WHAT MAKES HOUSTON A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE?

THE PERFORMING ARTS

Houston is one of few cities in the country boasting major symphony, ballet, opera and theater companies that enjoy world acclaim.

Says Hoyt T. Mattox of Houston's Society for the Performing Arts, “We often hear people say they are surprised by the wealth and variety of our performing arts opportunities here in Houston.”

Dance and Music

Hailed by the New York Times as “one of the nation's best ballet companies,” the Houston Ballet is the fifth-largest company in the United States. The 52-member ensemble gives more than 75 performances each year at Houston's Wortham Theater Center.

The 92 year old Houston Symphony brings some 170 performances of classical renditions annually at Jones Hall, Miller Outdoor Theater and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

One of the nation's largest opera companies, the Houston Grand Opera, is internationally renowned for its contemporary and classical works.

Other musical groups include DeCamera's small ensembles performing classical chamber music and jazz; Houston Conservatory of Music; Houston Masterworks Chorus; Moores School of Music; University of Houston; Opera in the Heights; and Shepherd School of Music, Rice University; and contemporary pop/rock, jazz, Christian, country, fold and children's programming.

LIVE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Theater

If it's theater you love, you'll be impressed to know Houston has one of the country's largest concentrations of seats within its theater districts.

The curtain comes up nearly every night on a production in Houston, whether it's a Broadway touring company at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, a world-premiere showing at the Alley Theatre, a show at Main Street Theater or a cutting-edge piece being directed by students on the region's college and university stages.

Art and Art Museums

The Houston Museum District, located 15 minutes from Downtown is the fourth-largest in the United States and is home to such venues as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Buffalo Soldiers Museum; and the Houston Childrens Museum. There's also the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Holocaust Museum Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Menil Collection.

Art galleries line the streets of the Montrose area, and both residents and tourists enjoy the unique art at the Art Car Museum and the Orange Show Museum.

ArtsHound.com offers a comprehensive guide for Arts and Cultural event information in around The City of Houston. You can find a point of interest or something new for everyone spanning from art gurus to the curious.

Entertainment

Houston live entertainment venues put on a variety of programs and concerts. International stars routinely take the stage at the Toyota Center, Verizon Wireless Theatre and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, to name a few. Concerts, comedy and other shows are offered regularly.

For entertainment with a Western flare, check out the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This three-week event held every February and March features concerts, food and a live entertainment lineup that's included stars such as George Strait, Faith Hill, REO Speedweagon, Beyonce and La Mafia.

If it's big-screen action you're looking for, Houston has several theaters showing the latest in Hollywood and indie flicks. Chains such as AMC and Leow's all have outposts here. The Angelika Film Center and Café and River Oaks Cinema have a more independent and foreign-film flair.

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

Houston #1

• Best City to Live, Work, and Play
  Kiplinger’s Personal Finance – July 2008
• Best U.S. City to Earn a Living
  Forbes.com – August 18, 2008
• Best City for Your Job
  BusinessWeek – June 12, 2008
• Best City to Buy a Home
  Forbes.com – July 14, 2008
• Best City for Recent College Grads
  Forbes.com – June 26, 2008
• Fastest Job Growth (06/07 to 06/08)
  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Metropolitan Area Employment
  and Unemployment
• Lowest Cost of Living Among Major Metro Areas
  ACCRA Cost of Living Index – Second Quarter 2008
• Top U.S. Manufacturing Cities
  Manufacturers’ News Inc. (as reported in the Houston Business Journal)
  – May 30, 2007
• Most Accessible City for the Disabled
  The National Organization on Disability - February 14, 2008
• Top Local Government Green Power Purchaser
  Environmental Protection Agency – July 2008
• America’s Best Hospitals – Cancer, M.D. Anderson
  Cancer Center
  U.S News & World Report – July 2008
• Highest Population Growth in the Nation
  U.S. Census Bureau (as reported in the Houston Business
  Journal) – July 10, 2008

Houston #2

• Nation's Top Export Markets
  U.S. Department of Commerce – July 14, 2008
• Nominal Job Growth (06/07 to 06/08)
  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Metropolitan Area Employment
  and Unemployment

Houston #3

• Best Cities for Young Professionals
  Forbes.com – July 09, 2008
• Number of Fortune 500 Headquarters
  Fortune - April 21, 2008
• Nation's Most Charitable Cities
  Charity Navigator’s 2008 Metro Market Charitable Analysis Study

