Asian Life in Houston | Asian American Poll

ASIAN LIFE IN HOUSTON
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:14:19 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%

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WHAT YOU SAY

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Chicagoan since birth:

Tomorrow night at 10 PM/9 PM central, ABC will be airing a 9 week reality/documentary series called "Houston Medical", a reality/documentary series set at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The "stars" are our next-door neighbors -- the doctors, nurses, EMTs and LifeFlight operators who work at Hermann, along with their families and their patients.

They include a wily, seasoned trauma surgeon with a heart as big as his trademark moustache (Dr. Red Duke); a 27-year-old pediatrician struggling with a disease of her own; a microsurgeon so dedicated to his work that his wife feels neglected; a neonatologist who gets emotional while handling the preemies in her care; a motorcycle cop in danger of losing his leg; and a big-eyed boy with a wide, winning grin and a questionable medical future.

Scouting a location for the show began in March 2001. Emmy-winning producers Chuck Bangert and Lou Gorfain had previously worked with Hermann's Dr. James "Red" Duke on a 1970s documentary series called Lifeline. That, plus Hermann's ethnic diversity, glistening facilities and willingness to participate won the producers over.

"The intent is to showcase the high level of care and compassion that's evident here," said James Eastham, senior vice president and CEO of Memorial Hermann. "We take care of the sickest of the sick. Our doctors, nurses and others are the best and the brightest anywhere."

The publicity factor cannot be overappreciated. The series is good press for the hospital, teaching hospitals in general, the University of Texas Medical School (of which Hermann is a part) and the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest.

I've seen previews of the show, and it looks pretty darned good. I also used to date a senior RN who worked at Hermann who told me it's more accurate than ER could ever hope to be. At least one of the health professionals followed in the show is Asian American, and is shown as a "real person," not as some kind of filler-inner or comic relief.

This show promises to make Houston truly shine. I suggest you watch it.

John Lawson Monday, June 17, 2002 at 12:56:39 (PDT)

Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine are good places for residency. They're considered equal, if not better, than UTH and Hermann Hospital. Apply to all of them!!

Mike Wu
Mike Wu Sunday, June 16, 2002 at 23:51:14 (PDT)

Just wondering.

I'm applying for medical residency positions for next year.

Was wondering on the reputation of the Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. I'm from Chicago and don't really know much about either.

Are they considered better than UTH and Hermann Hospital?

thanks.

Chicagoan since birth Thursday, June 13, 2002 at 23:08:52 (PDT)

John:

I don't have any official capacity, but as someone with strong family ties to the AA community, as well as strong friendships within the AA community as well, I can give you guesstimates based upon observation and on individuals I know.

The education level of most AAs in Houston--especially those over 25 and under 40 is Baccalaureate or higher. AAs comprise a large portion of the doctors and medical students in the Texas Medical Center--almost 25% based upon my eyeballing it (I'm including South and East Asians in my observations)

Most AAs in Houston tend to be entrepeneurs (owning convenience stores, restaurants, auto detailing shops, medical/legal practices, etc.), Doctors, Attorneys (mainly in immigration or personal injury law), Accountants, Financial Services Professionals (i.e. Securities broker/dealers, investment bankers, banking officers, Actuaries), Engineers, Medical Professionals (Nurses, Med Techs, Anesthesiologists), and Technological Professionals (Computer Programmers, Technicians, Software Engineers, etc.)

The bulk of the students who graduated with honors from Alief-Elsik, Alief-Hastings, Alief-Kerr, Sugar Land-Kempner and Sugar Land-Dulles High Schools were of Vietnamese ancestry. Their parents were primarily refugees who came to Houston and Sugar Land in the early 1970s and built a lot of the businesses in SW Little Saigon and SW Chinatown which are here today. Most of those students are going on to Rice, UT-Austin, Baylor, SMU, TCU, Rice, HBU and U of H in a diversity of programs ranging from Pre-Med to Engineering, to Business and even to Music or other Arts programs.

I work for AIG-Valic as an Actuary. In my department we have 5 Asian Americans out of a total of 20 individuals in the department. There are 5 Asian Americans working in the Bid unit (which is also on my floor) out of 14 employees there. If you walk through the plaza which connects all the Buildings for AIG here in Houston, there's no way you can go from one building to another during the morning or lunchtime without running into an Asian American employee.

I wish I had exact data on AAs as a percentage of the medical, engineering, accounting, legal, marketing, and technology professions here in Houston. However, based upon observation, I can say it's definitely greater than their percentage of the total Population of the Houston area. Sorry this isn't more helpful.
Hank Lewis Thursday, June 13, 2002 at 07:20:48 (PDT)

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