ASIAN LIFE IN HOUSTON
(Updated to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which Houston area offers the best environment for Asian Americans?
Katy/West Houston | 26%
Sugar Land/Ft Bend Cty | 32%
Westside Chinatown | 7%
W Univ Pl/Inner Loop | 24%
The Woodlands | 11%

What's the best thing about living in the Houston area?
No Cold Winters | 3%
Many Good Asian Restaurants | 32%
Reasonable Cost of Living | 54%
Southern Hospitality | 11%

What's the worst thing about living in the Houston area?
Hot Muggy Summers | 56%
Pollution & Dominance by Big Oil | 25%
Rednecks in Outlying Areas | 19%
Asian Community Political Squabbling | 0%
Well, well, well:

Any of you Houstonians who've listened to SportsRadio 610, AM 740 or watched the news know that the #1 Topic of the past three days has been Yao Ming. Since the Rockets have the #1 pick, they are very seriously considering getting Yao Ming. He's gotten the thumbs up from Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. Carroll Dawson and Rudy T have said that they admire his character and his pride in his nation and are looking at all the angles of what it would take to bring him here.

Members of the AA community of all ancestries have said that they would definately buy season tickets to see Yao Ming. Although he's not played in the NBA, it is believed he'd be able to ramp up to that level of play in a season and would be eventually a great player in the low post--something the Rockets need definitely.

If he does get picked up and develops as a pro, we may start hearing from Rockets Fans in the Bay Area, So-Cal and even New York.
Hau Chiang    Tuesday, May 21, 2002 at 06:08:01 (PDT)
trung nguyen:

I havent lived in dallas long enough to notice the "intrinsic racism" you're refering to. Nor have I ever lived in houston or austin. You're correct about austin being high tech and houston being diverse. I'm not saying that dallas has the best quality of life...but have you ever notice all the hi-rises being constructed (especially around the surrounding areas of dallas)? That's a clear indication of growth. You dont see that in houston b/c the city is already compact and it has reached its maximum growth.
be    Monday, May 20, 2002 at 20:41:03 (PDT)
Excuse me:

Sandra Gin speaks Cantonese, however she is originally from Southern California--the LA area.

Shern-Min Chow may be married to Attorney Bob Hartney, but she has kept her Chinese name professionally and personally. Also, she speaks Mandarin. She is originally from the San Francisco Bay area and has very strong ties to the Chinese community there and in Houston. She first came to Houston after a stint at KENS in San Antonio following her graduation from Journalism school at USC. She's been an investigative reporter with KTRK-13, a weekend anchor with KPRC-2 and a weekend anchor at KHOU-11, where she's been for the past five years. She's won a ton of awards for her professinalism and quality in her investigative reports and journalism.

Shern-Min has been highly visible in such events as the Lunar New Years parade in Chinatown and supporting Gordon Quan's run for City Council. Her family attends Second Baptist Church (a multiethnic Megachurch in Houston pastored by Ed Young of the Winning Walk). She, her husband and their two daughters are a highly visible example of a successful transethnic marriage here in Houston.

Patti Shieh-Davis is freaking FAT! She needs to take body solutions, man! Her husband must have a FAT FETISH!!!

Lastly, Pauline Chiou who is leaving Houston after May has won Arbitron and Local News Emmy awards for her investigative journalism and anchoring the morning broadcast on Channel 2. She's proud of her Asian heritage (she's originally from New York) and has also been highly visible within the AA community in Houston, as well as in other more general events like local marathons and the MS150.

Quit dissing on the Asian Female broadcasters here--dating or marrying outside of your ethnic group doesn't mean you don't love your heritage or your people.
Baoliang Shi    Monday, May 20, 2002 at 06:11:35 (PDT)
"In terms of job opportunities and growth...Dallas is your best bet. The city and the surrounding area is flourishing at a rapid rate..."

Be:

Sorry, but you're wrong. In terms of overall growth and Job opportunities, Austin with it's High Tech areas (like Round Rock) and Houston with it's diverse economy have outpaced Dallas for the past 10 years. Many AA who live in the Dallas area tend to leave and either move to Austin, Houston or the West Coast.

A number of the reasons cited have to do with intrinsic racism in the Dallas area. The races intentionally segregate themselves in the Dallas area and don't really make any efforts to build bridges.

In the Houston area, the races made a strong effort during the late 1970s/early 1980s to reverse some disturbing trends following the deaths of several minorities in police Custody during the mid-1970s. Kathy Whitmire was elected Mayor and she named Lee Brown to be police chief. This sparked a huge cleanup of the city government. Local politicians began crossing racial borders and dialogues began across the city. By the 1990s, the City had become a model of diversity, racial tolerance and prosperity which put other cities in Texas and in the South to shame.

Dallas should be called DaKKKas.
Trung Nguyen    Monday, May 20, 2002 at 06:03:26 (PDT)

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