Web/print copy editor, Houston Chronicle

Yes, that's mostly the burbs, and they're pretty much the same everywhere. Inside the loop especially you find plenty of unique stuff - like those shops on Westheimer, random offbeat stuff in the Heights and elsewhere (there's a guy who runs a restaurant out of his own house there), non-chain eateries everywhere. Sure, you can eat at Mickey D's or Olive Garden if you want to, but you don't have to.

Here the neighborhoods do kind of blend together, but sometimes you can have a dramatic shift from one thing to the other. Drive around in Bellaire and then head a few blocks west on Gulfton or Bissonnet if you want to see what I mean...

 

You know you're right. I think my comment points more at where I've been staying in and around Houston in my most recent visits. There are always events for me to go to at Greenspoint (Gunspoint, they call it, evidently cheap rent is the motive to have events there...) and from there, you skip the Gunspoint Mall and you wander toward 1960 and all the usual suburban trappings. I often go to the Woodlands for work and/or pleasure (Radiohead!). I recently had an event at the Merrell Center in Katy. If I fly out of Bush, I stay there by Gunspoint on the Beltway and I drive into town through Kingwood.

There's been very little lately in my personal experience that allows me to stay, say, at the medical center (haven't covered any Rice stuff) nor around Montrose...you end up forgetting what it's all about.

 

Has anyone heard anything new about this position?

 

There was no mention of the word “gorgeous,” but Kiplinger.com has named Houston as the No. 1 city in which to “live, work and play.” Frankly, I’m stunned. Houston rarely finishes high in these kinds of rankings.

Some of the story:
“It's the city of big plans and no rules, beat-the-heat tunnels and loop-the-loop highways, world-class museums and wiry cowboys, humidity that demands an ice-cold martini and the biggest damn liquor store on the planet. How could you not love Houston?

You can hardly afford not to. Back with a roar after the oil bust of the 1980s, Houston has reclaimed its title as energy capital of the U.S. and added aerospace, technology and medical companies to the mix, generating more than 100,000 jobs in 2007. Not only does the Houston metro area lead the nation in job growth, but also its cost of living stands well below the national average. Housing prices run half those of other metro areas its size.

Houston's comeback didn't happen by accident. "Before the energy business returned, the city made the wise decision to invest in its downtown," says Guy Hagstette, who directs Discovery Green, a new 12-acre park in central Houston. Upgrades include an expanded convention center, a new stadium, a spiffed-up Main Street and a light-rail system.

You could settle in Sugar Land, a fast-growing, family-friendly suburb 20 miles southwest of the city. Sugar Land's penchant for planning borders on the prissy compared with Houston's chaotic energy. But for many, that's the appeal. Attractions include solid schools, a strong local economy and an affluent population (average household income is $133,354, more than twice the national average).

As for housing, Sugar Land defines itself by its master-planned communities, each of which mixes homes, retail and recreation. Houses are affordable: $350,000 will buy you a four-bedroom, two-bath home in the attractive Commonwealth development. Socializing revolves around each community's tennis courts, golf course, pool and clubhouse. "Sugar Land is exactly as it sounds," says Theresa Worsham, who lives in the Sugar Creek community with her husband and two sons. "It's a sweet lifestyle."

 

I saw those signs. What the hell is it?

 

It's this really elaborate gas station. A million pumps. Inside there is a deli and a bakery so you can get your kolache and eclair fix. And I mean a deli, as in, there's somebody back there preparing the meat and a bakery as in something's coming out of the oven. Their "fabulous" restrooms have things like hand sanitizer in every stall. It's sort of like a modern Stuckey's.

 

Dammit, Moddy, you had to bring up Sheetz. Now I'll have to make a several-hundred mile drive to get my Sheetz fix... lol

 

And I'm thinking next trip to San Antonio, stop at Buc-cees.

Actually, I'll be up Sheetz way before I head to San Antonio, so I may have to find one.

 

I'm just excited that there may actually be a decent place to take a potty break on the way to Dallas. I have seriously made that trip many times without stopping, only because there ain't a decent place between here and there. Except for Sam's. But then, once you stop there, you must eat their artery-clogging buffet.