HOUSTON – A new report looked at some of the most laidback cities in the U.S. and no Texas cities made the list. Instead, three Texas cities were named among “uptight” or “formal.”
The study was shared by researchers at FinanceBuzz who looked at several factors including well-being, economic factors, livability, and leisure activities. For some reason, Houston was on the very bottom of that list.
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The first reaction, I, and my colleagues had was, “what is THAT supposed to mean?” Which is probably the kind of reaction you’d expect from someone not very laid back. To get more insight, however, KPRC 2 spoke with Sociology Professor Dr. Kate Anderson at the University of Houston to see what might have made FinanceBuzz come to such a conclusion.
And she gave great answers, which you can totally see in the video above. However, as a proud Houstonian, I just couldn’t stand idly by and let the nice folks at FinanceBuzz get away with that. So, you already know what time it is, let’s break down some of what they said.
“A lack of leisure activities relative to population size contributes significantly to this ranking, as Houston ranks among the bottom five when it comes to the number of theme parks, golf courses, yoga studios, and concert venues per capita.”
First off... the AUDACITY!
Fine, they’ve got us on theme parks - but concert venues? We just had so many rockin’ shows at this year’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo! As far as leisure activities go, there’s plenty of things to do in Houston. We just had an Art Car Parade and a Crawfish Fest this past weekend!
“Finally, Houston’s workers average an even 40 hours per week on the job, more than any other city,” the report concluded.
If you didn’t know, Houston is a city of hustlers, so the fact that it’s not more than 40 hours a week is the bigger surprise. We’ve got stuff to do, places to be (hence why we have so much traffic).
But all jokes aside, Houstonians work hard and we play hard. Stress is unavoidable, but to say we’re “uptight” is a bit of a stretch, even though the report does admit “there’s nothing inherently wrong” with not being so laid back.
Maybe we could take some time to smell the roses a little more, because it is concerning the study found Texas to be the only state among the least laid-back cities, along with Dallas and San Antonio. Either way, this report is a great opportunity for us to reflect and figure out how we can be laid more back. But again, even just saying that sounds like work—but then again, when do Houstonians shy away from work? 😉
To read the full report and how other cities compared, click here.