They say New Orleans is a nice place to visit but one would not want to live there. Houston seems to be the opposite – fairly good place to live but not much to see if you visit. Anybody can fall in love with London or Paris, but to enjoy living in Houston, while possible, takes some effort and a lot of imagination. The bottom line is that at a first (and second and third ..) glance, Houston is an ugly, enormously large city with a climate and insect population that many find difficult to adapt to.

One of the key secrets to making Houston livable is to minimize the amount of driving. That was a big part of our plan and we managed to pull it off better than we expected. It takes me only about 20 minutes to get to work in the morning, and most importantly, none of it is on the expressways but rather along relatively quiet residential streets. This translates into low stress and predictability. In addition, even though the house is located in a very quiet residential area, we are a walking distance from a dozen restaurants, two pubs and a large bookstore and only a three minute walk from a community swimming pool. This is quite rare in Houston, which must have one of the lowest population densities among North American cities, dominated by wide roads, huge parking lots and speckled by undeveloped sections of land, designed for driving and not for walking. More densely populated areas exist closer to the center of town, but there the housing prices are much higher. (Walking distance does not necessarily mean it is easy to walk – devices known as “sidewalks” do not exist, except as decorative architectural items – component of landscaping of the villas of wealthy residents.)

Our month stay in the apartment was comfortable, but it lacked one important feature. It was severely limited in terms of walking. I could walk around the complex, maybe swing through the nearby shopping center, but 20 minutes later I would be where I started. The area was surrounded by undeveloped land on one side and cut off by expressways on the other. The present situation is much better. I can head north and walk as far the Cypress Creek
(Click on the picture to see it full size, use a back button to return to this spot.) – made infamous during the recent floods, because it notoriously overflows, creates a barrier to traffic and submerges houses on its banks. This does not seem to stop people from building and buying houses in the flood plane and at least one resident has gone through several floods but stays. This little walk takes about an hour, little bit less in winter when it is cold and I walk faster and a little longer during hot and humid summer days. Along the way a pass modest patio homes like ours, larger houses surrounded by tall pine trees and mansions which resemble small castles. The other option is to head west and cross into the Champions subdivision, which consists of a golf course surrounded and interspersed with houses. They do not allow me to walk on the golf course, but there is nothing to prevent me from walking around it, taking in all the views for free. This is a walk I can make little bit longer than an hour and both trajectories include several permutations so that I can vary my routine a little. It is not London, but it has its own charms – in places it feels like walking through an estate of a European chateau. All of the houses are custom built and that provides some entertainment. Some of them are nicely designed, other – well it makes you wonder.

Houston is the fourth largest U.S. city. So it stands to reason that there should be enough happenings and interest groups to cater to any taste. That is to a limited extent true, but unfortunately, nearly all activity is concentrated in the center. For instance I found a group of people interested in French conversation (called the French Connection), which meets once a week, but it takes me nearly one hour to get there. Similar Spanish conversation group also meets weekly, but again, in a very central location. At first it struck me as odd that there would not be enough interest to set up something like this in the northern part of town where we live. But I am beginning to understand now. Because the city is so large, after a while, the concept of distance changes. The idea of what is “too far” is not fixed and the longer one lives in Houston, the more it seems to shrink. It has not shrunk quite enough for me yet, but I get a feeling that in a few more months, an hour drive to the center will be a short trip.

And then there is the weather. It is true that some find the heat and humidity of the summer months unbearable, but this month was payback time. I was able to go on most of my walks in shorts and t-shirt, and it was only the last few days, when the Midwest was hit by a good size blizzard, that the temperatures fell to few degrees above freezing. But that is only early in the morning, during the day, when the sun is out, it warms up to about 14 C. Where else can you see Christmas decorations on blooming azalea bushes? But that is a topic for December.