of hours. Still, it's bigger than Rhode Island, where people pack a lunch to drive more than half an hour, if you can convince them to drive that far at all.
As a Houstonian for over 50 years, your summary of the city is almost spot on except for the traffic bit. Our freeways are congested beyond belief during rush hour. If my memory serves me correctly, Houston is #9 of the US cities with the worst traffic. Love the video bro, keep producing them and I'll keep watching.
EXACTLY I'M WITH YOU😮 traffic sucks I work 30 miles from my job in the morning it takes me 50 minutes to an hour to get to work leaveing at 6am .. and I get out of work at 5pm and I don't get home till 6:30 .. getting ready to get a different job that is only 4 miles away 😊 and no freeways
okay, this was probably the funniest video ive ever seen, as a houstonian, i can relate to every single thing on this list, and thats what makes it hilarious
Matt, so glad you liked our city. As a long time Houstonian I agree with your assessment. Hopefully, my fellow Texans treated y’all well. Come back any time and let me know next time y’all are in town. We will show you some other Houston institutions!
Honorable mention would be Houston's immense freeway loop system, with the recent inclusion of Grand Parkway aka Grand Raceway. We went from Loop 610 and Hwy 6 / FM1960 to also having the Beltway and now GP / 99, the amount of racetracks we have here is inconceivable! I also tell newcomers to not dip slower than 10 mph OVER the posted speed limit or you will get shot.
Grew up in Houston, played all the sports in Houston, did the learning of the driving in Houston. Went back about 6-7 years ago for my best friends wedding… sweating the moment I stepped out of the airport. How did I live there? I have no idea. How does anyone learn to drive there? No idea. How did I run in that weather in the summer? No idea. It is enormous though, just insanely spread out sprawl of nonsense huge.
Depending on what years you lived here, Houston, it just gets hotter every year. And this year had a heat dome parked over it all summer. Almost got as bad as the 2011 drought.
@@SM0R3S - Oh I remember 2011, it was a killer. High 90’s and low 100’s, with very little break in the humidity levels. 105 wasn’t near as bad with 30% humidity and a little breeze.
Keep it up.. you make us all laugh and that makes the days so much better... life is hard enough so for 5 min of joy it can change someone's life... again thanks from the down south people
as a native houstonian..............this is true. so good on you for enjoying yourself while you are here. also, fun fact: the subdivision where my sister lives, humble, isn't pronounced like humble. the H is silence so it's prounced "umble". also, the best placed to get good quality mexican food are the taco trucks. you will either find them in gas station parking lots or supermarket parking lots.
You're definately right about the size of the metro. I went to school at UofH and it took me 15min to drive to class (after morning rush hour) and about 75-90min to get home (during rush hour), and I lived near Reliant Stadium, so not that far away. It takes an hour to go anywhere. Also, just the size of the metro, I googled it, is 10,000sq mi. The country of Belgium is 11,000sq mi. Denmark is 16,000sq mi. It is a city that is literally the size of a European country.