Houston #4

• Best Big City for Business
  Inc.com – July 2008
• Top Ten Up-and-Coming Tech Cities
  Forbes.com – March 10, 2008
• Top Cities for African Americans
  BlackEnterprise.com – September 17, 2007

Houston #7

• Best Cities for Jobs in 2008
  Forbes.com – January 10, 2008

Houston #10

• Top Ten Cities for Green Technology Innovation
  SustainLane – March 2007
• Top Ten Cities for Hispanics
  Hispanic Magazine- August 2008

Houston #12

• Top Trading Cities
  Trader Monthly – June/July 2008

Texas

• Texas Children’s Hospital #1 cancer care hospital
  for children in Texas
  U.S. News & World Report - September 30, 2008
• America's Top State for Business
  CNBC.com – July 2008
• Most Favorable Business Climate in the Nation
  Development Counsellors International (DCI) – "Winning
  Strategies in Economic Development Marketing" – July 2008
• Best State To Do Business
  Chief Executive Magazine – January 2008
• U.S.’s Top Exporting State
  WISERTrade – February 2008
• 2008 Gold Shovel Recipient
  Area Development Magazine – June/July 2008

REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS

1. • ApolloCon
2. • Ballunar Liftoff Festival
3. • AMA Supercross
4. • Bayou City Art Festival
   (formerly the Westheimer Colony Arts Festival)
5. • BP MS 150 bike ride
   The country's largest charity bicycle tour.
6. • FotoFest
7. • Freedom Over Texas
8. • Frontier Fiesta
9. • Houston Art Car Parade
10. • Houston Auto Show
11. • Houston Egyptian Festival
12. • Houston Greek Festival
13. • Houston International Festival
14. • Houston Japan Festival
15. • Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
16. • Houston Gay Pride Parade
17. • Houston Marathon
18. • Shell Houston Open
19. • Texas Renaissance Festival
20. • Westheimer Street Festival
    (no longer held biannually since October 17, 2004; the replacement festival, WestFest Compressed, was held in October 2005.)
21. • WorldFest

• Calendar of Events for Houston

ALMOST UNLIMITED SUNSHINE

We have lovely weather in Houston. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

It’s true. Nestled in the heart of the Gulf Coast, Houston has almost perpetual perfect weather year round. Our Northern friends all flock here in the middle of winter to play golf on our sun-drenched courses. They can’t do that in Chicago!

Houston’s average year-round temperature is 69.6 degrees. And with an annual precipitation rate of 45.74 inches, it’s a safe bet that your days in Houston will be clear and mild.

Highs in the summer can reach the 90s, but the flip side is that lows in the winter rarely dip below freezing. January is the region’s coldest month, but even then the average temperature is about 50 degrees. (Houston averages about 18 days a year when the thermometer drops below 32.)

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCKS

The fourth-largest city in the country is also one of the best bargains when it comes to cost of living.

Houston housing costs are 42 percent below the average for the 26 metropolitan areas with populations of more than 2 million, according to the ACCRA Cost of Living Index for the third quarter of 2007. And Houston's overall costs are 21 percent below the average for these large metros. In the broader context of more than 300 urban areas in that survey, Houston's housing costs are 26 percent below the average, and its overall living costs are 11 percent below the average.

This means that your dollar has a much higher buying power than in virtually any other city in the country.

Consider:

1. • The average price for a new single-family detached home of 2,400 square-feet (four bedrooms, two baths, living room, dining and family rooms and attached two-car garage) was $215,984 in the first quarter of 2008.
2. • The U.S, Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Houston average household after-tax income in 2006 at $50,250, 3.6 percent above the national average and 10.6 percent above the Texas average.
3. • In the first quarter of 2008, Houston's average apartment rent was $.858 per square foot per month.

With all you’ll save on living costs in Houston, you’ll have plenty to left over for shopping in the region’s world-class venues.

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

1. • City of Houston Demographics
   Includes links to population estimates, land use, housing and household studies, comparison study and more.

A CULINARY TRIP AROUND THE WORLD

Houston’s dining scene mirrors the region’s international cultures. No matter what you are in the mood for eating, you’ll find what you’re looking for at more than 6,000 restaurants.

