Anyway, last week I went for business to New Orleans. That was very nice and despite it only being 24 hrs mainly filled with meetings and a little sleep, the guys (my colleagues / project team) did manage to find an hour or so to show me around the French quarter - Canal street, Bourbon street, the river etc. But I think Nola as it is sometimes also called warrants a longer visit and some point and hence a better report then what I could provide now.
However, being in the 'Big Easy' - the best known nickname for the city - did make me think. We are going to be in the other 'Big' this weekend; the Big Apple. All these 'Bigs', does Houston not have some good nicknames - or even one with Big in it too?!?
Well, there are quite some nicknames for Houston - Space City (remember: 'Houston we've got a problem!'), Bayou City (the waterways through town are called Bayou's), H-town (not very inspirational), Magnolia City (after the flower) and finally also a nickname with Big; 'The Big Heart'. This last nickname was given after Hurricane Katrina as Houston provided shelter to many refugees from the Hurricane and provided a tremendous amount of assistance after the fact - More claim some then what came from the state / federal government.
All in all - Houston does not really have a nickname that sticks or is world famous. Most people know it because of the space centre or because of the oil, more people know something about Texas (thanks to the 'popularity' of the family Bush). So maybe nice to share some facts with you about Houston you did not know.....as despite all the prejudices about the oil, the cars, the lack of sidewalks ad the amount of concrete,....there are also some interesting things to share about this city!
Here we go:
1. Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA (after NY, LA and Chicago with 1.9 million people and 4.8 in the wider Houston Area) - You know everything is Bigger in Texas,...but it is more amazing if you consider that 2 more Texas cities appear in the Top 10! Houston and its surrounding suburban sprawl encompass 8,778 square miles, making it as big as Israel and El Salvador.
2. In Houston people dine out more then in any other city in the US and that shows in the big and good selection of Restaurants. (granted - you need to drive to all of them,...but good food is a big pro to us!)
3. Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world, with a local economic impact of $10 billion. More than 52,000 people work within its facilities and the TMC is also home to 42+ nonprofit institutions. Because of the TMC Houston of course also houses many other and affiliated medical institutes etc. (no Houston is not only depending on Oil)
4. Houston has a Theater District second only to New York City in terms of a concentration of seats in a single geographic area and is one of only five cities in the U.S. with resident companies in the four disciplines of the performing arts: Alley Theatre, Houston Ballet, Houston Symphony and Houston Grand Opera (maybe more culturally developed then you thought?!)
5. In 2008, Houston received top ranking on Kiplinger's Personal Finance Best Cities of 2008 list which ranks cities on their local economy, employment opportunities, reasonable living costs and quality of life. The city ranked fourth for highest increase in the local technological innovation over the preceding 15 years, according to Forbes magazine. In the same year, the city ranked second on the annual Fortune 500 list of company headquarters, ranked first for Forbes Best Cities for College Graduates and ranked first on Forbes list of Best Cities to Buy a Home.
6. Houston is a multicultural city with a large and growing international community.The metropolitan area is home to an estimated 1.1 million (21.4 percent) residents who were born outside the United States. - Please note these are all the legal immigrants and apart from many many mexicans and south Americans this also includes large Chinese, Vietnamese, Nigerian, Indian and Pakistani communities as well as almost any other nationality you can think of. Houston is not even a state capital and still has 86 Consulates.
Next time a report from the Big Apple, including review of some Phillip Starck designed hotel and Hair the Musical....and I will provide some pictures of me with my very pregnant belly.
