Houston city overview

Houston is the largest, most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the United States. It is currently home to some 2.4 million people. Famous for oil and its port, the city is large and lively.

Brief history of Houston

Houston was settled along Buffalo Bayou in 1836 by two real estate investors from New York. They bought the area which is now the city and named it after the General Sam Houston who had become famous after the Battle of San Jacinto and who became President of Texas.

The very early city dealt in slaves and cotton but by 1860 had expanded to transport and export. The main export was still cotton, but now rather than growing its own, Houston also exported from other parts of the country too. In 1900, the city began developing a deep water port and a year later oil was discovered close to Beaumont.

Both of these developments caused a rapid expansion of the city. The development of the oil industry brought workers from across the nation while the investment in shipping did the same. By 1910, the population had doubled and showed no sign of slowing down.

Doing business in Houston

Despite the slowdown of oil, Houston is still known as being an energy hub for both oil and gas. There is also a strong showing for biomedical, aeronautics, renewables and shipping. Thanks to its oil background, most of the country’s oil machinery is manufactured in or around the city. The Port of Houston is our largest and busiest port and the tenth busiest in the world.

Some of the most significant employers in Houston include Phillips 66, ConocoPhillips, Enterprise Products Partners, Sysco, Plains All American Pipeline, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, National Oilwell Varco, Apache Corporation and Marathon Oil.

Highlights of Houston

The character of Houston is one of independent spirit and productivity. People like to work hard and feel they deserve to relax afterwards. Thanks to its port, Houston is also very cosmopolitan, with people from all sorts of cultures calling it home. The city is richer and more vibrant for this diversity and it is widely considered as a benefit to the overall wellbeing of the area.

Entertainment and culture have a strong presence in the city with lots of bars, theaters, music venues, parks, sports arenas and leisure facilities. The city is ranked sixth in the country for the quality of its sports and has Houston Texans, Rockets, Comets, Astros, Aeros and Dynamo as some of the professional teams.

City character

Thanks to the diversity of its inhabitants, Houston has a rich and varied culture. It is steadily growing too. There are apparently over 5,000 restaurants within the city and more bars, cafes, diners and eateries spread across the region.

Entertainment and relaxation are taken very seriously here and new venues are being opened all the time. The newest venue includes Discovery Green, a 12 acre park featuring The Grove restaurants. Other notable highlights include Houston Hall of Fame, Minute Maid Park, Memorial Park and Toyota Center.

Neighborhoods

Bellaire, Downtown, East End, Far North, Far Northeast, Galleria-Uptown, Greater Heights, Greater Memorial, Medical, Meyerland, Midtown, Montrose, North, Northeast, Northwest, Pasadina, Rice, Rice Military, River Oaks, Southeast, Southwest, Spring Branch, Sugarland, West Houston, West University and Westchase.