Here’s a sampling of just some of what you’ll find:

	American	Italian
	Asian	Japanese
	Belgian	Korean
	Cajun/Creole	Mexican
	Caribbean	Middle Eastern
	Central American	New American
	Chinese	Nuevo Latino
	Cambodian	Persian
	Ethiopian	Polish
	English/Irish	Portuguese
	European	Russian
	French	South American
	German	Spanish
	Greek/Mediterranean	Steaks and Chops
	Hunan	Szechwan
	Indian/Pakistani	Thai
	Indonesian	Turkish

Houston’s world-class restaurant scene brings together the global gastronomy of the region’s makeup, combined with cutting-edge cuisine artists, all working to showcase the flavors of the Bayou City.

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

• Houston Restaurants

THE FLAVORS OF THE WORLD

Your creativity thrives on learning about other cultures. You eat exotic foods. Your CD case overflows with world beats. You travel to the ends of the Earth.

And, since you live in Houston, you know you can get the flavors of the world without ever leaving your own backyard.

Houston is the most diverse city in the country, with a wealth of cultures and ethnicities living together side by side. Houston is a city where no one ethnicity is a racial majority, which means that you can interact with people from all walks of life, day and night, 365 days of the year.

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

Houston offers educational opportunities of every description that expand from the heart of the city into the many communities that make up this eight-county metropolis. There are traditional classrooms, magnet programs, curricula for talented and gifted students, home schooling support, special needs programs, higher education, and distance learning courses for people of all ages. The city offers approximately 400 private and parochial schools.

Houston’s education highlights include:

1. • More than 60 colleges, universities and other degree-granting institutions
2. • 100 trade, vocational and business schools
3. • 66 public school districts across the region
4. • 47 independent charter schools
5. • 195 private and parochial schools
6. The Houston region is the academic center of the Southwest. Total enrollment for Houston’s colleges and universities is nearly 313,664 students

More info on area schools:

1. • Houston Area Independent School Districts
2. • Houston Area Private Schools
3. • Houston Area Colleges and Universities
4. • Houston Area Public School Finder

INTERNET RESOURCES

1. Greater Houston Partnership's "Find a Job in Houston" Web site: a direct link to the career pages of many of Houston's largest and most prominent companies. All are members of the Partnership.
   
2. • America's Job Bank - Job listings collected by the U.S. Department of Labor from various state employment commissions.
3. • CareerMag.com - Search by job title and city.
4. • CareerBuilder - Combines the employment ads from daily newspapers in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta and Houston.
5. • Careers in Government - Offers state, county and municipal government job postings. Post resumes online and receive e-mail notification when an opening matches the qualifications.
6. • EmploymentGuide.com - Offers searchable job listings, free resume posting and e-mail notification of new openings.
7. • Hoover's Online - Provides great resources to research companies.
8. • Houston Chronicle Classifieds - Search the Houston Chronicle interactive employment classifieds for job leads.
9. • Houston Jobing - Browse companies, post your resume, check the blog.
10. • JobWeb - Provides information specific for college students and recent graduates.
11. • Monster - Offers one of the biggest and most successful Web-based job sites especially for high-tech positions.
12. • WorkinTexas.com - Features Texas' most comprehensive online job resources.

The Consular Corps of Houston Directory contains a complete and searchable listing of the foreign consular offices in Houston, Texas. Currently Houston has 88 consulates, making it the third largest consular corps in the nation and the largest in the Southwest.

The Consular Corps of Houston Directory is compiled by the Houston International Protocol Alliance and is updated biannually as each new consular representative is officially recognized by the U.S. Department of State.

Although the directory is updated biannually, changes occur often. We recommend that you verify the information directly with the consulate in question.

1. • Consular Corps

HOUSTON PET REGULATIONS

1. • Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC)
2. • License

DOG PARKS

1. • Off leash areas and dog parks

BEST PET SERVICES

1. • See the list of the Top 10 Best Pet Services

WHAT ARE YOU IN THE MOOD TO DO?

You work hard all week long and you should enjoy your weekends. And Houston has thousands of ways and places to help you enjoy your time off.

Hike and Bike trails

The region’s more than 650 parks provide ample space for your hiking and biking needs. Wander the bird trails in Herman Brown Park. Jog the loops at Memorial and Hermann parks. Bike on bayou trails.

