Houston Comes In Behind Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth in 100 Best Places To Live Survey

HOUSTON, TX -- Don’t look now, but the list of the 100 best places to live is out, and, well, Houston didn’t do nearly as well as Austin.

The Capitol City, home to live music, 6th Street, and bats, came in at a sterling No. 1, according to the U.S. News & World Report top 100 places to live.

Despite a successful 10-day run as the host city for Super Bowl LI, Houston came in No. 20 on the list, while Dallas-Fort Worth came in at No. 15.

According to the report, people who are attracted to Houston have an entrepreneurial spirit or have a desire to work in any number of the largest companies in the U.S., many of which are headquartered in the Bayou City.

The list also cites that Houston is attractive because of the meandering bayous, a significant part of why Houston is called The Bayou City, which have also helped shape the city’s successful parks and recreation system that attracts nature lovers who routinely canoe the bayous and creeks.

Housing is also affordable in the Houston area, which boasts one of the most robust markets in the state in the way new home starts and real estate sales.

The article also indicated that while real estate sales slowed in 2009-2011, Houston was not as adversely affected by the housing bubble as others in Texas.

Houston, which is home to more than 6 million people, has a median income of just over $51,000; has warm summers and mild winters, and has an unemployment rate of right at 5 percent.

While those are all excellent reasons to call Houston home, the report leaves out some cool facts about Houston.

For instance, we’ve got NASA.

Mission control at the Johnson Space Center still monitors the International Space Station, and numerous satellites, and of course spoke with astronauts to and from the Moon, and during every other U.S. space mission.

No one has ever said, “Austin, we have a problem,” unless they were actually speaking to someone named Austin.

It’s definitely a fact worth mentioning.

Sports is another missing factiod.

Houston has a championship pro basketball team (the Houston Rockets), two baseball teams (Houston Astros and the Sugar Land Skeeters), and one NFL franchise (the Houston Texans), and numerous college teams (Houston Cougars, Texas Southern University Tigers, Houston Baptist University Huskies).

Of course, Houston did come in ahead of Austin and other cities in Texas for the seemingly endless traffic congestion points, according to the American Transportation Research Institute, but that is by no means a badge of honor to Houstonians.

While Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, outpaced Houston, the Bayou City did come in ahead of San Antonio (23rd); El Paso (ranked 76th); and McAllen (94th).

As for Austin’s No. 1 ranking, it really is a well-deserved honor, and is home to a few famous folks, like Willie Nelson, Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

So obviously, Austin is a pretty awesome place to live, too.

To read the complete list of cities, click here

Image: Sarath Kuchi via Flickr

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