Featured Apartment:
Houston - Downtown - Our re-designed community boasts innovative floor plans and spectacular amenities. Nestled in a forest of mature landscaping, Tree Tops combines a superior mid-city location with the comfort and style of graceful living. View More Listings --⇒
Renting an Apartment in Houston
Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States. The city covers more than 600 square miles (1,600 km) and is the county seat of Harris County—the third-most populous in the country. As of the 2004 U.S. Census estimate, Houston had a total population of more than 2 million. The city is at the heart of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the largest cultural and economic center of the Gulf Coast region and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of 5.3 million in 10 counties. Houston is world-renowned for its energy (particularly oil) and aeronautics industries, and for its ship channel. The area is also the world's leading center for building oilfield equipment. The Port of Houston ranks first in the country in international commerce and is the sixth-largest port in the world. Second only to New York City in Fortune 500 headquarters, Houston is the seat of the internationally-renowned Texas Medical Center, which contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions. Houston is ranked as one of 11 U.S. world-class cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. The city has a vibrant visual and performing arts scene as Houston is one of the five U.S. cities that offer world-class, year-round resident companies in all major performing arts. In addition, the Houston Theater District is ranked second in the country for the number of theatre seats in a concentrated downtown area per capita. The city is also close to beaches on Galveston Island as well as one of the United States' largest concentrations of pleasure boats and local tourist attractions.
More About Houston
Officially, Houston is nicknamed the "Space City" as it is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, where Mission Control Center is located. Because of this, "Houston" was the first word spoken on the moon. Many locals, however, prefer to call it the "Bayou City." Other nicknames include "H-Town," "Clutch City," and "Magnolia City." Houston has the lowest cost of living and the lowest median housing costs among 27 major U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of more than 1.7 million. The Houston Theater District is located in the heart of downtown Houston and is home to nine of Houston's performing arts organizations, six performance halls, as well as the 130,000 square foot Bayou Place entertainment complex and several public plazas and parks. Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines—opera, ballet, music, and theatre. Of the many popular events held in the city by far the largest is the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that is held over twenty days from late February through early March. The event begins with trail rides that originate from several points throughout the state, all of which convene at Reliant Park for a barbeque cook-off. The rodeo includes typical rodeo events, as well as concert performances from major artists and carnival rides. Several Houston-based restaurants—most notably Ninfa Laurenzo's Mama Ninfa's Mexican restaurant chain, Johnny Carrabba's, and Kim Su Tran La's Kim Sơn Vietnamese restaurant chain—have become well known in Texas and throughout the country. Houston is also home to Landry's Restaurants, Inc. which owns and operates hundreds of restaurants throughout the United States under 28 different concepts. The design for the first Compaq computer was sketched on a napkin at House of Pies—a well-known diner in the Upper Kirby district.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 601.7 square miles (1,558.4 km)— 579.4 square miles (1,500.7 km) of it is land and 22.3 square miles (57.7 km) of it is water. The total area is 3.7 percent water. Houston has four major bayous passing through the city: Buffalo Bayou, which runs into downtown and the Houston Ship Channel; and three of its tributaries: Brays Bayou, which runs along the Texas Medical Center; White Oak Bayou, which runs through the Heights and near the northwest area; and Sims Bayou, which runs through the south of Houston and downtown Houston. The ship channel goes past Galveston and into the Gulf of Mexico. Much of Houston is very flat, making flooding a recurring problem for its residents. The city stands about 50 feet above sea level—the highest being 90 feet. The city once relied on groundwater for its water needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston.
Houston's climate is classified as humid subtropical. The city is located in the gulf coastal plains biome, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland. Much of Houston was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or prairie, all of which can still be seen in surrounding areas. The average yearly precipitation level is approximately 48 inches (1,220 mm). Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast during most of the year, bringing heat from the deserts of Mexico and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. In the summer, daily high temperatures are in the 95 F to 102 F (35 C to 39 C) range throughout much of July and August, with the average high peaking at 94 F at the end of July. The air tends to feel still and the humidity (often 90 to 100 percent relative humidity, while average afternoon relative humidity is between 57 and 60 percent in the summer) results in a heat index higher than the actual temperature. To cope with the heat, people use air conditioning in nearly every car and building in the city. Summer thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Afternoon rains are not uncommon, and most days Houston meteorologists predict at least some chance of rain. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 109 F (43 C) on September 4, 2000. Winters in Houston are cool and temperate. Many days the temperatures are between the 45 F and 55 F (7 C and 16 C). The coldest period is usually in January, when north winds bring winter rains. Snow is almost unheard of, and typically does not accumulate when it is seen. The last snowstorm to hit Houston was on December 24, 2004; only a few inches accumulated and it was all melted by the next afternoon. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 5 F (−15 C) on January 23, 1940.
Houston is home to the prestigious Rice University, a private institution boasting one of the largest financial endowments of any university in the world . Rice was ranked the 17th best university overall in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The small undergraduate student body is among the nation's most select and has one of the highest percentages of National Merit Scholarship winners. Rice maintains a variety of research facilities and laboratories. Rice is also associated with the Houston Area Research Center, a consortium supported by Rice, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University of Houston. Houston is served by the University of Houston System, the largest urban state system of higher education in the Gulf Coast. The system has four universities, all but one of which are in Houston or are partially in Houston, and two multi-institution teaching centers. Their flagship institution is the University of Houston, which was founded in 1927 and is the only doctoral degree granting extensive research institution in Houston. It is the third most populous university in Texas with an enrollment of more than 35,000. The University of Houston is also home to more than 40 research centers and institutes. Among the most prestigious of the University of Houston's colleges is the University of Houston Law Center (law school). The University of Houston Law Center's Health Law and Policy Institute is ranked number one in the nation while its intellectual property law program is ranked fifth, according to U.S. News & World Report. Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in the historic Third Ward, is heralded as a pioneer, and distinguishes itself as one of the leading producers of African American scholars that obtain collegiate, professional, and graduate degrees in the state, as well as the nation. Houston also is home to the University of Saint Thomas, a Catholic liberal arts college following the Brazilian tradition, founded by the Brazilian fathers of Canada, and located in the Montrose area. Another religious college serving Houston is Houston Baptist University. South Texas College of Law, located in the heart of downtown Houston, boasts one of the nation's finest programs for trial advocacy. Much of Houston is served by the Houston Community College System, which is one of the largest community college systems in the United States. HCCS serves the HISD portion of Houston and other areas. Parts of northern Houston are served by North Harris Montgomery Community College District. Parts of eastern and southeastern Houston are served by San Jacinto College. Many of Houston's suburbs also have their own community college systems. |