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department maintains more 380 miles of hike-and-bike trails, on-street bike lanes and street bike routes

For a map of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department's hike and bike trails, visit: this page or call 713-845-1000

Parks

From small neighborhood green spaces to sprawling acres overflowing with amenities, the Houston region’s park systems offer fun for every member of your family. In the region’s parks, you’ll find:

1. • Swimming pools
2. • Water playgrounds or “spraygrounds”
3. • Tennis Courts
4. • Basketball pavilions
5. • Recreation Centers
6. • Soccer fields
7. • Playgrounds
8. • Picnic areas
9. • Dog parks where your furry friends can exercise off-leash
10. • Fishing ponds
11. • Softball fields
12. • Golf courses
13. • Bird watching areas and nature centers
14. • Lakes and boating areas
15. • Skate parks
16. • A world-class cycling velodrome

For a detailed listing of what the Houston region’s park system has to offer you and your family, visit:

• Harris County Park System
• Houston Parks and Recreation Department

Golf

Home to the Shell Houston Open, Houston’s golf scene is nationally known for being one of the best. Across the region are a variety of municipal and private courses that aim to challenge your game, no matter your playing level.

The region has more than 130 golf courses, about half of which are public.

Ice Skating

Think that sounds like an oxymoron in Houston? No way! The region has five different for you to show off your stuff and channel your inner Tara Lipinski. The Aerodrome Skating Complex, Galleria and Memorial City malls, and Sharpstown Ice Center all have indoor, well-maintained rinks available for open skating, lessons or hockey leagues.

Gardening

Green thumbs delight in Houston’s sunny climate, perfect for growing everything from flowers to vegetables to trees and landscape art. Some of the region’s gardening and landscaping societies include:

1. • River Oaks Garden Club
2. • Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
3. • Houston Rose Society
4. • Urban Harvest
5. • Houston Orchid Society
6. • Galveston Orchid Society

Beaches

Head south of the Houston city limits to enjoy the sand and surf. Galveston is the region’s beach playground and when you’re finished with riding the waves and soaking up rays, the city has shops, restaurants and recreation opportunities galore.

Outdoor Festivals

The Houston region has something happening nearly every weekend. Whether you’re looking for a funky street festival or an international explosion of food and culture, Houston’s variety of events guarantee you’ll find something to pique your interest. Click on the Calendar of Events tab for more about these festivals.

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

1. • Senior Living Finder
   Search for senior living communities in and around Houston
2. • Assisted Living
   A list of facilities and services
3. • Retirement Communities in Houston
   From Switchboard Digital Directory
4. • Seniors Information
   A source of vital information and community services available in the greater Houston metropolitan area

HOUSTON IS SERIOUS ABOUT SPORTS

Home to world-class professional teams, Houston is a sports lover's paradise. You know their names. The Houston Rockets. The Houston Comets. The Houston Texans. The Houston Astros. And the new MLS Champions The Houston Dynamo.

But what about the Houston Aeros hockey team. Or the Houston Energy Womens Football team? They play here, too, adding an entirely new dimension to Houston's sports scene.

Sports are a year-round pastime in the Bayou City. Spring has Houstonians catching Astros fever, which lasts all through the summer. Fall brings the Texans' first kickoff and the Aeros' first face off. Winter has the Comets and Rockets hitting the court.

No matter what your sports passion, you'll be able to do more than watch from the comfort of your couch. Tickets to all of Houston's teams are available, giving you a front row seat for all the action.

Reprinted from The Greater Houston Partnership website

Houston Area Profile

The Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area is the sixth most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

1. • Founded in 1836, the City of Houston had a population of 2.14 million in mid-2006. Houston is the fourth most populous city in the United States, trailing only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and is the largest in the southern United States and Texas.


2. • The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Area (Houston MSA), consists of 10 counties: Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller. The metro area’s mid-2007 population of 5,628,101 ranks sixth among U.S. metropolitan statistical areas.
   
3. • The Houston MSA covers 10,062 square miles, an area slightly smaller than Maryland but larger than Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire or Vermont.
   
4. • The Houston MSA’s Gross Area Product (GAP) in 2007 was $416.6 billion, according to The Perryman Group — slightly larger than Belgium’s, Malaysia’s, Venezuela’s or Sweden’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the CIA’s World Factbook. Only 28 nations other than the United States have a GDP exceeding Houston’s GAP.
   
