Asian Life in Houston | Asian American Poll

ASIAN LIFE IN HOUSTON
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:14:20 PM 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%

This poll is closed to new input.
Comments posted during the past year remain available for browsing.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISING INFO

© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.

WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

One thing which does bother me about Houston are the SOBs--sexually oriented businesses--that are here. There are tons of Titty Bars (Heartbreakers, Rick's, Coloardo Club, Studz, Gold Cup, XTAC, etc.), Adult Bookstores and Video rental places. No, they're not everywhere, but at least Dallas has the good sense to park them all away from the beaten path and put them over on Harry Hines Blvd by the Airport!!!

When Martha Wong was on the Metro Council, she managed to get the 3-foot rule ordinance past stating that dancers in cabarets had to maintain a 3-foot distance between themselves and the patrons (NO LAP DANCING), register for a dancer's license (to prevent prostitution), and banned them from touching themselves or the patrons. It's four years later and Fox 26 Investigates showed that the ordinance is being broken 7 ways from Sunday. HPD isn't doing anything about it because they say there are more serious crimes to investigate.

Lastly, there are a bunch of registered massage therapists (RMTs) who are Asian owned and staffed operating hand-job parlors and even prostitution under the guise of Massage Therapy Clinics. These places operate out of apartments all over the city in run down parts of Alief's Chinatown to the swanky Galleria Area, by both Airports and even in Sugarland. Once again, the police don't consider this to be too much of a problem. These places even have the audacity to advertise in The Houston Press--a local newsweekly. The husband of a friend of mine had a sore back, so he went to one thinking it was legitamate, however, he had to grab his pants and run out the door when the broken english speaking illegal immigrant from China dropped her clothes and said "You want f***y me fo twenty dalla?!?!?"

Other than this aspect, Houston is a great place to live.
Incensed H-Town Local Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 10:55:03 (PDT)

CF:
"Granted, compared to most of the cities in Texas, Dallas is huge, but Houston is still much bigger."

If you look at the populational statistics and the road map...you'll see that dallas is much larger in population and size. There is more AA in houston though. I can see why many mistaken houston as the 'bigger' city...it is b/c it is relatively compact than dallas. B/c dallas is so widespread, it lacks distinctive communities and specific metropolitan areas.
be Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 09:30:39 (PDT)

Mike:

I think the more relevant question is can Yao Ming learn to play defense in the low post at the NBA level quickly. I'd be thinking the answer would be a strong "yes" and if that's the case, he'd be a good pick for the Rockets.

Bill Fong Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 11:33:01 (PDT)

Mike Wu:

Marrying a non-Asian doesn't mean you won't discuss Asian issues with your non-Asian spouse or your mixed kids for that matter.

I'm mixed--my mom is Taiwanese and my Dad is Scots-Danish. My mom and Dad have discussed such issues frequently. Also, my Dad is the one who made sure I went to Chinese school every Saturday to learn Mandarin and encouraged my participation in Gong-Fu. My mom was the one who encouraged me to take up Soccer.

I'll eat most Asian and Danish foods, but there are some items from my cultural heritages I'll never eat (Haggis and Thousand Year Old Eggs for example!) Does that make me ashamed of my Chinese or Scots heritage? Not in the least. It just means that I don't like those particular food items.

You would be VERY surprised at how many non-Asian spouses out there are VERY AWARE of Asian American issues and have become part of the AA community, especially here in Houston. I think you're a little quick to judge people who marry transethnically. Chill and give it some thought.
Andrew Xiaoliang Campbell Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 11:29:58 (PDT)

Yeah, I live in houston. as far as the Houston/Dallas thing is concerned, Houston is much bigger. People don't care about Dallas. I don't have any strong anti-Dallas sentiment, but if you go out of the state or out of the country and say Houston, people will think of a really big city in Texas which for some reason has something to do with outer space. If you mention Dallas, people will think of an old tv show. Houston is a big city, and although it doesn't have nearly as much culture as it should, considering its size, is still a very metropolitan place while Dallas is still kind of small. Granted, compared to most of the cities in Texas, Dallas is huge, but Houston is still much bigger. There probably is more crime in Houston, but, yeah, it's a complication with being a big fat industrial city. and yeah, Houston air sucks. but it's still a nice place to live to get a big-city experience and a slightly more objective world view which comes from the greater range of experiences afforded one in a big city. And yeah, there are a whole lot of really good Chinese restaurants in houston, if only they'd stop closing every 3 years. also; be, why so much anger? I've never understood why people feel obligated to defend the honor of their cities either, but man oh man, just chill a little bit. Yes, he made southerners look bad-ish. that's ok; southerners are, well, kind of dumb, in general, when you hold them up against people in states that have stuff like 'public education'. Certainly that's not to say all southerners are dumb, but H-town Azn Pride made honest mistakes, nothing to go into cardiac arrest over. Personally I feel more shame because he used the word "azn" than I do for his somewhat misinformed statements. Man, I wish people would stop doing that. but in conclusion: Dallas, is, well, it's a city. so is Houston. Too much school spirit, lads and ladies.
CF johnnyhamburger@hotmail.com Wednesday, May 29, 2002 at 00:56:47 (PDT)

Hey Chinalova,

You forgot about Dat Nguyen. He plays for the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, he received a 6yr/18million $ contract extension.
Mike Wu Tuesday, May 28, 2002 at 15:34:03 (PDT)

I have a question on Yao Ming? Can he play defense? If he can't, then i don't see a reason why the Rockets should pick him. Why would u want a 7'6" guy shooting 3pointers?
Mike Wu Tuesday, May 28, 2002 at 15:26:16 (PDT)

To Baoliang Shi,

I never said they didn't love their heritage or people. I didn't question their journalistic abilities either.I just don't think they really understand their culture and issues. It certainly doesn't help if you marry someone out of your race unless their husbands speak Chinese. :) I don't have any problems with interracial marriage, but how r u going to talk about Asian issues with your husband if he isn't Asian. I just don't think they can be role models for the Asian community when they really don't interact with Asians. Participating in Asian activities like Chinese New Year, Asian political candidates doesn't mean they really understand the issues that Asians face. They've been on the other side of the fence with an occasional hop back.
Mike Wu Tuesday, May 28, 2002 at 15:22:33 (PDT)

NEWEST COMMENTS | EARLIER COMMENTS