Name: Houston is ugly, and I've never felt more at home
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Houston is ugly, and I've never felt more at home

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateI’ve been a Texan long enough to confirm a few stereotypes about the Lone Star State.High school football is a big deal. We can’t drive on ice. And Houston is ugly.‘So, you’re from Houston?’:Disclaimer: I haven’t been a Houstonian for very long, and I’m no expert on architecture or city planning or anything like that.But Houston is a tangle of overlapping freeways that I have barely learned. Broad city roads are flanked by strip malls and fast food chains. Everything feels flat and gray. Downtown buildings feel indistinguishable from one another.I’m also learning about zoning laws and their importance in making a city not a mess.I’m far from the only one who feels this way. Houston was once named the ugliest city in the first world. I knew this before I got here, but I was ready for a new adventure and to actually be able to afford an apartment.I can’t say Houston’s ugliness never bummed me out though. Three weeks after moving to Houston from Austin, I finally had my first emotional breakdown about it."Houston is just so... ugly," I sniffled to my boyfriend, missing my stupidly picturesque Austin dog park and sipping coffee under the trees.I haven’t been a Houstonian for very long, but I can consider myself an expert on ugly Texas towns and cities. I called them home for 16 years before this.I wouldn’t say Texas is known for beautiful cities. It’s the natural beauty of this obnoxiously huge state that made sure I never really considered leaving, knowing I can find beaches, lakes, plains and hills with only a few hundred miles between.TEXAS TREASURES:No one is putting a Texas strip mall on a postcard.I grew up in DFW, splitting my time between Denton with my dad and the tiny town of Justin with my mom. Denton is pretty cool. Justin's claim to fame is the Texas Motor Speedway, Justin Boots and like, three stop lights. They were dusty and flat and smelled like hot concrete with a hint of gasoline.A few weeks removed from the initial sadness, moving to Houston felt like a return to my roots after a five-year stint in Austin. Its ugliness feels accessible and welcome, while being nothing at all like DFW.I’m becoming part of a whole that is both familiar and unfamiliar.I’m beginning to understand why people don’t leave Houston. It’s ugly, sure, but I also had the best pho of my life from a strip mall, don’t have to search to find a local restaurant or coffee shop, and I feel assured no one here is going to judge me if I chose to revert back to the midnight IHOP trips of my youth. Plus, I actually love the smell of hot concrete.I love the ugliness of Houston, but I know that’s far from all this city is. I can’t wait to get to know the community that has already felt welcoming and warm and to experience the food, music, museums, parks and more. Houston is far, far more than its outward appearance.OUT NOW:&nbsp;Until then, I’ll appreciate the comforting ugliness and continue my mission of trying all the take-out I can. Houston already has the best food in Texas, hands down.It will be a little while before I get to see Houston the way I want to. Moving here during a pandemic complicated things.But driving up freeways and finding radio stations on the way to find the best to-go coffee has become a Saturday ritual. I look through the windshield and already feel at home as I hit another pothole.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateI’ve been a Texan long enough to confirm a few stereotypes about the Lone Star State.High school football is a big deal. We can’t drive on ice. And Houston is ugly.‘So, you’re from Houston?’:Disclaimer: I haven’t been a Houstonian for very long, and I’m no expert on architecture or city planning or anything like that.But Houston is a tangle of overlapping freeways that I have barely learned. Broad city roads are flanked by strip malls and fast food chains. Everything feels flat and gray. Downtown buildings feel indistinguishable...

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Abigail Rosenthal

Houston Culture. Commentary. Conversation. Welcome to Chron. News tips 💡: tips@chron.com Pitches 📝: freelance@chron.com

Houston is ugly, and I've never felt more at home

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