5. • The Houston MSA recorded 2.6 million payroll jobs in March 2008 — more than the job counts of 29 states, including Colorado, Alabama or South Carolina.

AUTO INSURANCE

1. • Houston Auto Insurance Agents
   This site offers a comprehensive listing of insurance agents in the city with ratings from fellow Houstonians.

CAR RENTAL INFORMATION

1. • Thrifty Car Rental
   This company has over 7 car rental locations in Houston including at both airports. Check their website for special deals and promotions that will help you save money when renting a car.
2. • Budget Car Rental
   Whether you need a rental car, or a moving truck, Budget even has several specialty vehicles for you to choose from.

GETTING AROUND HOUSTON

1. • Harris County Toll Road Authority
2. • Metro
3. • Texas travel
4. • Traffic

DRIVER'S LICENSE

1. • Drivers License, Vehicle Registration
2. • Department of Motor Vehicles

VEHICLE REGISTRATION

FIRST-TIME REGISTRATION

If you are registering your vehicle for the first time in Texas, there are two things you need to do:

1. • Get your vehicle officially inspected for safety at an approved station and receive a Vehicle Identification Certificate of Inspection. Approved stations and garages will have a sign posted stating that they are an official inspection station.
2. • Go to your local County Tax Assessor-Collectors office with proof of ownership (i.e., the title) and insurance, and apply for your registration stickers. These stickers show the expiration month on the left and the expiration year on the right, along with a serial number. They cannot be transferred to any other vehicle and must stay with the car you registered.

These registration stickers are valid for one year. But to save yourself time and trouble, you can prepay for two or even three years. In this case, you will automatically be sent the new stickers each year.

 

REGISTRATION RENEWAL

About two months before the registration stickers expire, you will receive a renewal notice in the mail. At that time, you can either renew by mail using the form provided (for an additional $1 processing fee), renew at the County Tax Assessor-Collectors office, or use the online registration renewal service, if it's available in your county (the service displays a list of participating counties so you can check).

 

REGISTERING OTHER TYPES OF VEHICLES

You'll follow the same process to register your motorcycle or RV, but you'll follow a different process to register a boat, a salvaged vehicle, a trailer or a custom-built car.

The TxDOT Vehicle Titles and Registration Division help desk can be reached for more information at (512) 465-7611.

GAS & ELECTRIC SERVICE

1. • Centerpoint Energy (Gas)
2. • Texas Power to Choose (Electricity)

WATER SERVICE

1. • www.houstonwaterbills.org

VOTER REGISTRATION

1. • Texas Voter Registration Information

MAJOR DAILY NEWSPAPER

1. • Houston Chronicle

MAJOR FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

1. • Houston Press

REAL ESTATE

1. • Heritage Texas Properties
2. • Houston Association of Realtors MLS
3. • National Association of Realtors
4. • Home builders
5. • Mortgage Information
6. • Homeowners Insurance

HOUSTON AREA INFO

1. Area Chambers of Commerce -
   1.    • Kingwood Information and New Homes
   2.    • Homefinders Center for The Woodlands
   3.    • Northwest Houston Chamber of Commerce
   4.    • Humble Area Chamber of Commerce
   5.    • Cy-Fair Chamber of Commerce
   6.    • City of Galveston
   7.    • Fort Bend County
2. • City of Houston
3. • Downtown Houston Association
4. • Greater Houston Partnership
5. • Houston Visitors Bureau

1. • Drivers License, Vehicle Registration
2. • Department of Motor Vehicles
3. • Getting insurance in Texas
4. • Getting around in Houston
5. • Metro
6. • Voter Registration

1. Schools
   1.    • Houston Area Public School Finder
   2.    • Houston Area Private Schools
2. • Traffic
3. • Social Security
4. • Newspaper — Houston Chronicle
5. • Radio
6. Television
   1.    • Channel 2: NBC
   2.    • Channel 8: PBS
   3.    • Channel 11: CBS
   4.    • Channel 13: ABC
7. • State of Texas
8. • Texas travel

1. • Travel
2. • Local Weather
3. • Houston Events
4. • Things to Do in Houston
5. • Houston Restaurants